Protest: Stories of Resistance

When does a riot become a revolution? When does a demonstration of dissent tip over into a moment of unstoppable political change? This book asks 20 authors and 20 historians to bring crucial moments of British protest to life. Following fictional characters, caught up in the momentum of non-fictional movements, they offer rare insights into protests from a live, street-level perspective. Each story is accompanied with an accessibly written afterword by the witness/historian.

Protests from across British history, from the Peasants Revolt to the Miners Strike, Greenham Common and many more, by writers including Kit de Waal, David Constantine, and Maggie Gee to name but a few.

'When right-wing populism is seemingly sweeping the west this whistle-stop tour demonstrates the power of people and provides a glimmer of hope and inspiration.' - Big Issue North

'It would be heartening to see more works of historical fiction inspired by Comma Press’s approach, serving both to educate and entertain by giving voice once again to people who struggled to make their voices heard in challenging circumstances. ' - Disclaimer Magazine

'There are so many good short stories and accompanying essays here, it is difficult to leave any unmentioned. Tales by Frank Cottrell Boyce on Venner’s Rising, Maggie Gee on the Night Cleaners’ strike, Martyn Bedford on the Battle of Orgreave, and Joanna Quinn on Greenham Common are all thoroughly absorbing and enlightening. Protest is an important collection highlighting the history of dissenting voices in the UK. It teaches rather than preaches and should be required reading for many of our current politicians.' -Book Oxygen

'Protest: Stories of Resistance is an illuminating and essential read. The perfect inter-generational birthday or Christmas present, it joins up the dots and gives context, which is invariably missing from disdainful, market-led Media narratives, and rote-learning history ordained by successive governments. Buy it and read it!' - Bookblast

'As the book enters the 20th Century, the chapters become infused with an awareness of the inequalities and discrimination of our age, becoming a call to action. The variety of storytelling ensures that the protests don't feel indistinct or hopeless, yet the injustices described feel depressingly familiar' - The New Statesman

'The variety of voices and subjects create a series of ever moving perspectives, but they unite around one focal point: our collective experiences of oppressions and our political responses to them. The book largely ignores leaders and icons and instead looks to the people, engaging in a bottom-up myth-making that is about the collective rather than the individual.' - Glasgow Review of Books

'A kaleidoscopic feast... A great gathering of voices, a dispersal of perspectives' - The Skinny

'[T]he commentaries that follow are never less than fascinating' - Structo Magazine

'Page has worked up a fantastic range of established and emerging talent... striking and often unforgettable contributions' - Mslexia Max Forum/Floralia

'The whole anthology is a fine memorial to those tens of thousands of ordinary people who, over the past 600 years, fought against injustice and class rule and for a better world of peace and equality. And long may we continue doing so.' - Socialist Review

'Protest is a valuable treasury of reminders of earlier struggles and a persuasive call for us to have courage in our current ones with a ruthless class enemy.' - Morning Star

Bonus Content

Kit de Waal reads an excerpt from 'Exterior Paint' at MLF, October 2017
Courttia Newland reads an excerpt from 'That Right to be There' at MLF, October 2017
Maxine Peake reads Michelle Green's Suffragette story 'There Are Five Ways Out of this Room' at MLF, October 2017