Mary Barton and the Year of Revolutions: ‘John Barton became a Chartist, a Communist’

Elizabeth Gaskell’s debut novel Mary Barton (1848) is recognised as one of the most important Victorian works to explore the working class Chartist movement, in this case through the character of Mary’s father, John Barton. Popular speaker Prof Mike Sanders is back to reveal the historical truth behind the story, published just three years after Engels’ Condition of the Working Class in England (1845) and amidst rumours of revolution. Perfect for anyone who wants to explore the context of this classic novel including the reality of Manchester and the ‘hungry forties’.

Part of Mary Barton season