Description
Named for their probably mythical leader, Ned Ludd, the Luddites were a group of social agitators in nineteenth-century Britain who tried to prevent the mechanization of cloth factories, which they blamed for increased unemployment, poverty, and hunger in industrial centers. Though famous for the often violent protests they organized, the Luddites also engaged in literary resistence in the form of poems, proclamations, petitions, songs, and letters. In this volume, literary scholar Kevin Binfield collects complete texts written by Luddites or Luddite sympathizers between 1811 and 1816, adds detailed notes, and organizes the documents by the three primary regions of origin: the Midlands, Northwestern England, and Yorkshire.
In an extensive introduction to the texts, Binfield provides a historical overview for those unfamiliar with the particulars of the Luddites and their activities, while also exploring their rhetorical strategies and illuminating their literary context. Written for the most part from a collective point of view, the writings range from judicious to bloodthirsty in tone and reveal a fascination both with legal forms of address and with the more personal forms of Romantic literature, as well as with the recent political revolutions in France and America. By bringing together diverse texts, the true meaning and value of Luddite writings can be analyzed and assessed. As such, this anthology, which features a foreword by Adrian Randall of the University of Birmingham, will be an ideal reference for scholars of rhetoric and the history of labor, technology and society.Reviews
"This volume makes available and accessible a wealth of textual and cultural information that has been overlooked for far too long by literary scholars and cultural historians alike. It opens a window upon the writings and rhetoric of a volatile and often dangerous group of activists whose activities were well known to the contemporary cultural elite, the political establishment, and the masses, and whose threat to the social and political system of the times was very real. Binfield's scholarship is meticulous and his writing lively and engaging. The impact of this book for studies of British Romantic culture cannot be overestimated."—Stephen C. Behrendt, George Holmes Distinguished Professor of English, University of Nebraska"Like most people, I had too readily accepted that Luddite actions spoke more loudly than words and that historians were handicapped by the paucity of authentic working-class writing. This is, I believe, a ground-breaking work."—Malcom I. Thomas, Emeritus Professor of History, The University of Queensland "Think what I might have accomplished . . . if I hadn't had my nose buried in Writings of the Luddites."—John Wilson, Christianity Today "This very welcome book provides an introduction to the Midlands, Northwestern, and Yorkshire Luddism."—Modern Language Review "This work shines not just as a collection on an important topic but more generally as an artisanal guide to the art and mystery of archival research."—Marc W. Steinberg, Enterprise and Society
Author Information
Kevin Binfield is an associate professor of English at Murray State University.
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