This book, first published in 1967, examines the implications of a now-forgotten minor riot that occurred in 1833, a turbulent year with the working classes striving for recognition in a changing social order. A political meeting in London had been declared illegal, the police breaking up the crowd were met with resistance, and in the fracas a policeman was stabbed to death. A bad-tempered inquest followed, at which the jury returned a verdict of justified killing – for which a section of the public hailed them as heroes. This analysis sets the crime and verdict against the political protests of the time.

This book, first published in 1967, examines the implications of a now-forgotten minor riot that occurred in 1833, a turbulent year with the working classes striving for recognition in a changing social order. A political meeting in London had been declared illegal, the police breaking up the crowd were met with resistance, and in the fracas a policeman was stabbed to death. A bad-tempered inquest followed, at which the jury returned a verdict of justified killing – for which a section of the public hailed them as heroes. This analysis sets the crime and verdict against the political protests of the time.