Democratic Passions

Matthew Roberts is Associate Professor of Modern British History at Sheffield Hallam University

'This book is an intriguing journey through the emotional possibilities of radicalism and the affective context that informed the politics and activism of these figures. It is well written, showing exemplary knowledge of not one but two methodological fields, and will prove to be of utmost importance to labour historians wishing to reach for the emotions that have hitherto remained absent from their pages.'Edda Nicolson, Labour History Review, Volume 88, Number 1'This is a historian’s book, full of rich detail and context, and offers an important contribution not just to emotions history but to our understanding of radical politics'Katie Barclay, Cromohs'Roberts deserves huge credit for excavating such nuances from the mud heaped on them by Chartism’s enemies, and enriching our understanding of the words and deeds of earlier radicals.'The Journal of the Social History Society'This is an exemplary book: a model of scholarship and craft. … Roberts has done the history of emotions an enormous service. He has also set a high bar for British political historians: emotions history is not just an add-on category, but lies at the very heart of what political history is.’ Rob Boddice, Emotions: History, Culture, Society 'Democratic Passions is an important foray into the emotional side of politics in the period, opening up new questions about familiar figures and topics ripe for new examination.'Journal of British Studies

• Introduction 1. William Cobbett’s anti-‘feelosofee’ 2. Richard Carlile and the embodiment of reason’s republic 3. Robert Owen, harmonic passions and the practice of happiness 4. Gothic King Dick: Richard Oastler and Tory-radical feeling 5. J.R. Stephens and the prophetic politics of the heart 6. William Lovett and the battle for asceticism in early Chartism 7. Daniel O’Connell, Feargus O’Connor and the politics of ‘anger’ Conclusion Select Bibliography Index