THE SONG OF PETERLOO

by Carolyn O'Brien

1st August 2019

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Manchester 1819: Prices are high and wages are low, but as the poor become poorer, the rich are alarmed by their calls for reform.
 

Mill-worker Nancy Kay struggles to support her ailing mother and sensitive son. Desperate to provide for them, she is inspired to join the growing agitation. But, as she risks everything to attend a great assembly on St Peter’s Field, Nancy is unaware the day will go down in history, not as a triumph but as tragedy; the Peterloo massacre.
 

This is one woman’s story of belief in change, pieced together by her family and friends and the two men who share her momentous summer. A story of hope, and sacrifice, and above all, courage.

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Published to coincide with the 200 year anniversary of the Peterloo Massacre, which occurred on 16th August 1819.

‘Vivid, gripping and so evocative’ Dr Janette Martin

‘This is history seen from the inside’ Brian Keaney

‘Brilliantly paced’ Julie Barham, Northernreader

‘A powerful, heartfelt story’ James Wilson, author of The Summer of Broken Stories

‘A vivid, moving and beautifully written story' Emma Darwin