Hurrah for the Blackshirts!
Martin Pugh
Britain is celebrated for having avoided the extremism, political violence and instability that blighted many European countries between the two world wars. But her success was a closer thing than has been realized. Disillusionment with parliamentary democracy, outbreaks of fascist violence and fears of communist subversion in industry and the Empire ran through the entire period.
Fascist organizations may have failed to attract the support they achieved elsewhere but fascist ideas were adopted from top to bottom of society and by men and women in all parts of the country. This book will demonstrate for the first time the true spread and depth of fascist beliefs - and the extent to which they were distinctly British.
Rich in anecdotes and extraordinary characters, Hurrah for the Blackshirts! shows us an inter-war Britain on the high-road to fascism but never quite arriving at its destination.
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About Martin Pugh
Reviews for Hurrah for the Blackshirts!
Philip Howard
The Times
Pugh is one of the most well-respected, diligent and honest scholars working in British history today. This book deserves to be read
Gerard DeGroot
Scotland on Sunday
The link between a distinct wing of Conservatism and the Italian form of fascism is substantiated in this outstandingly revelatory book
Herald
Fascism did not just come from the East-End toughs. It also came from women, the countryside and from parts of the industrial North. Pugh explores these various strands with a keen eye for detail and a lively sense of the absurd
Independent
Superb
Daily Telegraph
This book demonstrates for the first time the true spread and depth of fascist beliefs- and the extent to which they were distinctly British
David Graham
Manchester Evening News