JOHN GREEN surveys the remarkable career of screenwriter Malcolm Hulke and the essential part played by his membership of the Communist Party
The enduring power of radical ideas
PHIL KATZ applauds the biography of a man of principle that is a vibrant excavation of the radical tradition itself
The Star's critic MARIA DUARTE reviews Last Breath, Sister Midnight, Opus, and The Electric State
HENRY BELL is moved by the account of scientists under seige in Leningrad who preferred to starve rather than sacrifice their life-saving work
RUTH AYLETT recommends two anthologies: one that bears witness to refugee and immigrant experiences, and the other to our political relationship to water
SETH SANDRONSKY appreciates a fresh take on a 100-year-old novel that helps to contextualise the current moment of conspicuous wealth, waste and climate chaos
A no-nonsense ex-Garda female cop, Scandi-noir’s newest flawed hero, the lure of Aussie gold, and unexpected decency in Silicon valley
JAN WOOLF doubts that soft-core musical is the best way to transmit an important story of heroism and resistance
A L Morton and the Radical Tradition
James Crossley, Palgrave Macmillan, £89
JAMES CROSSLEY has done it again. With A L Morton and the Radical Tradition, he delivers a masterful biography that not only resurrects the life and legacy of a pivotal figure in British radical history, but also revitalises the study of English political thought.
Crossley, known for his incisive explorations of figures as diverse as Jesus and John Ball, turns his scholarly gaze to Arthur Leslie Morton, a historian, activist, and intellectual whose work shaped the socialist imagination for generations. This book is not just a biography; it is a vibrant excavation of the radical tradition itself, told through the life of a man who was both its chronicler and its champion.
Morton is best known for his seminal works, A People’s History of England (1938) and The English Utopia (1952). The former, a sweeping narrative of English history from the perspective of the common people, has been a gateway to socialism for countless readers, including this reviewer. Crossley’s study reveals Morton not merely as a historian of radicalism but as a participant in its unfolding drama.
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