Five Leaves Publications

Book details

500 Years of Struggle – a people's history of Nottingham was published in 1949 and sold for threepence.

This pamphlet is not without anachronisms, but it's interesting to see how the authors saw Nottingham's past. Subjects covered include the English Revolution, the Luddites, local industries, Lord Byron, housing, the sacking of Nottingham Castle, Chartism, the opening of the first local public library, the once-huge Nottingham Co-operative Society, trade unions and, of course, Robin Hood. The aim was to understand the past, leading to "the winning of a better town".

About the Author

In 1949 the Communist Party of Great Britain had over 40,000 members, two MPs (Willie Gallacher in West Fife and Phil Piratin in Mile End, London) and considerable influence in the trade union movement, not least in Nottingham.