Transcending the Metropolis: London and Provincial Popular Radicalism, c. 1860–75

TL;DRAbstract

Almost naturally, 'space' has long been a prominent category in urban history. Towns extend across geographical space, and they constitute the background for the cultural, social and political milieux located in particular quarters of towns or in networks of communication. Research on the social background of Victorian popular political movements has been inspired by a close analysis of residential patterns and electoral behaviour in particular towns. Although recent research has tended to dissolve any direct links between social class and political expression, in the process introducing further factors such as gender into the historian's perspective on urban politics,1 the local dimension has remained fundamental for the understanding of popular politics ever since Asa Briggs edited a ground-breaking volume of articles on Chartism.2 Many of the best examples of historical research in this area take their starting point from the situation in particular towns.3KeywordsLocal SectionRadic

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