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The Paper Chase

£9.99

In the summer of 1705, a masked woman knocked on the door of David Edwards’s London workshop. She did not leave her name, only a package and a coded means of identifying her courier. Edwards was a Welsh printer working in the dark confines of Nevill’s Alley, outside the city walls. The package was an illegal, anonymous pamphlet: The Memorial of the Church of England. The argument it proposed threatened to topple the government, but sedition sold well in the coffeehouses of Fleet Street and the woman promised protection. Edwards swiftly set about printing and surreptitiously distributing the pamphlet. Parliament was soon in turmoil and government minister Robert Harley launched a hunt for all those involved. Joseph Hone shows us a nation in crisis through the story of a single incendiary document.

In stock

Description

Longlisted for the HWA Non-Fiction Crown

‘A remarkable achievement’ Spectator

In the summer of 1705, a masked woman knocked on the door of a London printer’s workshop. She did not leave her name, only a package and the promise of protection.

Soon after, an anonymous pamphlet was quietly distributed in the backstreets of the city. Entitled The Memorial of the Church of England, the argument it proposed threatened to topple the government. Fearing insurrection, parliament was in turmoil and government minister Robert Harley launched a hunt for all of those involved. The printer was eventually named, but could not be found…

In this breakneck political adventure, Joseph Hone shows us a nation in crisis through the story of a single incendiary document.

‘An elegant blend of scholarship and detection’ Peter Moore, author of Endeavour
‘Enthralling’ London Review of Books
‘An exciting story told with vigour’ Adrian Tinniswood, Literary Review

Read a sample here

Additional information

Weight 0.219 kg
Dimensions 19.8 × 12.9 × 1.7 cm
Author

Publisher

Imprint

Cover

Paperback

Pages

368

Language

English

Edition
Dewey

941.069 (edition:23)

Readership

General – Trade / Code: K