Disability

A History of Resistance

A groundbreaking history of modern Britain that puts the experiences of disabled people to the fore for the first time.

'A timely and enjoyable untold history' PHILIPPA GREGORY, author of Normal Women

'Truly fantastic' GRACE SPENCE GREEN, author of To Exist As I Am

'A rare feat of a book' RAYMOND ANTROBUS, author of The Perseverance

Despite there being more than 16 million disabled people in the UK today, disability rarely features in mainstream accounts of our past. That absence is not down to lack of evidence: it is a forgotten, suppressed history – the result of deliberate choices about whose histories matter. This remarkable book rectifies this.

Disability is a story of resistance and ingenuity, full of people who refused to be silenced or pitied. We meet the labourer who fights accusations in court that he’s faking his disability, and wins; the painter who signs her royalty miniatures ‘without hands’; and the one-armed textile worker who turned his injury into reform. We see how disabled people have rallied together to demand equality – fighting for their right to lead ordinary lives like everybody else.

This is a story not of progress led by doctors or philanthropists, but an extraordinary ground-up history of ordinary people demanding dignity and justice. By putting disabled people back into our national story, David Turner reveals a fuller and richer history of modern Britain than ever before.

'Splendid' INDEPENDENT, Book of the Month

'Gripping, profound and important' GABRIEL WESTON, author of Alive

'A sweeping narrative anchored by incredible personal stories' GUARDIAN

'A lively, sensitive history' GAVIN FRANCIS, author of Recovery

UK Delivery:

• Free delivery on all orders of £10 or more.
• £1.49 delivery fee on orders below £10.
• UK orders are shipped via Royal Mail 2nd Class.

International Delivery:

• Flat rate delivery charges vary by country.

Dispatch and Delivery Times:

• All orders are shipped from our warehouse in Northampton, UK as soon as stock is available.
• UK mainland orders typically arrive within 3-7 working days via Royal Mail 2nd Class.
• International estimated delivery times:
• Europe & Channel Islands: 7 to 10 working days
• USA: 7 to 15 working days
• Rest of the World: 9 to 30 working days

View our full delivery infomation here.