Party people, communist lives

As a result of research in the previously closed archives in Moscow, this collection of biographical essays depicts the lives of British revolutionaries and a group of British Communists in the beginning the 20th century. The biographies include daredevil female Communists, hardy trade union leaders, and an odd sexual outlaw, as well as the traditional lawyers, poets, and critics. Through the diverse and pioneering lives of these individuals and the editor’s essays on the importance of biography to history (and specifically communist history), this collection illustrates the complexities of the European left.