Discussion episode looking at the literary texts that were produced in response to the 1926 general strike, both from established authors of the middle/upper classes and emerging working-class writers. In conversation with Charles Ferrall and Dougal McNeill, authors of the excellent book, Writing the 1926 General Strike: Literature, Culture, Politics.
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Episode
Coming soon! In our discussion, Charles Ferrall and Dougal McNeill explain why they wrote their book, Writing the 1926 General Strike, and the ways in which the strike was “a literary event.”
We also discuss the works of a number of different working-class authors responding to the strike, not to mention those of more famous authors that were also affected by the strike, in particular Lady Chatterley’s Lover (1928) by DH Lawrence and To the Lighthouse (1927) by Virginia Woolf.
Available 17 June 2026 for early listening (without ads) for our supporters on Patreon.
Further reading
Links to buy some of the texts mentioned in this episode.
- A Scots Quair – Lewis Grassic Gibbon
- The Furys – James Hanley
- Lady Chatterley’s Lover – DH Lawrence
- Clash – Ellen Wilkinson
- Border Country – Raymond Williams
- To the Lighthouse – Virginia Woolf
Acknowledgements
- Thanks to all our patreon supporters for making this podcast possible. And a special thanks to Jazz Hands
- Our theme tune for this episode is Montaigne’s version of ‘When the Coal Comes from the Rhonda’, a folk song originating from Welsh miners in the early twentieth century and sung during the general strike. Download the song here: all proceeds go to Medical Aid for Palestinians. More from Montaigne: website, Instagram, YouTube.
- Edited by Jesse French
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Transcript
Coming soon!…
