Category: Meetings
Prophets and Witches: Witchcraft, Gender and Politics in Revolutionary England
On-line talk from the Socialist History Society
2 June 2026
Speaker: Debra Parish
Prophets and Witches offers an exploration of female prophecy and witchcraft during the political and religious upheavals of the English Revolutionary period from 1640 to 1660.
The religious fervour and End of Days enthusiasm precipitated by the Civil War opened the door for unprecedented numbers of women to achieve visibility and spiritual authority as prophets. Read on ...
Radicals: The Working Classes and the Making of Modern Britain
A Socialist History Society Thursday 14 May
Speaker: Geoff Andrews
An authoritative and original history of the working classes and the British Left
The political Left in Britain rose out of the Industrial Revolution, as the working classes emerged as the leading force in the call for social change. Their contributions extended widely to political representation, the birth of the Labour Party and women’s suffrage, the autodidact tradition in adult education, and Britain’s literary culture. Read on ...
The Fiery Spirits: Popular Protest, Parliament and the English Revolution
A Socialist History Society public on-line meeting held on Tuesday 17 March 2026
Speaker: John Rees
The thrilling history of Parliament’s ‘fiery spirits’, whose actions led to the defeat of Charles I in the English Civil War and paved the way for the execution of the King in 1649
The Fiery Spirits tells the story of the MPs in parliament and the protestors in the streets who played a pivotal role in the English Civil Wars. Read on ...
The German Peasants’ War of 1524-6 and why you should care about it
Socialist History Society public meeting held on
Tuesday 24th February 2026
Lyndal Roper is Emeritus Regius Professor of History at the University of Oxford, the first woman to hold the post. She has written on women and the German Reformation, on witchcraft, and on the German reformer Martin Luther. Her most recent book is a history of the German Peasants’ War, the biggest popular uprising in Western Europe before the French Revolution. Read on ...