Hurrah for the Blackshirts!: Fascists and Fascism in Britain Between the Wars - Martin Pugh

Worthy socio-political history but plodding in parts

Generally, this is a readable and informative piece of social and political history, with the author succeeding in placing the disinct phenomenon of British fascism within its wider context. Thus, we are always made aware of the more general party political, economic and international climate, giving us an appreciation of how the British strain of fascism
was rooted within a set of distinct historical circumstances. Sometimes, the book relies on lists to overwhelm us with information: which members of the great and the great supported (overtly or covertly) Moseley's causes at various points in time are often inserted in the text and interrupt the narrative flow. Overall, an interesting read and would be read profitably alongside the authoritative biographies of Moseley (i.e. those by Robert Skidelsky or Stephen Dorril). Also will appeal to those with a general interest in Britain's turbulent post-war years.

Putting the movement in the wider context

This book starts with Prussian troops circling Paris in 1870. The author then painstakingly covers the development of British politics up to 1939, putting the blackshirts, and other movements, in historical context. It is therefore somewhat thin on detail of the blackshirt movement, but is innovative in doing what the author sets out to do: show that the BUF was a logical progression of the political trends of the time, not, as many other supposedly authoritative books often present it, a baffling fluke of political history. In that objective it is successful. For detailed information about the movements themselves, this is perhaps not the book to read. It's not badly written, just badly promoted (like the title, for example).

Boring, boring...

Whatever the author hoped to achieve with this book failed miserably. This book is one of the most boring books I have ever read with regards to the history of British fascism. The few times that there is mention of British fascist organisations & the leading members, it usually gets its facts wrong. The best thing I can say about this book is that the cover artwork is good, even if it is somewhat misleading. This book is nothing more than an over-indulgent too-long ramble about the general political history of the 1920's & 1930's.
Avoid adding this book to your library.
This review was only given 1 star, simply so I could post it, otherwise it should be Zero.