1831 The Desolation

Based on the dramatic events of the Bristol Reform Act riots, this novel focuses on Lt. Colonel Brereton who was given command of the troops sent to defend the city. It is a true story with the exception of two female characters who lead it into the occasional realm of fiction.

Steve Spear is a long standing and well known volunteer with the M Shed’s walks team. He leads the monthly Bristol’s Burning Riot Walk as well as assisting on the Old City Walk.

He was motivated to put all his research to even more use by writing a novel that would help rebalance the existing narrative around one of the most violent and destructive episodes in our social history - possibly the closest we ever came to a full-blooded revolution.

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