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The Armour of Light
by Ken Follett
Book 5 in the The Kingsbridge Novels series.
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Beginning in 1792, the novel follows textile workers and manufacturers as mechanised production changes the economy of Kingsbridge. Spinner Sal Clitheroe, weaver David Shoveller and Sal’s inventive son Kit experience falling wages, industrial accidents and employers determined to prevent workers from organising, while education and religious dissent create new routes into public life.
The French Revolution and the wars against Napoleon intensify official fear of reform and radical politics. Characters are drawn into Luddite unrest, military service and the Battle of Waterloo before postwar hardship culminates in the Peterloo Massacre. The story links technological innovation with the contested emergence of labour organisation, mass politics and demands for representation.
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