In the Shadow of the Dictators The British Left in the 1930s

by Corthorn, Paul

• ISBN13: 9781850438434
• ISBN10: 1850438439
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2006-09-18
• Publisher: Tauris Academic Studies

Summary

The rise of Hitler in Germany, alongside multiplying international and domestic fascist movements, should have been a natural cause to unite the British Left: the Socialist League, the Independent Labour Party and the Communist Party of Great Britain. But the opportunity passed as unity disappeared and the Left became defeated by mainstream Labour and the TUC. Based upon important new sources, Peter Corthorn puts forward an original interpretation of the Left's weaknesses in the 1930s. He casts new light on key players and the role of women such as Barbara Betts (later Castle) and the part that dramatic international developments played as the movement responded to the Soviet Union.

Author Biography

Paul Corthorn is Lecturer in Modern British History at Queen's University, Belfast, having taught previously at the University College, Oxford.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements	iv
Conventions and Abbreviations	v
Introduction	1	(8)
The Aftermath of 1931: August 1931 to October 1934	9	(31)
The Sanctions Crisis: October 1934 to October 1935	40	(20)
The Fascist Advance: October 1935 to July 1936	60	(26)
The Outbreak of the Spanish Civil War: July 1936 to October 1936	86	(20)
The Forging of a United Front: October 1936 to January 1937	106	(23)
The Unravelling of the Unity Campaign: January 1937 to May 1937	129	(30)
The Final Shattering of Unity: May 1937 to March 1938	159	(20)
The Approach of War: March 1938 to August 1939	179	(33)
Conclusion	212	(5)
Notes	217	(54)
Bibliography	271	(6)
Index	277