Early Receptions of A People’s History of England

Having left the Daily Worker, Morton returned to SuffolkSuffolk to live in LeistonLeiston and work at Summerhill. He was immediately involved in the small but thriving Communist movement in the town and in the propaganda paper, the Leiston Leader. Meanwhile, A People’s History of England had brought Morton a degree of fame and it began to influence a generation (and beyond) of Communist Party members and socialists. It effectively became the official history of England for the Soviet UnionSoviet Union. This chapter looks at the reception of the book in pageants, reviews, reading groups, lectures, day schools, and the press to show where it was influencing alternative readings of English history.