In the 19th century, English textile
workers, known as the Luddites, protested the labor-saving machines that had
been introduced into factories, enabling the hiring of less-skilled, lower-wage
laborers, leaving them unemployed. No one is completely sure of the origin of
the name Luddite, but it’s generally believed to be after Ned Ludd, a young man
who in 1781, allegedly smashed two stocking frames in the factory in which he
worked. Rather than being anti-technology, as is commonly believed today, the
Luddites were really protesting chronic underemployment and exploitation of
workers by the capitalists who controlled the factories.
In Framed: A
Historical Novel about the Revolt of the Luddites, Christy Fearn gives us a
look at the so-called Luddite revolution through the eyes of one family. Facing
the possibility of unemployment because of the introduction of new machinery,
they decide to take matters into their own hands – and the smashing begins.
Fearn does a good job of showing how individuals might have reacted to the
chaotic economic conditions of the time. She has her textile workers using
French on occasion, and while I can’t say this would have been the case in
1811, it comes across as credible, given the way she describes them. There is
also a lot in Framed about clashes
between the militia and the rebels; again, showing the human side of it. After
all, most of the soldiers came from the same socio-economic background.
A novel of action and suspense, of manners, and of
great psychological depth, that goes beneath the surface of setting and
characters, revealing what lies beneath. If you like historical fiction that
rings true, you’ll like reading Framed.
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