Diamonds In The Mud

During the spring of 2020, the British view of a hero changed, with low-paid lifesavers becoming the focus. Diamonds in the Mud explores why the British have traditionally venerated kings and queens, generals, and Eton-educated Prime Ministers, while those who changed history from below rarely got a look-in. The book argues that these are the type of heroes we should be teaching future generations about, as they can inspire confidence and help Britain become less of a cap-doffing nation.

Format: Hardback
Publication date: 05 August 2021
Publisher: Mirror Books

Something extraordinary occurred in Britain during the spring of 2020. As the country entered lockdown to combat a deadly pandemic, our perception of what constituted a hero shifted. Suddenly, celebrity businessmen, actors, sports stars, singers, and even royals seemed irrelevant. The individuals we were truly in awe of were the low-paid lifesavers, so much so that we stood outside our homes every Thursday to applaud them. As spring turned to summer and the Black Lives Matter movement gained momentum, action was taken against individuals from past generations who had been feted, such as Bristol slave trader Edward Colston, whose statue was hauled down. It felt as though the country was re-evaluating the notion of heroism. However, how did we arrive at such a skewed version of it?

Diamonds in the Mud explores why the British have traditionally been taught to venerate kings and queens, generals, and Eton-educated Prime Ministers, while, with a few notable exceptions, those who changed history from below rarely received a look-in. It does so by telling the stories of a selection of working-class heroes the award-winning writer has met through life and journalism. Men and women who rose from humble backgrounds to change the world. Some in a significant way, others in a smaller way, but all made the people they came from immensely proud.

From relentless matriarchs like Doreen Lawrence and the Hillsborough mothers to Omagh bomb victim Donna Marie McGillion, whose stoicism told the men of terror they would not win; from football men like Bill Shankly and Bob Paisley, who brought their people joy to the Fans Supporting Foodbanks group, and Marcus Rashford, who fed the poor; from class warriors like Dennis Skinner to glass-ceiling breakers like Barbara Castle; from trade union leader Jack.

Weight: 584g
Dimension: 162 x 241 x 34 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781913406639