Steeped in conspiracy, scandal and socialism - the disappearance of radical icon Victor Grayson is a puzzle that's never been solved. A firebrand and Labour politician who rose to prominence in the early twentieth century, Grayson was idolised by hundreds of thousands of Britons but despised by the establishment. After a tumultuous life, he walked out of his London apartment in September 1920 and was never seen again. After a century, new documents have come to light. Fragments of an unpublished autobiography, letters to his lovers (both men and women), leading political and literary figures including H.G. Wells and George Bernard Shaw, and testimonies from members of the Labour elite such as Clement Attlee have revealed the real Victor Grayson. New research has uncovered the true events leading up to his disappearance and suggests that he was actually blackmailed by his former Party. In a time when homosexuality was illegal, and socialism an international threat to capitalism, Grayson was a clear target for those wanting to stamp out dissent. This extraordinary biography reinstates to history a man who laid the foundations for a whole generation of militant socialists in Britain.

Jeremy Corbyn and Len McCluskey collaborated to help achieve the biggest electoral success for socialism in recent British history. The two men share a passionate belief in a fairer, more equal Britain, encapsulated in Labour’s election slogan “For the many, not the few.� That slogan, inspired by Shelley’s famous poem The Masque of Anarchy, points to something else the two have in common: a lifelong enthusiasm for poetry. In this sparkling anthology they discuss the poems that have moved and enlightened them. Their choices travel over centuries and continents, with poets ranging from Shakespeare and Juana de la Cruz, through William Blake and Emily Dickinson, to Bertolt Brecht, Stevie Smith and Linton Kwesi Johnson. Rounding out the collection are appreciations of poems selected by guest contributors Melissa Benn, Russell Brand, Rob Delaney, Julie Hesmondhalgh, Ken Loach, Morag Livingstone, Francesca Martinez, Karie Murphy, Maxine Peake, Michael Rosen, Alexei Sayle and Gary Younge. With the burgeoning popularity of poetry, especially among Gen Z, this joyful celebration of the power of verse is bound to delight and inspire across a wide audience. All royalties from sales of this book will be donated to the Peace and Justice Project.

In his Preface to the 1902 first edition of Imperialism: A Study, imperial critic J.A. Hobson demonstrates his prophetic talents by noting, just as the Victorian age was ending and World War I was brewing, that "Imperialism has been adopted as a more or less conscious policy by several European States and threatens to break down the political isolation of the United States." Though the book speaks mostly of British imperialism of the period, Hobson inevitably explores the general principals-and hidden motives-of imperialist policy. Hobson covers: . the commercial value of imperialism . imperialism as an outlet for population . economic parasites of imperialism . imperialist finance . moral and sentimental factors . and much more. With imperialism again a hot topic in the political arena, Hobson's treatise continues to lend invaluable, necessary insight into a complex ideology. British writer JOHN ATKINSON HOBSON (1858-1940) was an historian and economist as well as a popular lecturer on the topics. His other books include The Evolution of Modern Capitalism (1894), The Economics of Distribution (1900), The Economics of Unemployment (1922), and the autobiographical Confessions of an Economic Heretic (1938).

An old union rep, Joe, and his granddaughter, Arushi, spend a few pleasant days together going over the history of the labour movement. Over tea and sandwiches in his studio they consider the whole wide sweep and points of connection throughout history. Starting way back with the 14th-century Peasants' Revolt, taking in the Levellers and the Luddites, the expansion of the unions in the 19th century, the height of their power in the `70s, and the great conflicts and decline of the `80s. With a mix of serious research and family jokes Joe and Arushi go into the complicated history, the ideological battles, the class conflict, a consideration of what unions are for, and what the future of unions may be.