Multicultural Britain: A People’s History

Between the end of the Second World War and the early twenty-first century, Britain became multicultural. This vivid book tells that remarkable story. Kieran Connell, an historian of Irish and German heritage who grew up in Balsall Heath, inner-city Birmingham, takes readers into multicultural communities across Britain at key moments in their development. Journeying far beyond London, Multicultural Britain explores the messy contradictions of the country’s transition into today’s diverse society. It reveals the ordinary people who have forged Britain’s multiculturalism; skewers public leaders, from Enoch Powell to Harold Wilson to Margaret Thatcher, who have too often weaponised race for their own political ends; and shines a light on the shifting nature of British racism, revealing its enduring day-to-day impact on ethnic-minority groups. Between postcolonial reckonings and immigration anxieties, how people live together in Brexit Britain remains an urgent question for our time. Connell’s fresh, thought-provoking book unveils British multiculturalism not as a problematic idea, but as a rich and complex lived reality.

About the Author :
Kieran Connell is a writer and historian based at Queen's University Belfast. His first book, Black Handsworth: Race in 1980s Britain, was shortlisted for the Whitfield Book Prize.

Review :
‘Its bursts of colour and insights into daily lives of early multicultural societies… [make it] a worthwhile read on a topic that will remain at the heart of public debate in Britain.’ 'Compelling … The book’s deep familiarity with these communities allows Connell to bring to light lives that will be entirely new to the reader.' 'A captivating and insightful history … refreshing.' 'As well as shifting the focus beyond London, Connell's work is a reminder of the importance of the local contexts in which diasporic encounters took place.' 'I hope [this book] leads to a wider debate about the issues [Connell] raises and discusses.' ‘Kieran Connell’s vividly compelling book makes an epic subject feel immediate and intimate. Written with verve and passion, it yet casts a cold eye on the large historical forces that are in play. Multicultural Britain: A People’s History honours the lives it restores to their proper place in the making of contemporary Britain.’ 'This book comes at a crucial moment in Britain's history. It redefines not only our past, but assembles the ingredients to construct a possible future from the country's maligned and often misunderstood multicultural reality.' 'An excellent, timely book.' ‘Goes behind the net curtains to give a searing view of the lives and struggles of black and Asian immigrants that laid the foundation of present-day British society. From post-war racism to the rhetoric of Nigel Farage, this is a canvas of British history shaped by Empire. The personal and political blend seamlessly. Essential reading.’ 'A compelling read, written with such feeling and scholarship… I have deep admiration for this book.' ‘An insightful, captivating and engaging book. By focussing on specific cities, from Bradford to Nottingham, Kieran Connell has written a truly innovative history of multiculturalism.’ ‘'Multicultural Britain' is a powerful, compelling, forthright, grounded, and inspiring analysis of how diverse peoples and groups have arrived, settled, adapted, and fundamentally transformed what it means to be British today.’