Book excerpt: When Cotton was King, labour was cheap. Less than three men in a hundred had the vote and the few women who'd enjoyed that right had the franchise taken off them. Toil, trouble and degradation for the many, produced vast riches and leisure for a few. Ordinary, and sometimes extraordinary, people refused to accept their servile position in society. They defied Church and State to fight against corruption, for universal suffrage and the basic rights we take for granted in a Parliamentary democracy. These are the tales of just a few. The author skilfully weaves his work of fiction into the historical tapestry of the Industrial Revolution, bringing his characters to life in the world's first industrial city - Manchester - the town of Long Chimneys. PUBLISHED IN SUPPORT OF THE WORKING CLASS MOVEMENT LIBRARY IN MANCHESTER'S TWIN CITY OF SALFORD.