Skip to main content
Kent Academic Repository

Sir William

Nuttgens, Anthony James (Jamie) (2022) Sir William. Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) thesis, University of Kent,. (doi:10.22024/UniKent/01.02.95546) (KAR id:95546)

PDF
Language: English
Download this file
(PDF/277kB)
[thumbnail of 216Sir_William_Situating_Essay.pdf]
Preview
PDF (Bibliography)
Language: English
Download this file
(PDF/80kB)
[thumbnail of Bibliography]
Preview
Official URL:
https://doi.org/10.22024/UniKent/01.02.95546

Abstract

Sir William is a literary novel based on the true story of the celebrated Kent lunatic, Sir William Courtenay, who led a rural rebellion in Hernhill in 1838, culminating in what has been dubbed 'the last battle fought on English soil'. If you can call over 100 well-armed soldiers facing 30 farm labourers armed only with sticks and farm implements a battle? The outcome was as one might expect.

The story is seen from the point of view of Adman Packman, an unfulfilled ex-soldier, who gets caught up in Sir William's seductive personality cult. It touches on contemporary themes about the ignored and dissatisfied which we can see in the followers of popular politics, from Trump to Brexit to Isis. And in common with those it mixes a form of liberation politics with religious fundamentalism and messianic dreams - the need to have something, no matter how crazy, to believe in.

Item Type: Thesis (Doctor of Philosophy (PhD))
Thesis advisor: Flusfeder, David
Thesis advisor: Todorovic, Dragan
DOI/Identification number: 10.22024/UniKent/01.02.95546
Uncontrolled keywords: Literary; Historical; Kent
Subjects: P Language and Literature > PR English literature
Divisions: Divisions > Division of Arts and Humanities > School of English
SWORD Depositor: System Moodle
Depositing User: System Moodle
Date Deposited: 27 Jun 2022 16:10 UTC
Last Modified: 01 Jul 2023 23:00 UTC
Resource URI: https://kar.kent.ac.uk/id/eprint/95546 (The current URI for this page, for reference purposes)

University of Kent Author Information

Nuttgens, Anthony James (Jamie).

Creator's ORCID:
CReDIT Contributor Roles:
  • Depositors only (login required):

Total unique views for this document in KAR since July 2020. For more details click on the image.