If the Cato Street Conspiracy had been successful, Britain would have been proclaimed a republic by tradesmen of English, Scots, Irish and black Jamaican backgrounds. This book explains the conspiracy, and why you have never heard of it.

"An Authentic History of the Cato-Street Conspiracy" by George Theodore Wilkinson. Published by Good Press. Good Press publishes a wide range of titles that encompasses every genre. From well-known classics & literary fiction and non-fiction to forgotten−or yet undiscovered gems−of world literature, we issue the books that need to be read. Each Good Press edition has been meticulously edited and formatted to boost readability for all e-readers and devices. Our goal is to produce eBooks that are user-friendly and accessible to everyone in a high-quality digital format.

Sue Wilkes reveals the shadowy world of Britain's spies, rebels and secret societies from the late 1780s until 1820. Drawing on contemporary literature and official records, Wilkes unmasks the real conspirators and tells the tragic stories of the unwitting victims sent to the gallows. In this 'age of Revolutions', when the French fought for liberty, Britain's upper classes feared revolution was imminent. Thomas Paine's incendiary Rights of Man called men to overthrow governments which did not safeguard their rights. Were Jacobins and Radical reformers in England and Scotland secretly plotting rebellion? Ireland, too, was a seething cauldron of unrest, its impoverished people oppressed by their Protestant masters. Britain's governing elite could not rely on the armed services even Royal Navy crews mutinied over brutal conditions. To keep the nation safe, a 'war chest' of secret service money funded a network of spies to uncover potential rebels amongst the underprivileged masses. It had some famous successes: dashing Colonel Despard, friend of Lord Nelson, was executed for treason. Sometimes in the deadly game of cat-and-mouse between spies and their prey, suspicion fell on the wrong men, like poets Wordsworth and Coleridge. Even peaceful reformers risked arrest for sedition. Political meetings like Manchester's 'Peterloo' were ruthlessly suppressed, and innocent blood spilt. Repression bred resentment and a diabolical plot was born. The stakes were incredibly high: rebels suffered the horrors of a traitor's death when found guilty. Some conspirators' secrets died with them on the scaffold... The spy network had some famous successes, like the discoveries of the Despard plot, the Pentrich Rising and the Cato St conspiracy. It had some notable failures, too. However, sometimes the 'war on terror' descended into high farce, like the 'Spy Nozy' affair, in which poets Wordsworth and Coleridge were shadowed by a special agent.

In February 1820, a gang of men, led by Arthur Thistlewood and his committee gather in a loft to assassinate the British Cabinet, ostensibly dining together in nearby Grosvenor Square. The plot has been masterminded by a government spy. Though the Committee is hanged, their ambitions do not die with them. Driven by hunger and by rage at the Peterloo massacre of August 1819, the men are easily led. It has been easy for historians to dismiss the so-called "Cato Street Conspirators" as misguided fools. But with what meager resources, they fought to the bone for universal suffrage! Judy Meewezen plunders her own extensive research and experiences to imagine the story from the participants' point of view, of their own and their families' efforts to create a fairer world. "It is exceptionally well researched, and shows a deep understanding of the circumstances, personal and historical, that could lead people to imagine that they could assassinate their own government and set off a popular rebellion. There are fictional events and characters, but these fit so well with what is known that the dividing line is almost imperceptible, even to the well-informed reader. It pulls off the trick of making the conspiracy seem at the same time both bizarre and understandable..." - Robert Poole, Professor of History, UCLAN, School of Humanities "Meewezen's beautiful story-telling brings the fascinating events of the Cato Street Conspiracy, London, 1820, to life at last. Turtle Soup for the King is meticulously researched, the result of painstaking visits to archives and locations in Britain and beyond, as well as creative immersion in the back-story of a momentous, but all-too-often overlooked historical moment..." - Dr Sibylle Erle MA PhD FRSA FHEA Londoner, Judy Meewezen is a full-time writer. She earned a living in the mainstream print and broadcast media, firstly as an arts journalist and broadcaster, later in creative jobs in television documentaries and drama series in Britain and Europe. In her own story-telling, she is drawn to the skittishness of memory and to secrets from the shadows of history. Judy enjoys a widely scattered community of family and close friends. She is a traveler, an honorary Austrian, a lover of South Africa, and an enthusiastic cook.

At a time that feels unprecedented in British politics – with unlawful prorogations of parliament, casual race-baiting by senior politicians, and a climate crisis that continues to be ignored – it’s easy to think these are uncharted waters for us, as a democracy. But Britain has seen political crises and far-right extremism before, just as it has witnessed regressive, heavy-handed governments. Much worse has been done, or allowed to be done, in the name of the people and eventually, those same people have called it out, stood up, resisted. In this new collection of fictions and essays, spanning two millennia of British protest, authors, historians and activists re-imagine twenty acts of defiance: campaigns to change unjust laws, protests against unlawful acts, uprisings successful and unsuccessful – from Boudica to Blair Peach, from the Battle of Cable Street to the tragedy of Grenfell Tower. Britain might not be famous for its revolutionary spirit, but its people know when to draw the line, and say very clearly, ‘¡No pasarán!’ This project has been supported by the Barry Amiel and Norman Melburn Trust and the Lipman-Miliband Trust, as well as Arts Council England. Part of Comma's 'History-into-Fiction' series.