Speaking to us about her book, Biddy tells us “It's a 'pilgrimage' (of sorts) in search of Britain's non-conformist faiths, forgotten visionaries, and their legacies today. It is rooted in the seventeenth century and Civil War period. It's such an honour to be able to research and write, and Worcester features heavily of course. Nice to be working in London and getting my home city on the radar here!”

Publisher Unbound are working with Biddy to crowdfund the first 300 books and Biddy is already delighted with the pre-order demand. 

Protestants believed that the world would end in 1600. It didn’t, quite.

For the next century, Britain was on fire. Civil war raged, the king was beheaded, and London burned. But it was also the dawn of Enlightenment. The printing press spread overseas ideas and Captain Cook sought new horizons. The established church was probed and found wanting. Dozens of obscure groups sprang up: Ranters, Diggers, Levellers, Familists and Quakers, working people whose calling was both religious and political. Their ideologies ranged greatly but they were persecuted indiscriminately.

Dissenters breathes life into these forgotten visionaries.

 At RGS Biddy studied Physics, Latin, Drama and English at A Level, represented the School at Athletics and was School Captain. She went on to read Classics at Durham University. Thinking back on her school-days Biddy says, “I could never have got here without my brilliant education. So, I wanted to say thank you to the school generally for creating such a great learning environment, but especially to my English, History and RS teachers, most notably: Mrs Threadgold, Mrs Brookshaw, Mrs Shepherd, Miss Dovey, Miss Marsh, Miss Barrett, Mr Henderson, Mr Wishart and Mr Howells”

 Writing aside, Biddy is Editorial Director for Saqi Books, a leading independent publisher of trade and academic books on the Middle East and North Africa.

Well done to Biddy on her book debut from all of us here at School. You can find out more about the book on the Unbound website here.