Freedom Round the Globe

‘Fascinating’ – The New Yorker
‘A cracking read’ – The London Standard
‘Delightfully readable’ – The Wall Street Journal
‘Intricate and layered’ – Financial Times
‘Engaging . . . Pearsall’s book does so much to illuminate’ – The New York Times
‘Kaleidoscopic’ – New Statesman
‘Fantastic . . . a triumph’ – Christopher Clark, author of Revolutionary Spring
‘Extraordinary . . . thrilling narrative and sharp analysis’ – Tiya Miles, author of All That She Carried

A fresh and surprising global history that reveals how the fires of change that sparked the American Revolution were in fact igniting all around the world.

In this vivid new history, prize-winning historian Sarah M. S. Pearsall restores the shock and drama of 1776. From St. Kitts to Kolkata, Ghana to Guangzhou, all kinds of people, not just the men declaring independence in Philadelphia, asserted their rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

Reflecting on the 250 th anniversary of the Revolution, Freedom Round the Globe tells a story the world needs to hear, of the fraught origins of a nation that continues to perplex, fascinate and horrify us. It is a story of global transformation and revolutionary fervour, of triumph and tragedy, and of the insurgents, lovers, and dreamers who dared to imagine better societies.

‘A syncopated dance of ideas delivered with a poetic touch. Global in scope and local in depth, it is chock full of unexpected insights’ – Jefferson Cowie, author of Freedom’s Dominion