This book recovers the stories of two remarkable Victorian working men. Thomas Cooper and
Arthur O'Neill were both imprisoned for seditious offences in 1843. The friendship they formed
in Stafford Gaol lasted for fifty years. These two men wanted to be remembered as Chartist
prisoners - but talented and energetic they also made their marks in other areas. Cooper was
the author of a famous poem The Purgatory of Suicides and of novels he knew well Thomas
Carlyle and Charles Kingsley and came into contact with Benjamin Disraeli and Charles Dickens.
Later in life he became a lecturer in defence of Christianity. O'Neill worked with Joseph
Sturge and Henry Richard for peace and international arbitration attending a number of
international peace conferences. An important contribution to Chartist studies this book also
examines in detail artisan literary activity pacifism and Christian apologetics in Victorian
Britain.
