Review of ‘Edward Heath Made Me Angry’

Edward Heath Made Me Angry is the last in Stuart Christie’s autobiographical trilogy. Many readers will have bought and devoured his one volume Granny Made Me an Anarchist, not realising that it was an abridgement of a longer work – a work which deserves to be read in its entirety. Sadly, the complete work was only issued in a very limited print-run: and the individual volumes were priced out of many anarchists’ reach. This is disappointing, as Christie’s story is the best anarchist work of biography to appear for a very long time. Reviews Page

Class War Issue 88 III

Review of ‘Edward Heath Made Me Angry’, by Stuart Christie - Christie Books

Edward Heath Made Me Angry is the last in Stuart
Christie’s autobiographical trilogy. Many readers will
have bought and devoured his one volume Granny Made Me
an Anarchist, not realising that it was an abridgement
of a longer work – a work which deserves to be read in
its entirety. Sadly, the complete work was only issued
in a very limited print-run: and the individual
volumes were priced out of many anarchists’ reach.
This is disappointing, as Christie’s story is the best
anarchist work of biography to appear for a very long
time.

As we reviewed Granny Made Me an Anarchist in the last
issue of Class War, there’s no need to remind readers
of Christie’s story. Everyone’s likely to know that
he’s a Scottish anarchist who went to Spain in the
1960s as part of an abortive conspiracy to assassinate
Franco, that – failing – he was convicted in a Spanish
court-martial, and that he spent some years in a
Spanish prison. This volume describes Christie’s years
in London on his return, the Angry Brigade, the Stoke
Newington 8 trial and its aftermath.

Edward Heath Made Me Angry is one of the best books
I’ve read about the anarchist movement in the early
1970s. The story’s gripping, the action pacy – it’s
like reading a thriller, though it’s all true. It was
interesting to find out I’d drank in the same pub that
was his regular, or been up at the same magistrates’
court! The wealth of detail in Edward Heath makes
Christie’s story a more compelling read than many
other attempts at autobiography one reads.

The central planks of the book are the Angry Brigade
and the trial of eight people accused of being at the
Brigade’s heart. This should be essential reading for
anyone involved in anarchist politics today. There’s a
certain kangaroo court quality to the tale of the
trial, as the state did its damndest to get its
sacrificial lambs sent down. That not all the Eight
were sent to prison is a testament to the jury system
now under assault. Readers may recall political trials
of recent years, like the Gandalf case. The daddy of
them all – for the last forty years – was the Stoke
Newington Eight trial, which Christie describes in
gripping detail.

Christie’s depiction of anarchist activity in other
spheres, too, is well worth reading. His work with the
Anarchist Black Cross alone makes this a very
inspiring book to read. Having been a prisoner
himself, Christie’s prisoner support work – described
here in some detail – is as relevant now as it was
then. The prankster atmosphere of much anarchist
activity in the late ‘60s and early ‘70s – like the
King Mob actions, or the flour-bombing of the Miss
World contest – is captured perfectly by Christie.
Edward Heath Made Me Angry shows why Granny Made Me an
Anarchist has been so popular – but those who want the
unexpurgated story should do all they can to get the
complete text.

Stuart Christie’s trilogy is comparatively hard to get
hold of – and it’s dear – but it repays the effort and
cost in its illumination of anarchist politics and
Christie’s eventful life. Once you’ve read the
complete version, you’ll not be satisfied with the
more popular – though abbreviated – book.

five skulls.

Please note that Kate Sharpley Library subscribers can
get this book cheaper if you order it directly from
the KSL. More details of their work at
www.katesharpleylibrary.net