In the early years of the Victorian era, men in Pembrokeshire, Carmarthenshire and Cardiganshire rebelled against the imposition of tolls on the roads they travelled while making their living. They dressed themselves in dramatic and colourful costumes, and led by the enigmatic figure of ‘Rebecca’, they attacked symbols of injustice, redistributed wealth, and clashed with both local authorities and the national government.

Hear from author Rhian E Jones as she explores The Rebecca Riots, telling compelling and human stories of direct action that led to uprisings in communities across Wales, as ordinary people responded to the sweeping and severe changes of the early nineteenth century.

Rhian E. Jones is a writer, critic and broadcaster from South Wales, who writes on history, politics and popular culture. She is co-editor of Red Pepper and writes for Tribune magazine. Her books include Clampdown: Pop-Cultural Wars on Class and Gender (zer0, 2013); Petticoat Heroes: Gender, Culture and Popular Protest (University of Wales Press, 2015); Triptych: Three Studies of Manic Street Preachers’ The Holy Bible (Repeater, 2017), the anthology of women’s music writing Under My Thumb: Songs That Hate Women and the Women Who Love Them (Repeater, 2017) and Paint Your Town Red: How Preston Took Back Control and Your Town Can Too (Repeater, 2021).

Alis Hawkins grew up in Ceredigion and currently lives on the Welsh-English border. Her Teifi Valley Coroner historical crime series is set in the area where she grew up and has twice been shortlisted for the prestigious CWA Historical Dagger. A Bitter Remedy, the first in her Oxford Mysteries series, which introduces readers to young Welsh polymath Rhiannon Vaughan and college lecturer Basil Rice, was shortlisted for the 2024 Historical Dagger. The sequel, The Skeleton Army was published in 2024. Alis is a founder of Welsh crime writers’ collective Crime Cymru, a writing tutor for Literature Wales and mentor to emerging crime writers.