I looked forward to reading this novel. I have an interest in this historical period but knew little of the grass-roots political movements of the time. All credit to the author for having researched this period in great detail. But he then makes a major mistake in attempting to write a novel as a vehicle to express this research.

There is a lot of ‘telling’ in this novel and from the beginning, we are told a considerable amount of facts. It begins in 1893 in Bradford around the streets of the cotton mills on the morning of the inaugural meeting of the Independent Labour Party. The conversation between two men tells us that the council is impotent to act against smallpox despite having the Housing of the Working Classes Act. Very quickly this telling of facts becomes jarring as the author shoehorns in another part of his research.

Instead of a narrative drive to engage the reader, we are given fact after fact with references to historical characters who aren’t established novelistically and so remain elusive to the reader. Perhaps the author was trying to write a factual account which is illustrated with pen-pictures of the people who lived through these times. Every credit for innovation but as a novel, it makes for a very difficult read.

It was also very difficult to read this novel due to the cutting to-and-fro between different narrative strands and to the use of flashbacks to tell backstory. Nothing wrong with this as a formal approach but It needs considerably more skill to avoid confusing the reader.

I found the book emotionally shallow and sometimes dreadfully misconceived. For example, there is a detailed and gruesome account of the sexual abuse of young people on board ship to America. If ever a trigger warning was needed, this passage certainly did. But the whole account of the rape of five young boys by thirteen adult seamen is given in a calm factual manner. There is no attempt to express the terror, the humiliation, pain and the suffering.

I understand that the author is a short story writer and poet. Perhaps these forms are more suited to him. Like a millworker on a long and dull shift, I staggered on until the 30% mark and then made myself unemployed and quit reading. But if you have a detailed grasp of the politics of the late Victorian era, you may find this novel is for you.

Thanks go to NetGalley and Salt Publishing who made available a complimentary copy so that I might make a honest review.

A superbly researched novelisation of the beginnings of the Labour Party movement in the UK, The Night-Soil Men highlights that British Labour is definitely a big-tent party. Reading it during this year's election-cycle has been especially interesting.
A strong recommendation for people interested in political and social history, I will be recommending that Politics Students at my school might like to read this to understand the negotiations that went on at the beginning of the 20th century in the UK political sphere. Focusing on the contributions of a few key parts of the party and their key players this gives an excellent introduction to the movement and the factions that sometimes make it difficult for Labour to lead. As we enter only the fifth Labour government in British history, it's important to understand how they got there and where their roots lie.
A very interesting story.