This book is available to read until 4th February, 2026
- 400 pages
- English
- ePUB (mobile friendly)
- Available on iOS & Android
eBook - ePub
Available until 4 Feb |Learn more
About this book
Working-class stories are not always tales of the underprivileged and dispossessed.
Common People is a collection of essays, poems and memoir written in celebration, not apology: these are narratives rich in barbed humour, reflecting the depth and texture of working-class life, the joy and sorrow, the solidarity and the differences, the everyday wisdom and poetry of the woman at the bus stop, the waiter, the hairdresser.
Here, Kit de Waal brings together thirty-three established and emerging writers who invite you to experience the world through their eyes, their voices loud and clear as they reclaim and redefine what it means to be working class.
Features original pieces from Damian Barr, Malorie Blackman, Lisa Blower, Jill Dawson, Louise Doughty, Stuart Maconie, Chris McCrudden, Lisa McInerney, Paul McVeigh, Daljit Nagra, Dave O'Brien, Cathy Rentzenbrink, Anita Sethi, Tony Walsh, Alex Wheatle and more.
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Yes, you can access Common People by Kit de Waal in PDF and/or ePUB format, as well as other popular books in Social Sciences & Social Classes & Economic Disparity. We have over one million books available in our catalogue for you to explore.
Information
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We believe that wonderful things can happen when you clear a path for people who share a passion. That’s why we’ve built a platform that brings together readers and authors to crowdfund books they believe in – and give fresh ideas that don’t fit the traditional mould the chance they deserve.
This book is in your hands because readers made it possible. Everyone who pledged their support is listed below. Join them by visiting unbound.com and supporting a book today.
Kia Abdullah
Jools Abrams-Humphries
Lauren Ace
Martha Adam
Carys Afoko
Haleh Agar
Farah Ahamed
Mediah Ahmed
Holly Ainley
Molly Aitken
Tony Aitman
Emad Akhtar
Hazel Alexander
Ines Alfano
Verity Allan
Joe Allen
Eli Allison
Lulu Allison
Debi Alper
Mellany Ambrose
Sharon Amos
Edie Anderson
Jonny Anderson
Zoe Anderson
Jane Anger
Antonio Arch
Jason Arthur
Will Ashon
Marie Bagley
Scott Bain
Neil Baker
Sam Baker
Alicia Bakewell
Katya Balen
Vivian Bannerman
Nicola Bannock
Zoe Barber
Hazel Barkworth
Anthony Barnett
Janine Barnett-Phillips
Damian Barr
Zena Barrie
Bath Novel Award
Yvonne Battle-Felton
Elizabeth Bazalgette
Rachael Beale
Nichole Beauchamp
Dawn Behan
Ruth Behan
Honoria Beirne
Emily Bell
Jo Bell
Julia Bell
Kevin Bell
Natasha Bell
Paul Benedyk
Bart Bennett
Gaverne Bennett
Lisa Benoist
Amanda Berriman
Lisa Berry
Alice Beverto...
Table of contents
- Cover
- Title
- Dedication
- Contents
- Foreword by Kit de Waal
- Tough
- Working Class: An Escape Manual
- Don’t Mention Class!
- Shy Bairns Get Nowt
- The Funeral and the Wedding
- Little Boxes
- Which Floor?
- Misspent Youth
- Darts
- This Place Is Going to the Dogs
- Underdogs
- The Dark Hole of the Head
- Domus Operandi
- Steve
- No Lay, No Pay
- Any Relation?
- I Am Not Your Tituba
- Uniform
- Play
- A Pear in a Tin of Peaches
- A Brief History of Industrial Action, Vauxhall Motors, Ellesmere Port
- The Things We Ate
- Night
- Driftwood
- Matoose Rowsay
- On Class and the Countryside
- Stalin on the Mantelpiece
- Night of the Hunchback
- Passengers
- Dear Nobody
- Black Cat Dreaming
- Snakes and Ladders
- Detail
- Class and Publishing: Who Is Missing from the Numbers?
- Acknowledgements
- About the Authors
- Supporters
- Copyright