Disability
A History of Resistance
Published on 4. June 2026
Book
Hardback
400 pages
978-1-84792-758-3 (ISBN)
Description
A groundbreaking history of modern Britain that puts the experiences of disabled people to the fore for the first time.
'A timely and enjoyable untold history' PHILIPPA GREGORY, author of Normal Women
'A rare feat of a book: so many extraordinary stories, so many lost names, brought to light' RAYMOND ANTROBUS, author of The Perseverance
Despite there being more than 16 million disabled people in the UK today, disability rarely features in mainstream accounts of our past. That absence is not down to lack of evidence: it is a forgotten, suppressed history - the result of deliberate choices about whose histories matter. This remarkable book rectifies this.
Disability is a story of resistance and ingenuity, full of people who refused to be silenced or pitied. We meet the labourer who fights accusations in court that he's faking his disability, and wins; the painter who signs her royalty miniatures 'without hands'; and the one-armed textile worker who turned his injury into reform. We see how disabled people have rallied together to demand equality - fighting for their right to lead ordinary lives like everybody else.
This is a story not of progress led by doctors or philanthropists, but an extraordinary ground-up history of ordinary people demanding dignity and justice. By putting disabled people back into our national story, David Turner reveals a fuller and richer history of modern Britain than ever before.
'Gripping, profound and important' GABRIEL WESTON, author of Alive
'A lively, sensitive history' GAVIN FRANCIS, author of Recovery
'Truly fantastic' GRACE SPENCE GREEN, author of To Exist As I Am
'A timely and enjoyable untold history' PHILIPPA GREGORY, author of Normal Women
'A rare feat of a book: so many extraordinary stories, so many lost names, brought to light' RAYMOND ANTROBUS, author of The Perseverance
Despite there being more than 16 million disabled people in the UK today, disability rarely features in mainstream accounts of our past. That absence is not down to lack of evidence: it is a forgotten, suppressed history - the result of deliberate choices about whose histories matter. This remarkable book rectifies this.
Disability is a story of resistance and ingenuity, full of people who refused to be silenced or pitied. We meet the labourer who fights accusations in court that he's faking his disability, and wins; the painter who signs her royalty miniatures 'without hands'; and the one-armed textile worker who turned his injury into reform. We see how disabled people have rallied together to demand equality - fighting for their right to lead ordinary lives like everybody else.
This is a story not of progress led by doctors or philanthropists, but an extraordinary ground-up history of ordinary people demanding dignity and justice. By putting disabled people back into our national story, David Turner reveals a fuller and richer history of modern Britain than ever before.
'Gripping, profound and important' GABRIEL WESTON, author of Alive
'A lively, sensitive history' GAVIN FRANCIS, author of Recovery
'Truly fantastic' GRACE SPENCE GREEN, author of To Exist As I Am
Reviews / Votes
Splendid ... Turner's detailed study explores the objectification and stigmatisation in the UK's past and instead celebrates a history of activism that helped the disables rights movement grow over centuries ... There are so many interesting threads to a story I suspect few of us know much about ... [A] well-researched and engrossing book * Independent, Book of the Month * A timely and enjoyable untold history, filled with resilience, courage and even humour -- Philippa Gregory, author of Normal Women A rare feat of a book: so many extraordinary stories, so many lost names, brought to light, re-evaluated and revised through a caring and knowledgeable disability lens. A nuanced, intersectional and textured human history, David Turner has done us all a great service with Disability -- Raymond Antrobus, author of The Perseverance A fascinating, detailed and brilliant book, from which I have learned so much. Exactly what we all need -- Tom Shakespeare, Professor of Disability Research, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine A lively, sensitive history of disability and ableism, from the workhouses of the 'age of faith' through to our age of austerity. With moving vignettes and powerful storytelling, Turner sets out the struggle of disabled people for dignity, humanity and respect, and demonstrates with eloquence just how far we have to go to build a society that puts people before profit -- Gavin Francis, author of Recovery A profound chronicle of the lives of British disabled people throughout history, this book is a necessary reminder of the extraordinary abilities and resourcefulness of those who are too often still pushed to the margins. Gripping, profound and important -- Gabriel Weston, author of Alive A rich, immersive and well-rounded narrative on the extraordinary battles undertaken for the right to an ordinary life. Disability is a bold declaration that disabled people have always been here, in all sections of society. Truly fantastic -- Grace Spence Green, author of To Exist As I Am A ground-breaking book that uncovers the hidden histories of disabled people who fought against injustice * Disability News Service *More details
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Vintage Publishing
Target group
College/higher education
Professional and scholarly
Dimensions
Height: 240 mm
Width: 165 mm
Thickness: 37 mm
Weight
652 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-84792-758-3 (9781847927583)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
E-Book
06/2026
Vintage Digital
€14.99
Available for download
Person
David Turner is an award-winning social and cultural historian, with expertise in disability, medicine, gender and the body. Based at Swansea University, he is the first person in the UK to be promoted to a professorship based on their work on disability history, and his research has appeared in publications such as iNews and BBC History Magazine. David also co-devised the BBC Radio 4 series Disability: A New History.