A UNIVERSITY of York academic has written a novel about a litte-known radical dissenter in England at the time of the French Revolution, who helped secure today’s freedoms.

John Issitt, of Fulford, who works part time for the Department of Education and is Provost of Langwith College, conducted research at the British Library, The Bodleian Library in Oxford and various archives across London and Kent while writing Agents Of Reason.

He said the book, which opened at news of the Fall of the Bastille, was classified as historical fiction but was “built from real events with real characters.”

He said: “In late eighteenth century England, dissenters, radicals and liberal thinkers across a broad spectrum of society were angry at a parliament in which they had no representation. They hoped that the French Revolution would lead to a more democratic Britain.

“The hero, Jeremiah Joyce, was a radical dissenter who became tutor to the Earl of Stanhope’s children and supported groups working for reform. He helped print the works of Tom Paine and others trying to expose the injustices of William Pitt’s aristocratic government.

“He moved in London’s radical underworld and organised working class groups. He actions were critical in securing the freedoms we enjoy today.”

He said little was written down about Joyce at the time, because associating with him could result in charges of sedition or treason.

“Records of his doings are therefore very few – a silence which motivates the writing of this novel.”

• Print copies of the book are available at http://bit.ly/PW85hA or on Amazon Marketplace. Ebook copies are available on all standard platforms.