Defiance by Janet Alder - ISBN: 9780349702865
Paperback
A sister’s truth: Exposing racism and demanding justice against state power.

Defiance

Racial Injustice, Police Brutality, A Sister's Fight for the Truth

$33.40

  • Paperback

    464 pages

  • Release Date

    27 January 2026

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Summary

Shortlisted for the 2025 BREAD & ROSES AWARD

Can the state deliver justice when the state itself is the perpetrator?

‘A fierce, uncompromising testament to love and resistance.’ – Jacqueline Crooks

Christopher Alder had been left to die on the floor of Queen’s Gardens police station in Hull in 1998, having been dragged unconscious and bleeding from a police van by Humberside police officers. His case would become one of the most no…

Book Details

ISBN-13:9780349702865
ISBN-10:0349702861
Author:Janet Alder
Publisher:John Murray Press
Imprint:Dialogue Books
Format:Paperback
Number of Pages:464
Release Date:27 January 2026
Weight:330g
Dimensions:196mm x 130mm x 36mm
What They're Saying

Critics Review

The word ‘defiance’ encapsulates the spirit, courage and determination of Janet Alder. She is a tour de force who has fought for over 25 years to expose the brutality suffered both in life and death by her brother Christopher … Janet Alder refused to be broken, refused to be silenced and in this book she exposes the structural racism that still lies at the core of Britain’s institutions. – Brian Richardson, Barrister
This book has it all. And we need to read it all, feel it all. Then take it all to others. I’ve known Janet from early days. Her story of struggle against almighty odds reflects the story of our times, both inside and outside the justice system. She is far from alone and currently, for example, stands alongside the victims of Hillsborough, Bloody Sunday, Infected Blood, the Post Office Scandal, Covid and now, of course, Grenfell. The tide is strong. – Michael Mansfield KC
Defiance is one of those books that it’s impossible to put down. It is indeed an extraordinary account and a total indictment of the policing and criminal injustice system in this country. It should be compulsory reading for every police officer and police staff member across Britain and everywhere. – Professor Gus John, veteran anti-racist educationalist whose campaigning helped lead to the 1968 Race Relations Act
Defiance is a fierce, uncompromising testament to love and resistance. This book is a call to never stop fighting for our loved ones. – Jacqueline Crooks, author of FIRE RUSH
The Orgreave Truth and Justice Campaign stands together with Janet’s decades-old fight for justice for Christopher. The same lack of accountability and state cover-up is evidenced in both our campaigns and these wrongs must be put right. – The Orgreave Truth and Justice Campaign
When the system fails you, fighting for justice becomes a lifestyle in hope of a better society. I’ve given my life for my daughter, Joy Gardiner. I stand right beside Janet. Justice delayed is justice denied. – Myrna Simpson

About The Author

Janet Alder

Janet Alder is a British campaigner, who has fought for justice and against police brutality since her brother’s death in 1998. She has written for the Newstatesman, and her fight has been reported on by the BBC, the Socialist Worker and the Guardian, among others.

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