Disability

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 *
The sweeping narrative is anchored by incredible personal stories … In showing how disabled people throughout history have rejected the narratives foisted upon them, Turner in turn rejects another false narrative: that disabled people are passive recipients of both discrimination and help. This book tells another, truer story: that we have always resisted and always fought to make things better – Lucy Webster * Guardian *
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 *
A ground-breaking addition to British disability history, placing the experiences of disabled people to the fore * Bookseller *

David Turner is an award-winning social and cultural historian with expertise in disability, medicine, gender, and the body. He is based at Swansea University and is the first person in the UK to be promoted to a professorship based on their work on disability history. 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.

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