Becky Taylor is a lecturer in History at Birkbeck, University of London, and is the author of A Minority and the State: Travellers in Britain in the Twentieth Century (2013).
"An engaging tour-de-force of temporal political and policy
practice across diverse localities. . . . Taylor presents a subtly
nuanced picture of European Roma, showing the everyday lived
reality of complex community relations, the impact of
inter-marriage and personal contacts, which alleviate what could
appear to be a relentlessly grim picture of centuries of
bureaucratic and legislative oppression. . . . This book is highly
suitable for the general reader and students alike, who require a
clear grasp of the post-Enlightenment spread of nationalism and the
impacts of changing political regimes on populations who are
outside normative constructions of the 'good citizen.'"-- "History
Today"
"Becky Taylor achieves something quite brilliant here. . . . What
is particularly good is Taylor's highlighting of the discrepancies
between rulers' edicts and legislation and the clues she has
unearthed about the realities of everyday practices. . . . Taylor
does not shy away from detailing the devastating effects of
anti-Gypsy policies and practices. . . . Thanks to the greater
availability of relevant documentation at the point in the
historical record, Taylor is able to offer more direct quotes from
Roma people themselves, adding depth to the narrative."-- "Times
Higher Education"
"In this ambitious book, Becky Taylor follows Roma people from
their roots in the East to show how they become established in the
West and beyond. She also looks at Europe's other ethnic Travellers
and weaves a gripping story of their part in the continent's
history. What sets Taylor's work apart is that, wherever possible,
she names the individual Gypsy and Traveller people in history. . .
. Much of the book comes from the mouth of the people themselves,
rather than just being another historian's view. It's essential
reading for anyone who wants to understand the history behind how
Gypsies and Travellers live today."-- "Travellers' Times"
"In this fine book, the historian Becky Taylor delivers a dramatic
sweep of the struggles of travellers and gypsies to survive and the
diverse forms of pernicious and at times murderous and extremist
prejudice mobilized against them. The book develops an impressive
and compelling longue durée history of Gypsies and Travellers
combined with detailed histories of recent experiences and
contexts. . . . this ambitious and passionate book makes a strong
claim for the importance of understanding the persistent struggles
of Gypsies and Travellers to survive. It also demonstrates that
paying attention to the ways in which they have done so can
illuminate broader processes of state formation and the
constitutive spatial violences at their heart."-- "Journal of
Historical Geography"
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