Dangerous Talk

... Readers will come away well informed about just how colourful the language of the English people, at their boldest and most deliberately subversive, has been over the centuries. * Anthony Fletcher, Times Literary Supplement *
Cressy writes in an engaging and accessible style ... If this pioneering survey of an important and neglected subject raises as many questions as it answers, it brings a mass of new information to our attention, and raises issues which future studies of early modern politics and religion will be unable to ignore. * Bernard Capp, English Historical Review *
A splendid catalogue of outspokenness ... this engaging book opens a window into the social history of pre-modern politics. * John Spurr, BBC History *
[Cressy's] meticulous research into unruly tongues touches upon village scandal, bawdy gossip and rumours, with colourful cases ranging from cursing in a Cheshire village to a row between Cambridge academics. * Jenny Uglow, Financial Times *
Scholarly in nature and light in tone, Dangerous Talk is an intriguing glimpse into the private thoughts and public punishment of neighbors in pre-modern England. * Lauren Puzier, Marie Antoinette's Gossip Guide to the 18th Century *
An important and convincing story, and David Cressy makes many useful reflections along the way upon the nature of early modern popular culture. In all respects this is another solid achievement from a reliably good historian. * Ronald Hutton, History *
Another of Professor Cressy's highly original and stimulating studies. Using a wide range of sources...he traces the evolution of free speech in a splendid, highly readable work of history. * Northern History, *