GRANNY MADE ME AN ANARCHIST

'I was one month into my eighteenth year, and had only recently left the West of Scotland The penalty for attempting to assassinate El Caudillo was death at dawn by garrote-vil - a grisly process of slow mechanical strangulation by an iron collar, and a bolt through the back of the neck to finish you off ... What made it worse was that the charge was true. I had come to kill Franco…' Stuart Christie

'Granny Made Me An Anarchist seems an attempt to show how anarchism enmeshed with beliefs long embedded in Scottish culture.' The Herald

In 1964, Christie was arrested in Spain and charged with attempting to assassinate General Franco. He was 19, far from his home in Glasgow, and could speak no Spanish. The worst part was that the charge was true. Christie was convicted, and became Britain's most famous anarchist.

In 1972 he was arrested again, this time in Britain, suspected of being a member of the Angry Brigade. The Angry Brigade was an anarchist group that had - intending that no-one should be injured - blown up several London embassies and the houses of prominent British officials. Their trial became a sensational confrontation between the state and those who tried to overthrow it. Christie was not a member, although he knew those who were and stood trial along side them. He was acquitted; all the others were sent to gaol.

Book Launch

Tuesday 2 November 2004
7:30 PM
Venue: The Forest Cafe, 3 Bristo Place, EDINBURGH
Admission: Free