90 years since the Left Book Club was founded, its branches are growing a new culture of self-education, writes Nik Gorecki.
On the 16th May 1936, the first Left Book Club (LBC) book was published. By then fascist forces had come to power in numerous states across Europe, and it was worryingly clear the reactionary wave had further to go. In response, Victor Gollancz, already a successful publisher, was inspired to start the world’s first subscription book club, the LBC. In Gollancz’s words: “The aim of the Left Book Club is a simple one. It is to help in the terribly urgent struggle for world peace and against fascism, by giving, to all who are willing to take part in that struggle, such knowledge as will immensely increase their efficiency.”
The subscription model was unique at the time, and proved surprisingly popular, with membership peaking at some 57,000 subscribers. Crucially, not only were people buying the books, but they were also coming together in reading groups, with over a thousand formed across Britain. Many of these groups became affinity groups, with participants undertaking social activities and forming personal bonds.
Although it is impossible to truly measure the impact of the first incarnation of the LBC, it is widely cited that it played an important role in building the base on which Clement Atlee’s Labour government came to power in 1945, ousting Winston Churchill, and enabling the building of the British welfare state. On coming into government Aneurin Bevan, who oversaw the creation of the National Health Service, said that it was “the unorthodox political education of the Left Book Club” which “prepared the way” for the Labour victory of 1945.
LBC Reborn
In 2013 the socialist historian Neil Faulkner brought together a group of people to discuss the possibility of relaunching the LBC. Although volunteer-run and with next to no resources, this group of booksellers, trade unionists and activists had by 2015 successfully restarted the LBC as a not-for-profit subscription book club with similar social and political aims to the original.
Neil Faulkner’s motivation had direct parallels with that of Gollancz. Following the financial crash of 2008 Neil was increasingly convinced that the conditions that led to the rise of fascism in the inter-world war period were reappearing, and there was a distinct ‘fascist creep’ returning to the world, a position that was at the time met with some scepticism. I think it’s fair to say that the passage of time has proved him right.
Each one teach one: education from below
Grassroots political education was central to the revived LBC’s mission. Yes, we wanted people to subscribe and read the books, but above all we wanted people to come together and discuss them in person. We had witnessed the Occupy movements in London and New York, the Arab Spring, the public-forum ‘Circles’ in Spain and the wave of British student activism against tuition fees. Many of these movements had adopted horizontalist approaches to discussions and decision making. In a world where political dialogue was increasingly taking place on corporate social media, we believed in the power of people being able to learn together, teach one another, and explore political differences face-to-face. It was also a recognition of the importance of bringing people together to make social connections, which might go on to become the basis for further actions and activities. This is reflected in our motto: Read, Debate, Organise.
Related to this puralism is a central belief in publishing across left traditions, and not prescribing any strict ideological line. The original incarnation of the LBC had a ‘Popular Front’ approach that hoped to unite liberals, socialists, and communists in a common response to fascism. We wanted our version of the LBC to avoid the factionalism that is too often a hallmark of the British left, to build bridges between anarchist and more hierarchical Marxist traditions, and above all provoke a culture of healthy critical discussion and free thinking.
Let a hundred reading groups bloom!
Since the relaunched LBC began publishing ten years ago, the operation has gone from strength to strength, expanding year on year and even reaching a growing number of international readers. With the day-to-day mechanics solidly in place, over the last year or so we have been concentrating our energies on growing the reading group network. We are on track to reach a hundred reading groups by the end of the year. Our ambition is to get an LBC reading group in every major town in Britain… and beyond!
For anyone who wants to get involved in politics, reading groups can be a perfect entry point and a beginning to that journey. For others already active in political projects, reading groups can be a useful additional activity, and we encourage pre-existing groups, such as local trade union or party branches, to start reading groups and to bring them under the LBC banner. The most important thing for us is to grow the reading group network and create a deep-rooted and long-lasting culture of self-education.
In Scotland we have well-established groups in Glasgow and Edinburgh and a new group just starting in Aberdeen, but we would love to see more. If you are curious please don’t be daunted and do get in touch via the website or by emailing me at the address below. The LBC helps people through every stage of the process, and provides support and guidance into the future. You don’t need to be an LBC subscriber to join or start a group.
Left Book Club Academy
While the core of the LBC remains the publication and distribution of physical books, the LBC has recently expanded its educational work with a new online Academy project. This takes the form of a growing series of expert-led online courses, followed up with interactive meetings. The courses are designed to act as primers to subject areas and deepen engagement with key texts. Although the Academy is in its infancy, we will be launching more courses through 2026 to ensure we can offer a variety of learning opportunities to make the Left Book Club into a powerful educational institution and a force for political change. The best way for that to happen is with your involvement. Do please consider getting involved with the LBC, and helping to grow the political culture that is essential to transforming our societies. For peace, and against fascism.
Get involved
To subscribe to the LBC please visit leftbookclub.com
Find your nearest existing reading group by visiting leftbookclub.com/groups
If you are interested in starting a new group please email nik@leftbookclub.com
Find the LBC on Instagram at instagram.com/leftbookclub
Nik Gorecki is the Left Book Club reading group coordinator.
