Rebel Life: The Life and Times of Robert Gosden, Revolutionary, Mystic, Labour Spy

Rebel Life chronicles the life of labour organizer, revolutionary, anarchist and labour spy Robert Gosden.

Canada's west coast was rife with upheaval in the second and third decades of the twentieth century. At the centre of the turmoil is Robert Gosden, migrant labourer turned radical activist turned police spy. In 1913, he publicly recommends assassinating Premier Richard McBride to resolve theminers' strike. By 1919, he is urging Prime Minister Robert Borden to"disappear"; key labour radicals to quelch rising discontent. What happened?

Rebel Life plumbs the enigma that was Gosden, but is it much more: an ideal introduction to BC labour history containing archival photograph and sidebars rich with historical arcana and a chapter outlining the research that unearthed Gosden's story and a rich resource for instructors, students, and trade unionists.
This edition of Rebel Life includes new information about Gosden's career that has come to light since the first edition was published in 1999. Leier has revised the 1999 edition throughout and has written a new chapter detailing how the first edition elicited fresh information about Gosden's journey.