In fact I am not sure there was a main character. Instead there were lots of middling characters that all acted upon each other.
For example, there is Hugh, who is a leader of the riots, and is the one who got Barnaby Rudge involved. Then there is Simon Tappertitt who is another rabble rouser connected with the riots. His boss is Gabriel Varden who is kidnapped during the riots to pick the locks of the prison. There is also a fair maiden or two, a Lord and an innkeeper that all make up the motley crew of this book.
This is historical fiction at it's finest and I am sure it was talked about quite a bit when this book came out in installments in a newspaper. There were several grizzly deaths that occurred in the book - and for someone who likes 'The Walking Dead', it is saying a lot that I am calling them grizzly.
In any event - while this book was very interesting, I think it could have been told in fewer than the 630 pages it is currently found in.
Rating: 7 / 10
ISBN: 0192545132
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Edition: Unknown