Andy Wood

Andy Wood (born 1967) is a British social historian. Mostly, he works on the period 1500-1770, but his work on folklore has taken him into the mid-twentieth century. His research interests include popular politics, rebellion, popular memory, belief, popular culture, local identity, folklore, migration patterns, urban and rural society, the mid-Tudor crisis, the English Revolution, popular understandings of Renaissance drama, class identities, and local traditions. With his friend John H. Arnold, he co-authored a critique of Ken MacLeod's science-fiction writing. He also has an interest in the history of the British Left in the late twentieth century. His fourth book, The memory of the People: Custom and Popular Senses of the Past in Early Modern England won the American Historical Association's Leo Gershoy Award. Andy is currently writing two books: (1) I Predict a Riot: a history of the World in Twelve Rebellions. (Atlantic Books, forthcoming 2022. (2) :letters of Blood and Fire: Social Relations in England, 1500-1640 (probably to be finished 2025) Andy holds degrees from the University of York and Cambridge University, and is a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society. He is Professor of Social History at Durham University.