The Roma: A Travelling History

A profoundly personal portrait of a people and their on-going journey, shedding new light on Romani history and what it means to be Romani in Europe today.

‘An exhilarating history of resistance and survival’Observer

‘A fascinating look at a marginalised and misunderstood people’Daily Mail

The Romani story is a history that is not widely known and understood, and that invisibility has created a space where fear and hostility continue to thrive. Full of fascinating stories and extraordinary individuals, The Roma is a powerful corrective to the stereotyping and prejudices still faced by Romani communities.

We meet the Romani artist who chronicled her experiences of the Holocaust in Austria; the boxer who should have become Germany’s light-heavyweight champion only to have his win scratched from the record by the Nazis; and a eighteenth-century Romani woman in London who was accused of kidnapping a girl and sentenced to death only to be exonerated thanks to some detective work by an unconvinced judge. Throughout, Madeline Potter weaves in her travels though contemporary Romani Europe as well as strands of her own journey as a Romani woman in Romania and now in Britain.

Deftly blending explorative history and portraits of a unique and vibrant culture with intimate accounts of racism, The Roma is a celebration of survival – of resilience and resistance in the face of prejudice and persecution.

‘A book that will inspire and inform’ Yaron Martas

‘Brilliant … a captivating invitation to see the Roma in their full humanity’ David Morley

‘Utterly compelling’ Lanre Bakare

‘A wise and beautiful book’ Jo Clement

‘This book is to be treasured’ Bidisha