Peaky Blinders: The Real Story

Are you waiting with bated breath for the next series of “Peaky Blinders”? Well join the club, I and the rest of the team at For Reading Addicts, cannot wait either. The premiere took place last month at The BFI in London but at the time of writing, there is still no date for the release of series 5.

If you’re in need of a “Peaky Fix” there is good news. Next month a new book will be released written by Carl Chinn MBE an English historian, writer and broadcaster who has spent years researching and writing about all things “Birmingham”. Chinn was born in Moseley, Birmingham in 1956. When he left school he followed in the footsteps of his father and grandfather and became a bookmaker. He later returned to academia and gained his PhD in 1986, he is now Professor of Community History at the University of Birmingham.

The Real William ‘Billy’ Kimber

Chinn has written several books, all about his beloved city, including a previous “Peaky Blinders” book about the notorious Bill Kimber and the racecourse wars of the 1920s. His latest book, tells the true story of the “Real Peaky Blinders”, one of whom was Chinn’s great-grandfather, an illegal bookmaker just like the Shelbys.

Chinn’s story draws together a wide range of original sources as well as interviews with relatives of the original gang, led by the infamous “Brummie” Billy Kimber, who was not in fact from London as he is portrayed in the TV series.

Chinn told the Birmingham Mail “I was lucky to interview people in the 1980s and 1990s because I got first-hand evidence. This oral history goes alongside the historical records found from newspapers. The spoken word, which I’ve reproduced in my book, helps bring the story to life so it’s not just black and white. These are people who lived in these times.”

“Peaky Blinders: The Real Story: The new true history of Birmingham’s most notorious gangs” by Carl Chinn is released on 19th September and is available now to pre-order.