I sincerely hope this character gets their due in the Peaky Blinders movie after being so utterly misrepresented in the show

The BBC crime drama series Peaky Blinders claims to be a true description of Birmingham's history, and is inspired by the real-life gang in the 1880s.

While one can look past the historical inaccuracies Steven Knight made in the show (for instance, changing the period from 1880 to 1920), some character portrayals were off the charts and hard to digest.

While most of the characters featured are fictional, including Tommy Shelby, some of the other characters were based on real-life figures. Billy Kimber, Oswald Mosley and, of course, Winston Churchill were all real-life figures included in the show, to make it seem historically accurate.

However, there is another (and a lesser-known) character based on a real person — Jessie Eden (Charlie Murphy). Debuting in Peaky Blinders Season 4, Jessie Eden was a real-life British trade union leader who successfully led the 1926 UK General Strike and was known for her activism.

However, her character was misrepresented and laden with misogyny and the show did nothing to highlight her actual contributions.

More on this in our story.

Jessie Eden was gravely misrepresented in Peaky Blinders Seasons 4 and 5

Since Tommy Shelby is the poster boy of the crime series, Seasons 4 and 5 chose to focus on his (fake) romance with Eden, rather than her real achievements.

Jessie Eden is introduced in Season 4 as she negotiates a labour dispute regarding women's pay with Tommy Shelby, who understands that she is a tough nut to crack.

With this strong introduction, the allusions to the real-life Eden ended and Peaky Blinders portrayed an altogether different version of the figure, drastically different from the communist activist history knows her as.

While Eden starts strong in front of Tommy, he is able to manipulate her using his natural charm and his history with socialist beliefs, which manipulates her into falling for him.

This false seduction persuades Eden to give up the names of leading comrades, which Tommy then passes to the British government, leading to the General Strike.

While Eden was an influential figure in the General Strike, who convinced women at the Joseph Lucas motor factory to join the cause, Peaky Blinders downplayed her contributions to a fault.

In addition, in Peaky Blinders Season 5, she was aided by the said Shelby leader when she was almost arrested in a protest at Mosley's rally.

Both of these instances are highly ironic, considering the woman Eden actually was — one whose principles would never have allowed her to fall for a Birmingham leader, let alone be rescued by him.

Looking back at history, I highly doubt that Jessie Eden would have given up her supporters to Tommy and let her judgment be clouded by fleeting romantic feelings towards him.

I hope Jessie Eden gets her due in Peaky Blinders' upcoming film, The Immortal Man

While Peaky Blinders ended with Season 6, without righting Eden's character's wrongs, The Immortal Man is a good opportunity to give her character the portrayal she deserves.

Since the feature film is set in a post-WWII Birmingham, Jessie Eden could easily be one of the characters featured.

Considering the Birmingham housing crisis was a major issue in the 1940s and the Peaky Blinders owns many factories and establishments in Small Heath, it should likely be featured in the movie.

If that becomes the case, Jessie Eden could easily find her place in the film's narrative as she was one of the prominent leaders who led mass strikes against the slum-like conditions, influencing almost 50,000 tenants to join the cause.

I hope The Immortal Man features Eden's contributions to Birmingham's history rather than cooking up a fictional romance with Tommy.

Trending

For the latest scoops on your favorite TV shows and movies, follow SoapCentral.

×

Was this article helpful?

Thank You for feedback