In the twentieth century, phrases ‘workers of the world unite! You have nothing to lose but your chains.’ And ‘religion is the opium of the masses’ were commonplace.

Back then the socialist revolutions he inspired (from Russia to Vietnam) were still in existence, and one third of the entire population of the world were living in “Marxist” countries.

For most of the 20th century Karl Marx was venerated and despised in equal measure, his name, and ideology of Marxism, struck fear into the hearts of conservatives, and galvanised workers around the world.

However, left wing historian Gareth Stedman Jones says that when it comes to Karl Marx there is “an embarrassing gap between image and reality.”

His book seeks to place Marx back in the context of the politics of the nineteenth century.