Peaky Blinders season 4 introduced a portrayal of a real historical figure, and while it wasn't a first for the period crime drama, it caused controversy for Stephen Knight's show. Set in the industrial English city of Birmingham in the first half of the 20th century, Peaky Blinders tells the story of the titular crime gang, following the events of the First World War. Peaky Blinders is known for weaving real historical figures, such as the fascist Oswald Moseley (Sam Claflin), into its fictional story. Even the titular gang is based on a real street gang that operated in Birmingham from the 1880s until the 1910s.
Peaky Blinders season 4 picks up in 1925 with the Shelby family fractured following the arrests of Arthur, John, Michael, and Polly in the season 3 finale. Tommy Shelby (Cillian Murphy) saves them from the noose, but later receives a letter from the Sicilian Mafia that marks his family for death. Jessie Eden is introduced as a workers' rights activist in Tommy Shelby's factory. Shelby seeks her down to discover more information about the Changretta family. The two then embark on a sexual relationship, although it is largely a pretext for the manipulative Tommy to discover more information on Eden's communist allies.
Why Jessie Eden's Peaky Blinders Portrayal Was Controversial
Peaky Blinders was heavily criticized, particular by people who knew her personally, such as historian Graham Stevenson, for illustrating an inaccurate, ahistorical, and misogynistic picture of the real-life trade unionist and communist activist. Although Eden is introduced vouching for equal pay for Shelby's female workers, she is quickly relegated to subplot as Thomas Shelby's potential love interest. Like many other female love interests of Tommy Shelby within Peaky Blinders, Jessie Eden's character is eventually dropped from the series. Though she is not fully killed off like Shelby's first wife, Grace Shelby (Annabelle Wallis), the fact that Tommy exploits Eden for information does nothing to quash Peaky Blinders' sometimes problematic depiction of female characters.
The Real Jessie Eden Behind Peaky Blinders Explained
The real Jessie Eden was born Jessie Shrimpton in Birmingham in 1902. Following a brief marriage to Albert Eden in 1923, Jessie Eden became a union steward for unionized female factory workers. She led their walkout during the 1926 general strike, a true story shown in Peaky Blinders, before organizing the 1931 Birmingham women's strike. Eden briefly lived in the Soviet Union in the 1930s, helping to construct the Moscow Metro. She later returned to Birmingham and organized a mass rent strike in 1939. Although Peaky Blinders depicts Eden as having a former lover that died by suicide following the infamous Battle of chendale, there is no known record of this.
There is no evidence that Jessie Eden ed a Labour Party MP in real-life, as she does with Tommy Shelby's political campaign in Peaky Blinders. Historically Jessie Eden was a lifelong member of the Communist Party of Great Britain. In fact, she stood as a candidate for the party several times, though she never won an election. Peaky Blinders' depiction of real-life people, especially that of trade unionist Jessie Eden, is controversial as it glosses over many of her actual accomplishments in favor of treating her as a part of Tommy's schemes to be used rather than having her own agency.