The opponent is Robert Carne, a rather conservative farmer who remains wedded to the values and traditions of the past. Showing how public decisions can mold the individual, this story offers a panoramic and unforgettable view of Yorkshire life. Shetakes the mundane workings of local government and makes of them, perhaps surprisingly, an unforgettable fictional world.

South Riding est un roman qui, bien que se déclinant en plusieurs intrigues secondaires, n'a cependant qu'un thème central: la vie d'un village anglais (et ses alentours) après la première Guerre Mondiale. Although the South Riding is a fictional place – there are only North, West and East Ridings, since "riding" comes from the Anglo-Saxon word "thriding", meaning a third – Holtby's novel is located in the East Riding she knew so well. Ooh, possibly…I know she features briefly in the recent film adaptation of a Testament of Youth, the one with Alicia Vikander in the lead role.I mean the fact that Robert Carne is considered a good-looking man and constantly likened to Mussolini. There are people dying in childbirth - people dying of tuberculosis - there are social problems galore. The dust jacket is poor with chips to the corners and spine ends, darkening to the spine, light overall soiling. In the novel, Sarah before coming to South Riding had three major romantic relationships; one when she was very young in the war with the inevitable tragic ending when he died, one when she was a teacher in South Africa which ended for political reasons (she also left South Africa because of apartheid, and remember, this novel was finished in 1935), and one with a Labour mp who wanted her to give up her job and marry him and was shocked when she said she'd rather be his mistress instead. Then add the fall not only of poor Rochester but even his stalwart steed (black of course) over a cliff - and oh!

At The Nag’s Head, Lily Sawdon knows she is dying of cancer, too frightened to confide in her husband for fear of his reaction; at the Carnes’ farm, foreman Castle is very poorly, unlikely to see another season in the fields of the estate; in the council, Jo Astell, Sarah’s altruistic socialist ally, is battling with tuberculosis. The main characters are Sarah Burton, a young headmistress, Joe Astell, a poverty-fighting socialist, Robert Carne, a conservative who is tormented by a disastrous marriage, and Mrs.Yes, i remember it being a British production, shown on US tv by PBS as part of the Masterpiece Theater series, back in the 80s. But Yorkshire people, whatever their political convictions, are in the main individualists at heart. Without emotion, without haste, without even, so far as Lovell could discern, any noticeable interest, the South Riding County Council ploughed through its agenda.

It is, therefore, as collectivist in conception as a novel can be: “We are all members one of another” might be its motto.In some ways, Holtby’s debut novel, Anderby Wold, could be considered as a kind of ‘rehearsal’ for South Riding as some of the central themes are similar (e. On one level, it is an ensemble piece structured around the workings of local government, their impact on the district of South Riding and the people who live there. I’ve not read Holtby yet but I feel I’ve read a lot about her – I’m glad she is getting more attention.

Like Susan, I also enjoyed the BBC series, but having not read the book I don’t know how faithful it was.As you say, it’s a tragedy that this author died at such a young age, at the height of her powers with South Riding. Holtby lived with Brittain and her husband for a while and Brittain’s husband was jealous of their friendship.