Underdogs
Will be published approx. on 2. July 2026
Book
Paperback/Softback
272 pages
978-1-3998-2881-9 (ISBN)
Description
'Beautiful, heartbreaking, uplifting, funny . . . At times my own heart was racing as if with the dogs . . . a story of love, of loss, of hope; of life and how to live it even when the chips are down' JENNY KNIGHT, author of Wild Moon Rising
'Told with a full-blooded voice that is as quick and alive as the hounds that fill its pages, Underdogs captures a forgotten way of life in a forgotten part of England with rare honesty and wit ' SCOTT PRESTON, author of The Borrowed Hills
'These hands,' he said, and spread the paira them out wide so we could see the callouses and the little lines of coal dust underneath his skin; 'these hands were made to pick out summat precious from somewhere that doesn't wanna give it up.'
County Durham, 1998. The pits have closed and jobs are hard to come by, but charismatic ex-miner Bertie has a plan. He runs an underground gambling ring at the local dog track which offers down-on-their-luck blokes a way to turn their life around.
Reg's ten-year-old son George knows his dad hasn't been the same since Mam died, and the letters with scary red type that keep coming through the door can't be good news. So when Bertie offers Reg and George the chance to race Goldie, a beautiful fawn greyhound, they jump at the opportunity.
To succeed they'll need to learn how to navigate the larger-than-life world of the flapping track, all while dark secrets from Bertie's past threaten to unravel the operation. Do Reg and George have what it takes to pull off the gamble of a lifetime?
'Told with a full-blooded voice that is as quick and alive as the hounds that fill its pages, Underdogs captures a forgotten way of life in a forgotten part of England with rare honesty and wit ' SCOTT PRESTON, author of The Borrowed Hills
'These hands,' he said, and spread the paira them out wide so we could see the callouses and the little lines of coal dust underneath his skin; 'these hands were made to pick out summat precious from somewhere that doesn't wanna give it up.'
County Durham, 1998. The pits have closed and jobs are hard to come by, but charismatic ex-miner Bertie has a plan. He runs an underground gambling ring at the local dog track which offers down-on-their-luck blokes a way to turn their life around.
Reg's ten-year-old son George knows his dad hasn't been the same since Mam died, and the letters with scary red type that keep coming through the door can't be good news. So when Bertie offers Reg and George the chance to race Goldie, a beautiful fawn greyhound, they jump at the opportunity.
To succeed they'll need to learn how to navigate the larger-than-life world of the flapping track, all while dark secrets from Bertie's past threaten to unravel the operation. Do Reg and George have what it takes to pull off the gamble of a lifetime?
Reviews / Votes
Beautiful, heartbreaking, uplifting, funny . . . At times my own heart was racing as if with the dogs . . . a story of love, of loss, of hope; of life and how to live it even when the chips are down * Jenny Knight * Told with a full-blooded voice that is as quick and alive as the hounds that fill its pages, Underdogs captures a forgotten way of life in a forgotten part of England with rare honesty and wit * Scott Preston * A fast-paced, fun and tender story of family, connection and community - all carried by a brilliantly distinctive voice * Han Smith * An original, authentic and distinctly northern tale delivered with a strong sense of compassion for its characters and their community. Powell works consistently within the lingual constraints of her chosen voice and its dialect, the repetitions and rhythms, pushing at its limits to produce a kind of poetry unique to itself * Shaun Wilson * Louise Powell may not be the first writer to poke a stick into the smouldering remains of the Durham coalfield, but she leads us into a world as vivid and authentic as any dreamed up by her hero, Sid Chaplin * Michael Chaplin * The love, loss, and craic of the flapping track brings Underdogs to life, delicately balancing larger-than-life characters with the struggles they endure . . . a masterful piece of storytelling * Ben Halls * Representation of regional voices in novels is always a winner for me . . . a memorable book full of grit and heart. Odds on other readers will love it as much as I did * Emma Purshouse *More details
Language
English
Place of publication
United Kingdom
Publishing group
John Murray Press
Product notice
Paperback (UK-trade)
Illustrations
N/A
Dimensions
Height: 216 mm
Width: 135 mm
ISBN-13
978-1-3998-2881-9 (9781399828819)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
Persons
Louise Powell is an award-winning working-class writer from Middlesbrough. She won the Sid Chaplin Northern Writers' Award 2023, and was the joint recipient of the Peter Lathan Prize for New Playwriting 2022. Louise's plays have been broadcast on BBC Radio 4 Extra and performed at nine theatres. She has written three commissioned short art films, as well as two Arts Council funded audio documentary series, and was published in Kit de Waal's acclaimed Common People anthology. She is the author of the Coal Face poetry and creative non-fiction collections. She has a PhD in English from Sheffield Hallam University. She has also held a Professional Greyhound Trainer's Licence. Underdogs is her first novel.