True North
In Praise of England's Better Half
Published on 1. October 2009
Book
Hardback
304 pages
978-0-85265-113-1 (ISBN)
Description
Abysmal weather, slag heaps, funny accents, the bleak uplands of a landscape carved out of millstone grit and townscape of abadoned mills and shipyards, the detritus of an industrial revolution past its sell-by date. That, anyway, is the myth, the foundation for the dismissive gibe that nothing north of Watford is worth a bag of chips. This and other myths are swiftly dispatched in "True North" - an incisive and wittily observant assessment of a socially and culturally flourishing region that can boast an unrivalled setting of wild coastline, lakes and green dales, as well as inhabitants who are indomitably inventive, proud of their past and keen to forge a brilliant new future.
Reviews / Votes
"He offers an affectionate trip through the region ... Wainwright's amiable and illuminating anecdotes are supported by a superb selection of photographs ... any book that references Saint Hilda and Les Dawson in the same chapter is clearly worth a look" Daily Mail "True North is his love letter to 'England's Better Half', a gently paced modern history taking in culture, nature and cottage industries. He doesn't ignore stereotypes so much as moderate them with wit and unlikely facts ... Northerners will revel in all the local colour, while southerners will continue to wonder what all the fuss is about" Metro "Calling on a mix of memoir and history, the author looks at the old North, and the new revitalised North of today. In exploring how and why the region has changed, he writes compellingly in praise of people and places. It's a fascinating read" -- Book Of The Month ChoiceMore details
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Illustrations
B/w photos throughout
Dimensions
Height: 240 mm
Width: 162 mm
Thickness: 31 mm
Weight
621 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-85265-113-1 (9780852651131)
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
Person
Martin Wainwright is the Guardian's highly respected Northern editor. He has written and edited over ten books, including Wainwright: The Man who Loved the Lakes, A Lifetime of Mountains, the Country Diaries of A. Harry Griffin and Morris Minor, the Biography