The Valley
A Hundred Years in the Life of a Family
1st Edition
Published on 24. April 2014
544 pages
978-1-4088-3416-9 (ISBN)
Description
'Wonderfully evocative ... Not for a heartbeat is there a false or faltering note as various life stories unfurl and conflate, invariably amid hardship and leading to heartbreak' The Times
The close-knit villages of the Dearne Valley in Yorkshire were home to four generations of the Hollingworth family. Spanning Richard Benson's great-grandmother Winnie's ninety-two years in the valley, and drawing on years of historical research, interviews and anecdotes, The Valley lets us into generations of carousing and banter as the family's attempts to build a better and fairer world for themselves meet sometimes with triumph, sometimes with bitter defeat.
Against a backdrop of underground explosions, strikes and pit closures, these are unflinching, deeply personal stories of battles between the sexes in a man's world sustained by strong women; of growing up, and the power of love and imagination to transform lives.
The close-knit villages of the Dearne Valley in Yorkshire were home to four generations of the Hollingworth family. Spanning Richard Benson's great-grandmother Winnie's ninety-two years in the valley, and drawing on years of historical research, interviews and anecdotes, The Valley lets us into generations of carousing and banter as the family's attempts to build a better and fairer world for themselves meet sometimes with triumph, sometimes with bitter defeat.
Against a backdrop of underground explosions, strikes and pit closures, these are unflinching, deeply personal stories of battles between the sexes in a man's world sustained by strong women; of growing up, and the power of love and imagination to transform lives.
More details
Edition
1. Auflage
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
ISBN-13
978-1-4088-3416-9 (9781408834169)
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
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03/2015
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
€38.56
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04/2014
1st Edition
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
€24.90
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Person
Richard Benson is the author of the number one bestseller The Farm, which was shortlisted for the Guardian First Book Award in 2005 and a 2006 Richard and Judy Book Club choice. He was born in the Dearne Valley in South Yorkshire, and lives in London with his wife and two daughters.
Content
- Cover
- Praise for The Valley
- Title Page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Author's Note
- Family Tree
- Workmates at Manvers Main Colliery
- Epigraphs
- Part One
- 1 The Healer
- 2 Private Parkin No. 14171
- 3 The Buckle End of the Belt
- 4 The Worms of the Earth
- 5 Dancing
- 6 Courting
- 7 The Knuckleduster and the Wedding Ring
- Part Two
- 8 Love and Marriage
- 9 The Boy Who Came Back from the Dead
- 10 They Only Spend It on Beer
- 11 The Magic Half-Pint
- 12 Swinging Down the Lane
- 13 On the Beach
- Part Three
- 14 Bombshells
- 15 I Always Cry at a Brass Band
- 16 When God's Not Looking
- 17 The Likes of Us
- 18 Get It Out of My Face
- 19 The Broken Thumb
- 20 In Blood and Sand
- 21 Stars
- Part Four
- 22 Victorian Underwear and Science-fiction Shoes
- 23 Roy and Margaret
- 24 The Man Who Came Second in the Bad Luck Competition
- 25 The Boy and the Dog
- 26 By the Light of the Silvery Moon
- 27 How Do You Get Away? Who Do You Have To Ask?
- 28 The Accident
- 29 I Said, 'Shut it!'
- 30 Sexy Rexy
- 31 The Fugitive
- 32 Passing Over
- Part Five
- 33 The Whistler at the Gate
- 34 Gary and David
- 35 Ask Your Mam
- 36 A Little Less Conversation
- 37 The Two Wives of Roy Fox Hollingworth
- 38 You're Never Telling Me You're Going to Do it on the Street?
- 39 The Beautiful, Beautiful Glowing Light
- 40 The Duke of Highgate Lane
- Part Six
- 41 A Pork Pie and a Pint of Milk
- 42 Wrong Decisions About Men
- 43 Long Hair? Take Care!
- 44 The Darkness and the Light
- 45 A Walk Around the Houses
- 46 Too Late Now, Cocker!
- 47 You Can't Just Fling a Hook in a River
- 48 You Were Always on My Mind
- 49 Husbands and Lovers, Fathers and Mothers
- 50 My Arms Won't Go Fast Enough for This Modern Drumming
- 51 All About a Cabbage
- Part Seven
- 52 The Future is a Foreign Country
- 53 An Extra Half-Hour in Bed
- 54 What Are You Doing for Money?
- 55 What I Did in the War, Daddy
- 56 Because You Don't Know My Wife
- 57 Riddling Ashes for Coal
- 58 Coming Round the Mountain
- 59 Loser's Medals
- Part Eight
- 60 Moonlight Promenade
- 61 Catch Me If I Fall
- 62 I Think He's Trying to Tell Me That He Loves Me
- 63 I've Got Somebody Here Who Wants to See You
- 64 The Indestructible
- Part Nine
- 65 Modern History
- 66 Born Wi't Silver Spoon in Thy Gob
- 67 All the Places
- 68 Where is Everybody?
- 69 From the Flames to the Winds
- Epilogue
- Acknowledgements
- A Note on the Author
- By the Same Author
- eCopyright
