This is a difficult novel for the American reading public - so very
English is it in its political and social and economic problems.
Interwoven through a really gripping story is the thread of local
politics, the meetings and conflicts and achievements and defeats
of the local council. This - to the American reader slows up the
action by introducing so unfamiliar a note that it seems to have
small place in a novel that is overlong already. The main theme is
concerned with a Squire whose adored wife, daughter of a nobleman,
was hopelessly insane, whose small daughter was unbalanced and
highly keyed, who - himself - was caught in the downfall of the
landed gentry, and the rush of modernity, Into his life comes the
redheaded school mistress - and plays havoc. The chief interest of
the book, however, lies in the panoramic view of the community,
with individuals coming out in sharp relief, dramatic and humorous
and tragic. The book has undeniable power - something of the Cronin
- Bentley market possibilities, perhaps. I doubt whether it reaches
a wide market over here. (Kirkus Reviews)
When Sarah Burton returns to her hometown as headmistress she is
full of ambition, determined to create a great school and to
inspire her girls to take all they can from life. But in the
aftermath of the First World War, the country is in depression and
ideals are hard won. Lydia Holly, the scholarship girl from the
shacks, is the most brilliant student Sarah has ever taught, but
when her mother's health fails, her education must be sacrificed -
there is nobody else to care for the children. Robert Carne of
Maythorpe Hall stands for everything Sarah despises: his family has
farmed the South Riding for generations, their position
uncontested. Yet Sarah cannot help being drawn to this proud,
haunted - and almost ruined - man. South Riding is a rich,
panoramic novel, bringing vividly to life a rural community on the
brink of change.
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