South Riding

This is Winifred Holtby's greatest novel - A rich evocation which explores the lives and relationships of the characters of South Riding. Sarah Burton, the fiery young headmistress of the local girls' school; Mrs Beddows, the district's first alderwomen - based on Holtby's own mother; and Robert Carne, the conservative gentleman-farmer locked in a disastrous marriage - with whom the radical Sarah Burton falls in love. Showing how public decisions can mould the individual and strongly echoing Middlemarch, South Riding offers a panoramic and unforgettable view of Yorkshire life.