Batty Green [Mar]
By Dennis Brickles
Published by
Janus Publishing Company Limited
ISBN 978-1-85756-725-0
Category Historical
March 2010
Synopsis
In 1869, the people of the Upper Ribble Valley enjoy a simple and quiet life, farming within this remote Yorkshire dale - that is until the navvies arrive. Thousands of manual labourers and their families are housed in the makeshift camp of Batty Green while they work to construct the Settle-Carlisle railway, and upon their arrival it is clear that farm life will never be the same again.
The residents of Batty Green drink excessively and brawl frequently and for the local farmer's wife, Emily Wright, this raw energy is startling. She is unnerved by their arrival and the disturbance they bring with them. The frustration of her own difficult marriage reaches a crescendo that draws her closer and closer to the disorganised and liberated lives of some of those that live at Batty Green. However, Emily knows that when the construction work has been completed, Batty Green will be dismantled and the equilibrium of farm life will be restored. Does Batty Green bring the fulfillment she yearned for? Has too much changed to go back to the simple life of farming?
The residents of Batty Green drink excessively and brawl frequently and for the local farmer's wife, Emily Wright, this raw energy is startling. She is unnerved by their arrival and the disturbance they bring with them. The frustration of her own difficult marriage reaches a crescendo that draws her closer and closer to the disorganised and liberated lives of some of those that live at Batty Green. However, Emily knows that when the construction work has been completed, Batty Green will be dismantled and the equilibrium of farm life will be restored. Does Batty Green bring the fulfillment she yearned for? Has too much changed to go back to the simple life of farming?
Author's Biography
Dennis Brickles was born in Bristol in 1947. After graduating from York University, he began a career in teaching. While working in the Yorkshire Dales, he co-wrote a musical play to commemorate the centenary of the building of the Settle-Carlisle Railway..
Reviews
£10.95 Paperback
Reader Comments
Whilst reading the book I found the characters and the place obsessed my thoughts. My mind still goes back to them despite having finished the story!