Coronet Books
11 total works
'A novel which has something to say and which says it well and truthfully' Evening Standard
In the shadow of Hadrian's Wall, two young men chafe at the constraints of rural life and yearn to break free from the courses set for them: John Foster, driven hard by his tyrannical, ambitious father on their tenant farm, and Arthur Langley, reluctant inheritor of his father's waning estate. Though class has long kept their neighbouring families apart, the pair form an intense friendship - until John makes the mistake of falling for Arthur's mercurial sister.
'The effect of the book is massive. Characterisations are loving, deep and perceptive' Sunday Times
'With this novel, Melvyn Bragg has established his place in English letters to the extent that his Cumbria is as potent a literary region as Hardy's Wessex, Lawrence's Midlands and Housman's Shropshire' New Statesman
At once a love story and a portrayal of innocence brutally curtailed, Josh Lawton charts the rites of passage of a young Cumbrian farm worker and keen fell runner - an exceptionally good man whose very integrity proves his undoing.
'Every scene is clear, every character immediately recognisable . . . brilliant' Daily Telegraph
'The book is exciting . . . a pleasure to be remembered' Financial Times
Growing up in an isolated cottage in the hills of Cumberland, Tom knows the bitter cold of shooting expeditions with his grandfather and long evenings spent with his father and mother. But taken away from the hills to live in the small town of Thornton, Tom experiences a tumult of conflicting emotions which he must master before he can come to terms with his identity.
First published in 1965, FOR WANT OF A NAIL was acclaimed as the debut of a distinctive and talented new writer.
Melvyn Bragg's celebrated trilogy - THE HIRED MAN, A PLACE IN ENGLAND and KINGDOM COME - traces four generations of Tallentire history: from John in the rural Cumbria of 1898 to Douglas in the competitive and backbiting metropolis of the Seventies. From 'hired man' to media man worlds have been bridged, but the old ideals of success, freedom and happiness seem ever elusive as each Tallentire must come to terms with private uncertainty and pain.
'An uncommonly high talent. The people are "real" enough to leave footprints right across the page' Guardian