A Waterstones Best History Book of 2022
The bestselling history of the North of England as told through the
lives of its inhabitants.
'Entertaining' The Times
'Definitive' The Mirror
'Highly readable' Financial Times
A work of unrivalled scale and ambition, Northerners is the defining
biography of northern England.
This authoritative new history of place and people lays out the dramatic
events that created the north - waves of migration, invasions and
battles, and transformative changes wrought on European culture and the
global economy. In a sweeping narrative that takes us from the earliest
times to the present day, the book shows that the people of the north
have shaped Britain and the world in unexpected ways.
At least six Roman emperors ruled from York. The Anglo-Saxon kingdom of
Northumbria was Europe's leading cultural and intellectual centre.
Cartimandua, Queen of the Brigantes, deserves to be as famous as
Boudica. Neanderthals and Vikings, Central European Jews,
African-Caribbeans and South Asians, have all played their part in the
making and remaking of the north. Northern writers, activists, artists
and comedians are celebrated the world over, from Wordsworth, the
Brontes and Gaskell to LS Lowry, Emmeline Pankhurst and Peter Kay. St
Oswald and Bede shaped the spiritual and cultural landscapes of Britain
and Europe, and the world was revolutionised by the inventions of
Richard Arkwright and the Stephensons. The north has exported some of
sport's biggest names and defined the sound of generations, from the
Beatles to Britpop.
Northerners also shows convincingly how the past echoes down the
centuries. The devastation of factory and pit closures in the 1980s, for
example, recalled the trauma of William the Conqueror's Harrying of the
North. The book charts how the north-south divide has ebbed and flowed
and explores the very real divisions between northerners, such as the
rivalry between Lancashire and Yorkshire.
Finally, Brian Groom explores what northernness means today and the
crucial role the north can play in Britain's future. As new forces
threaten the fabric of the UK again, this landmark book could scarcely
be more timely.
