Selina Nwulu’s Other Green World
The acclaimed poet’s first essay collection asks why environmental movements exclude people, and what a saved planet might look like for a Black collective.
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Spotlight
The Working Class Library Episode 4: Lark Rise to Candleford by Flora Thompson
Richard and Claire are joined by novelist Sarah Hall to consider Flora Thompson’s memoir Lark Rise to Candleford.
The Gift
The bus was empty but for one passenger who sat halfway down the seats on the lower deck. The woman was the man’s wife and the boy’s mother and she was leaving.
I’m a Leaseholder Get Me Out of Here!
Buying a council house is supposed to give working-class people the rights and privileges of middle-class homeowners. But it doesn’t.
An Introduction to Lark Rise to Candleford by Flora Thompson
Lark Rise to Candleford is a classic of English working-class literature, but is commonly thought of as a cosy, nostalgic memoir. Why?
The Working Class Library Episode 3: Trainspotting by Irvine Welsh
Craig McLean joins us to consider the place of Irvine Welsh’s novel in our library.
An Introduction to Trainspotting by Irvine Welsh
Whatever you think about Trainspotting, 30 years after publications, it’s a book that deserves to be taken seriously.
The Working Class Library Episode 2: Giving Up the Ghost by Hilary Mantel
Louise Doughty joins us to consider the place of Hilary Mantel’s memoir in our library.
Latest Posts
Are working class people saints?
Britain needs to stop its “sanctification” of working-class people, says one conservative commentator. We weren’t aware it had ever started.
Selina Nwulu’s Other Green World
The acclaimed poet’s first essay collection asks why environmental movements exclude people, and what a saved planet might look like for a Black collective.
The Working Class Library Episode 4: Lark Rise to Candleford by Flora Thompson
Richard and Claire are joined by novelist Sarah Hall to consider Flora Thompson’s memoir Lark Rise to Candleford.
An Introduction to Lark Rise to Candleford by Flora Thompson
Lark Rise to Candleford is a classic of English working-class literature, but is commonly thought of as a cosy, nostalgic memoir. Why?
Extract: The Parallel Path: Love, Grit and Walking the North by Jenn Ashworth
“I began to know I needed a different way to stretch my legs and ease my mind. A couple of Google searches later and I found it. Alfred Wainwright’s Coast to Coast Walk; not a loop and not an amble through a city but a determined beeline slicing its way through the entire North of England.”
Jenn Ashworth Steps out of Character
The acclaimed Lancashire writer’s new memoir took her, quite literally, in new and unexpected directions. She talks to Claire Malcolm about walking, illness, family and the “doubleness” of working-class experience.
Mark Gatiss, the boy that Dr Who books made
The League of Gentlemen star and creator of Bookish on his work, snobbery in the arts, and advice for working-class writers.
Akan: A New Space for Diverse Writers
Led by June Sarpong, a new imprint is making publishing more inclusive.
Jenny Knight’s in Ascendence
The award-winning working-class writer’s debut novel treats female desire and relationships with incredible honesty and originality. We caught up with her to talk sex, ambition – and the solace of gardening.
Extract: Wild Moon Rising by Jenny Knight
He was the son of a surgeon; as far from her council-house league as her touching the top of the netball ring. Yet it became evident, fast, the magnet pulled both ways.
The Gift
The bus was empty but for one passenger who sat halfway down the seats on the lower deck. The woman was the man’s wife and the boy’s mother and she was leaving.
Beat the Sick
The Government’s Welfare Bill isn’t about disability. It’s about turning the sick into scapegoats for the UK’s financial failures.
