A Guide to This Sporting Life by David Storey
Georgia Poplett’s introduction to David Storey’s novel and film about a young rugby league star in 1960s Yorkshire, and its place in the Northern Realist and Angry Young Men movements.
A Guide to The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole Aged 13 3/4 by Sue Townsend
Georgia Poplett’s introduction to the plot, characters and historical background of Sue Townsend’s novel about a young working-class intellectual in 1980s Leicester.
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?
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.
An Introduction to Giving Up the Ghost by Hilary Mantel
Her working-class background was overlooked, but the double-Booker winner said it determined how she saw the world.
An Introduction to New Grub Street
How the troubled George Gissing inspired Orwell, and foretold the influence of Amazon, BookTok and poverty porn.
