The Likes of Us
When he was in prison, Becka White’s dad wrote an unpublished novel. Reading it made her think about what they had in common, and why working-class people don’t believe they can be “real” writers.
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Spotlight
The Politics of Gardening
In the face of social exclusion, taking pride and ownership of where you live, in raising a garden, is an act of resistance.
David Olusoga on Home and Belonging
How the working-class historian learned to reject his rejection
“Wuthering Heights” Review: Problems Aren’t Only About Race and Class
The issues with Emerald Fennell’s Wuthering Heights run deeper than its awful casting.
A Guide to Angela’s Ashes by Frank McCourt
Siobhan McShane’s introduction to the plot, characters and historical background of Frank McCourt’s working-class memoir of growing up in poverty in Ireland in the 1930s and 1940s.
The Working Class Library Episode 5: The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole Aged 13 ¾ by Sue Townsend
Richard and Claire are joined by novelist David Nicholls to consider Sue Townsend’s 1982 novel The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole Aged 13 ¾.
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.
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.
Latest Posts
The Working Class Library Episode 6: Angela’s Ashes by Frank McCourt
Kevin Barry joins Claire Malcolm, chief executive of New Writing North, and Richard Benson, editor of The Bee, to discuss Frank McCourt’s 1996 memoir Angela’s Ashes.
A Guide to Angela’s Ashes by Frank McCourt
Siobhan McShane’s introduction to the plot, characters and historical background of Frank McCourt’s working-class memoir of growing up in poverty in Ireland in the 1930s and 1940s.
The Silence Between Fields
In the Northern Irish countryside, the land held identity tightly. Too tightly for some.
Everything but the Kitchen Sink
Working-class TV shows are being destroyed by finance, middle-class bias and “beigevision”, finds Claire Malcolm.
The Working Class Library Episode 5: The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole Aged 13 ¾ by Sue Townsend
Richard and Claire are joined by novelist David Nicholls to consider Sue Townsend’s 1982 novel The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole Aged 13 ¾.
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.
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.
