Yorkshire: A Lyrical History of England’s Greatest County
Yorkshire arguably is not one county. It has three distinct areas, once known as Ridings (Riding derives from thirding) although, due to government fiddling, the word Riding has been lost, and where there was the East, the West and the North Ridings, today there are three counties – North, South and West Yorkshire. Even when dividing into these three parts, North Yorkshire is still the largest county in England. Yorkshire people are proud of their unique heritage, are renowned for their straight-talking, are considered careful with their money and traditionally despise Lancastrians! Each is proud of its red rose (Lancaster) and white (Yorkshire), which have nothing to do with the War of the Roses – a vicious squabble between aristocratic cousins. So, how on earth can anyone write a book that is partly a personal memoir, an account of the millennia of geology and climate which has shaped this county with its varied geography, dialects, industry and recreation? Although this is a perfect book to give to a Yorkshire-born friend, it is not for anyone who has never visited the county or lived there. They will be mightily confused with the convoluted structure of the book as it weaves in and out of such things as the various ice-ages, descriptions of holiday photographs snapped on the beaches of Scarborough, coal-mining or the riches garnered by the production of wool.
The book’s sub-title describes itself as a ‘lyrical’ history. It is in places, but that adjective hardly describes the whole book which can occasionally be stodgy. However, this is an entertaining ramble through Yorkshireness, but I doubt that if you begin the book in total bewildered bafflement, you will be any the wiser when you close it, although you will definitely find plenty to enlighten and amuse along the way
