Why a Booktrail?
Destination: South Riding Departure Time – 1930s
War comes to Yorkshire and the social order is changing.
South Riding
What you need to know before your trail
When war comes it devastates and changes more than lives. South Riding lives under its huge shadow and the women not only have to readjust following the loss of their men but for those who have returned they have to make way for changes in society’s ways. When Sarah Burton returns to Yorkshire and wants to become headmistress of her local school , not everyone is happy about it. There are men, a man by the name of Robert Carne who is not at all accepting that such a woman and such a change should affect the community of South Riding.
Travel Guide
South Riding is much more than a town and community – it’s a study of its people and the society of Yorkshire during the 1930s. It’s also the study of provincial England in many ways too – a community of people from across the social spectrum who mix together each and every day and who should try to get along. it is fictional but is based on East Riding of Yorkshire.
Sarah Burton is originally from Yorkshire so finds it both strange and a little tricky to return to her roots when her roots have been pulled up and altered so much. She wants to give something back by being the headmistress of a girls’ high school. She wants to help children who are taken from school in order to care for ailing parents – a common problem during war time.
This is a story of community and change – Emma Beddows is the first woman alderman in the district who becomes friends with Sarah – both with very different backgrounds but a firm bond.
Robert Carne is the symbol of the old days when things were more tradition and the contrast between him and the women in particular shows a community undergoing great change.
Where Next?
