Celebrating Yorkshire Day - Eighteen Fabulous Books Set in Yorkshire

Books and Reading

1 Aug

The problem with living in such a beautiful (and huge) county as Yorkshire isn’t finding books set there - it’s how to narrow down the list!

I couldn’t let August 1st -Yorkshire Day - go by without showcasing some fantastic books that utilise the varied and stunning landscape of the White Rose County, but there’s absolutely no way I could list them all. Let’s be honest, this blog post would have to be a series that would run every day for the next thousand years! I’ve chosen these books either because I’ve already read and loved them, they’re a classic, or simply because they have Yorkshire in the title! And I’ve tried to represent the different ridings of Yorkshire, too - East, West, and North.

The Brontes are arguably the most well-known of Yorkshire writers, but I decided not to list all their books but to simply choose one. I chose Anne Bronte’s second book because I’ve already written about Emily’s Wuthering Heights recently and I’ve also written a post about Charlotte’s Jane Eyre. I selected The Tenant of Wildfell Hall because although I haven’t yet read either that or Agnes Grey (to my shame) I have watched the television adaptation of Wildfell so I’m more familiar with the story.

Despite not being able to list every single Yorkshire-based book I’ve ever read and loved, I enjoyed creating this post and I hope you find something to enjoy among these brilliant titles.

If Only They Could Talk by James Herriot

Fresh out of Veterinary College, and shoulder-deep in an uncooperative cow, James Herriot’s first job is not panning out exactly as expected . . .

To a Glaswegian like James, 1930s Yorkshire appears to offer an idyllic pocket of rural life in a rapidly changing world. But even life in the sleepy village of Darrowby has its challenges. On the one hand there are his new colleagues, Siegfried and Tristan Farnon, two brothers who attract a constant stream of local girls to whom James is strangely invisible. On the other he must contend with herds of semi-feral cattle, gruff farmers with incomprehensible accents and an overweight Pekingese called Tricki Woo . . .

Heartbreaking and hilarious in equal measure, If Only They Could Talk is a book for all those who find laughter and joy in animals, and who know and understand the magic and beauty of Britain’s wild places.

The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne Bronte

The Tenant of Wildfell Hall is a powerful and sometimes violent novel of expectation, love, oppression, sin, religion and betrayal. It portrays the disintegration of the marriage of Helen Huntingdon, the mysterious 'tenant' of the title, and her dissolute, alcoholic husband. Defying convention, Helen leaves her husband to protect their young son from his father s influence, and earns her own living as an artist. Whilst in hiding at Wildfell Hall, she encounters Gilbert Markham, who falls in love with her.

On its first publication in 1848, Anne Brontë s second novel was criticised for being 'coarse' and 'brutal'. The Tenant of Wildfell Hall challenges the social conventions of the early nineteenth century in a strong defence of women’s rights in the face of psychological abuse from their husbands.

Anne Brontë's style is bold, naturalistic and passionate, and this novel, which her sister Charlotte considered 'an entire mistake', has earned Anne a position in English literature in her own right, not just as the youngest member of the Brontë family.

The List of Suspicious Things by Jennie Godfrey

Yorkshire, 1979

Maggie Thatcher is prime minister, drainpipe jeans are in, and Miv is convinced that her dad wants to move their family Down South.

Because of the murders.

Leaving Yorkshire and her best friend Sharon simply isn't an option, no matter the dangers lurking round their way; or the strangeness at home that started the day Miv's mum stopped talking.
Perhaps if she could solve the case of the disappearing women, they could stay after all?

So, Miv and Sharon decide to make a list: a list of all the suspicious people and things down their street. People they know. People they don't.

But their search for the truth reveals more secrets in their neighbourhood, within their families - and between each other - than they ever thought possible.

What if the real mystery Miv needs to solve is the one that lies much closer to home?

The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett

When orphaned Mary Lennox arrives at her uncle's mysterious Misselthwaite Manor on the Yorkshire moors, she is bitter, lonely, and unloved.

Everything changes when she discovers a hidden key and a locked garden gate—leading her to a secret garden that has been closed for ten years. As Mary brings the neglected garden back to life with the help of Dickon, a nature-loving local boy, and her sickly cousin Colin, she discovers that healing the garden heals her own heart too.

Set against the backdrop of the wild Yorkshire countryside, this timeless tale shows how friendship, fresh air, and the power of nature can transform even the loneliest souls.

The Girl at the Window by Rowan Coleman

Ponden Hall is a centuries-old house on the Yorkshire moors, a magical place full of stories. It's also where Trudy Heaton grew up. And where she eventually ran away from.

Now, after the devastating loss of her husband, she is returning home with her young son, Will, who refuses to believe his father is dead.

While Trudy tries to do her best for her son, she must also attempt to build bridges with her eccentric mother.

And then there is the Hall itself. It may have fallen into disrepair but generations of lives and loves still echo in its shadows, sometimes even reaching out into the present...

The Valentine’s Express on the Brambleberry Steam Railway by Rhoda Baxter

Can one springtime in a sleepy village change the tracks of your entire life?

Poppy put her career on hold when she returned home to care for her mother. Now that her mum is better, Poppy can finally leave her job at the steam railway cafe and reclaim her old life.

Scott is grieving his lost wife and needs to get away from London and all that reminds him of her. When he volunteers at the local steam railway, the last thing he expects is to meet someone like Poppy.

As they prepare the Valentine’s Day dining train to puff through the Yorkshire countryside, an unlikely friendship blossoms. Scott encourages Poppy to dream big again, while Poppy helps Scott find his footing in a world that feels far too fragile.

But the big city is calling Poppy back. Can Scott overcome the ghosts of his past to follow her there, or will their paths diverge just as they’ve finally found each other?

Rosa’s Island by Val Wood

Rosa grew up an orphan in a remote, watery island fastness on the wild East coast of Yorkshire. Taken in as a small child by the motherly Mrs Drew, she realised as she grew up that this large and seemingly close farming family contained many troubled souls. Mr Drew, whose religious fervour held a dark secret; Jim, the eldest son, who was terrified of something from his past; Delia, longing to escape from the island; and tall, handsome, confident Matthew, who wanted only one thing - Rosa herself.

But Rosa's background was one of mystery. Her mother, before she drowned in the dyke near their home, had always promised that one day Rosa's father would return to her - a handsome Spaniard, with jewels and silks in treasure chests, sailing in on a ship with golden sails. Mr Drew knew the secret of Rosa's past - and so did the two mysterious Irishmen, who came back to the island after many years and who threatened everything which Rosa held most dear.

South Riding by Winifred Holtby

In post-war Yorkshire, having hope is the only way to survive in the Depression...

Sarah Burton has worked hard to make something of herself and when she returns to her hometown she is interviewed for the position of headmistress, accepting the job with high hopes for transforming the school. However morale is low and the country is in a depression after the First World War.

School shows are put on and the girls are encouraged but everyone is concerned about how to help the pupils make something of their lives. Class codes are strongly regarded and Sarah, having overcome her own modest beginnings, is disgusted by the power held by highly regarded sporting farmer Robert Carne of Maythorpe Hall.

Yet privately Carne is deeply troubled and Sarah is curious about this man despite her initial reservations. Carne’s daughter Midge undoubtedly receives special treatment and Sarah, in a rage, does something awful. One of Sarah’s favourites, however, is Lydia Holly. She is from a rough and deprived part of Yorkshire with a terribly ill mother but is also incredibly gifted.

In South Riding we see human ills which affect all walks of life as a tightly knit community works towards resolution in this classic novel of Yorkshire life by Winifred Holtby.

The Yorkshire Pudding Club by Milly Johnson

Three South Yorkshire friends, all on the cusp of 40, fall pregnant at the same time following a visit to an ancient fertility symbol. For Helen, it's a dream come true, although her husband is not as thrilled about it as she had hoped. Not only wrestling with painful ghosts of the past, Helen has to deal with the fact that her outwardly perfect marriage is crumbling before her eyes.

For Janey, it is an unmitigated disaster as she has just been offered the career break of a life-time. And she has no idea either how it could possibly have happened, seeing as she and her ecstatic husband George were always so careful over contraception.

For Elizabeth, it is mind-numbing, because she knows people like her shouldn't have children. Damaged by her dysfunctional childhood and emotionally lost, she not only has to contend with carrying a child she doubts she can ever love, but she also has to deal with the return to her life of a man whose love she must deny herself.

Constable on the Hill by Nicholas Rhea

Policeman Nick Rhea has been posted to the country with his wife Mary and their three small children. They move into the police house, high on a ridge overlooking the moors. It sits on the edge of the village of Aidensfield — “probably the most beautiful site in the country”.

In the beautiful North Yorkshire countryside of the 1960s, Constable Nick's roles are as varied as the eccentric villagers.

He handles every encounter with his characteristic humour, humanity and professionalism.

His investigations include the case of a clever pony who keeps escaping, a woman running through town naked, and a pack of Canadian timber wolves hanging out in a bus shelter.

It’s not the big city but the Yorkshire countryside is still full of incident.

He soon gets to know all the characters on his beat, from his superior officer Sergeant Blaketon to Claude Jeremiah Greengrass, whose lurcher Alfred lands him with a summons for “allowing a dog to worry livestock on agricultural land.” The ever-resourceful Claude Jeremiah offers the defence that Alfred's victim, a budgie, cannot be described as livestock!

For fans of TV’s Heartbeat and many more!

New Beginnings at Seaside Blooms by Jessica Redland

Sometimes love can bloom where you least expect it…

For Sarah Peterson, it’s time for change. Coming out of a dead end relationship and having had enough of city life, she just needs to escape and have a fresh start – a new job, a new home and a new lifestyle.

So when her Auntie Kay unexpectedly offers her the opportunity to take over her flower shop, Seaside Blooms, the timing could not be more perfect. She could escape to the beautiful seaside town of Whitsborough Bay, start a new chapter in her life – and learn how to run a business!

But, as she packs up her life in London, she isn't prepared for the discovery of a clairvoyant reading that's been missing for twelve years. All of the predictions have come true, except one: she's about to meet the man of her dreams. Oh, and his name is Steven…

As she prepares for the biggest move of her life, Sarah can’t help but wonder if Seaside Blooms could be a new beginning for love too?

A Yorkshire Affair by Julie Houston

Jess Allen has always played it safe.

She married her high school sweetheart, stayed in her hometown and lives right next door to her mum Lisa and younger sister Sorrel. But with a new job on the horizon and her family no longer living a stone’s throw away, she’s going to have to get used to her comfortable life shifting into something new.

Jess finds the idea of being a part of the White House – the village’s new and stylish restaurant – incredibly daunting, but she knows she is more than capable. And with her role at the care home uncertain, this would give her the chance to finally pursue her passion for cooking.

But as her professional life soars, her romantic life is thrown into turmoil. Having welcomed back into her life her no-good ex, she's quickly questioning her decision – especially as new faces in Beddingfield begin to catch her eye.

As the familiar rhythms of life shift and long-held routines are upended, she starts to see that sometimes change is no bad thing at all. And someone who encourages her to take a risk – even if it's the last person she ever expected – might be just the thing she needed.

Home on a Yorkshire Farm by Jane Lovering

Needing an escape, Dora swapped city living for life as a shepherdess on her grandad’s Yorkshire farm. More than a decade later Dora is still there, now farming the fifty acres and caring for the one hundred rare sheep by herself. She never hears the call of the city, but instead relishes the peace and simplicity of life on the Moors.

When Dora’s glamorous but quarrelsome sister Cass, her teenage nephew Thor and his handsome tutor Nat, turn up for an unexpected and unreasonably long stay, life on the farm is thrown into chaos. Cass brings with her unwelcome memories from the past, and of someone who once stole Dora's heart.

Dora takes refuge in the comforting routine of the farm, the sheep never allowing her too much time to dwell. But, as the seasons change, the snow starts to melt, and as lambs begin to fill the fields, Dora can’t keep hiding in the hills. Because even though she’s trying, Dora can’t run away from a love that never really let her go…

A New Home in the Dales by Betty Firth

To follow her dream, she's gone from city to village but can she ever fit in?

October 1940. Bobby Bancroft is working as a typist for a city newspaper, but she longs to be breaking the news herself. She is thrilled to secure a junior reporter role at The Tyke, a magazine serving the Yorkshire Dales.

However, when Bobby moves to Silverdale, she discovers rural life is a different world. The close-knit villagers and cantankerous local animals prove difficult to win over, while mischievous vet Charlie seems determined to lead her astray.

As Bobby struggles to find her place amongst the dalesfolk, she wonders if she's made a huge mistake. Will the city girl ever make a home of the beautiful but hostile countryside of the Dales?

An uplifting, lively World War Two rural saga that fans of Annie Murray, Rosie Hendry, Gervase Phinn and James Herriot will love.

Date with Death by Julia Chapman

Samson O’Brien has been dismissed from the police force, and returns to his hometown of Bruncliffe in the Yorkshire Dales to set up the Dales Detective Agency. However, the villagers aren’t that welcoming to a man they see as trouble.

Delilah Metcalfe is struggling to keep her business, the Dales Dating Agency, afloat as well as trying to control her wayward dog, Tolpuddle, when Samson’s first case – a supposed suicide – takes an unexpected turn, and a trail of deaths lead back to the door of Delilah’s agency.

With suspicion hanging over someone they both care for, the two feuding neighbours soon realize that they need to work together to solve the mystery of the dating deaths. But working together is easier said than done . . .

The Letter by Eliza J Scott

Kitty Bennett adores her home village of Lytell Stangdale, where thatched cottages nestle beneath the wild beauty of stunning heather moorland. Her family’s lime-washed cottage at Oak Tree Farm used to be filled with love and laughter. But these days, even her beloved black Labradors seem to notice something is wrong. Somewhere along the way, Kitty lost sight of what she truly wants from life, and now she hardly recognises herself.

When a trip to the village shops leads to a surprise encounter with her childhood sweetheart, Ollie Cartwright, old feelings resurface like wildflowers after rain. With his gentle smile and aquamarine eyes, he slowly reminds Kitty of the free-spirited girl she used to be before her life became complicated.

Over nights spent laughing with friends by the roaring fire of the Sunne Inn, Kitty gradually begins to rediscover her strength and remember what truly matters. But when buried secrets from the past turn her world upside down just as romance seems about to blossom, will she find the courage to reclaim her life and protect those she loves most?

Wonderful by Louise Beech

A Hollywood idol. The Virgin Mary. An everyday girl from Hull.

Three women, three eras, surprising things in common...

On 4th August 1962, the night she should have died, Marilyn Monroe – the biggest star in the world – receives a visitor who changes the course of her destiny. The Virgin Mary appears in her kitchen with a curious message. Inspired, Marilyn abandons her home, her life, her fame, and disappears into the night…

Fifty-four years later, in a Hull kitchen, Flora Baker finds Mary, bathed in light. She has a similar message for the working class woman who is on the poverty line and dreaming of a better life. Flora begins to make changes that impact not only her life but the lives of those around her…

Do Marilyn and Flora have more in common than just Mary’s visit? Are they somehow linked across time? And is Mary’s message for all the women of the world?

Wonderful is about the way women are portrayed in both history and the world of celebrity, about women not being quiet, and about women united by the shared stories that shape them.

The Other Side of the Dale by Gervase Phinn

As the newly appointed County Inspector of Schools in North Yorkshire, Gervase Phinn reveals in this warm and wonderfully humorous account, the experiences of his first year in the job - and what an education it was!

He quickly learns that he must slow his pace and appreciate the beautiful countryside - 'Are tha'comin' in then, mester, or are tha' stoppin' out theer all day admirin' t'view?'

He encounters some larger-than-life characters, from farmers and lords of the manor to teaching nuns and eccentric caretakers.

And, best of all, he discovers the delightful and enchanting qualities of the Dales children, including the small boy, who, when told he's not very talkative, answers: 'If I've got owt to say I says it, and if I've got owt to ask I asks it.'

With his keen ear for the absurd and sharp eye for the ludicrous, Gervase Phinn's stories in The Other Side of the Dale will not fail to make you weep with laughter.

My Own Yorkshire Books

As a proud Yorkshire lass I set most of my own books in God’s Own Country.

If you want to visit the stunning North Yorkshire coast check out my Kearton Bay series (inspired by Robin Hood’s Bay).

Further down the coast in Holderness, East Yorkshire, you’ll find the remote village of Kelsea Sands.

Love the Yorkshire Dales? Try the majestic hills of Skimmerdale or the gorgeous market town of Tuppenny Bridge.

In the East Riding countryside you can go Home For Christmas.

Want to head to the North York Moors? Visit the Moorland Heroes, or drop in on the pretty little moorland village of Bramblewick.

And for a really magical adventure, you need to meet The Witches of Castle Clair in the beautiful market town of Castle Clair - a fictionalised version of Knaresborough!

You can find all my books here.

Happy reading, and happy Yorkshire Day!

Sharon Booth

Sharon Booth is a hybrid author who writes both small town and cosy fantasy romantic fiction. She’s a member of the RNA and SoA, and has self-published nearly thirty novels, as well as writing the Tuppenny Bridge series for Storm Publishing and two new series for Boldwood Books.

https://www.sharonboothwriter.com