1851-53 (collected 1853) / Ebook / 330 pages / UK
***
One of the only books set in rural, fictionalised Cheshire that's not written by Alan Garner, I found the lack of local references disappointing. These episodes from the cloistered matriarchy could have been set anywhere.
1917 / Audiobook / 170 pages / UK
***
A decent weird rural psychological sci-fi horror murder mystery, mainly interesting for being written and set during wartime, rather than weirdly ignoring it like most stay-at-home literature of the period.
1969 / Ebook / 336 pages / UK
***
This oral history with poetic licence was the last chance to see some traditional industries before they were relegated to period dramas. I was expecting something sentimental and rose-tinted, but the old fellers' grim tales of the Great War liberating them from their farm shackles makes Monty Python's "third world" diss seem like an understatement if anything.
1976 / Ebook / 21 pages / Canada
***
This companion book to a Canadian broadcaster's companion special to the TV series is adorably infuated with the material and encourages active viewership, posing thought-provoking questions with extensive background reading for every episode. It's only brief, but so was the series.
2003 / Ebook / 160 pages / UK
***
Song-by-song analysis seems to be regarded as uncouth by hipper music chroniclers, but it's handy for listening along and increasing your appreciation of underappreciated, oft-plagiarised and subtly satirical works.
