Actually there's a lot more going on than just local government but that is one of the primary themes.

South Riding (1938) - IMDb South Riding (1938) - IMDb

The book is set in the fictional South Riding of Yorkshire: the inspiration being the East Riding rather than South Yorkshire; Holtby's mother, Alice, was the first alderwoman on the East Riding County Council. [1] The leading characters are Sarah Burton, an idealistic young headmistress; Robert Carne of Maythorpe Hall, tormented by his disastrous marriage; Joe Astell, a socialist fighting poverty; and Mrs Beddows, the first woman alderman of the district. I lean against that gate in the ivied wall under the ash tree, and hear the clump of farm horse hoofs coming from the drinking pond, and see the sunset beyond the horse pasture and the sixty-acre stretch that lies, dark plough-land, up to the flaming sky.” Winifred Holtby, 1934 Vera Brittain wrote about her friendship with Holtby in her book Testament of Friendship (1940) and in 1960 published a censored edition of their correspondence. [16] Their letters, along with many of Holtby's other papers, were donated in 1960 to Hull Central Library in Yorkshire and are now held at the Hull History Centre. Other papers are in Bridlington library in Yorkshire, in McMaster University Library in Canada and in the University of Cape Town library in South Africa. A biography of Holtby by Marion Shaw, The Clear Stream, was published in 1999 and draws on a broad range of sources. Smyth, Ethel (1987). The memoirs of Ethel Smyth. Crichton, Ronald. New York: Viking. ISBN 0670806552. OCLC 17757480. Bostridge, Mark (19 February 2011). "Winifred Holtby's South Riding". The Guardian. London . Retrieved 17 January 2017.

Sarah Waters, a well-respected UK author, who said, ‘I can’t say enough good things about this book.’

South Riding (Virago Modern Classics): Holtby, Winifred South Riding (Virago Modern Classics): Holtby, Winifred

Tiene un claro trasfondo, se ve de lejos que lo que la autora pretende es dejar un mensaje y escribe el libro con cierto propósito. a b Rustin, Susanna (14 January 2017). "Winifred Holtby: author, feminist, campaigner". The Guardian. London . Retrieved 17 January 2017. En muchas ocasiones pasaba de estar leyendo con total indiferencia un diálogo de lo más normal entre dos personajes a subrayar cuatro páginas enteras sobre los pensamientos internos que tenía alguno de ellos en medio de la conversación.Todo empieza con Sarah Barton, una mujer de unos 4o años no muy agraciada pero sí atractiva y con unas ideas muy progresistas, convirtiéndose en la nueva directora de la escuela del pueblo. A partir de este vas conociendo a otros personajes y familias: Lydia, una chica brillante pero de familia muy pobre que asiste a la escuela; Carne, un hombre más conservador con muchos problemas familiares y económicos; Mrs Beddows, personaje inspirado en la madre de la autora, que tiene cierta fascinación por Carne y lo ayudará con su hija Midge; Tom y Lily, un matrimonio que tendrá que sobreponerse a la enfermedad, y un largo etc. All her novels, together with a collection of short stories and a collection of her journalism, were reprinted by Virago in the Virago Modern Classics series in the 1980s. [18] Legacy [ edit ]