South Riding

Sarah Burton is the newly appointed headmistress for the local girls' school in 1930s South Riding, Yorkshire. Sarah Lancashire delivers the narrative in soft, steady tones that draw the listener into the story. Philip Glenister and Carole Boyd read the dialogue with a variety of sharp accents, adding to the charm of rural England. Holtby's 1974 story provides an interesting glimpse into pre-WWII rural life, especially the local politics of the town council. The narrators act out the dramas of everyday life, sing the songs of WWI soldiers and other bygone eras, and reveal the tensions that rest below the surface of a seemingly peaceful time. M.B.K. (c) AudioFile 2013, Portland, Maine