I decided to forgo most reading challenges this year in order to read widely about Northumberland. I'm planning on hiking along Hadrian's Wall later this year and wanted to have the time to read about Roman Britain and life along the English/Scottish border over the past two millennia, fiction and non-fiction, geography, history, politics, romance, mystery, and natural history.
As a starting point, I asked Margaret from BooksPlease if she could recommend some books, as she lives in the area and has posted about her travels as well as books from the area.
She provided me with a wonderful list that she was able to get from a friend, and I thought I would share it here. There's many more titles than I can get to, so I would love to hear from anyone who can recommend some of these or would steer me away from others.
Non-Fiction
Rory Stewart: The Marches - A Borderland Journey Between England and Scotland
George MacDonald Fraser - The Steel Bonnets: The Story of the Anglo-Scottish Border Reivers
Hunter Davies, A Walk Along the Wall
Fiction
Rosemary Sutcliff - Eagle of the Ninth, and others in her Roman Britain series.
Ruth Downie - Medicus, and others in her Roman doctor in first century AD Britain
Rosemary Goring - After Flodden; Dacre's War
Bernard Cornwell ("Saxon" series, 9th century Northumbria) The Last Kingdom; The Pale Horseman; The Lords of the North; Sword Song
A.J. Cronin - The Stars Look Down; The Northern Light
Carola Dunn, Murder on the Flying Scotsman (Daisy Dalrymple mysteries)
Ruth Downie - Medicus, and others in her Roman doctor in first century AD Britain
Rosemary Goring - After Flodden; Dacre's War
Bernard Cornwell ("Saxon" series, 9th century Northumbria) The Last Kingdom; The Pale Horseman; The Lords of the North; Sword Song
A.J. Cronin - The Stars Look Down; The Northern Light
Carola Dunn, Murder on the Flying Scotsman (Daisy Dalrymple mysteries)
Anne Cleeves, Inspector Ramsay books (A Lesson in Dying; Murder in My Backyard; A Day in the Death of Dorothea
Cassidy; Killjoy; The Healers; The Babysnatchers)
Charles Barnitz, The Deepest Sea (historical, Vikings)
Jonathan Aycliffe, Whispers in the Dark (ghosts, 1900s)
Lorna Hill, Northern Lights; Castle in Northumbria
(actually, all of the Marjorie books) and almost all her pony and ballet books
Henry Treece, Legions of the Eagle
Richard Denning, The Amber Treasure (6th century Northumbria)
Dorothy Dunnet, Lymond chronicles - Philippa's family live in
Northumberland, so various parts of the six take place there
Robert Westall, The Wind-Eye (St Cuthbert, present day, children's);
Kingdom by the Sea
Malcolm Archibald, Pryde's Rock (1st in Matthew Pryde series)
Ann Coburn, Glint (children's) - based on border legends
Rosalind Kerven, Grim Gruseome books were inspired by Northumbrian
legends
Theresa Tomlinson, Wolf Girl (Whitby Abbey in 633 AD)
Mary Rhees Mercker, Northumberland Dreaming: A Past Life Remembered (not
really a novel)
Nigel Tranter, Cheviot Chase; Lords of Misrule (Otterburn)
Kathleen Herbert, "Northumbria" Trilogy: Bride of the Spear;
Queen of the Lightning; Ghost in the Sunlight
Anne Colledge, Falling into Fear (timeslip, children's, Durham
Cathedral)
Amanda Baker, Eleanor and the Dragons of Death (set in Morpeth,
children's)
Tom Sharpe, Throwback
Gordon Taylor, Cometh the Man (1820s)
Janet MacLeod Trotter, Chasing the Dream (mining and football); The
Jarrow Lass
Roz Southey, Broken Harmony; Secret Lament; Sword and Song; Chords and
Discords
Audrey Howard, A Place Called Hope (romance)
Denis O'Connor, Pawtracks in the Moonlight
Colin Wilson, The Killer (County Durham)
Nevil Shute, Ruined City (aka Kindling): shipbuilding
Donna Fletcher Crowe, A Very Private Grave
Margaret McAllister, High Crag
Linn
Sue Hepworth, But I Told You Last Year I Loved You
Penelope Gilliatt, Mortal Matters (shipbuilding
/ suffragettes; Braw Fell = Cragside)
Diana Norman, Makepeace Hedley books
Benita Brown
David Almond, Skellig; Kit’s Wilderness; The Fire Eaters
Jane Harvey, The Castle of Tynemouth (1806)
Hazel Osmond, Who’s Afraid of Mr Wolfe?
Nancy Bond, Country of Broken Stone (children’s, archaeology, legends)
Wendy Perriam, Born of Woman
Sir Walter Scott
Stephen Baxter, Conqueror
Trevor Hopkins, Bridge at War (YA, fantasy); World of Lyndesfarne series
Melvyn Bragg, Credo
Robert Swindells, Brother in the Land (YA, fantasy)
Nancy Farmer, The Sea of Trolls (children's, fantasy)
Gordon Honeycombe, Dragon Under the Hill (ghosts/legends)
