The north’s cultural impact — from The Beatles to Coronation Street to the Haçienda — is firmly established within our national identity. But the north’s politics, and its relationship with the south of England, remains bitterly contested. In the years since the poll, the financial crash, austerity, and the vote to leave the EU have re-opened divides long thought to have disappeared. In the white heat of the debate about “left-behind” towns, the blame for Brexit was pointed squarely at the north. This was, in many ways, an unfair character assassination. You were as likely to have voted Leave if you were from Dagenham, Southampton or Bexley as Sunderland, Bury or Hartlepool. While Northerners charts the story of “great” historic individuals, Groom also dedicates time to dialect and landscape as well as northerners’ relationship to immigration, leisure, and work. In the wake of the Brexit vote, it is impossible not to try and situate those themes within the context of contemporary discussions about identity. Groom concludes by drawing a link between the traditionalism espoused by the northern “royalists” in the 17th century Civil Wars and the decision to vote Leave in the 2016 referendum.

Inevitably, it must be asked: Is there a comparable book about Southerners? No, and I think I know why. They don’t have, or seem to want, a similar sense of place and identity. I don't have a huge amount to say about this book, if I'm being totally honest. I think it was a good starter to learning some of the history of Northern England but it was also frustrating for me to read.That being said, I wish Groom had gone into a little more detail in places. This study could never go into too much depth, but I felt the absence of some chapters. In particular, since my research involves crime, Groom says nothing about the Moors Murders or the Yorkshire Ripper, significant parts of the North's history, whether it likes it or not. This criticism is personal, however. The only other criticism I have is that there was some repeated information towards the end of the book. It would have been better if Groom only wrote new information instead of repeating points made in previous chapters. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book which will appeal to anyone with an interest in the north, whether they were born, live or work there or just visit for holidays. It is a celebration of the diverse groups of people who have made the north their home as well as a recognition of the manifold events that have shaped not only the story of this region, but also that of the UK and beyond. In 1831, more than half of England’s adult male industrial jobs were in Lancashire or West Yorkshire.

Northerners also shows convincingly how the past echoes down the centuries. The devastation of factory and pit closures in the 1980s, for example, recalled the trauma of William the Conqueror’s Harrying of the North. The book charts how the north-south divide has ebbed and flowed and explores the very real divisions between northerners, such as the rivalry between Lancashire and Yorkshire. But behind the success story lay the misery of city slums, short, unhappy lives, a reliance on slave-trade cotton, the fruits of imperial expansion and armed trade – dubbed “war capitalism.” And the spectacular Victorian boom didn’t last. By 1900, Britain had been overtaken by the USA. Another revelation in ‘Northerners’ is the surprising number of Roman Emperors hailing from York. While many are aware of Constantine the Great due to his statue outside the Minster, the prominence of other Roman Emperors from York has gone unnoticed. But they never achieved the political influence commensurate with their size, a situation that largely still holds true today. Northern Metro-Mayors have the trappings of power, but little real clout, as Manchester’s Andy Burnham found during the pandemic.

In those days, England was divided into Britannia Inferior and Britannia Superior. Guess which was the North? Right first time, and nothing much has changed.

This easily-readable history of the north of England is not a coherent narrative. It reads as a collection of independent, semi-linked chapters rather than a free-flowing, interconnected whole. And it is a reminder that the north of England is not an easily defined entity. There is a real difficulty in writing a separate history of the north, because the north is not separate from England. The connections between the north and the south are too deep for this awkward and simplistic division. On the other hand, regional differences are more genuine, something that the book brings to light. I fear that in some sense the book wants to divide, that the author wants to leave us with uncertainty and open wounds rather than conclude with healing or at least aim towards it. On several issues. Northerners fills a gap in the market for a book on the history that has shaped the north of England. It could hardly be more topical, given tensions over Brexit, the “red wall” and forces threatening to drive the country apart. This book lays out the dramatic events that have played out in the north – waves of migration, invasions and battles, its impact on European culture and the global economy, its struggles to assert its identity as modern Britain emerged. It explores what northernness means in the 21 st century and the crucial role the north can play in Britain’s future. The story is told through the people, famous or not, who have built the region.The publisher said: "Groom compellingly lays out the dramatic events that created the north: waves of migration, invasions and battles. In a sweeping narrative that takes us from the earliest times to the present day, the book shows that the people of the north have shaped Britain and the world in unexpected ways. Northerners also shows how the past echoes down the centuries. The devastation of factory and pit closures in the 1980s, for example, recalled the trauma of William the Conqueror’s Harrying of the North. The book charts how the north-south divide has ebbed and flowed, and explores the divisions between northerners. Northern writers, activists, artists and comedians are celebrated the world over, from Wordsworth, the Brontes and Gaskell to LS Lowry, Emmeline Pankhurst and Peter Kay. St Oswald and Bede shaped the spiritual and cultural landscapes of Britain and Europe, and the world was revolutionised by the inventions of Richard Arkwright and the Stephensons. The north has exported some of sport’s biggest names and defined the sound of generations, from the Beatles to Britpop. When I started thinking about this ten years ago,” Brian explains. “I was astonished to discover that there had only ever been one general history of the North published in 1990, so it seemed like a gap and an opportunity. I thought there was room for a much more people-focused narrative, so that was a prime aim in writing this book.” Romans

A copy of your data will be held by Loop Publishing Limited (the publishers of Northern Life Magazine) for up to 10 years. Neither. They are just people. I dislike sweeping generalisations. Both contain wildly varying individuals, good and bad.Tynesiders and other North East folk have played a crucial role in shaping modern Britain, according to a major new book.