Page 57 - Phonebox Magazine July 2011

Book Review
By Oxfam Bookshop, Olney South Riding by Winifred Holtby
Review by Sandra Metcalf
If, like me, a holiday at home means
catching up on some of the things
which matter to you, but which get
pushed to the bottom of the list by
the demands of the everyday
working routine, then Oxfam Books
and Music can probably help too.
you may want to do jobs around the
house or in the garden and there are always books to help or you may want to sort out the cupboards or the loft or the shed – or even your life?
Or you may just want to give your mind a holiday – by reading more challenging things than those you would choose for the train journey to work – by listening to music which needs your whole attention (not just the part that’s not cooking the evening meal), or watching a film without the kids and with the time to think about it afterwards. you may want to make a start on that hobby you have been promising yourself all year (remember those resolutions in January??), research your family tree, write a novel, paint a picture, learn a musical instrument, write your biography or simply re-live your youth by re-visiting the music or films or books you loved a few decades ago. Get started with a book or dVd or a record from Oxfam – its cheaper and you can do a little good in the world at the same time.
TuCked AWAy In Stanley Court, just below the co-op car park in Olney, Oxfam Books and Music sells donated dVds, music on Cd, vinyl and sheet music and books on almost every topic you can think of. It aims to raise money to support Oxfam’s life-changing work around the world but it can also make your life better.
How? Well lets start with holidays. do you need novels and biographies for the plane and for those long days by the pool or on the beach? Travel guides to help you make the most of that long- anticipated trip to foreign parts? Walking guides and maps for those of you who like to spend a summer break nearer home? (We do, after all, have some of the finest scenery anywhere in the world on these islands.) Guide books to english
a love affair in Poland, Ruth Patel’s search for tiger shamans in Sumatra and contributions from William dalrymple, Jan Morris, dervla Murphy and Chris Stewart. OxTravels is available from all Oxfam Shops and from Oxfam on-line.
towns and historic sites? Try Oxfam.
If the present financial climate means your going to do your relaxing at home in the garden then a book about someone else’s travels will still allow you to go almost anywhere you want and have an expert and articulate guide for company. Travel writing has been enjoying something of a renaissance and the range of places and people you can meet through the pages of these books has never been better. not sure where to start? There are several anthologies to allow you to dip your toe into different styles and approaches, including the one recently published by Oxfam and Profile Books: OxTravels. Thirty-six of the world’s most lively, critical and thought provoking travel writers each recall one unforgettable meeting which has enriched their travels and their lives. Included are a portrait of an Afghan wrestler from Rory Stewart, Sarah Wheeler’s recollection of
Review by Thelma Shacklady
FirsT puBlished in 1935, a year after the death of its author, ‘south riding’ was re-published in 2011 to accompany the television series based on it. subtitled ‘an english landscape’ it is a real tour-de-force inventing an area of Yorkshire to match the east riding, with innumerable characters. Winifred holtby’s mother was a county alderman, and much of the author’s knowledge of the workings of a county council were gleaned from her mother’s experiences, though, as she takes pains to point out in a prefatory letter to her mother, the characters are her own.
They range from robert Carne, an ultra-traditional farmer who rashly eloped with lord sedgmire’s daughter, and subsequently mortgaged himself to the hilt to keep her in a private mental home, to the holly family, living in a railway carriage where Mrs holly struggles to bring up her large family, while her feckless husband wastes the little money he manages to earn. lydia, the eldest daughter, was bright enough to win a scholarship to the local girls’ high school, but was at first unable to take it up because she was needed at home.
Much of the novel is concerned with the activities of the county council and its members, including Alderman Mrs Beddows who does her best to keep the peace in the council chamber, Councillor huggins, a local preacher with a weakness for pretty girls, Councillor Joe Astell, an idealist, striving to do what he considers best for his constituents, and Alderman snaith who also wants to do his best for his constituents, but has no compunction about lining his own pockets in the process.
into this close-knit community comes sarah Burton, the newly-appointed head mistress of the girls’ high school. A strong-minded woman, she is determined to give the girls in her care the best possible
education and to enable them to break out of the male-dominated society which sees them merely as future wives and mothers.
The many threads which make up the story are well interwoven, the characters well-rounded and vividly depicted, while the Yorkshire countryside provides an appropriate backdrop to the many dramas experienced by those living in south riding.
i read this novel many years ago, but re-read it with as much pleasure as i experienced first time round. The televised version failed to do it justice, limited, as it was, to three hours in which to tell a complex story. some of the characters were omitted completely and others failed to be developed properly in the short time available. in order to do it justice, this is a book which must be read!
Holiday Reading from OXFAM Books and Music
SCRAPBOOK FIND
About six weeks ago a volunteer at the Oxfam Book Shop in Olney was very excited to discover a scrapbook of autographs in a bag of donated books. It appears to date from the 1960s with signatures ranging from Geno Washington and Jet Harris to Rolf Harris and Coco the Clown. On its own it is an exciting find and will hopefully go to auction, but we would also love to find out a little more about the item. The only clues we have are that it may have belonged to someone called Janet who attended concerts at Woburn Abbey. If anyone knows anything about this interesting collectors item then please pop in and tell us!
Phonebox Magazine 57
reviews brought to you by oxfam Books & Music stanley Court, olney
Tel: 01234 714592
opening hours
Mon – sat: 10am – 4.30pm sun: 11am – 2pm
The books reviewed above are from Oxfam Books and Music, Olney, which sells donated books, records, CDs, tapes and music to raise money for Oxfam’s work in combating poverty around the world.