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Melvyn Bragg describes the geology of the Lake District from when it was desert and swamp, and tells of the people who have lived there for 4000 years. The legends, myths and folklore of the farmers and fishermen are included, and the types of people that populated the area, from the Norsemen and Romans to the Normans. Bragg also follows in the footsteps of writers and poets, such as Wordsworth, Coleridge, Sir Walter Scott and Beatrix Potter. The author's previous books include "The Maid of Buttermere" and an authorized biography of Richard Burton - "Rich". He is presently head of arts at LWT and editor of the South Bank Show. ... Read more

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One August bank holiday, Ted Johnson wakes to a day of reckoning -- with his past in Cumberland, his present in London and his fantasies. An inflamed nerve troubles his eye as he veers between elation and despair, overwhelmed by the noise and bustle of the streets, unable to connect even with a visiting girlfriend. Written in 1971, Melvyn Bragg's sixth novel draws a remarkable portrait of a man's courageous fight to keep his mental balance and regain a sense of identity amid the stress and intoxication of modern city life. ... Read more

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The story of Joe from the end of "A Son Of War", aged 16 (1955), through to the end of his first year at Oxford (1959), crossing the lines between childhood and adulthood as well as crossing from working class small town Wigton to cosmpolitan, rarified Oxford and all that promises for the future. The main thread is his relationship with Rachel, the 15-yr-old schoolgirl he starts going out with in secret for fear of her father's fury and ends up engaged to while at Oxford until she breaks it off, knowing that they are on different paths in life and she belongs in the old, Wigton one. The dramas are the stuff of ordinary, family life, but Joe's rites of passage through adolescence will resonate with many, as will the example he sets of the new, post-war generation - the first 'teenagers', rock and roll and Teddy Boys. ... Read more

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Melvyn Bragg's first novel is a story of growing up in Cumberland. He has also written "Josh Lawton", "The Second Inheritance" and "The Maid of Buttermere ". ... Read more

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This is a regional book about the Border country concerning the meeting of two families. The author has written twelve novels including "The Maid of Buttermere" and "Josh Lawton" as well as several works of non-fiction, the most recent being the biography of Richard Burton, "Rich". ... Read more

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Set in Cumbria and covering the period from 1898 to the early twenties, this is the powerful saga of John Tallentire, first farm labourer, then coal miner, and his wife Emily.John's struggle to break free from the humiliating status of a 'hired man' is the theme of a novel which has been hailed as a classic of its kind - as meticulously detailed as a social document, as evocative as the writings of Hardy and Lawrence. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Subtle and powerful at the same time
The Hired Hand by Melvyn Bragg is the story of John Tallentire, his wife, Emily, and their families. The novel is set in Cumbria in the north-west of England, starting in the 1890s and following the characters' fortunes until the 1920s.

John Tallentire is the hired man. He is a farm labourer who does as he is asked but is rewarded with mere subsistence. He accepts his lot. But then, in an attempt to improve his life, he becomes a coal miner in pits where the workings stretch out under the sea. The First World War comes, and goes, but not without wreaking its own dose of havoc on the family. John lives through attempts at trade union formation. And there is an accident in the coal mine that traps several miners.

And so John's life unfolds, working its way towards a goal one feels that he never chose. He is a hired man, a seller of labour in a market that, by definition, undervalues what he does. It is his lot to respond to the demands and commands of others. His own preferences, his own motivation must always be kept firmly of secondary importance because, as a hired man, he has no resources to apply to his own ends until he has satisfied the demands of others. And, inevitably, those demands are as great as his willingness to fulfil them. Consequently, the rewards of his labours are never enough to raise his life above satisfying the needs of today.

Emily, his wife, lives a dutiful life alongside him. They marry with their lives ahead of them and Emily makes do, happily, with her lot. The children come - and go, since not all of them survive. Neither do the surviving children seem to have much of a chance of their own to break out of the dependency that is their life. The subtlety of The Hired Man, however, is that this continued dependency is cast in a society that is subject to constant change. It is not tradition, or shackles of rigid social systems that perpetuate poverty. It is the social relationships between different groups that endure, even when social, political and economic structures change.

And it is a life that finally exhausts Emily, leaves her but a ghost of her former self. It has been said that working class life in England was nasty, brutish and short. In the Tallentire's household, there is much dignity, only occasional nastiness and little of the brute. But brevity is always a threat.

Attempts to form unions, attempts thus at creating some stability and security, are described with great effect. It would perhaps seem self-evident that poor people with little security would embrace those who promised improvement. But Melvyn Bragg's portrayal of the process is subtle, and identifies how the workers' very insecurity can be manipulated to convince them to act against their own interests.

There was one aspect of the book that was less than successful. This was the author's attempt to write dialogue in local dialect. Spellings are changed to suggest different intonation and words are invented to capture local usage. Too often, however, this got in the way of meaning, thus detracting from the bigger picture. How to deal with accented English always presents a writer with a dilemma. Conveying local flavour is the goal, but this cannot be achieved if the readability of the text is affected. It is, however, a minor point.

The Hired Man, overall, is a novel about change. The workers' role within that change is insecure throughout. It is not change, itself, that brings about the insecurity, which is the way things are often portrayed. At one point, when the characters consider on whose behalf they are fighting a war, they see clearly that they themselves can never benefit. But neither can they conceive of not fighting. They are hired to do as they are told.

POIGNANT
A very poignant story of unsettled life of a farmer/minerand his family.Never able to find the right niche. Never able to really enjoy life even when comfortably lodged and fed with a loving wife and children around him.It is presented beautifully, not a maudling account.I would recommend it highly.

A beautiful book
Set in Northern England from c.1880s to the early 1920s, this is a wonderful novel about a rural family--farmers and coal miners--their trials and tribulations. It succeeds so well because of Bragg's writing style: his prose is as hard-chiseled and strong as the people he depicts. He writes with assurance and authority. A joy to read. ... Read more

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Originally published in 1978, a novel set in Cumbria in the late 1970s about a politician fighting to keep his seat there in a general election.He also has family problems which add to the stress he is under.From the author of A TIME TO DANCE. ... Read more

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This is the story of a young couple's desperate search for accommodation late on Christmas Eve, made the more urgent by the imminent birth of their child. The author has written several novels, including "The Maid of Buttermere" and "Rich" and screenplays for "Isadora" and "Jesus Christ Superstar". ... Read more

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Joseph Tallantire has hope and ambition -- like his father before him he is determined to make something of himself and improve his lot.But life is not easy for an uneducated young man in Cumberland before and during World War II, and Joseph's struggle against the odds is the subject of this moving and evocative novel.Suffering hardship and humiliation but eventually achieving a position of some independence, Joseph serves as a tribute to the many like him who lived through one of Britain's periods of greatest social change. ... Read more

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Russell on Russell
Ken Russel's life and views on life are just as entertaining and controversial as his films. A must for all Russell fans! ... Read more