It is a wonderfully wide and multifarious pageant of West Riding life that Phyllis Bentley has spread before us down the years: and now, in Tales of the West Riding (six stories, one of them almost a novel in itself), she enriches it with a number of episodes as vivid as any that have come from her pen. They are dated 1434, 1641, 1845, 1870, 1930 and 1962, and their temporal span is matched by the variety of the emotions they embody. There is, for instance, the quiet but poignant story of a woman's lifelong silence for the sake of an unrequited love: and there is that other story of jealousy in a woman's heart as cruel as the grave. At the beginning of the series, in 1434, Richard Askrode must seek permission from Rome to marry the girl he loves: at the end of it, in 1962 we see in The Hardaker Affair the other side of Room at the Top. In this exciting novella, with its terrible ending, Phyllis Bentley's power of characterisation is seen at its very highest.

Phyllis Bentley returns to the West Riding to tell tales of life, love, murder, betrayal and friendship. Amongst the familiar mills, towns and rolling hills, we find heart-warming – and sometimes heartbreaking – characters brought to life with Bentley's charismatically authentic touch. Broken into two parts, 'Past Events,' and 'Present Occasions,' we visit first the West Riding of the late Victorian and early Edwardian Eras. We witness a man lie, cheat and kill for the object of his desire. Friends are pulled apart by their own rivalry. A child is punished for the crimes of her parents. In the sometimes harsh reality of this period, we still find companionship, humour and hope. In 'Present Occasions,' we return to the more modern West Riding of the 1970's. Here, although time has moved on, we see the same salt-of-the-earth characters. But is there a place for the mills, with their traditional ways of life, in the modern world? This charming collection of stories, first published in 1974, is a wonderful example of Bentley's literary skill, and a welcome return for her many fans, to the West Riding.

Reprint of the original, first published in 1874.

This work is the third semi-autobiographical novel by D. F. E. Sykes, a gifted scholar, solicitor, local politician, and newspaper proprietor. Skyes, in this work, draws heavily on his own life experiences like almost all of his novels. He is indeed the Edward Beaumont of the novel. An account of His solicitor's training and early political longings is presented in this work, along with his romance with a Lincolnshire vicar's daughter. However, he remains particular in what he reveals about himself and uses an incredible writing style to make the book more appealing. He gives the readers an insight into his thoughts, beliefs, desires, and the hardships he must have survived before turning his life around. This work proves to be helpful in providing a beneficial message on how a talented man can be destroyed for his beliefs and his battle, with support, to retrieve his self-esteem.