The Yorkshire Farm Girl

Diane Allen

A HARD-WORKING farming family in the Yorkshire Dales are always hoping that they can make a better life for themselves but when war looms, it threatens to tear apart all their long-held dreams.

The rural beauty of the Dales forms the alluring backdrop to a gripping tale of family, love, hope and resilience from popular storyteller Diane Allen (pictured below).

Allen, whose inspiration comes from the stunning countryside surrounding her home near the historic market town of Settle, has her finger firmly on the pulse of northern saga writing and the hardy Yorkshire folk who have for centuries made their home amongst the hills and dales. Life is hard for the Fothergill family as they try to make a living on their farm in the Yorkshire Dales in 1938. Bob Fothergill has set his sights on buying his own farm instead of renting the one they currently hold.

His daughter Sally, who will soon be sixteen, wishes her father would see that she could help more with the farm, but he believes that a girl’s place is in the home. Ben, the youngest sibling, has no interest in farming so he is ignored. Sally’s loving and hard-working mother Ivy makes do just knowing that her husband wants what’s best for them.

But when Bob decides to take a well-paid job collecting milk for the local dairy, it causes friction in the family, bringing tension to New Year’s Day in 1939. And with Germany shaking its angry fist at other nations and the threat of another war undermining everything, Ivy and Sally’s lives change.

Sally finally gets her wish to be more hands on with the farm, coping with a bad winter and lambing sheep on her own. But then a stranger walks into Ivy’s life and shows her the affection that she craves and she is in danger of losing her heart to him.

Times are hard and the future is uncertain. Perhaps the coming years can bring better times... but first the Fothergills must survive the oncoming storm. Allen, an observant and insightful writer, fields a fascinating cast of authentic characters in an enthralling tale packed with emotion, drama and the harsh realities of a family’s struggles in the run-up to the Second World War. The Yorkshire Farm Girl is a warm-hearted and compassionate tale, evoking the long and tough working hours of farming life but Allen also brings us romance, the shining light of shared adversity, and proof of the enduring power of love and family to transform even the darkest days.
(Pan, paperback, £7.99)