HarperNorth lands 'defining biography of northern England' by journalist Groom

HarperNorth has landed "the defining biography of northern England" by former Financial Times journalist Brian Groom. 

Jonathan de Peyer, senior commissioning editor, acquired world English-language rights for Northerners: A History, from the Ice Age to the Present Day from the Andrew Lownie Literary Agency. It will publish in hardback, e-book and audio in April 2022. 

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. 

"Finally, Brian Groom explores what northernness means today and the crucial role the north can play in Britain’s future. As new forces threaten the fabric of the UK again, this landmark book could scarcely be more timely."

De Peyer said: "This is a book of rare scope and the sort of ambitious single-volume synoptic history that is incredibly difficult to find, let alone research. Brian has produced a book that is remarkably pithy, wide-ranging and highly readable. It should be the defining intervention on this subject for decades to come."

Groom added: "As a proud northerner, I have dreamt of writing this book for years and I was astonished to find that no general history of northern England had been published for a generation. It couldn’t be more topical, given the focus on the ’Red wall’ and ’levelling up’ Britain. The north is rightly famed as leader of the Industrial Revolution, viewed by many as the key economic event in human history, but there is far more to its story. My focus is on people, famous or not, who built the north. It’s aimed at anybody interested in British history, society and culture. It is a pleasure to be working with HarperNorth, whose creation is a vote of confidence in the region’s future."