Member of The Yorkshire Society, Robin Hawdon tells us about his new novel and extends an offer to Society members, supporters and friends.
Robin Hawdon, Author, Screenwriter & Playwright
Although my family, the Oldroyds, stems from Batley in Yorkshire, I have not spent much of my life in the county.
My father (who was a longtime member of The Yorkshire Society) moved down to be near London when I was only ten years old. However, I have always maintained an affinity to Yorkshire. As an actor I was early in my career the ‘juv lead’ at the York Repertory Company, where I had sensational digs on the attic floor of the magnificent Treasurer’s House beside the Minster, and where I played some great parts, including Henry V, and Keith Waterhouse’s terrific character, Billy Liar (who has the memorable line, “There’s allus been an Oldroyd at Oldroyd’s Mill, and there allus will be”). I also embarked on my first real love affair there (with my leading lady naturally), and I have fond memories of that wonderful old city centre, the beautiful Theatre Royal, and the nearby rolling Yorkshire moors and dales.
Most of my novels feature Yorkshire at some stage within their plots, and my newly published book, The Land, The Land, is all about the county.
Its central theme is a fight, almost to the death, of a third-generation sheep farmer and his family in the Dales, to preserve their land against the interests of a big mining company and London politicians, who want to run a railway line through it. It is part family saga, part thriller, and part political intrigue. I enjoyed writing it as much as any of my other books and plays, I suppose because of its evocative setting, its close family affiliations, and the memories it brought back of that great county.
I am running a special giveaway offer on the book from my website. Please contact me with any questions robin@robinhawdon.com or visit my website for more information and a FREE flipbook version of the novel before publication.