Question: what do Thomas Hardy, Ulysses S Grant, Lillie (‘Jersey Lily’) Langtry, Benjamin Disraeli, Robert Browning and Florence (‘the lady with the lamp’) Nightingale have in common? Answer: they were all close acquaintances of Richard Monckton Milnes, aka Lord Houghton, and dinner party guests at his 19th century country seat, Fryston Hall, in the tiny West Riding mining village of Fryston. And in fact the list of glitterati extends to all the main players and influencers in Victorian political, cultural, intellectual and literary life in the UK and beyond. In this remarkable new book, David Waddington shows how all roads – quite literally – led to Fryston, where he hails from, and how this dazzling hub of contemporary British life grew up at the same time as the mines and the miners’ organizations fighting tooth and nail to secure decent wages and conditions in the face of the violence and brutality of the mine owners and the state. As the title of this first volume suggests, this is a tale told of two Frystons, a vivid portrait of the men and women on both sides of the tracks and their very different, though intertwined, fates. Written in beautiful, accessible prose and based on huge amounts of research (though wearing this erudition very lightly), Waddington’s vivid and fascinating account is local history taken to a whole new level and will appeal to the general reader, particularly those familiar with Fryston and the West Riding, as well as to those with a keen or scholarly interest in British cultural history, literature and literary history, the politics of the 19th century, industrial and trade union history and the development of British society overall. A signal achievement and an engrossing and enjoyable read. Can’t wait for Volume 2!
