Writer Brian Groom answers questions about his reading habits and reveals more about his forthcoming book on England

Brian Groom is a journalist and author specialising in British regional and national affairs. A former assistant editor of the Financial Times and founding deputy editor of Scotland on Sunday, he lives in Greater Manchester. Now retired from journalism, he focuses on writing books about the history of Northern England and the British Isles. His books include The Northerners, a Waterstones History Book of the Year, Made in Manchester, and These Isles.

I met Brian almost by chance while visiting the Imperial War Museum North in Manchester, where he was signing copies of his books. I could hardly pass up the opportunity to speak with one of the leading historians of Northern England. Although he had little time to spare, Mr Groom was kind enough to discuss some aspects of the publishing world and agreed to answer our now-traditional questionnaire on reading habits. In the process of our discussion he mentioned the working title for his next book — Town and Country: A People's History of Provincial England. It will be a broad history of England outside the capital (the countryside is only one element of it). I also asked him whether there was a difference in his working methods as a journalist then, and a writer now. His response was that his work routine now consists mainly of reading books for research, as well as writing, whereas when he was working as a journalist he did a lot of interviews. He also gives a lot of lectures and events to promote his books now, as his Facebook feed amply illustrates: a steady stream of appearances across Yorkshire and Lancashire. Not only at prestigious venues such as the IWM, where we met, and Manchester's renowned Portico Library, but also in small-town libraries and independent bookshops.

«For two centuries Manchester has been a significant cultural centre, with varying strengths in literature, theatre, art and music. The city has been shaped by hardships that industrialisation entailed and generally open to new cultural influences. It has a reputation for singing its own praises, sometimes with exaggeration. Anthony Burgess, brought up in Moss Side, wrote of his 1930s youth: ‘In those days, for a Mancunian to visit the capital was an exercise in condescension. London was a day behind Manchester in the arts, in commercial cunning, in economic philosophy … London had something of the air of Chorlton-cum-Hardy.’»

'Made in Manchester: a people's history of the city that shaped the modern world'. B. Groom

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The Reading Habits of Brian Groom:

1.    The book I am currently reading?

I am reading lots of history books as part of my own research, notably Robert Tombs’ ‘The English and their History’ and Peter Ackroyd’s six-volume ‘The History of England’.

2.    My earliest reading memory?

Comics. As a child I had The Victor and The Hotspur [British boys' paper - dp] delivered at home, and the Beano and Dandy were passed on to me by cousins. Then I progressed to encyclopaedias and the Billy Bunter, Jennings and Just William stories.

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3.    The book that changed my life or had the greatest influence on me?

It’s hard to pick a single book, but when I was a student of English literature I was hugely impressed by Charles Dickens’ novel ‘Bleak House’, with its devastating portrayal of the Victorian court system.

4.    What’s the last great book I read?

Not exactly the last, but in preparation for writing my history I books I loved reading the entire published works of Elizabeth Gaskell, notably her novel ‘North and South’. Its theme is the need to pull down barriers between self and others – not only barriers between sexes and classes but between cultures and faiths, town and country, north and south.

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84 Plymouth Grove, now known as Elizabeth Gaskell's House, is a writer's house museum in Manchester.

5.    What’s the most interesting thing I learned from a book recently?

David Olusoga’s ‘Black and British’ a beautifully written book, is particularly enlightening on how the American Civil War was perceived in Britain. At first there was a tendency to support the Confederate South, seen as pluckily standing up for its independence; but after President Abraham Lincoln redefined his aim as the abolition of slavery, that resonated in Britain, which had already done it. 

6.    Which subjects do I wish more authors would write about?

I don’t honestly like to advise authors on what to write. The range of subjects tackled by writers is enormously impressive.

7.    The book I think is most underrated?

I’ll go for ‘The Collected Poems of Thomas Hardy’. Hardy was a fine novelist, but arguably an even greater poet.

8.    The book that changed my mind/point of view?

Peter Ackroyd’s ‘London: The Biography’ influenced the way I write my own books, mixing historical narrative with chapters on social and cultural themes.

9.    The book I’m ashamed not to have read?

Marcel Proust’s ‘À la recherche du temps perdu’ (‘In Search of Lost Time’).

 10. The book I give as a gift (not written by me)?

George Eliot’s 'Middlemarch' would be a great choice for anyone who hasn’t read it.

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«Manchester not only gave the world its first experience of the industrial city, but also played a big part in efforts to describe and depict it. Gaskell, brought up by an aunt in Knutsford, Cheshire, lived most of her life in Manchester and became one of the city’s subtlest portrayers.»

'Made in Manchester. B. Groom

«Gaskell’s wide-ranging work is valued for its social history, including first-hand accounts of Manchester’s poor, as well as its literary qualities. Much of what she wrote was innovatory or controversial. Her first novel, ‘Mary Barton’ (1848), tells the story of a young woman subject to the affections of Jem Wilson, a hard-working engineer, and Harry Carson, son of a wealthy mill owner. The mill owner is murdered by Mary’s father, but Jem is wrongly accused.

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‘North and South’ [1855], the subtlest of the industrial novels of the 1840s and 1850s,… This is a romantic novel, but more than an industrial ‘Pride and Prejudice’.»

'Northerners: A History'.  B. Groom

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