Favorite Yorkshire Books
When I think about books set in Yorkshire, there are a few that stand out as really evoking the essence of the county and that have been around long enough to find a place in the cultural lore.
Four Classic Yorkshire Books
All Creatures Great and Small* by James Herriot
A newly-qualified vet moves from Glasgow to the Yorkshire Dales in 1940 and recounts stories of the people, animals, and places with humor and heart.
The Secret Garden* by Frances Hodgson Burnett
This story of a lonely and selfish orphan girl who moves from India to a great house on the Yorkshire Moors to live with her uncle, the sad and solitary Archibald Craven, was my first introduction to Yorkshire and is full of mystery and magic.
Jane Eyre* by Charlotte Brontë
Another story of an orphan girl who experiences a rather tortured journey into womanhood at the hands of her mean-spirited aunt and a harsh school master. Things don’t necessarily get easier for Jane when she begins working for Mr. Rochester, but by the end of the novel Jane finds her voice.
Dracula* by Bram Stoker
This novel is worth reading if only to discover the source material for so much of our pop-culture lore about vampires, as well as for its brilliant descriptions of the North Yorkshire coastal town of Whitby.
One Modern
Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell* by Susanna Clarke
This magical alternative history of England in the time of the Napoleonic Wars opens in the fabulous York Minster.
Novel Pairings
I love reading a good book inspired by a classic. If you enjoy Jane Eyre, you might enjoy pairing it with:
Mr. Rochester* by Sarah Shoemaker
This novel explores the backstory of Mr. Rochester as well as the events of Jane Eyre from his perspective.
The Madwoman Upstairs* by Catherine Lowell
A young American woman—the last Brontë descendant—moves to Oxford after the death of her father on the trail of her literary inheritance.
Of course there are many more books that take place in Yorkshire. It’s time for me to re-visit Wuthering Heights and to read some of the Brontë books I’ve never read.
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