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The Gallows Pole
The Gallows Pole | Benjamin Myers
13 posts | 10 read | 18 to read
The Gallows Pole may well turn out to be 2017s His Bloody Project. Its a windswept, brutal tale of eighteenth-century Yorkshire told in starkly beautiful prose. Alex Preston, The Guardian
Terrific: illuminating, gripping and deeply rooted in its setting. The description of a popular uprising against the rich establishment has many links with our current political climate that makes it thought-provoking and vital. Amy Liptrot, author of The Outrun
"A glass of whisky, fireplace, rain-lashing-the-window sort of book. Make the whisky cask strength." Cynan Jones, author of The Dig and Cove
Myers captivating tale of the Cragg Vale Coiners is as wild and full of life - in all its beauty and brutality - as stags on the Yorkshire moors. Wyl Menmuir, author of the The Many
You can smell the rot, feel the wet weight of mud on your skin, hear the birdsong, muttered threats and prayers to old gods...reel at the dizzying depths of history Myers finds in a scrap of land; the intoxicating, exhilarating mines of buried epics he discovers. Niall Griffiths
"I saw them. Stag-headed men dancing at on the moor at midnight, nostrils flared and steam rising..."
An England divided. From his remote moorland home, David Hartley assembles a gang of weavers and land-workers to embark upon a criminal enterprise that will capsize the economy and become the biggest fraud in British history.
They are the Cragg Vale Coiners and their business is clipping the forging of coins, a treasonous offence punishable by death.
A charismatic leader, Hartley cares for the poor and uses violence and intimidation against his opponents. He is also prone to self-delusion and strange visions of mythical creatures.
When excise officer William Deighton vows to bring down the Coiners and one of their own becomes turncoat, Hartleys empire begins to crumble. With the industrial age set to change the face of England forever, the fate of his empire is under threat.
Forensically assembled from historical accounts and legal documents, The Gallows Pole is a true story of resistance that combines poetry, landscape, crime and historical fiction, whose themes continue to resonate. Here is a rarely-told alternative history of the North.
Myers is the master of English rural noir - Paul Kingsnorth, author of The Wake and Beast
His prose is beautifully controlled and so graphic its impossible not to picture the scenes he conjures up in striking detail. There is no hiding place from the darkness because the writing is so damned good. Val McDermid
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andrew61
andrew61
The Gallows Pole | Benjamin Myers
post image

#12booksofchristmas @Andrew65 August
It has to be this incredible piece of historical fiction about west Yorkshire coin counfeiters especially as I was discussing it with a friend last night who had also read it and we agreed at some point to do a walk in the area to discover the landmarks from the book. I know that there are some great pubs on the train line in that area so hopefully we will find the infamous fire place.

Andrew65 Sounds very interesting and a must read. 2y
Leftcoastzen I bought this one based on your review, just haven‘t gotten to it yet. 2y
Cathythoughts Sounds like a fun trip 👍🏻😁 2y
28 likes1 stack add3 comments
blurb
Leftcoastzen
Leftcoastzen
The Gallows Pole | Benjamin Myers
post image

#wondrousWednesday
1.Tagged mostly because of the amazing review by
@andrew61 but 🍷 might have been involved as well.
2.Black Cake ! Just finished it this morning.
3.Dublin, NYC, an odd fall trip to Niagara Falls, Syracuse,Cooperstown (Baseball Hall of Fame) & Seneca Falls for Women‘s Rights National Historical Park .
Consider yourself tagged if you want to play!

tagged users iconEggs
Eggs Wonderful responses❣️ Thanks for playing👏🏻👏🏻 2y
27 likes1 comment
review
andrew61
andrew61
The Gallows Pole | Benjamin Myers
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Pickpick

An absolutely brilliant piece of writing which evoked the blood ,mud, + more of 18c west Yorkshire's Calder Valley + the world of coin forgers. I loved it but lord if I could time travel the very last place I would go to would be Halifax in 1770. I'm sure if I was reincarnated I was probably a toothless peasant and the terrifying David Hartley would be scaring the living daylights out of me. Can't wait to see the Shane Meadows TV adaptation.

Leftcoastzen That sounds amazing! 2y
Cathythoughts Brilliant review! Great writing and atmosphere, i could feel that mud and earth. I loved it too. Although some parts were terrifying to read. 2y
batsy Great review! I'm really keen to read this. And ditto on that bit about living in the past 😅 2y
andrew61 @Cathythoughts Yes I found myself cringing at times and what I felt was well done was that the author did not romanticise the coiners as Robin Hood type heroes but portrayed them as a nasty bunch who you wouldn't want to cross. The afterword when he referenced the discovery of the walled up fireplace gave@ me a shudder. @batsy , yes it's worth reading but be prepared for dark tale. @Leftcoastzen I'd recommend it but a chilling tale! 2y
40 likes4 comments
review
Minervasbutler
Minervasbutler
The Gallows Pole | Benjamin Myers
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Pickpick

Evocative and poetic historical novel telling the true story of the Cragg Vale Coiners and their leader "King" David Hartley. Fascinating story wonderfully reimagined.

40 likes
review
Cathythoughts
Cathythoughts
The Gallows Pole | Benjamin Myers
post image
Pickpick

Desperately graphic , I went with audio after awhile.. my early morning walks in the woods & the fields enhanced my experience. Late 1700‘s Yorkshire moors , A picture made of man & beast & earth ( beautiful dark earth ) Savage living , mud & guts , This book dosnt take any prisoners.. the story of the Cragg Vale Coiners
Of the beginnings of myths & pathways .. poetic , epic , sense of place 💫into the gorzy purplin hethur , stag heads , visions

LeahBergen A lovely, evocative review. 3y
Cathythoughts @LeahBergen Thanks Leah ❤️ 3y
batsy Beautiful review! I can *feel* what the book's like from that 💚 3y
See All 11 Comments
andrew61 I have a copy of this Cathy so will put it up my list to read and I believe there is a TV production planned. 3y
Cathythoughts @batsy Thanks Suba ! It‘s a strong book 👍🏻 3y
Cathythoughts @andrew61 A tv series !! I don‘t know if id be able to watch it 😱😂…still sounds interesting 3y
andrew61 @Cathythoughts from recollection I think it's directed by Shane meadows and starring Stephen Graham so should be good. I will definitely read it before then, although I still have North water saved on TV but never seem to have time to watch things. 3y
Centique Hello lovely Cathy. This is just a heads up that I have sent you 2 books for Christmas from Book Depository. I didn‘t think it was likely that the international post from NZ would get to you! One book will probably arrive much more quickly than the second one which is by an NZ author. I hope you like them! Merry Christmas in advance xxxx 3y
Cathythoughts @Centique Thanks Paula!!! You‘re very good. Great minds think alike .. I have a book on the way to you too via Book Depository. Happy Christmas lovely friend 😘 3y
Cathythoughts @Centique except I never included “ North Shore” in your address 😬 but I do have the postcode written down🤞🏻 3y
Centique @Cathythoughts oh Cathy that‘s very lovely of you! Don‘t worry about the North Shore bit. Lots of people don‘t use that in the address anymore, the postcode does the job! 😘 3y
48 likes1 stack add11 comments
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Cathythoughts
Cathythoughts
The Gallows Pole | Benjamin Myers
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But it was not a normal daye it was the day that changed me The day wot gave me fresh eyes and new beelefs and a sens of wonder and fear of what it is that this lande of mine can do and what it is that maykes these moores a place of magick and feer and what it is that goes on that we cannot understand up here and what it is that make right minded folk stop away and keep these moores empty and what it is that makes man and animal move as wan 👇🏻

Cathythoughts 👇🏻up here where the land meets the sky and creechurs do dance and it‘s all beyond boeth reesum and ecksplaynen. …… ……………………….SO many brilliant scenes in this book … this one describes how King David felt after a vision of stags dancing . I‘m blown away by the writing & the scenes (edited) 3y
Lindy I‘m intrigued! 3y
BarbaraBB Very intriguing 3y
Reggie Muy intriguing. Stacked. 3y
Cathythoughts @Lindy @BarbaraBB @Reggie The writing is poetic, set on the moors in the late 1700‘s .. atmospheric, graphic… the MC so far seems to be (King) David Hartley… let‘s just say I wouldn‘t want to get on the wrong side of him 😳 3y
45 likes2 stack adds5 comments
blurb
Cathythoughts
Cathythoughts
The Gallows Pole | Benjamin Myers
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The postman just delivered these .. blame it on Litsy ( you know who you are 😁) & tagged book my son recommended to me 👍🏻

squirrelbrain Ooos, never mind! 😁 3y
Cathythoughts @squirrelbrain That Matrix cover is divine 👍🏻❤️ 3y
TrishB Ahhh everyone loves a bit of book mail 😁 3y
See All 16 Comments
Cathythoughts @TrishB We sure do 😘 3y
rmaclean4 So excited to read the Lauren Groff! 3y
Cathythoughts @rmaclean4 Oh Yes !!! Me too X 3y
Tamra 😀😃 3y
Cathythoughts @Tamra 👍🏻😁 3y
JillR My husband and I both bought each other Gallows Pole a while back but neither of us have read it yet 🙈 - interested to hear what you think when you get to it! 3y
LeahBergen Yay! 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻 3y
bb623 Love Lauren Groff. Can‘t wait to read the new one. 3y
bookandbedandtea Nice choices! I've been thinking of getting Matrix and now I'm more tempted. This is the first I've heard of Gallows Pole but it sounds so good I might have to get it too! 3y
Cathythoughts @LeahBergen Yes 😍 3y
Cathythoughts @JillR I don‘t know when I‘ll get to it , but it sounds really good 👍🏻❤️ 3y
Cathythoughts @bb623 Yes , I loved Fates & Furies , looking forward to this one 3y
Cathythoughts @bookandbedandtea Yes , I only heard of Gallows as my son is reading it … sounds good , doesn‘t it ?! 3y
68 likes1 stack add16 comments
review
beckygracelea
beckygracelea
The Gallows Pole | Benjamin Myers
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Pickpick

This is just brilliant. Gritty, rich, and evoking such a sense of place, Myers crafts a fascinating folkloric tale of criminality in the face of the oncoming Industrial Revolution.

9 likes1 stack add
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beckygracelea
beckygracelea
The Gallows Pole | Benjamin Myers
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The landscape descriptions in this are so often astonishing.

3 likes1 stack add
blurb
beckygracelea
beckygracelea
The Gallows Pole | Benjamin Myers
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Tonight's reading. I've been looking forward to this one for ages.

9 likes
blurb
beckygracelea
beckygracelea
The Gallows Pole | Benjamin Myers
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More #bookpost. Really excited about reading The Gallows Pole especially. Benjamin Myers' Pig Iron is my favourite library find.

9 likes