chesilbeach

CUMBRIA [Alternative choice]: The Maid of Buttermere by Melvyn Bragg Synopsis: Set in the Lake District in the early 19th century, the riveting story of an imposter, bigamist and fortune hunter who came to grief by falling helplessly in love with the famed 'Maid of Buttermere'. Go to main Cumbria thread

Last nights episode over here was The Raiders Minimization and is by far my favourite episode for a long time. I don't want to give anything away to any one who hasn't seen it yet, so I'll just say that even watching it on my own, I've laughed out loud at the running joke all the way through - Sheldon cracks me up!

I'm quite enjoying the new series and I like that the focus is back on the Mystic Falls vampires. Is anyone watching the spin-off, The Originals? I'm really enjoying it! I love that they gave them their own story to follow and left Damon, Stefan and Elena to their own destinies. It's also more entertaining in that it feels like Klaus isn't the centre of the universe in this one, and the dynamics work well. I think I like it more than TVD at the moment

I see what you mean, I'd thought one thread per county and then we could also discuss the alternatives in the same place, but maybe you're right and we should have separate discussion threads for each book. I'll separate the threads out for each book for each county, but put a link to the second book in the thread for the first book, and also leave in the alternatives on the first thread too. Does that sound okay? You didn't need to delete Cornwall, I was just making my way through the list so the threads were all set up ready for everyone to discuss, as I'm sure we'll all start in different places, but I'll happily set up the thread for that one too. You're welcome. I'm of the same mind, and have been creating my wishlist on Amazon for all the counties already - good timing for Christmas presents!

EAST SUSSEX Winnie-The-Pooh by A. A. Milne Synopsis: AA Milne, born in 1882, based the characters of Pooh Bear, Eeyore the Donkey, Piglet, Tigger, Kanger and Roo on his son, Christopher Robin's real nursery toys. The Milne family live in Ashdown Forest and the stories of their adventures are based there. You are cordially invited into the Hundred Acre Wood. Meet Pooh, Eeyore and the rest of the friends. Other East Sussex books: Mapp and Lucia by E. F. Benson Brighton Rock by Graham Greene Between The Acts by Virginia Woolf The Ragged-Trousered Philanthropists by Robert Tressell

EAST RIDING OF YORKSHIRE South Riding by Winifred Holtby Synopsis: The community of South Riding, like the rest of the country, lives in the long shadow of war. Blighted by recession and devastated by the loss, they must also come to terms with significant social change. Forward-thinking and ambitious, Sarah Burton is the embodiment of such change. After the death of her fiancé, she returns home to Yorkshire focused on her career as headmistress of the local school. But not everyone can embrace the new social order. Robert Carne, a force of conservatism, stands firmly against Sarah. A tormented man, he carries a heavy burden that locks him in the past. As the villagers of South Riding adjust to Sarah's arrival and face the changing world, emotions run high, prejudices are challenged and community spirit is tested. Other East Riding of Yorkshire books:

COUNTY DURHAM Nicholas Nickleby by Charles Dickens Synopsis: The work of a young novelist at the height of his powers, Nicholas Nickleby is one of the touchstones of the English comic novel. Around the central story of Nicholas Nickleby and the misfortunes of his family, Dickens created some of his most wonderful characters: the muddle-headed Mrs Nickleby, the gloriously theatrical Crummles, their protege Miss Petowker, the pretentious Mantalinis and the mindlessly cruel Squeers and his wife. Nicholas Nickleby's loose, haphazard progress harks back to the picaresque novels of the 18th century - particularly those of Smollett and Fielding. Yet the novel's exuberant atmosphere of romance, adventure and freedom is overshadowed by Dickens' awareness of social ills and financial and class insecurity. Other County Durham books: The Fifteen Streets by Catherine Cookson The Black Velvet Gown by Catherine Cookson The Legacy of Hartlepool Hall by Paul Torday

DORSET Far From The Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy Synopsis: Independent and spirited Bathsheba Everdene has come to Weatherbury to take up her position as a farmer on the largest estate in the area. Her bold presence draws three very different suitors: the gentleman-farmer Boldwood, soldier-seducer Sergeant Troy and the devoted shepherd Gabriel Oak. Each, in contrasting ways, unsettles her decisions and complicates her life, and tragedy ensues, threatening the stability of the whole community. The first of his works set in Wessex, Hardy's novel of swiftpassion and slow courtship is imbued with his evocative descriptions of rural life and landscapes, and with unflinching honesty about sexual relationships. Other Dorset books: The Mayor of Casterbridge by Thomas Hardy The French Lieutenant's Woman by John Fowles

DEVON And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie Synopsis: Ten strangers, apparently with little in common, are lured to an island mansion off the coast of Devon by the mysterious U.N.Owen. Over dinner, a record begins to play, and the voice of an unseen host accuses each person of hiding a guilty secret. That evening, former reckless driver Tony Marston is found murdered by a deadly dose of cyanide. The tension escalates as the survivors realise the killer is not only among them but is preparing to strike again! and again! Alternative: The Hound of the Baskervilles by Arthur Conan Doyle (link to book discussion thread) Other Devon books: To Serve Them All My Days by R. F. Delderfield Sense and Sensibilty by Jane Austen The Secret of Crickley Hall by James Herbert

DERBYSHIRE Year of Wonders by Geraldine Brooks Synopsis: In 1666, plague swept through London, driving the King and his court to Oxford, and Samuel Pepys to Greenwich, in an attempt to escape contagion. The north of England remained untouched until, in a small community of leadminers and hill farmers, a bolt of cloth arrived from the capital. The tailor who cut the cloth had no way of knowing that the damp fabric carried with it bubonic infection. So begins the Year of Wonders, in which a Pennine village of 350 souls confronts a scourge beyond remedy or understanding. Desperate, the villagers turn to sorcery, herb lore, and murderous witch-hunting. Then, led by a young and charismatic preacher, they elect to isolate themselves in a fatal quarantine. The story is told through the eyes of Anna Frith who, at only 18, must contend with the death of her family, the disintegration of her society, and the lure of a dangerous and illicit attraction. Other Derbyshire books: The Lair of the White Worm by Bram Stoker Peveril of the Peak by Sir Walter Scott The Toll-Gate by Georgette Heyer

Absolutely Vimes. Although it's a reference point for anyone taking part in the challenge, the threads are open to anyone and everyone to discuss the books for each county. I'll try and keep the first post updated with links to reviews of the chosen book for each county, but the thread itself is open to discussion of the chosen book or any alternatives for that county.

CUMBRIA Swallows and Amazons by Arthur Ransome Synopsis: It is the wholesome story of four young children, John, Susan, Titty and Roger, who set out in their boat (the Swallow of the title) to an island of adventure. All seems well until they encounter their enemy. At first they are angry at the invasion of their peaceful haven by these Amazon pirates, Nancy and Peggy, who claim ownership of the land. But in time a truce is called and the Swallows and Amazons become firm friends. Camping under open skies, swimming in clear water, fishing, exploring and making discoveries is the stuff of dreams which serves to make this so charming a tale. The author manages to capture the innocence of a time when all this was real and possible. Swallows and Amazons will transport children to a fantastical place where they can play safely and roam freely, without an adult in sight. Alternative: The Maid of Buttermere by Melvyn Bragg (link to book discussion thread) Other Cumbria books: The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins

CITY OF LONDON A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens Synopsis: Ebenezer Scrooge, a miserly old curmudgeon who spurns Christmas as a “humbug,” is given the chance to redeem himself through the intervention of four Spirits on Christmas Eve. If reading Dickens’s most beloved story doesn't put you in the true spirit of Christmas, you may be beyond redemption. As Scrooge’s nephew Fred says, “I have always thought of Christmas time...as a good time: a kind, forgiving, charitable, pleasant time: the only time I know of, in the long calendar of the year, when men and women seem by one consent to open their shut-up hearts freely, and to think of people below them as if they really were fellow-passengers to the grave, and not another race of creatures bound on other journeys.” Or as Tiny Tim put it more succinctly, “God bless us every one!” Other City of London books: Dombey and Son by Charles Dickens

CHESHIRE Cranford by Elizabeth Gaskell Synopsis: Mary Smith and her friends live in Cranford, a town predominantly inhabited by women. The return of a long-lost brother named Peter is the most dramatic event to occur over the course of the sixteen tales that comprise the novel. Elizabeth Gaskell’s “Cranford” is an ironic portrayal of female life in a secluded English village. Other Cheshire books:

CAMBRIDGESHIRE The Nine Tailors by Dorothy Sayers Synopsis: The best of the golden age crime writers, praised by all the top modern writers in the field including P. D. James and Ruth Rendell, Dorothy L. Sayers created the immortal Lord Peter Wimsey. The 11th book featuring Lord Peter, set in a country church, is often named as the best detective story ever written. When his sexton finds a corpse in the wrong grave, the rector of Fenchurch St Paul asks Lord Peter Wimsey to find out who the dead man was and how he came to be there. The lore of bell-ringing and a brilliantly-evoked village in the remote fens of East Anglia are the unforgettable background to a story of an old unsolved crime and its violent unravelling twenty years later. Other Cambridgeshire books: Case Histories by Kate Atkinson Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency by Douglas Adams Tom's Midnight Garden by Philippa Pearce Waterland by Graham Swift Porterhouse Blue by Tom Sharpe

BUCKINGHAMSHIRE The Dark Is Rising by Susan Cooper Synopsis: It is Midwinter's Eve, the night before Will's eleventh birthday. But there is an atmosphere of fear in the familiar countryside around him. Will is about to make a shocking discovery - that he is the last person to be born with the power of the Old Ones, and as a guardian of the Light he must begin a dangerous journey to vanquish the terrifyingly evil magic of the Dark. Other Buckinghamshire books: Lark Rise To Candleford by Flora Thompson Enigma by Robert Harris

BRISTOL The Misses Mallett by E. H. Young (also published as The Bridge Dividing) Synopsis: "She sat there, vividly conscious of herself, and sometimes she saw the whole room as a picture and she was part of it; sometimes she saw only those three whose lives, she felt, were practically over, for even Aunt Rose was comparatively old. She pitied them because their romance was past, while hers waited for her outside; she wondered at their happiness, their interest in their appearance, their pleasure in parties; but she felt most sorry for Aunt Rose, midway between what should have been the resignation of her stepsisters and the glowing anticipation of her niece." The virtue of this quiet and accomplished piece of writing lies in its quality and in its character-drawing to summarize it would be to give no idea of its charm. Neither realism nor romance, it is a book by a writer of insight and sensibility. Other Bristol books: A Respectable Trade by Philippa Gregory Evelina by Fanny Burney Junk by Melvin Burgess Only Time Will Tell by Jeffrey Archer

BERKSHIRE The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame Synopsis: "Ho! ho! I am the Toad, the motor-car snatcher, the prison-breaker, the Toad who always escapes!" Tired of spring cleaning, Mole ventures above ground into the sunshine and happens upon his friend Ratty. Together they picnic on the sparkling river, brave the sinister Wild Wood to visit the bad-tempered Badger, and take to the open road in a caravan with dear, silly old Toad. But when Toad's attention turns to motor cars, his reckless behaviour goes from bad to worse. Badger, Rat and Mole must save their friend from ruin, and Toad Hall from the clutches of the rascally Stoats and Weasels. Other Berkshire books: Three Men In A Boat by Jerome K. Jerome The Big Over Easy by Jasper Fforde Solar by Ian McEwan

BEDFORDSHIRE My Uncle Silas by H. E. Bates Synopsis: The deeds and misdeeds of Uncle Silas, the rural reprobate, were renowned in the short stories H E Bates published in the 1930s.In this collection the stories are presented in full, accompanied by the original drawings by Edward Ardizzone that perfectly capture the little reed-thatched house atop a violet-banked lane.Over the course of ninety-five years Uncle Silas found the time to do most things: He boasted of the villains he had knocked to kingdom come as he boasted of the women whose hearts he had truly captured. Crotchety, vainglorious, occasionally wicked, he maintained a devilish spark of audacity which made him so attractive to everyone he met. Other Bedfordshire books: The Two Sisters by H. E. Bates

I have no idea, but I'm guessing it's a classic? I'm pretty sure this isn't right, but I'll give Little Women a go?

That's fine, Janet. I was going to do one thread with a county per post, but I like your thinking, so I think if we do one thread for each county and in the first post for each county we put the book(s) we chose in the discussion, with the synopsis of each one, and then a list of any alternatives that people suggest or review so that people can have the choice. I'm at home tomorrow, so I'll have a go at starting on them and you can see what you think.

Without question, the BBC mini-series!!!! I've never managed to watch more than 10 minutes of the Keira Knightly film version, and I adore P&P. Coincidentally, I'm almost finished listening to Lindsay Duncan read the audiobook, and it's been an absolute joy to listen to.

I've got two ideas in my head, but I think I'll try The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole Aged 13¾?

Yes! I thought it might be too easy, but I just couldn't resist

Wow, another lucky guess! I'm not sure if this one is really obvious to some, but it's a favourite of mine, so I'm going to try it anyway ... "He is as fine a fellow," said XXXXX, as soon as they were out of the house, "as ever I saw. He simpers, and smirks, and makes love to us all. I am prodigiously proud of him. I defy even YYYYY himself to produce a more valuable son-in-law."