Bang in the Middle

by Robert Shore

A book to put the Midlands back on the map. Everyone knows what they think of the North and South of England - the cliches abound. But what about that big, anonymous stretch of land in between: the Midlands? Despite being home to around a third of the English population, it's a region that seems to have neither purpose nor identity. In this humorous exploration, the author - a Midlander exiled in London - sets off on a tour of the country's belly in order to piece together his Midland heritage. What he discovers is nothing short of revelatory: quietly, without fanfare, the Midlands have powered most of English - and not just a little of world - history. The Industrial Revolution was forged there, as were the ideals of the Land of the Free and the theory of evolution. Shakespeare, world literature's greatest genius, was born in the Midlands, as were Margaret Thatcher, Dr Johnson and Robbie Williams. It is the home of Robin Hood, Walker's crisps, Marmite, Raleigh bikes and the balti.
And that's not all: music, fashion, sport - almost every domain of contemporary life has been reinvented and remoulded in the stoically self-effacing lands squeezed between the self-mythologising South and the narcissistic North. Why, we even have the Midlands to thank for the modern idea of sex. Join Robert Shore on a fascinating, and very funny, journey to the heart of our great nation.

Genres: Nonfiction, Travel

309 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2014

About the author

Robert Shore is a journalist, author and playwright. He is the editor of Elephant Magazine, a quarterly magazine on contemporary art and visual culture. He lives with his wife and young son, and is from Mansfield, in the Midlands.

Reviews

[Jennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Robert Shore has a huge chip on his shoulder, but as we all know, chips can be really yummy even if not especially good for you. I enjoyed this book tremendously.

I heard him talking about his project of promoting the English Midlands on the radio. Now I have to say that the shine does rather come off it when you realise that although the man comes from Mansfield and his parents still live there, he has now lived in London for a good many years as have a fair number of the friends he talks to. This may be why he pulls his punches somewhat when it comes to 'Southerners' compared with his dislike of 'Northerner' mythology.

I often say that I consider myself an ethnic Northerner, by birth... but there is a problem with his thesis. One of the reasons I have to say Northerner is that I was raised by one Lancashire and one Yorkshire parent in the South and was left in no doubt that the two places are distinctly different. I am sure Geordies and Cumbrian farmers would laugh their socks off at being lumped in with Sheffield and Manchester. Unlike Shore, I have lived almost all my adult life in 'The Midlands' (after an educational spell in Manchester and North Yorkshire) and can assure him that when I left the West Midlands for the East Midlands it felt a bloody long way and another country.

So in many ways this is a very silly book and if one were feeling ungenerous I am sure it would be possibly to tire very quickly of his whining about how overlooked the Midlands are, and how overweening Northerners are. Yet along the way, he does tell a good tale about lots of fascinating places and history which wouldn't work so well without the mesh of moaning. He also accomplishes his trips, not by chancing upon fascinating local people to chat to but by talking to his friends and family and taking them with him (or letting them take him) His Mum is an absolute scream and there's a whole 'nother book to be got out of her.