October 1940. Twenty-three-year-old Bobby Bancroft is working as a typist for a city newspaper, but she longs to be breaking the news herself.
When she successfully applies for a junior reporter role at The Tyke, a magazine serving the Yorkshire Dales, she’s thrilled to be entering the world of journalism – even if she only gets the position because so many men are away fighting in the war.
Bobby moves to the sleepy village of Silverdale, but she quickly discovers life in the countryside is a different world. Not only does she need to win over the local animals – from rampaging bulls to belligerent geese – but there are a whole host of eccentric characters to get to know, not least of whom is her editor’s younger brother: charming but infuriating village vet Charlie.
As Bobby struggles to be taken seriously by the gruff dalesfolk, she starts to wonder if she’s made a huge mistake. Will the city girl ever find her place in the beautiful but hostile countryside of the Dales?
A New Home in the Dales by Betty Firth is published on 2 March, 2023.
