The Coal Miner's Daughter

by Maggie Hope

Coal Miners Daughter

Genres: Historical Fiction

512 pages, Paperback

Published July 1, 2017

Reviews

[Emma · Rating 4 out of 5]

I did really enjoy this book, as I do all books I’ve read by this author, however this one disappointed me at the end which is why I didn’t give it the usual 5 stars. For me the ending just felt a bit abrupt and unfinished. This doesn’t take away from the fact that it’s a really good book and I enjoyed reading it. I just felt it needed either another chapter to finish it properly or some kind of epilogue.

[Tracey · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book!
Definitely my favourite book by Maggie Hope.
The writting is brilliant, I can imagine the small miners cottage that was home to Hannah and the rest of the Armstrong family. It is set in the 1920's mostly in a small mining community near Bishop Auckland, County Durham. The story sees Hannah through her teenage years, because of the death of her father and then the lack of work available in the local area, Hannah has to grow up quickly. A lovely read, that has some gritty moments, a real page turner for me.

[Veronica · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of those books you just can't put down. I thourghly enjoyed it.

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is chick lit in a historical setting and reminded me of Catherine Cookson 's books. It was a nice easy read and the story interesting enough to make me want to keep reading. It was a bit predictable at times but was not only a good family drama but was also historically interesting and seemed to be quite authentic too although I don' know enough about the miner's strikes in the early 20th century to really know.

I liked the characters as they were not too obviously good and bad. It was really interesting to read about the differences between job prospects in Oxford and in the north near Durham - things haven't changed much in 100 years as the north south divide is still very obvious today with much more poverty up north.

I would read ore of this author if I came across them cheaply but wouldn't go out of my way to seek them out.

This was a good beach or flying on a plane read, easy to read but well written.

[Margaret · Rating 4 out of 5]

As the daughter of a miner, this book resonated hugely with me and some of the expressions such as “howay lass”brought my lovely Nanna back to me in a powerful way. My mother was born in the North East in 1926 so the story had a lot of meaning for me.

But one expression throughout the book left me completely bemused and that was “what cheor”. What on earth does that mean? The closest explanation I could give to it would be the greeting heard throughout my childhood “wotcher “ meaning hello. Is this what the author was getting at? I’d love to know.

Otherwise I enjoyed the story, but would have liked to have seen the nasty Jane get her comeuppance

[Shirley Dawson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the first book I've read by Maggie Hope and I found it extremely well written with a powerful storyline. The poverty of the miners and their families during the 1926 General Strike was portrayed very well and I found myself totally absorbed in the story. One slight criticism - without giving away any story facts, I found the piece at the end rather hard to believe that the culprit admitted very readily to the police that he was the person they were looking for. Surely, he would have denied it all to save his skin! It was a really good read and would recommend it.

[Tracy · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars
I enjoyed this book. I nearly dumped it as I found the way of speaking a bit off putting but I got used to it and at first I wasn't sure if there was a riveting enough story here.
Glad I stuck with it as its very interesting historically and also makes you reflect on how these people lived and worked as they did.
Characters were likeable and good storylines well interwoven.

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you like Catherine Cookson books, you will likely enjoy this book too. The life of pit miners, poverty, harsh conditions, unfair practices, etc. are portrayed. The protagonist works to make a better life for herself and for her family.

[Linda Leedham · Rating 5 out of 5]

A page turner of a book. I couldn't wait to get back to the story when I'd put it down to do household jobs. I loved the determination of Hanna and how she cared for others in a poverty stricken family in the 1920s

[Sam Amos]

I quite liked this book it was a snapshot in time that I recognised as my own grandmother grew up in similar circumstances as her father was a coal miner in Derbyshire. However I wasn't a fan of the ending it kind of just ended without the main characters resolving any of their issues.

[Trudie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading this although it took me awhile to get into the story. Hannah and her family were likeable apart from her sister Jane who I felt needed a slap more than once :-)

[mrs jm john · Rating 5 out of 5]

A good read

I enjoyed this book and would recommend it to my friend's. She is a good writer and I shall read more of her books.

[brenda young · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good read

I enjoyed this book as it is a bit of fact and fiction , it is a very easy book to read but I felt it finished abruptly .

[Mrs Margaret Maher · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a good book

I enjoyed reading this book. How the miners had an all out strike and don't get coal for their fires and good to eat.

[Pauline Chamberlain · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good saga set in Edwardian era. Good read

[Layla · Rating 2 out of 5]

started this but couldn't get on with it,

[Barrykay knott · Rating 3 out of 5]

Easy to read but a bit predictable.

[Gail North · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another brilliant book by a brilliant author you get the feel of the surroundings from the way it is wrote.
How they lived how they survived and how they coped.
Defo will be reading this author again

[Maryline M's Bookshelf · Rating 5 out of 5]

This review was first published at M's Bookshelf - http://mssbookshelf.blogspot.com

When we first meet Hannah and her family, she's only a little girl. But hers is not a carefree childhood. She has to take care of household tasks, help out with the younger siblings and make sure the older ones have a bath and meal waiting for them when they get back from a hard days work. And hard work it is. The miner's village is under constant stress of poverty, (failed) union strikes, cuts in hours, jobs and wages.
As the story goes on, we watch Hannah grow into a smart, resourceful woman. Through hard work and determination, she manages to "escape" to the city and find a good job. But with her family at home still struggling very much to make ends meet, nothing is ever sure.
The way Maggie Hope told this story and was able to write a main character from, say, the age of 10-18 is masterful. We saw Hannah as a child, a young girl in her teens and finally a grown up in her own right. But these changes were fluent and she's growing with every chapter you read, without it ever feeling out of tune with the story, or out of character: Hannah stays Hannah. Beautifully done. Very subtle.
I am very sorry for the person or team who designed this cover... but I absolutely hate it. I would probably haven't even looked twice at this wonderful read, just because of it's cover. It makes it look "cheap" and... it doesn't even fit in with the story, where there are 6 Armstrong children, all of them dark haired. The cover simple doesn't do this book justice.
And nor does the blurb actually (which just gets part of the story wrong(!!)). Both cover and blurb missed the mark completely.

I truly enjoyed reading this novel and I would definitely try another one of Maggie Hope's books.