Novels set in Manchester

[peoffrey]

Can anyone name me good novels set in Manchester during any time period? I'm struggling to think of any and need to do some research. The name / author and a brief synopsis would be great. Fiction only, please.

Thanks!

 

[Carstairs]

Great Expectations


A young Scotsman is plucked from obscurity to take on a great challenge. Hilarity ensues.

 

[pinkwheeltrim]

The works of Elizabeth Gaskell would be a good place to start, both 'Mary Barton' and 'North and South' are set in Manchester.

 

[ifiwasarichfan]

"Brand new friend" by Mike Gayle is set in Didsbury and Chorlton.

Story is an IT expert in London is engaged to a Doctor in Manchester. Sick of grabbing rushed weekends and as he works from home - he makes the move north but leaves his mates behind. He needs to find new mates and makes one that happens to share his interests but is a girl and he is economical with the truth when questioned by his partner.

 

[another generation]

The Manchester Man (!)

from Wikipedia:

The Manchester Man is a novel by the British writer Isabella Banks. It was first published in three volumes in 1876. The story follows the life of a Manchester resident, Jabez Clegg, during the nineteenth century and his rise to prosperity in the booming industrial city. It depicts a number of real historical events such as the Peterloo Massacre.

 

[OxBlue]

Manchester Blue - Eddie Shah
Fictional Crime thriller set in 80's Moss Side with the various gangs.

 

[PistonBlue]

Kerry Wilkinson is a current author writing crime novels set in Manchester today. They're very enjoyable too.

http://kerrywilkinson.com/

 

[Second Skin]

Vurt by Jeff Noon

Vurt tells the story of Scribble and his "gang", the Stash Riders, as they search for his missing sister/lover Desdemona. The novel is set in an alternate version of Manchester, England, in which society has been shaped by Vurt, a hallucinogenic drug/shared alternate reality, accessed by sucking on colour-coded feathers. Through some (never explained) mechanism, the dreams, mythology, and imaginings of humanity have achieved objective reality in the Vurt and become "real".

Before the novel begins, Scribble and his sister-lover take a shared trip into a vurt called English Voodoo, but upon awakening Scribble finds his sister has been replaced by an amorphous blob that Mandy, a fellow Stash Rider, nicknames "The Thing from Outer Space". From that point on, Scribble is on a mission to find another copy of the rare and contraband Curious Yellow feather (found within English Voodoo), so that he can exchange The Thing for Desdemona.


Some of his other novels are also based in Manchester.

 

[BlueBearBoots]

The Lights of Manchester - Tony Warren

The story spanning 60 years about an actress and a screen writer - possibly based on his relationship with Pat Phoenix but a good read. All based in and around Manchester

 

[Balti]