Pies and Prejudice: In search of the North Paperback – 1 Feb. 2007

by Stuart Maconie (Author)

4.4 479 ratings

'My name is Stuart Maconie, and I am from the North Of England. Some time ago, I was standing in my kitchen, rustling up a Sunday brunch for some very hungover, very Northern mates who were "down" for the weekend. One of them was helping me out and, recipe book in hand, asked "where are the sun-dried tomatoes?" "They're behind the cappuccino maker," I replied. Silence fell. We slowly met each other's gaze. We did not say anything. We did not need to. Each read the other's unspoken thought: we had become those kinds of people, the kind of people who had sun-dried tomatoes and cappuccino makers, the kind of people who did Sunday brunch. In other words: southerners.'

A northerner in exile, stateless and confused, hearing rumours of Harvey Nichols in Leeds and Maseratis in Wilmslow, Stuart goes in search of The North. Delving into his own past, it is a riotously funny journey in search of where the clichés end and the truth begins. He travels from Wigan Pier to Blackpool Tower, the Bigg Market in Newcastle to the daffodil-laden Lake District in search of his own Northern Soul, encountering along the way an exotic cast of Scousers, Scallies, pie-eating Woolly-backs, topless Geordies, mad-for-it Mancs, Yorkshire nationalists and brothers in southern exile.

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"Stuart Maconie is the best thing to come out of Wigan since the A58 to Bolton" (Peter Kay)

"Witty and wise, with more good lines than the Angel of the North" (Hunter Davies)

"Maconie makes a jovial, self-deprecating narrator. Sharp and funny" (Guardian)

"Effortlessly articulate" (The Times)

"A lyrical, passionate, humorous and argumentative tour du force...Imagine Nick Danzinger meets Nik Cohen meets Ricky Tomlinson and you've got the perfect blend of humorously incisive northern-travel writing. An early contender for best travel book of the year." (Big Issue North)

Book Description

A hilarious journey in search of the real North, northerners and northernness, from the bestselling author of Cider With Roadies

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Ebury Press; Reprint edition (1 Feb. 2007)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 352 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0091910226
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0091910228
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 13.49 x 2.54 x 21.44 cm

Best Sellers Rank: 1,971,555 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- 15,498 in Travel Writing (Books)

Customer reviews:
4.4 479 ratings

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4.4 out of 5

479 global ratings

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G P Hewitt

Laugh out loud

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 25 May 2023

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What a fantastic book, that made me laugh at my own silly prejudices about class, politics and the nonsense we spout about our varying lives. I was hooked by the first page. As a Northerner living in the south I recognised the dilemma of not wanting to give up my northernness and admit I quite liked living in the south. It is strange that we gang together in our tribes and slag off our neighbours, for e.g. Lancashire and Yorkshire, never shall the twain meet but if we meet a fellow northerner on holiday we immediate recognise our fellow northerners and stick together. Stuart Maconie's insight into the smallness of this island is spot on.

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zubedaky

Engaging and humorous

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 14 October 2023

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A southerner living in the north now for 33 years, 5 years in North and West Yorkshire and the last 28 years in Manchester, i found this a genuinely humorous and enjoyable read. Agree with so much of the sentiment, and delightfully pitched by Mr Maconie. Next time i see you in Gorilla I'll buy you a pint sir.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 26 August 2023

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Bought this for my 88 year old Dad and he loved it (as a man originally from the north west of England he found it nostalgic

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 4 February 2023

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This a great book, a paean to the North of England. I love Stuart Maconie - always listen to his 6Music show with Mark Radcliffe.
This book is lovely, funny and rather moving - it cocks several snooks at the entitled and up itself south of England.
He does nick some Midlands gems (Saturday Night and Sunday Morning) and try to claim them for the North, which is naughty (it belongs to Nottingham, Stuart), but it remains a brilliant read.

More to the point, it should be compulsory reading for all prospective MPs south of Yorkshire and Cheshire, before they're allowed to stand as a candidate!

One person found this helpful

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Northern Brit UK

An honest and witty depiction of the contemporary north

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 12 September 2021

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Reading some of the other reviews, I began to wonder if people had actually read the same book as I did. I really enjoyed this and found myself laughing out loud on many occasions. Part personal sentimental journey, part social history, part political satire, Maconie guides us through some of the places across the north just to make it clear to those who think the north begins at Watford and is all clogs, grime and whippets that it’s worth more than just a second look. Unlike “The North”, which focuses on the very personal history in and around Stockport, “Pies and Prejudice” takes us both sides of the Pennines. It introduces those in the south to a proud region, master of its own destiny, and one which has transformed itself and its future despite neglect or down right oppression from Westminster. Maconie pulls no punches, either in the picture he paints, nor the condemnation of a certain Margaret Thatcher. And the whole narrative is suffused with his dry, understated wit. Very highly recommended.

2 people found this helpful

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Mostly very engaging - it made me smile a lot and think very hard

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 11 November 2016

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This had been chosen as my latest bookclub challenge and, having read his book The Peoples Songs recently, I was looking forward to it.
The first few paragraphs were intriguing, giving a description of the moments when the author realises that he has become a southerner. There is, however, a fairly lengthy buildup to get to the North - in the Prologue the author explains why he has written the book and in the first chapter he talks about the South, dismissing many of the towns based on his experience which could turn off some readers and stop them going any further. In the next chapter he starts to muse about where the North actually starts and so the book begins properly.
The book was first published in 2007 and much has happened since then which makes the narrative feel very out of date at times - for example he comments that libraries are holding their own but after the economic slow down in 2008 and subsequent cuts this is not necessarily true now. Other examples include various references to Jimmy Saville, Fred Talbot and Stuart Hall.
As any good travel book should be this is packed with interesting facts - did you know that the first Ikea was in Warrington? There are also many experiences that are easy to relate to - the author walks through the Cultural Area in Warrington without realising it, something I did recently in Northampton.
There are many light, humorous sections alongside some more thought provoking material - consider Boris Johnson's article about Liverpudlians, expressing his view that they see themselves as victims. I found that the Liverpool section made me smile - "It's hard to hear the ferry related information above the mournful howling of the wind" and "two cathedrals, a Protestant one designed by a Catholic and a Catholic one designed by a Protestant".
Nostalgia fills every page and the author is very proud of his roots which is lovely to read.
Some things sit uncomfortably though - the author criticises a fellow author for entitling a book "Up North", saying it is sarcastic and dismissive with its unfair generalisations, however if you look back to the first couple of chapters of this book and you'll see that Stuart Maconie has done this with much of the South.

5 people found this helpful

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Top reviews from other countries

garygarry

Perceptive and genuinely funny

Reviewed in France on 5 June 2017

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Well worth your time, an affectionate look at what makes the North the North through the eyes of a Northerner who now lives in the South

Liz

Home Thoughts from Abroad

Reviewed in Canada on 6 November 2015

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I was born in Salford and I have lived in Canada for 40-odd years. My cousin recommended this book when I was "home" on a recent visit.
It iswritten from the heart of a real northerner and received the same way.
Colloquialism and references to local haunts and celebrities give it authenticy and warmth. I laughed and I cried. It helped me get over a bout of home sickness and on the shelf for the next one. You see, we never really England.

One person found this helpful

Buyer

Great travelogue of the North of England by a native

Reviewed in the United States on 11 April 2013

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Great travelogue of the North of England by a native

Absolutely brilliant! A northerner's view of the North. Funny and insightful by one of Britain's best broadcasters. A must read for all those softie southerners brave enough to venture north of Watford!

2 people found this helpful

Harry Saxon

Insightful

Reviewed in the United States on 3 March 2013

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I moved to the UK 20 days ago. I moved "oop North". I was recommended this book so as to understand the people better. Having lived only 9 days in the UK in total, I felt like I should have a map near my Kindle when reading, but it's been very interesting, getting to know about Northerners and the North and Southerners as well. I laughed a lot and people gave me weird looks on the plane and all the buses and trains.
I hope, when I know more about living here, I'll laugh more when I read it again. Great.

5 people found this helpful

Tere Gidlof

Thoroughly enjoyed the wide-ranging information and thoughts on some of the ...

Reviewed in the United States on 27 October 2014

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Thoroughly enjoyed the wide-ranging information and thoughts on some of the English cities and villages that are left out of most tourist books.

2 people found this helpful

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Pies and Prejudice: In search of the North Paperback – 1 Feb. 2007

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