Benjamin Myer’s The Gallows Pole: A Gripping Historical Fiction Review
The Gallows Pole: An Introduction
kevinrunsblog.com – Review of The Gallows Pole by Benjamin Myers. Benjamin Myer’s award-winning work of historical fiction, The Gallows Pole (collecting both the Walter Scott Prize and the Roger Deakin Award), has been on our radar for a while. Despite this, we just haven’t gotten around to buying it—until now.
Our Love for Books and Why the Gallows Pole Was Delayed
We do buy plenty of books. Lots of books. Piles of books. We always read these books, of course. But there’s no denying that we buy a lot of books.
‘We’ being my wonderful lady wife, of course. My partner in life, my soulmate, my (literal) running buddy, and naturally, the other member of our two-person book club.
The organized book lovers vs. our reading habits
So why hadn’t Benjamin Myers featured before now?
Well, it’s come to my attention that some very organized book lovers keep meticulous lists of books they intend to read. We’re not like that. We often start these lists but then forget where. Then we start the lists again but forget what was on the first list. Better yet, we never take lists to the bookstore when we shop.
Despite frequently appearing on my list, The Gallows Pole had never quite made it into the basket. We do get distracted when we’re buying books.
Finally Diving Into The Gallows Pole
This spring, we saw the error of our ways, and The Gallows Pole duly arrived in a lockdown book bundle. We both devoured it in rapid succession And here’s why.
A Brutal Tale of the Crag Valley Coiners
The Gallows Pole is a brutal, forceful telling of the Crag Valley Coiners’ story. On the Yorkshire moors, this 18th-century gang was involved in the escalation of ‘coining.’ Coins of the realm were clipped, and these clippings were melted down before being formed into new coins.
The gang was led by their self-acclaimed king, David Hartley, and his family. They oversaw the ‘coining’ operation, had a ring of protection that demanded respect from the men who followed them, and were happy to use whatever means necessary to keep their highly illegal and secretive work secure.
Warning: Myer’s graphic depictions
Before getting into this, settle your nerves. I found myself wincing and occasionally having to look away from the page as Hartley and his henchmen meted out punishment for disloyalty and violence towards any outsiders who might try to puncture the inner circle. Or, on one occasion, an innocent bear who stumbled into their territory and had too much to say while enjoying the wares of the alehouse.
The bodger fell as the fists and clogs came. A hail of them. He was stamped and kicked down into the trees. Down and out of sight into the crisp dead leaves. Absolum Butts, Brian Dempsey, and Paul Taylor said nothing as they thumped, pounded, worked, grunted, clumped, punched, slugged, and sweated.
(A “bodger” was not an unskilled tradesman, but rather someone who could turn and create with wood.)
The Industrial Revolution’s Impact on the Moors
The industrial revolution was coming, and the families found their moorland way of life threatened by the automation of their skills, particularly weaving. These truths, alongside the constant threat of the gallows if a coiner were to be caught, drive the pace of this bitter and desperate tale.
The Power of Myer’s Writing Style
I found I tuned in quickly to the clipped and percussive pace of the dialogue. Myers creates a mercenary streak in the coiners, but the violence he portrays—the dominant force with which the Hartleys keep their gang in line—seems justified by the carnage coming the way of the moors.
The Cat-and-Mouse Game Between Deighton and Hartley
The exciseman, Deighton, is the government’s envoy, tasked with hunting down and catching the coiners in the act. The book delves into the psyches of both Deighton and Hartley, as they seem as hell-bent on destroying each other as they do achieving whatever their version of ‘right’ is.
The book is absolutely a page-turner. Sometimes the narrative bullies you from page to page. I discovered that even when dozing off while reading, I would rush to splash water on my face in order to come back and have just one more page.
Extensive Research and Historical Accuracy
The research appears to have been extensive. The life that the lower classes in rural England lived was hard. So why wouldn’t they have pursued their illicit skills to protect their families’ futures from the onrushing changes of the 18th century?
Hartley’s Prison Memoirs: A Deeply Personal Touch
By creating David Hartley’s fictional prison memoirs, produced sporadically throughout the story, Myers has produced something that resonates on a deeply personal level. These memoirs are written as they might have been spoken, full of inconsistencies and Yorkshire slang. They add welcome pauses to the frenetic pace of the novel.
Moments of Dark Humor
There are subtle moments of dark humor, such as David reflecting on how he winds up his fellow prisoners with his singing and shouting.
“An so I show out, I shout Get a wash yer blacc Lancastreen bustuds becors even though the most of them are Jórvíkshire men, I like myself its bestst way to get their blud and piss boilin.”
Final thoughts: Is The Gallows Pole worth reading?
Like much of my reading in these strange times, the bitter divisions, societal changes, and personal tragedies resonate with all that is wrong in the world today. Changes come, and those that resist might have their moment of standing strong or delaying the inevitable, but at the coiners’ level, society was fragile and constantly in danger of breaking.
I’d normally baulk at historical fiction, but I was enthralled, obsessed, and appalled by this and regularly found myself reading it while cooking, on the ‘phone, walking to the compost bin…
A strong recommendation
I’d heartily recommend you let this book muscle its way into your psyche and challenge you. And I’d be interested to know if you, too, found the words giving you shivers worthy of the cold, damp Yorkshire moors and the dark secrets they harbor.