An Evening with Brian Groom

10TH SEPTEMBER 2022 / NEWS

I really enjoyed interviewing author Brian Groom about his book Northerners: A History. From the Ice Age to the Present Day.

Brian was our guest for The Exchange at the Athenaeum. His fascinating book explores the events and people (famous and not) who have shaped the north of England from the Ice Age to the present day, and how Northerners have influenced the rest of the UK and the world.

During our interview we covered topics as diverse as the importance of sheep, the north-south language divide, why the Industrial Revolution happened in the north, ethnic diversity, the legacy of slavery and the contribution of northern writers, artists and comedians.

Brian Groom is a journalist and one of the foremost experts on British regional and national affairs. His career was spent mainly at the Financial Times, where he did many of the top writing and editing jobs. He is also a former editor of Scotland on Sunday, which he launched as deputy editor and which won many awards.