Talk:Saville (novel)

Saxton
The article says Saxton is a fictional village but there is a village called Saxton in Yorkshire near Leeds. So could it be about that village? — Preceding unsigned comment added by Petergjansen (talk • contribs) 09:54, 25 April 2010 (UTC)
 * I've removed "fictional", but I'm a bit confused because the book locates Saxton in South Yorkshire, as does this secondary source, whereas the real Saxton is in North Yorkshire. Cordless Larry (talk) 18:21, 1 April 2017 (UTC)
 * - at a guess, it's fictional. First off in the google books search you have given above it describes the village as being in the south of Yorkshire, not South Yorkshire. Secondly, South Yorkshire did not exist until 1974, so when the book is set is some 20-30 years before the creation of South Yorkshire.


 * Seeing as how Yorkshire used to stretch to the north of Chesterfield, I would say it is a stretch to describe the actual village of Saxton as being in the south of Yorkshire. The pit village the book describes seems unlike that of the actual Saxton and its environs and the area around Saxton wasn't exploited commercially for coal until the 1960's to 1970's and when it was (the Selby Coalfield) it was not in the traditional pit village manner as most coal was taken by underground conveyor to a central loading point.


 * Hope this helps. Regards. The joy of all things (talk) 21:16, 1 April 2017 (UTC)
 * Thanks for your input, . I'd forgotten that South Yorkshire was a relatively recent creation. Given that we're not certain (and don't have a source saying) that the village is fictional, I think we shouldn't describe it as such, but neither should we link to Saxton, North Yorkshire. I did do a bit more research today, and found a 1979 article, The novelist's image of the North, which discusses the book as follows: "Sulphur indeed, is an added aroma to the air of mining districts, be it early Beldover, inter-war Sleescale or post-war Saxton. The last-named, a mining village in South Yorkshire, is seen through the eyes of Storey's hero, born and bred there..."; and "The most recent example is Saxton in South Yorkshire...". Those quotes make it sound like it's the real Saxton that is being discussed, apart from the South Yorkshire bit. Cordless Larry (talk) 17:16, 2 April 2017 (UTC)
 * ...although I now realise that Sleescale is fictional, so it wouldn't be inconsistent for Saxton to be too. Cordless Larry (talk) 17:18, 2 April 2017 (UTC)