was Walter Greenwood’s first novel and is still his best-remembered. It established his reputation, was highly influential at the time and since, and rapidly changed his life from being an unemployed worker in Salford to being a best-selling novelist.

is the story of the Hardcastle family and their neighbours in a poor part of Salford, Hanky Park. Mr Hardcastle is a miner and Mrs Hardcastle a housewife; their son Harry works first at a pawnshop and is then an apprentice engineer, while their daughter Sally works at a textile mill. Neighbours include the qualified engineer Larry Meath, and a group of older women who both help and exploit for their own gain the other inhabitants of Hanky Park. The characters represent a working-class economy which is…

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Citation: Hopkins, Chris. "Love on the Dole". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 21 November 2019 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=21879, accessed 24 November 2024.]

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