Wife in the North - Judith O'Reilly

Judith O'Reilly is leaving her beloved London to go and live in rural Northumberland with her husband and her small children. It's all her husband's idea as she would much rather be staying where she is. Wife in the North chronicles what happens over the next two and half years, that being the amount of time they have given themselves to decide whether they will actually settle there or return home. The book is written in a diary style which makes it very easy to read. Judith O'Reilly uses her keen observation and wry wit to describe the many events she experiences, from the mundane to the bizarre. Much of her story is told in a humourous way although it does ...  Read the complete review

I bought this book because I was sent a cut down version from Tesco with details of how I could purchase it cheaply from them. As I was just about to go on holiday I thought it sounded like a light read. The main reason why I decided to buy it was because of the flyer I thought it sounded like the sort of book I could identify with. Here was a mother of two soon to be three small children called Judith (the author) battling with life alone while her husband worked all hours. Not only that but they had decided in the middle of all of this to move to her husband's most loved place Northumberland which meant even more time alone for her with him away most of the ...  Read the complete review

Wife in the North - Judith O'Reilly The reason why I picked up this book was because it's in a diary format, and I have read a few like this and have never read one which falls flat. It also appealed to me because it has a cartoonish cover, where the main character of the book is trying to juggle her 3 children and a pile of shopping with a sheep following them. It sounded right up my street. So when I went away for a few days, I decided that it definately needed a space in my bag. The plot is a bit thin throughout the book. The main character is called Judith and she has recently moved from London to Northumberland with her husband, although it ...  Read the complete review

As a wife in Northumberland myself, I was keen to read Judith O'Reilly's book, wife in Northumberland. I had seen the book for sale in Waterstones but thought I would borrow it from my local library. There was a long waiting list (obviously others wanted to read a book with a local connection) After a wait of 3 weeks I was very keen to start reading! The cover of the book with its cartoon family suggests that this is a humorous book. To confirm this there is a quote from Jenny Colgan saying that she howled with laughter at every page. This sounded like my kind of light read. However this book was not what I had been expecting. There is a lot of humour but it ...  Read the complete review

This book started life as a blog, by Judith O'Reilly, a working mum who finds herself agreeing to move from London up to Northumberland to fulfil her husband's longheld dream. The book charts her up and down emotions towards the situation she finds herself in. This book attracted me as it's a subject close to my heart - I'm an exiled Cumbrian living in the South East and often wonder whether I'll be here forever or whether I'll be able to make the move back home. I also lived in the North East for a while so can appreciate the beautifully descriptive (but bitter-sweet) pictures the author paints of the landscape and surroundings. Because the book ...  Read the complete review