THE DARK AND GOLDEN ROAD BY ANTHONY TAYLOR

Joseph Bradley, a young man desperate to escape his past, cycles from the Midlands to South Wales to find work in the booming coal mining industry. He experiences the dark horrors of toiling underground, but finds a community of men and women who combat the harshness of their lives with camaraderie, resilience, humour, religion and drink.

Activists try to stir them into action against those who grow rich from their labour, but they are reluctant to strike because of the extra hardship it would create. 

Can they harness the courage and togetherness they show every day to fight for a better life?

Not least in the struggle for existence is the part played by the women, whose fortitude and supportiveness shine through the bleakness. And among them is one woman with whom Joseph feels a troubled but strengthening bond…