There is a village in north Derbyshire called Cromford, which is less than two miles from Wirksworth, both of them locations in What we have in common. Cromford is unusual for many reasons; it’s where Richard Arkwright built the first cotton mill in 1771, and is therefore now part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site, as the cradle of the Industrial Revolution, and if you’ve ever been there, or have read WWHIC, you’ll know that it’s situated on a very steep hill – gradient 1 in 8 over the long crawl of 1.4km!
However, it’s probably best known to book lovers as the home of the wonderful Scarthin Books, an independent bookshop established in 1974 by its owner, David Mitchell. This unique shop exists in one of Cromford’s old houses on The Promenade, and to visit it is to enter a world of words, where each room in the house has a different character, shaped by the books, art, and furniture it contains. I discovered the shop in 1990 when I first moved to Derbyshire, and I have loved it ever since. If you go there, plan to spend at least half a day, and visit its vegetarian café when you need to refuel. I used to ask my family to indulge me and take me there on my birthdays, so I could eat chocolate cake and buy books. Or have them bought for me, of course.
Scarthin Books is now selling What we have in common. You can imagine how thrilled and honoured I am, that this world-famous bookshop, in the centre of the setting of the story, is now stocking my book. If you would like to buy a copy, you can do so easily by going to Scarthin Books via one of the links on different pages of my website and also here.
Jane Allsopp Writer 