In the heart of rural Yorkshire at the turn of the 20th century, 28-year-old Mary runs her farm while trapped in a loveless marriage. Her world is upended by the arrival of David Rossitur, a charismatic young socialist who challenges her beliefs and tries to unionise the farmers. As Mary grapples with her attraction to David’s fiery idealism, the novel explores the simmering tensions between tradition and progress in a small farming community. With echoes of Jane Austen’s sharp social observations, which would flourish in her later masterpiece South Riding, Anderby Wold – Holtby’s first novel – weaves a compelling tale of forbidden attraction, social upheaval, and the price of preserving one’s way of life.