From Field to Furnace
About
In the heart of 18th-century Shropshire, a profound metamorphosis sweeps through the lives of the Bangham family, capturing the essence of an era marked by radical change. “From Field to Furnace” is a compelling historical novel that delves into the lives of ordinary people navigating the tumultuous waters of the Industrial Revolution, a pivotal period that reshaped society and human existence.
As the world witnessed the advent of technological marvels, like the revolutionary use of coal in iron production, the Bangham family becomes the embodiment of an epoch in transition. The story unfurls against the backdrop of an agrarian society on the cusp of transformation into an industrial powerhouse, exploring the intricate shifts in work, family dynamics, and societal norms.
This novel immerses readers in the lives of the Bangham family, offering a personal lens through which to witness the grand tapestry of history. We follow their journey from the tranquil enclaves of Bangham’s Wood to the bustling industrial settlements of the Severn Gorge, where the relentless demands of the Darby ironworks reshape their existence. The central question of whether Joseph Bangham and his kin foresaw the profound impact they would have on the world through their toil at the furnace underscores the magnitude of the Industrial Revolution. It prompts reflection on the consequences of technological advancement and the enduring uncertainty it brings.
This edition combines books one and two of the Bangham Family Story in one complete volume.
Praise for this book
'"From Field to Furnace" is a riveting and enlightening historical novel. The narrative acquires moral and ethical dimensions as it explores 18th-century England's often brutal justice system. The Bangham family's encounters with the law offer glimpses into the harrowing world of prisoner transportation to America and the desperate plight of its enslaved people, hinting at the nascent anti-slavery movement.
Ultimately, this thought-provoking novel strikes a harmonious balance between historical precision and captivating storytelling, inviting readers to contemplate the past while recognizing the enduring impact of the Industrial Revolution on our modern world.'
Goodreads Review of Part One
I should declare an interest here. I have just finished recording the audiobook version of Coalbrookdale. The project has given me great pleasure. I have never read a novel quite like it, out loud or to myself.We begin in 1713. For generations the Bangham family have been producing charcoal to fuel the iron furnaces dotted around the Severn Gorge. Living in a squatter's cottage built by grandfather Bangham with his bare hands, they are as rooted to the district as the wood which has come to bear their name. In their close-knit hamlet, never visited by doctor or midwife, the crises of birth and illness are shared with neighbouring families, along with the water pump and the communal hog, spectacularly slaughtered each year.
But the days are numbered for this way of life. Abraham Darby, the pioneering ironmaster, has developed a new way of smelting iron, using coal instead of charcoal. Joe Bangham, the forward-looking eldest son, is not sorry. Realising the market for their charcoal is about to shrink, and hoping to make an escape from a life of drudgery and toil on the land, he strides optimistically across the river to apply for a job at Mr Darby's fledgling ironworks. As he approaches the kindly principled Quaker, he little suspects he is enlisting as one of the first industrial proletariats. He will receive scant reward from the company to which he dedicates his life.
Meanwhile other members of the family, as much by marriage as hard work, ascend the social ladder. Brother Will, a hot-headed adventurer, even makes it across the Atlantic to the New World. Mixed fortunes await the three sisters who go into service up at The Hall, whose villainous under-butler is the catalyst for much of the novel's action.
This is "The Bangham Family Story" and (it is no disparagement to say) reads more like a history book than a novel. Adopting a reportage approach free of literary affectation in which concurrent storylines and diverse themes are effortlessly interwoven, Marilyn Freeman (herself a Bangham) chronicles thirty years to 1743 in one smooth sweep. This family is not a patriarchal organisation held together by authority and obligation so much as a network of love and kindness (and occasional jealousy) which, while it loosens over time, survives the early upheavals of the industrial revolution.
Although based on the author's ancestors, it is a work of fiction, elegantly plotted with some good emotional rollercoastering and a grisly climax. But Freeman maintains an extraordinary level of realism by steadfastly keeping her finger on the pulse of family life. When Joe is put on night shifts, for example, she gives due weight to the resulting disruption to the family's mealtimes. The imaginative recreation of the world of these people lost to history reads as if it were all fact meticulously researched.
A river runs through it. Repeatedly crossed and re-crossed at the Buildwas Bridge for weddings and funerals, bustling with an ever-increasing traffic of cargo vessels as the Darby works expand, sometimes glittering in the sun, occasionally a deadly torrent, the River Severn abides as the representative image of this fast-flowing poignant novel.
Having just read from Field to Furnace by Marilyn Freeman, I found it to be an interesting and well written saga of a family living through the turbulent years of the 18th Century, in and around the Severn Gorge. I was impressed and at times intrigued, by both her understanding and portrayal of a family of hard-working people in such distant times. The family, of meagre means, struggles with hardship and change as the world of industry in the form of ironmaking develops around them, altering their world forever.
Although this is fundamentally the story of a family, often moving and at times, as portrayed by the writer, laced with tragedy, the story is a glimpse of the harsh world of this turbulent century through the eyes of ordinary people, who were moulded by caring for each other and the absolute necessity to survive.
I found this to be an extremely well detailed and written story that would appeal to anyone interested in the effects of the Industrial Revolution and the way it transformed the lives of ordinary working people.