Earthy, poetic, hilarious, strong as steel and soft as velvet, this is by far the best book ever written about Northern life.

"I Didn't Know You Cared" is the sequel to "A Touch of Daniel", and continues the adventures of the Brandon family. Set in an industrial city on the north of England in the 1960s, like "Daniel", it's told with wry, sardonic humour.

Uncle Mort has been given six months to live. Carter and Pat's marriage is tested by the arrival of a new neighbour, Gerry Phelan and his German wife, Ursula. The mysterious Cousin Celia arrives on the scene. Almost all the men are unemployed, but their wives are at work and are therefore the bread-winners (a role-reversal for the time).

Tinniswood weaves these various sub-plots together well, and I felt that the bitter humour was more consistently sharp than in "Daniel". Tinniswood keeps a firmer grip of reality than he did in "Daniel", where the latter parts of the novel seemed too fantastic and therefore gave it a disjointed feel. Here, the overall feel of the novel is more consistent - it was more "united".

Tinniswood's writing will not be to everyone's taste - it's very English, even northern English, and could strike some people as being overly morbid. But if you can tune into it, it's entertaining stuff. Not great literature to be sure, but fun.

G Rodgers

Forget Jane Austin, the Brontes and all that lot. This is real English literature, the story of Northern England when men were men and women were err ... in charge. Hilarious

This is a northern English comedy/fantasy by Peter Tinniswood (who died recently). The Brandon family live in a bleak industrial city somewhere in northern England in the 1960s. Les and Annie Brandon's house becomes home to a seemingly endless flow of their relations, unfortunate and lost souls all. Tensions surface pretty quickly, especially when the acerbic Uncle Mort gets Auntie Lil pregnant.

Tinniswood's writing is very much an acquired taste, and it helps if you've got an ear for the northern accent, but he does do a good job of evoking the sheer dreary monotony of working class life in industrial England, where the highlight of the year was the firm's outing to some bleak seaside resort, where battenburg cake was considered a delicacy and where ladies' hairdressers went by the name of "Maison Enid". The men retreat frequently to their local pubs as sanctuary from their female counterparts, who they depend upon to organise their lives.

For those with a feel for life in towns with heavy industry, "A Touch of Daniel" will touch a funny bone as well as stir memories. It might be lost on others.

G Rodgers

A very enjoyable book with a wonderfull cast of characters. A bazzare family full of those odd uncles and cousins that most people try to hide away from the world. Amaricans beware - tougher going if you can't "hear" the british accents.