The Stars Look Down

About The Stars Look Down

The Stars Look Down is a 1935 novel by A. J. Cronin that chronicles two decades in an English coal mining community. A film version was released in 1940, and television adaptations include both Italian (1971) and British (1975) versions. The Stars Look Down is generally regarded among Cronin's best novels along with The Citadel and The Keys of the Kingdom.

Overview

The Stars Look Down is a 1935 novel by A. J. Cronin which chronicles various injustices in an English coal mining community. A film version was released in 1940, and television adaptations include both Italian (1971) and British (1975) versions. The novel is set in 'Sleescale,' a mining town on the coast of Northumberland, as well as in 'Tynecastle' (Newcastle upon Tyne). While 'Sleescale' is a fictional locale, it is based on an excellent knowledge of similar places and people. Cronin, a Scot, served as Medical Inspector of Mines in the South Wales Valleys during the 1920s. Beginning before World War I and extending into the 1930s, the story shows the different careers of several persons: principally, a miner's son who aspires to defend his people politically, a miner who becomes a businessman, and the mine owner's son in conflict with his domineering father. Plot summary The novel centres on three very different men:

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