Underdogs by Louise Powell review – a powerful debut with plenty of northern soul In a country still reeling from industrial decline and economic hardship, a new generation of writers is shedding light on the overlooked stories of Britain's working class communities.
Louise Powell's powerful debut novel, Underdogs, brings to life the struggles faced by Easington Colliery and its surrounding villages in east Durham – not as relics of a bygone era, but as a present day reality.
Powell sets her story in the early 1990s, when Tony Blair's promise of regeneration investment seemed to offer hope for communities like Easington. However, this was a false dawn.