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 First UK edition | |
| Author | A. J. Cronin |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Publisher | Gollancz (UK) Little, Brown (US) |
Publication date | 1935 |
| Publication place | United Kingdom |
| Media type | Print (hardback & paperback) |
| Pages | 701 p. (UK hardback edition) |
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 similar locations throughout the UK. 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.