The Secret Kingdom (novel)

The Secret Kingdom is a 1938 novel by the British writer Walter Greenwood. Like his best-known novel Love on the Dole it is set in Salford.^[1] It portrays the working-class socialist Byron family, and particularly the eldest daughter Paula who tries to establish an independent identity after finding working a parlour maid. She encounters Bert Treville in nearby Manchester and the two begin a courtship. After his death due to heavy drinking, she brings up her son Lance as a single-mother, throwing her effort into her talented child she is vindicated when he emerges as a talented concert pianist - performing on national radio in the final scene.

The Secret Kingdom

First edition
Author	Walter Greenwood
Language	English
Genre	Drama
Publisher	Jonathan Cape
Publication date	1938
Publication place	United Kingdom
Media type	Print

Adaptation

In 1960 it was adapted into an eight-part BBC television series of the same title.^[2] Greenwood had in the 1940s had written a screenplay based on the story, but it remained unproduced.^[3]