The Pit Boy

Set against the harsh yet vibrant streets of South Shields in the early 1900s, The Pit Boy is a powerful and deeply human story of childhood, survival and working class life.

Told through young Teddy Orton's eyes, this fictional biography traces his early years of poverty, where hunger hardship and uncertainty are all part of daily life. From freezing winters without shoes and scavenging for coals, to crowded homes filled with noise, laughter and conflict, Teddy's world is shaped by the struggles of his family and neighbours - families of pit men, shipyard workers and sailors, and the pubs they drank in.

Teddy went down the pit in 1903 when he was thirteen to a life of toil, darkness and danger, but found bonds with his 'marras' (workmates) and moments of humour that bring light to even the darkest days. As Teddy endures loss and family tensions, he accepts the realities of his life and begins to gain the resilience he needs to endure - and the hope to rise above it.

Rich in historical detail and authentic voice, The Pit Boy captures a forgotten world with compassion and honesty.

"John Orton's The Pit Boy is a fiction based on the life of his grandfather, Teddy Orton who became a pitman at 13. Stand by for the story of South Shields, a place that History ran over. If you liked Catherine Cookson, Orton writes with the same gusto - and he is a better historian." Robert Colls, Professor Emeritus of History, De Montfort University

​​​​​​​"John Orton's The Pit Boy recaptures working class Tyneside at the turn of the 19th and early 20th century. It was a world of brutal poverty and hard labour of a kind unimaginable today, but also of courage and occasional triumph. Basing his story on the life of his grandfather, Orton recreates this harsh yet inspiring world with vivid artistry in a rare triumph of rigorous research and creative imagination." John Gray, author of Straw Dogs: thoughts on humans and other animals