Editor Raymond Hickey provides a welcome addition to the Varieties of English Around the World series with this volume focusing upon the North of England and its language varieties. The 20-chapter volume provides insight into the social and dialectological history of the North, as well as the development and enregisterment of modern day Northern dialect features.

Hickey's introduction outlines geographical and linguistic conceptualisations of ‘the North’, whilst acknowledging the ambiguity of ‘the North’ as an entity. Following this, Beal and Cooper open the first of the volume's three sections, concerning language and culture in the region, with a discussion of the history and enregisterment of Northern English generally and the Yorkshire dialect specifically. Prichard follows, considering the development of phonological features that define modern Northern varieties; particular attention is given to the Great Vowel Shift and its modern reflexes. Buchstaller and Corrigan are next, examining the grammatical features of Northern English varieties. Their observation that significant variability exists in the North, making generalisations about morphosyntax difficult, is an important one. Fernández Cuesta follows, discussing the historical spread of the Northern third person present indicative marker, –s. Moreover, she traces the development of the Northern Subject Rule through Old Northumbrian to its demise. Ruano-García et al. conclude the section with an examination of lexis and spelling in Northern English during the Early and Late Modern English periods.

The second section, on variation and change in the North, opens with a chapter by Mearns examining the history and characteristics of the Tyneside dialect, in addition to ongoing developments. Burbano-Elizondo examines socio-culturally motivated language variation in the North East; linguistic variables used by Sunderland speakers to distinguish themselves from Newcastle ones are considered. Jansen follows, discussing the social, historical and dialectological backgrounds of Cumbria and Carlisle. Finnegan provides a variationist account of middle-class Sheffield English, considering results through a language ideology framework. Next is Llamas, considering the impacts of socio-political changes on identity as manifest through consonant production in Middlesbrough. Barras provides a socio-cultural overview of Lancashire and examines research on phonology, morphology and syntax within the county. Baranowski and Turton follow, considering Manchester English and providing a quantitative analysis of linguistic and social constraints affecting numerous phonological variables. West concludes the section with a discussion of convergence and divergence on the Merseyside-Lancashire border, looking at the impacts of attitudes and identity on speech production in Ormskirk and Southport -- two areas straddling the border.

The third section, looking at transitions and borders, opens with a study by Montgomery. He examines perceptions of the North-South divide through consideration of perceptual dialectological evidence. Braber and Flynn and Asprey consider the East and West Midlands respectively. The authors consider these Midland areas to be distinct dialect regions – neither Northern nor Southern. Britain follows, considering phonological and grammatical variables in the Fenland area, highlighting its position as a transitional zone between Northern and Southern dialects. Maguire considers the shared histories of varieties from the North of England and Scotland, before outlining how the latter are distinct from the former. Drummond concludes by examining the acquisition of Northern dialect features by non-native speakers; numerous social factors that may impact upon such acquisition are considered.

This volume may not offer an exhaustive coverage of the North and its many varieties, but no single book could. This work is an essential read for those interested in Northern varieties, regardless of whether one's primary interest lies with phonology, morphosyntax, historical linguistics, perceptual dialectology or sociolinguistics.