"Lost" Nottinghamshire author James Prior who lived in Bingham honoured with blue plaques and new book by author Ailish D'Arcy

A century on from his death, a "lost" Nottinghamshire author is once again being celebrated.

James Prior was an author best known for his novel Forest Folk, set around Blidworth during the Luddite uprising in the early 1800s. He went on to write five more major novels and two unpublished works.

Now, blue plaques dedicated to Prior have been unveiled in Bingham at the cottage where he once lived and on The Banks, a short walk from the cemetery in which he is buried.

Prior lived in Bingham, dying in 1922. 100 years on from his death Spokesman Books has published In Search of James Prior, a new book by author Ailish D’Arcy chronicling his life.

Tony Simpson of Spokesman Books explained by Prior is such an important figure in the literary history of Nottinghamshire.

He said:“James Prior was unique as he used Nottinghamshire dialect in his books.

"Forest Folk, his most well known novel, was set in Blidworth and he walked all over the Trent valley keeping notes and collecting the dialects, expressions and sayings of the people he met.

“He went rather unacknowledged but his works were published in the same publishing house as D H Lawrence, who once described his writing as ‘highly flavoured stuff’.

“Sadly he has become lost as his last few novels were not published and his other works have been out of print for a long time."

Prior was also a pioneering contributor to the the English Dialect Dictionary and D'Arcy's new book includes a glossary to explain some words which have fallen out of favour over the years.

Words such as ‘Jannocky’, to mean fair. Which can be found in an excerpt on page 128 of Forest Folk: “The brazen hussy! She promised me a smack i’ th’ mouth an’ gied me one i’ th’ eye. I don’t call that jannocky.’ By 'smack, the character was hoping for a kiss.

In Search of James Prior is available in local bookshops, priced £7, or online from Spokesman.