Book excerpt: The North-South divide in England is rooted in prehistory and attested throughout recorded time in widely varied sources. This book traces its development from earliest times and provides a corrective to the popular notion that the divide only originated with the Industrial Revolution. A major theme of the study is the development of northern consciousness, and the presence of Scotland across the northern border is seen as an important factor in shaping northern English identity, as well as the attitudes of southern kings and governments to the north.