The Northern Light by A.J. Cronin. Short summary

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The story of the confrontation between Henry Page, editor of a small provincial newspaper, The Northern Lights, against a powerful newspaper trust.

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The novel’s protagonist is the now-aged Henry Page, editor of the small provincial newspaper The Northern Lights. The hero continues with dignity the work of his father, who produced the newspaper all his life. Henry stands for honesty, objectivity and integrity in the newspaper business, strictly adhering to the concepts of morality and decency.

But one day the Northern Light has a rival, the «yellow» newspaper, the Chronicle. «The Northern Light believes in people, but the owners of the Chronicle care only about money and power. In their fight against Page’s «old-fashioned» newspaper, the owners of the Chronicle are not shy in their choice of means. They use all kinds of advertising and the dirtiest methods — gossip, pornography, scandals. They try to strangle the competitor, to deprive him of his printing house. But Page does not give up.

In the end, the newspaper «Northern Light» is saved by the money of the rich man Weatherby, which he provided the hero for personal purposes. But Paige’s victory comes at a high price: his son and daughter-in-law die.