It’s always exciting when a local author sees their debut novel published – it’s even more exciting when that author is someone who you’ve worked alongside.

Joanne Clague, former Isle of Man Newspapers reporter and Laxey resident, will see her debut novel published everywhere today (June 2).

Entitled ‘The Ragged Valley’, the book is the first instalment in a cinematic saga she is currently working on.

At the heart of the novel is one of the biggest industrial disasters of the Victorian era, which may be little known to those outside of Sheffield - the Great Sheffield Flood of 1864.

The flood devastated parts of Sheffield, when the Dale Dyke Dam broke as its reservoir was being filled for the first time, on March 11, 1864.

Around 250 people died, most of them working class inhabitants of the banks of the Loxley and Don rivers, and more than 600 people saw their houses damaged or destroyed.

Millions of gallons of water were unleashed on the unsuspecting town near midnight.

The flood thundered down the Loxley valley from Bradfield, destroying every mill, factory and dwelling on the banks of the river and reaching as far as Lady’s Bridge in the centre of town, the first bridge in its path to withstand the onslaught.

Some victims were recovered from as far away as Doncaster.

The immediate cause was a crack in the embankment, the cause of which was never determined. The dam’s failure led to reforms in engineering practice, setting standards on specifics that needed to be met when constructing such large-scale structures.

‘The Ragged Valley’ will be the first of three-books in a series which was snapped up by publisher Canelo.

Joanne was inspired to write the book whilst researching her grandparents’ lives as file cutters in Sheffield’s steel industry before the Second World War. She was already writing historical fiction around working class lives, - but she couldn’t get this disaster out of her head.

She said: ‘I stumbled on some information about the flood during a research trip to the Kelham Island museum and was amazed I had never before heard of it, especially considering what a huge blow it was to the town and the emerging steel industry.

‘I was born and raised in Sheffield and had no idea about the flood.

‘It felt like an event lost in time and I couldn’t stop thinking about those who had lost their lives in the flood, as well as the townspeople who had to live with the consequences.

‘I was surprised that there seems to be no lasting monument.’

And as for the switch from journalist to full-time novelist, it’s not as easy as you may think.

As Joanne put it, ‘The two styles of writing are so different. In journalism, you put the news in the intro, because you want to grab people with the intro, but it’s the other way round with novel writing.

‘You’re teasing people more I suppose, you’ve not got the big reveal at the top of the story, so I had to learn all of that - it’s been a learning curve.’

l The Ragged Valley is out now.

l Jo will be signing copies at the Bridge Bookshop in Ramsey on Saturday, June 25 from 11am to midday. This ties in with Independent Booksellers Week.

l The second book in the series will be published in October, and the third is expected in Spring 2023.