The Guardians

Blurb

The Guardians is a young-adult science fiction novel written by John Christopher and published by Hamilton in 1970.
Set in the year 2052, it depicts an authoritarian England divided into two distinct societies: the modern, overpopulated "Conurbs" and the aristocratic, rarefied "County". Crowded city districts and all-pervasive technology make up the Conurbs while manors and rolling countrysides typical of 19th-century England make up the County. The story follows a young Conurban orphan named Rob as he experiences life in both worlds, uncovering truths and choosing sides in the process.
Christopher and The Guardians won the annual Guardian Children's Fiction Prize from The Guardian newspaper, coincidentally, which is judged by a panel of British children's writers. In 1976 he won the Deutscher Jugendliteraturpreis in category youth fiction for the German-language edition, Die Wächter.
In 1986 the German TV station ARD broadcast a film adaptation under that title.