Catherine Cookson Books

The year was 1851 and Rory McAlister was learning the wheelwright's trade in a small town in the north of England. At fifteen, Rory could think of no finer way of life than the one he led as Mr. Cornwall's apprentice. Mr. and Mrs. Cornwall treated him almost as a son. His own family lived nearby and he was able to visit them occasionaly and help them out with his wages. Everyone in the village had a friendly word for him. And -- especially -- there was Lily. But the simple pattern of Rory's life was suddenly shattered. Mr. Cornwallis was injured on the eve of his yearly journey to the West Country, where it was vblieved he went to visit his mother, and Rory was asked to make the journey in his place. But what was the mysterious Blue Baccy the Cornwallises had been discussing? "You'll remember this night for as long as you live, boy," said Mr. Cornwallis. And Rory would remember -- the Isle of Jersey, long night hours at sea, the sound of shots, the sight of death, the taste of fear. He would never forget the new truths revealed through his strange journey -- some of them difficult to accept -- about those he admired and trusted most. But above all he would learn what Blue Baccy was; what it meant to those who risked their lives for it -- and to his master and himself.

John Emmerson was a lonely man. He had a wife, a son, friends, but he was isolated from all the people and events about him by the tragedy of his past. Then, he met Cissie, and for the first time his loneliness eased a little. Cissie was everything his wife Ann was not. And, she was quick to sense the needs of a desolate, unhappy man.

'Me da's a grand man!' Mary Ann Shaughnessy has spoken; question her who dare. For although Mary Ann may look quite an ordinary small girl from a dockland tenement, always hot in defense of a ne'er-do-well father, she is in fact a one-man army, armoured with faith and possessed of formidable qualities. Set on Tyneside, the part of the world which Catherine Cookson knew and understood so well, this heartwarming and humorously observed book skillfully weds an authentic and unsentimentalized background to the kind of fairytale story that we all like to believe could come true and which the Mary Ann Shaughnessys of this world know to be true. The moral of A Grand Man is simply that faith can move mountains, but the delight of the book lies in the telling and in the character of its heroine as she battles, connives, and bargains to get a better way of life for those she loves and especially for the 'grand man' himself. A Grand Man is the first of the Mary Ann stories and was made into a film, Jacqueline, in 1954.

Dr Rodney Prince has never seen a girl look more out of place in the grime of the Fifteen Streets than Kate Hannigan. Her beauty and intelligence far outshine that of his hard, brittle, calculating wife. And as their paths continue to cross, Rodney cannot fail to be drawn towards her. But as an unlikely romance blossoms, the union fuels vicious gossip amongst the denizens of the Fifteen Streets. For it is a love that opposes all the concepts of Edwardian society . . . Kate Hannigan is the partly autobiographical, enthralling story of a controversial love affair, from one of the most talented storytellers of the 20th century.

Born into grinding poverty, young Freddie Musgrave relies on his wits to survive and help feed his family. But the threats of the past won't stay buried and the dark events of that distant night have cast a long and dangerous shadow... Catherine Cookson was the original and bestselling saga writer, selling over 100 million copies of her novels.

Tilly Trotter isn't like the other girls in the villages of County Durham. Tall and coltish, she's not afraid of taking on 'man's work' to help out the grandparents who raised her. There's an unusual beauty to her too - a beauty that's envied by the local women and lusted after by the men.But for all the attention Tilly only loves one man, farmer Simon Bentwood, and she's heartbroken to discover that he's betrothed to another. But there are even harder times ahead for Tilly. A spurned suitor takes a terrible revenge. Idle gossip brands her a witch. A betrayal forces her into the cruel drudgery of the local mine and puts her life in danger. But Tilly refuses to let her spirit be broken - determined that all this will serve only to make her stronger...

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Rooney was 35 and the only one of the dustbin gang still unmarried, having avoided four widows and two spinsters. But it all went flying out of the window when he moved into Ma Howlett's place, where the rug of his comfortable old habits were yanked from under him, and life became complicated.

Fourteen-year-old Marie Anne Lawson, youngest daughter of a prosperous Northumbrian family, fleeing from something she couldn't bear to see, fell and broke her ankle. She was discovered by a local man who, because of a disfigurement, was known thereabouts as 'the bandedman'. Her mother impatiently awaited her recovery, for she had already planned to send her wayward daughter to London, where her Aunt Martha could encourage the child's natural talent for the piano. But Aunt Martha's regime was so harsh that only the friendship of her aunt's companion, Sara Foggerty, stopped Marie Anne from plunging into despair--that and the encouragement she received from her music tutor. Why, then, did his sudden disappearance make it necessary for her to return to Northumberland, this time into the care of her grandfather? Set at the turn of the century in Northumberland and London, THE BRANDED MAN is the gripping story of Marie Anne, Sarah Foggerty and the mysterious 'branded man', who was to influence both their lives to an extent that neither of them could have imagined. This, Catherine Cookson's eighty-fifth novel, is yet another example of her extraordinary talent for compulsive storytelling.

From British publishing phenomenon Catherine Cookson comes two beloved books--"Hamilton" and "Goodbye Hamilton"--now available in the United States for the first time and offered in one convenient volume.

After the death of her father, Emma Molinero moves in with her grandmother and struggles to find a place for herself in a rugged English village

It is the early 1920s and Kate Hannigan is happily married to Dr Rodney Prince, who has willingly accepted her illegitimate daughter, Annie, as the eldest child of their household. Everything seems to be going well for the Prince family, but soon spiteful rumours about Kate's earlier life seem to haunt both her and Annie - an insidious threat that revives memories of the poverty and narrowness of life in the Fifteen Streets district that they have so recently left behind. Annie will be faced with some of the problems that earlier beset her mother- religious prejudice and a choice between two different ways of life - the comfortable middle-class existence offered by Brian Stannard and the uncertain prospects of Terence McBane, a brilliant mathematician from the underprivileged world Annie and her mother have just escaped. In the sequel to Kate Hannigan, Cookson's first published novel, Kate's daughter Annie must find the strength and maturity to overcome the troubles that threaten to engulf her.

Mr. Renny's paintings are so good that they almost appear real. But no one seems to pay them any attention-until a strange man offers to make everything that Mr. Renny paints come to life. First there's the painting of the apple, which Mr. Renny can now eat. Then there's a huge hotdog, a new car, a cruise liner... Mr. Renny paints himself a life of luxury-until his friend Rose comes to ask if she can buy one of his paintings. But he doesn't have any real paintings left! The spell must be broken-and soon! A book containing subtle references to the work of Belgian surrealist Ren Magritte, the illustrations are full of clever and amusing details.

Now, following the remarkable success of that volume, she has compiled a further selection of thoughts, recollections, and observations on life - and death - together with another collection of the poems she prefers to describe as 'prose on short lines'.

The Victorian Sabbath was not without its difficulties for some of those committed to its observance. Such a one was Nancy Ann Hazel, the young and high-spirited daughter of a country parson. He was a good man and she loved him dearly, but his Sunday sermons could seem long indeed when beyond the church door the sunshine beckoned her into the fields of this pleasant corner of County Durham. Two older brothers had taught Nancy Ann how to look after herself, so that she could, when necessary, hold her own with the roughest of the village children, eventhough such escapades might not be considered altogether fitting in a daughter of the vicarage; but they foreshadowed the courage and fortitude she would soon enough have to muster when the greater challenges of a controversial marriage thrust her into womanhood, and when conflict and tragedy alike had to be faced and overcome. THE PARSON'S DAUGHTER is a major novel spanning the last quarter of the nineteenth century and introduces one of Catherine Cookson's most memorable heroines. Its strong and vibrant narrative will captivate this great storyteller's readers throughout the world.

In the fifth of the series, Mary Ann discovers that life is indeed a sad and funny affair. In her attempts to come to grips with the painful business of growing up she is hard pressed, but nevertheless determined, to remain her old irrepressable self.

Unwanted and unloved, fourteen-year-old Marie Anne Lawson is everything her mother doesn't want her to be - adventurous, outspoken and unusual. As soon as she's old enough, Marie Anne is dispatched from Northumberland to London to live with her Aunt Martha to learn to be a lady and perfect her musical talent.Life in London proves to be more difficult than she could ever have imagined. Only the friendship of her Aunt's companion and the praise of her music tutor prevents her from falling into despair.When Anne Marie is suddenly sent back to the Manor, will she find the strength to be who she really is

Cholera had taken her parents and left Cissie Brodie with the upbringing of a family of nine.  She was barely fifteen herself when they were evicted from their cottage and forced out on to the fells.  But even though they'd hardly a shilling between them, Cissie set to building a home for the Brodies with a will that would have shamed an adult.  It was only a rough stone shelter, thatched as best they could, but to Cissie and her family it was enough to keep them fron the workhouse. They had friends, such as Matthew Turnbull the wheelwright and Watson the miller.  But charity could not always spare them the harsh reality of their struggle, and the bitterness of those who bore them ill.  Only love--when it came for Cissie Brodie--could ever teach her not to fear the world beyond the dwelling place...

When Millie Forester's mother abandons her one late June afternoon in 1854, the girl bursts unexpectedly into Aggie Winkowski's life. Aggie, known locally as 'Raggie Aggie' for her long-established business of trading rags and old clothes, knows the dangers waiting for such a strikingly pretty girl left alone in this rough and vice-ridden quarter, and sees no other option but to take her in. But what begins as a compassionate solution soon leads to the development of a new, deepening relationship that is to mould Millie's destiny, and give new meaning to the lift of Aggie Winkowski . . . The Rag Nymph is a gripping historical novel, embracing the good and evil of the Victorian era.

Even in the worst days of the recession, the McQueen family remains upbeat. They watch as their neighbours depart for the workhouse, their last pieces of furniture carted off by the bailiffs. But even though there might not be much on the table, the McQueen house constantly echoes with laughter. This is what keeps them strong - when all else fails, you can always laugh. Like many of the residents of the Fifteen Streets, the McQueens are as blunt as they are big-hearted. They are opinionated, and speak with no holds barred if anyone dare go against social convention. So imagine their shock when Bridget McQueen brings home her African husband. "Colour Blind" is an absorbing story of prejudice, racial tension and family feuding in the 1920s, from one of Britain's most skilled storytellers.

Provocative 16-year-old Vanessa was a member of the powerful and avaricious Ratcliffe family, and Angus Cotton a rough diamond who lived down among the goods yards. Events were to draw the pair together.

From generation to generation bad luck and misfortune had befallen each and every member of the Mallen family.  It seemed as though the ghost of old Thomas Mallen himself lived on in his unfortunate descendants, and Barbara had spent her life trying to forget he was her father. Then, when her triplets--the Mallen litter--were born, there in one of her sons was the unmistakable sign of the Mallen breed.  How long would she have to wait and see if history would repeat itself? THE MALLEN LITTER is the third and final part of the multi-generation story of the Mallens, which began with The Mallen Streak and continued in The Mallen Girl.

A legacy of hatred can be a terrible force in life, over which not even an enduring love and all the fruits of material success may prevail. Catherine Cookson explores this theme in a major novel that will absorb and enthral her readers as irresistibly as any she has written. Roddy Greenbank was brought by his father to the remote Northumberland community of Langley in the autumn of 1807. Within hours of their arrival, however, the father had met a violent death, and the boy was left with all memory gone of his past life. Adopted and raised by old Kate Makepeace, Roddy found his closest companions in Hal Roystan and Mary Ellen Lee. These three stand at the heart of a richly eventful narrative that spans the first half of the nineteenth century, their lives lastingly intertwined by the inexorable demands of a strange and somewhat cruel destiny. A DINNER OF HERBS displays outstandingly Catherine Cookson's true storyteller's gift.

As a diversion from his job in his uncle's carpentry shop, newly arrived Robert Bradley began to explore the Durham countryside. It was on one of these walks that he met Millie, the ethereal girl-child whose odd ways and nocturnal wanderings had led her to be known locally as Thorman's Moth.

A seemingly ordinary man faces life-altering consequences after succumbing to temptation at a Christmas party, leading to family turmoil and career ruin. As Harry grapples with a failing marriage and a contentious relationship with his father-in-law, he discovers that the roots of his troubles run deep. With the support of his beloved daughter and loyal friends, he embarks on a journey of redemption and self-discovery, striving to rebuild his life amidst the chaos.

Davie watched as his master, McBain, thrashed Molly for refusing to name the man who had dishonoured her. And yet, not an hour later, Davie saw the two of them alone in the malthouse, and Molly was acting like a whore on market day. In a whirl of disbelieving rage, he overheard McBain's plan - to let him, Davie, take the blame and marry Molly.

Strugglng for survival in the poverty-stricken Fifteen Streets, John O'Brien fights to be part of a world he is rarely allowed to glimpse when he meets and falls in love with Mary Llewellyn.

The Broadhursts were a mining family and, to outsiders, they appeared to be happy, loyal and united. But it was Jinny - wife, mother, sister - who held them together. Her pride and her strength prevented their fears and hates from overwhelming them. There was Jack, her younger son, trapped into marrying a shrew; and Lottie, her sister, who was not quite...normal. And there was Larry, the bright one, the handsome one, who was obsessed with the memory of the girl who had jilted him. She was married now, they said, and happily too. But now he was suffused with anger, together with pain and a reborn longing. He vowed she would not make a laughing-stock of him again. But could he do what his pride told him he must...?

'Humour, toughness, resolution and generosity are Cookson virtues . In the specialised world of women's popular fiction, Cookson has created her own territory.' - Helen Dunmore, The TimesEveryone, including her family, thought Ward Gibson would marry Daisy Mason.

The woman who presented herself at the offices of the respectable firm of London solicitors was, the receptionist decided, clearly a vagrant who had been sleeping on the streets. The clothes that hung on her frail body were filthy, and she seemed unable to speak. When she asked to see the firm's senior partner, Alexander Armstrong, she was at first shown the door - but then the entire office staff were disrupted by Mr Armstrong's reaction when he learned his visitor's name - clearly Irene Baindor was a woman with a past, and her emergence from obscurity was to signal the unravelling of a mystery that had baffled the lawyer for twenty-six years.What Irene - the silent lady of the title - had been doing, and where she had been, gradually emerged over the following weeks as Armstrong met the unlikely benefactors who had befriended her and helped her to build a useful and satisfying life in a sheltered environment. Now, at last, she was able to confront her tortured and violent past and find great happiness and contentment with the help of old friends and some newer ones.

It had never been the best of marriages and over recent years it had become effectively a marriage in name and outward appearance only. Yet, in the autumn of 1960, Winifred and Daniel Coulson presented an acceptable fa�ade to the outside world, for Daniel had prospered sufficiently to allow them to live at Wearcill House, a mansion situated in the most favoured outskirt of the Tyneside town of Fellburn. Of their children, it was Donald on whom Winifred doted to the point of obsession, and now he was to be married, Winifred's prime concern was whether Donald was entering wedlock with an unbesmirched purity of body and spirit, for amidst the strange workings of her mind much earlier conceptions of morality and the teachings of the Church held sway. There was something potentially explosive just below the surface of life at Wearcill House, but when that explosion came it was in a totally unforseeable and devastating form, plunging the Coulsons into an excoriating series of crises out of which would come both good and evil, as well as the true significance of The Year of the Virgins.

Dr Higgins's life appeared happy and contented. Everyone had a good word for him, and his home life seemed to be ideal. At 36, his wife not only looked like a much younger woman, but enjoyed the company of people half her age. A fine couple, it was thought, but the reality was very different.

Tilly Trotter had married Matthew Sopwith and sailed with him for Texas and a new life. Less than three years later she returns home, a young widow convinced that she will never love another man. Tilly finds that life still has a great deal in store for her, good and ill alike.

Close to her fifteenth birthday, Jinnie Howlett, a reluctant inmate of a northern workhouse, was offered a position as a maid-of-all-work by the Shalemans at Tollet's Ridge Farm, a bleakly isolated farm near the Cumbrian border. Before long, However, she was to discover she had exchanged one kind of drudgery for another, for the Shalemans--Rose, invalid wife of Pug and mother to Bruce and Hal--demanded much of her. If it had not been for Bruce's willingness to defend her against the brutish Pug and Hal, she would have gladly returned to the workhouse. Then she became acquainted with Richard Baxton-Powell, but eventually his over-familiarity made her realise that despite everything her future would owe more to the Shalemans than any outside influence. THE TINKER'S GIRL explores the life and fortunes of a spirited girl who lived in an age when it was customary for servants to know their place. With its brilliant evocation of the period, it will be hugely enjoyed by Catherine Cookson's millions of readers throughout the world.

'You're a loser; you were born a loser.' Was that the whole truth about Charlie MacFell? Was he just the kind of nice chap who always takes the dirty end of the stick, lacking the inner strength to take a firm stand in life or love alike? In one of the most powerful and distinctive novels that this author has written, Catherine Cookson brilliantly portrays a man in search of himself and tells a story of exceptional dramatic force which carries the reader from the rural Northumberland of Edwardian times into the holocaust of the Western Front in the First World War. And at the root of the matter is the cinder path of Charlie's boyhood home; a place of harsh associations that would come to symbolise the struggle with destiny itself. 'No fan should be without it' Good Book Guide

In the specialised world of women's popular fiction, Cookson has created her own territory.' - Helen Dunmore, The TimesJust two years after the death of their mother, Hector Stewart tells his children he plans to remarry and has chosen a distant relative from Ireland to be his bride.

A century or so ago there lived at Heap Cottage in County Durham, a man and a woman and their six children. To an outsider they would have suggested a close and loving family group. But Nathaniel Mortell and Maria Dagshaw were not married so their children were outcasts, a bunch of base born gillyvors. But Anna, the eldest daughter, resolved to face the legacy of her birth.

Bill Bailey, the rugged Liverpudlian, was now a fully-fledged Tyneside building contractor, as staunchly loyal to his squad of workmen as they were to him. He had also met and married Fiona, a young widow with her own loveable family, to which she and Bill shortly added with the adoption of the orphaned Mamie.Life was good, but the economic climate was growing distinctly cloudy, and it was vital that Bill land the contract of a major development scheme. Competition was fierce, and when his men came under attack, Bill was sure that someone was out to spoil their chances for the job.Meanwhile, there were ructions on the domestic front. One of their children, Willie, acquired a new friend, Sammy Love, and although Fiona had grave doubts about this formidable lad and his colourful language, it was Sammy – and his father – who would make a vital contribution to the lives and fortunes of Bill Bailey’s lot.This is a novel that conveys much warmth with the well-drawn characters of Bill Bailey and the captivating Sammy Love.

Bill and Fiona Bailey are eagerly awaiting the arival of their first child... Catherine Cookson uses her unique gifts to splendid effect in this heartwarming story.

There would be times when Riah Millican came to regret that her husband had learned to read and write, and then shared his knowledge with her and their children.  For this was Durham in the 1830's, when employers tended to regard the spread of education with suspicion.  But now Seth Millican was dead and she was a widow with the need to find a home and a living for herself and her children. The chance of becoming a housekeeper didn't work out, but it led to Moor House and a scholarly recluse obsessed with that very book learning that could open so many doors and yet create so many problems; especially with her daughter, Biddy, who was not only bright, but witful... THE BLACK VELVET GOWN is the story of a mother and daughter, often at odds with each other, facing the need to challenge and fight the prejudice of an age--a narrative of great power and diversity that is one of Catherine Cookson's major achievements.

"High above the river stood the snall terrace of miners' cottages known as Fenwick Houses. Here, during the hazardous years of the Depression, lived Christine Winter, a girl blessed - or cursed - with that indefinable appeal that drives men to the brink of obsession. Three men dominated her life: her brother Ronnie; Sam, whose devotion was deep and loyal; and Don Dowling, cruel and tormented, who made it his life's ambition to possess her. To Ronnie and Sam she was joined by a thread of harmony; but Don was the needle through which the thread was drawn, and the point was sharp and deadly . . . Then, one day, a stranger came to the river bank and Christine found herself changed beyond recall."

Agnes Conway, the daughter of a middle-class shopkeeper, escapes the abusive tyranny of her father through marriage into the aristocracy, only to have her golden dreams tragically altered by the outbreak of World War I

An alternative cover edition of this isbn can be found hereYoung Frederick Musgrave was never more agile than when navigating his sculler across the waters of the Tyne between the busy seaports of North and South Shields in 1843. Already his services were in demand as a carrier of messages and certain small packages for those whose activities made them the target of the Customs and Excise men.As well as agile, Freddie was also reckoned to be lucky, but on such a night as brought him to The Towers, the home of Mr Roderick Gallagher, both luck and courage were to be tested to the limit.From that night on, things really began to happen to Freddie, and the best of them came when he gained the friendship and patronage of Miss Maggie Hewitt, who was to play a major role in shaping his life and fortunes. But he would still need all his luck and resourcefulness to escape the long shadow cast by Roderick Gallagher, whose power and influence threatened all who crossed his path . . .

Matty is fifteen and is leaving school in a few weeks' time. He wants to work with animals, and would like to get a job on a farm. But his parents say he's too young to leave home - he must stay in the town and get a job in ship-building, like his father. They also say he can't go on a campingholiday with his friends. And they say he can't keep his dog, Nelson, because Nelson barks all day and eats his father's shoes. But it is because of Nelson that Matty finds a new life . . .

"This treasure trove of talent is set against the background of places already familiar to Catherine Cookson's countless readers - the North-East, the South Coast and London, with a time-scale stretching from the 1920's to the present day. n the title story, a disillusioned husband decides to call on an office colleague he has always slightly despised, and finds himself having to re-evaluate his own family relationships in the light of what he discovers in the other's home. In the three stories that make up 'The Forbidden Word', the first set in the 1920s, the second in the 1950s and the third in the1980s, Catherine Cookson traces the changes in attitudes to marriage and pregnancy that have taken place in the last eighty years. n other stories a shy bachelor begins to make friends for the first time in his life among the people who like himself have taken refuge from the Blitz in the London Underground, and a much put-upon young woman who makes up her own mind to escape from her family's domestic exploitation of her. The reader catches a glimpse behind the scenes in a large department store, and learns of the havoc that a husband's passion for cricket can cause. "

A Catherine Cookson novel spanning the years of change leading into World War II. It explores the many facets of a marriage based on initial passion, and opens the hearts and minds of all those who dwelt at Fell Rise, the big house on the hill just outside the Tyneside town of Fellburn.

Beatrice Steel, always over-possessive about her family home, Pine Hurst, has become insufferably dominating since the death of her mother, ruling her father, her sisters and the servants with an iron hand. Of course, she constantly has to remind herself, it is her father who actually owns the house, but it is the thought that he might remarry, thus making another woman mistress of Pine Hurst, that fills her with dread. Then, unexpectedly, her father dies and, when the family gather for the reading of the will, nothing she hears matches her expectations. It is then she realises that her security is threatened and that she must begin to lay plans to protect her position and allow her to enjoy her most prized possession.

When Ellen Jebeau's husband dies in 1926, he leaves behind a legacy of debt and empty dreams. However, Ellen is determined that her son Joseph should have everything in life that she never did. Ellen and Joseph soon find themselves in a convenient arrangement with Ellen's brother-in-law, Sir Arthur...

Bridget Dean Mordaunt was a woman of consequence in her own part of the world. Inheriting her father's businesses at the age of nineteen, by the time she was twenty-three in 1880, she was running them as confidently as any man. Yet the path destiny required her to follow was not an easy one. Her feckless cousin Victoria became infatuated with Lionel Filmore, the fortune-hunting elder son of an old but impoverished family living in the decayed grandeur of Grove House. Bridget had no illusions about Lionel, but Victoria's happiness was paramount to her. So a pattern began to form that would shape the lives of generations to come, a pattern of some good and some great evil, but all of it inexorably linking Bridget ever more closely with the Filmores and their house. THE BLACK CANDLE displays all of Catherine Cookson's narrative skills and shrewd perception of human strengths and frailties which have established her as our most widely-read and best-loved novelist. And in Bridget Mordaunt she has achieved a notable and highly distinctive addition to her gallery of remarkable women.

Roman om en fattig ung enke med tre børn, hvis liv forandres da Bill Bailey dukker op i hendes liv som logerende.

HANNAH MASSEY: Proud and canny, ignorant and intensely ambitious, Hannah Massey is a born ruler. Her kingdom may be only a working class household in County Durham, but within its walls her iron will governs a predominantly male family and her word is unchallengeable law. The apple of Hannah’s eye is her pretty younger daughter, Rosie, who has just returned home after a spell in London. Her return is shrouded in mystery and evasions, and when the truth does come out, Hannah’s world is torn apart. THE FIFTEEN STREETS: Life in the Fifteen Streets was tough — a continual struggle for survival. Some families gave up and descended into a dismal state of grinding poverty. Others, like the O’Briens — and especially John O’Brien — fought grimly for a world they were only rarely allowed to glimpse. When John O’Brien fell in love with Mary Llewellyn, he knew there was a gulf between them that nothing could bridge — it was the gulf of the Fifteen Streets.

It was a wartime white wedding but it was not a love match. Annie Cooper married George McCabe for one reason only: she was expecting his child. Her own parents accepted the situation with a kind of pained resignation. The easy-going McCabes, and especially George's rumbustious mother, just took it in their stride. But Annie was a girl of spirit and determined to make the marriage work. George might not be all that bright, but he was good-natured and a hard worker once given a shove in the right direction. Annie applied herself to that task as she matured into a woman of character and resource. The family prospered even as it grew. She bore George four children, but it was the first who always held her heart in the hollow of his hand. From early childhood, Rance was a problem. There were traits in his character that were hard to excuse or even understand, but whatever trouble he got into, Annie would forgive him. Mother and son were bound together by an invisible chord; invisible but strong enough to become a noose for both of them.Spanning a period of nearly thirty years and set against a background of the Tyneside towns, The Invisible Cord is a novel of great power and warmth that explores several different kinds of love with a strong dramatic narrative that wholly engages from first page to last.

An absorbing, beautifully told story of wealth, family ties, and class conflict during the 19th century.

Mary Walton is the apple of her father's eye; his only comfort during the dark years of the Depression when he is faced with both unemployment and a nagging, ambitious wife. His only hope is that Mary will one day find a way to escape the grinding poverty of the Tyneside slums. But when a secret is revealed these dreams are shattered and the lives of the Walton family change forever. . . Spanning Mary's life from the 1930's to the 1970's, Pure as the Lily is a spellbinding, unforgettable tale from one of Britain's most cherished novelists.

A story of Katie Mulholland, spanning 3 generations, from the 1860's to W.W.II.

Alison Read, orphaned when she was two years old, had for some years lived and worked with Paul Aylmer, her appointed guardian. Paul, an experienced antique dealer whose business thrived in the south-coast town of Sealock, had come to rely on Alison, who had quickly learned the trade. But when he had asked her to value the contents of Beacon Ride, a chain of events was set off that led to the exposure of a secret he had for years managed to conceal. As a result, Alison's relationship with Paul came under threat and she knew that only by confronting the situation head-on would her ambitions be realised. Part-mystery, part-love story, and with its fascinating glimpses of the world of antiques in the 1960s, The Lady on my Left displays yet another facet of Catherine Cookson's remarkable talent.

At twenty-one, Jinny Brownlow was, to all intents and purposes, alone in the world, a typist at a large engineering firm in the Tyneside town of Fellburn with her only outside interest the local theatre group, where the only role she seemed to play was that of general dogsbody. Then, suddenly, her life changed. Called upon to stand in as secretary to Bob Henderson, the formidable head of the company, his blunt manner provided a stimulating challenge. Later that same day, she had an unexpected visit from Hal Campbell, leading light of the Fellburn players, who displayed a touching concern for her personal problems. Both were older men and each would, in his own way, be a catalyst to the re-shaping of Jinny Brownlow's pattern of life.

"From the first moment she saw the house on the moors north of Hexham, Conie Stapleton knew she could live there, despite its isolation, despite its lack of basic facilities, and despite her fear of loneliness. Her marriage, on the brink of disintegration, she had already decided to sell the large flat she and her husband Jim shared and she saw the move as a means of initiating the separation she knew was necessary; and now that their son Peter would soon be off to university, there was, she decided, no reason to delay the inevitable. Even if the winters at Shekinah, as the house was called, were as severe as her family had warned, she told herself she could always buy a flat in nearby Hexham. To buy the house, Connie was told that she must negotiate with the nearby O'Connors, one of whom, Vincent appeared to be their spokesman. However, she was somewhat surprised by his abruptness and by his insistence that the deal be closed forthwith; and further taken aback when he asked her if she would be able to sign the papers on the following day. Afterwards, when the house was hers and she had moved in, Connie was to discover that mystery was a way of life with Vincent O'Connor. Des

Emma funnell is the matriarch of Bramble House, built for her as a wedding gift. Now, in 1968, she is in her seventies, with the avowed intent of living to be a hundred. And, as she has always done, she continues to rule the roost, for apart from herself three generations of the Funnell family live in the house--all of them women. There is widowed daughter Victoria, increasingly a hypochondriac; granddaughter Lizzie, who bears the brunt of running the house, as well as enduring a loveless marriage to Len Hammond; and Peggy, her sixteen-year-old daughter, now trying to find the courage to drop the bombshell of her pregnancy into their midst. This explosive situation provides the springboard for a powerful and absorbing novel that explores, over a period of fifteen years, all that fate holds in store for the dwellers in THE HOUSE OF WOMEN. The story Reaches its climax with a frank confrontation of a major social issue of today.

The Golden Straw portrays a whole rich vein of English life from the heyday of the Victorian era to the stormy middle years of the present century.

When Ward Gibson jilts the girl he grew up with for a beautiful young actress, the villagers take their retribution for his faithlessness, until, Ward beside himself with grief and anger, takes his own terrible revenge

There were many who said that Riley appeared older than his years. He finished school at an early age, leaving a harsh childhood behind him, full of optimism and secure in the knowledge that his teacher, Fred Beardsley, had faith in him. Neither of them could have envisaged at the time how their lives would be intertwined. Over the subsequent years, Fred observed with amazement Riley's rise to fame and fortune. As for his relationship with Nyrene, the leading lady at The Little Palace Theater in Fellburn, that did indeed change although not in the way that Riley had envisaged.

The Bondage of Love follows the fortunes of the Bailey family, whose previous adventures will be remembered with pleasure by Catherine Cookson's many fans.

When Matthew Wallingham returns home after being blinded in the war, he tries to save the family farm, make peace with his resentful family, and find happiness with the woman he loves.

A pretty girl arrives in the small village of Battenbun at the same time as a large eel is spotted in the river. Soon the woods are full of men out to catch both the eel and the girl. "Penguin Readers" is a series of simplified novels, film novelizations and original titles that introduce students at all levels to the pleasures of reading in English. Originally designed for teaching English as a foreign language, the series' combination of high interest level and low reading age makes it suitable for both English-speaking teenagers with limited reading skills and students of English as a second language. Many titles in the series also provide access to the pre-20th century literature strands of the National Curriculum English Orders. "Penguin Readers" are graded at seven levels of difficulty, from "Easystarts" with a 200-word vocabulary, to Level 6 (Advanced) with a 3000-word vocabulary. In addition, titles fall into one of three "Contemporary", "Classics" or "Originals". At the end of each book there is a section of enjoyable exercises focusing on vocabulary building, comprehension, discussion and writing. Some titles in the series are available with an accompanying audio cassette, or in a book and cassette pack. Additionally, selected titles have free accompanying "Penguin Readers Factsheets" which provide stimulating exercise material for students, as well as suggestions for teachers on how to exploit the Readers in class.

Lizzie Gillespie seizes the opportunity of a new start when she is saved from a life on the streets, and blossoms into a talented young woman of ideals and expectations. Her saviour, Geoff Fulton, returns from the war embittered and ruthless.

Even as a child Barbara was beautiful, but as her beauty grew, so did the affliction which shadowed it—she was becoming more and more deaf. Yet living in her silent world, she was proected from the knowledge which might otherwise have destroyed her—the secret of her own origins.

Russian formalism and Marxist criticism had a seismic impact on 20th-century literary theory and the shockwaves are still felt today. First published in 1979, Tony Bennett's Formalism and Marxism created its own reverberations by offering a new interpretation of the Formalists' achievements and demanding a new way forward in Marxist criticism. The author first introduces and reviews the work of the Russian Formalists, a group of theorists who made an extraordinarily vital contribution to literary criticism in the decade following the October Revolution of 1917. Placing the work of key figures in context and addressing such issues as aesthetics, linguistics and the category of literature, form and function or literary evolution, Bennett argues that the Formalists' concerns provided the basis for a radically historical approach to the study of literature.

Bridget Gether's parents were killed in the wartime Blitz so she had lived with the Overmeers at Balderston, their sprawling property, since she was a child. Unaware that she had been manipulated into agreeing to marry their son Laurence, an encounter with Bruce Dickenson, the son of a neighbouring farmer, opened her eyes to the possibility that she might be making a serious mistake. Although Bridget told herself she had loved Laurence for years, could she now trust him? Had he been seeing someone else all the time he had been courting her? She decided that there were sufficient grounds of doubt, so she called off the marriage. However, she had reckoned without the formidable Overmeer family, whose desperate financial straits compelled them to take steps to protect their interests. As for Laurence, he could not forgive Bridget for the humiliation of rejection, so he made his own plans to punish her. But someone else was also planning revenge, the outcome of which would shake the very foundations of the Overmeer family.

Set against the Northumbrian coast in the 1960s, the events of this love story take place over one day - a day during which everyone involved discovers that the consequences of an innocent meeting are far more significant than the event itself.

When Fred Carpenter suggests to his wife, Sally, that they should take a boating holiday on the Norfolk Broads, she is filled with trepidation. Nevertheless she summons her courage and they and their bull-terrier Bill set off, with Fred at the helm of Dogfish Three.Sally's misgivings are soon justified, as a series of disasters, human, nautical and canine, threaten to ruin their holiday. Then everything changes as they make friends with the boating fraternity and encounter the remarkable fifteen-year-old Rosie, whose family history stirs their curiosity and sympathy. As a result, Fred and Sally decide to support Rosie's efforts to better herself - and are rewarded when she finds love and happiness.

Describing the worries and hardships of life in a Durham mining village, this book features Maggie Rowan's consuming jealousy at her sister's good fortune in marrying a long established family friend. Beneath Maggie's forbidding exterior is a desire to be loved.

Harry Blenheim had always been known as the nice bloke, an inoffensive man whose existence was as dull as ditchwater. Then, at the office Christmas party, he gave in to the demands of the vivacious Betty Ray, and the scandal that followed not only split his family but ruined his career.