Catherine Cookson became one of the world's most popular novelists, celebrated for her compelling stories of love, loss, and resilience. Her writing is characterized by a keen eye for detail and strong female characters who resonate deeply with readers. Though initially acclaimed for her regional focus, her readership rapidly expanded globally. Cookson's extensive body of work cemented her legacy as a beloved contemporary author whose narratives captured the human spirit.
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.
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...
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.
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.
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
