Valerie Wood Books

After her dastardly husband Billy tries to sell her at a wife sale, Lily Fowler finds herself alone, frightened, and heavily pregnant on the streets of Hull. Her brave attempts to find work are futile, and when she is turned away from the workhouse and other such establishments for women in her "condition," Lily is forced to swallow her last iota of respectability and work in a brothel in Leadenhall Square. Unexpectedly, things begin to look up. Lily sees potential where others can only see destitution and ruin, and she soon forges strong relationships with the other women there. They are all good-hearted women who have fallen on hard times, and together, Lily and her "fallen angels" outwit the low-life brothel-keeper and work to turn the house in Leadenhall Square into something altogether more respectable. And before any of them know it, doors swing open, lost loves are recovered, and the happy endings none of them dared to dream of begin to materialize.

Young Mikey Quinn, scavenging on the streets of Hull, is thrown into prison for stealing a rabbit from the butcher. His chief accuser, a well-to-do lawyer, has a daughter, Eleanor, whom he badly mistreats. When Mikey is released he goes to London to seek his fortune. There he meets Eleanor again, and between them they face the dangers of London and gradually make a new life for themselves. Together they have to face journeying back to Hull and the long walk home. From the Paperback edition.

When Georgiana Gregory and her maid, Kitty, make the long sea journey from their native Hull for New York, they are expecting to begin a new life in the freedom of the newly formed United States of America. But in New York, the women discover that the dangers and passions of this new country and its people threaten to overwhelm them.

When Lucy's parents are killed in a train crash, her kindly uncle steps in to look after the little girl - to the initial apprehension of his wife and her son. However, Lucy's sweet, spirited charm slowly wins over her new family, and as she overcomes the trauma of her childhood, she grows up inspired to become a doctor, just like her father. But studying medicine in London takes Lucy far from her home in Hull and the people she loves, and she has to battle to be accepted in a man's world. With the dark clouds of the First World War gathering on the horizon, an even greater challenge approaches. Can a woman find her place on the front line of battle? Will Lucy be able to follow her dreams - and find love - in a world shattered by war? Val Wood's wonderful historical sagas are perfect for readers of Dilly Court, Maggie Hope and Rosie Goodwin.