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When Nancy Seymour's RAF pilot husband, Charles, is killed, her life falls apart. Not only has she lost the man she loved so dearly, but she also loses her home and must find a way to support herself and their little girl, Caro, on her own. With the outbreak of World War Two, Nancy is grateful for the sanctuary offered by Charles’s father in the form of a little cottage in the countryside. But his mother Henrietta resents the kind gesture. She has always disapproved of her son’s wife and seems hell-bent on making her life a misery. Nancy has little idea, though, of the depths to which Henrietta is prepared to sink. For there are dark and sinister secrets lurking on her late husband’s side of the family. With the danger of war ever-present, Nancy must find the strength to protect those she holds dear through years of hardship and peril. And, if she survives all this, perhaps she can still hope for a second chance at happiness...
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Dinah
Radcliffe doesn’t have much money to spend on the finer things in
life, but she shares a contented existence with her mother, Sarah. They
have seen their share of troubles since Dinah’s father was killed
in the Great War but the Radcliffes have always made the best of things.
When Dinah meets widowed businessman Richard Haldane at the races, her life
changes beyond recognition. Richard sweeps Dinah off her feet, dazzling
her with a glimpse of wealth and privilege beyond her wildest dreams, and
they are married in a matter of weeks. But Richard is not the man Dinah
thought he was. Soon, she's learning that money can't buy you happiness.
And that she's married to a man who takes far more dangerous risks than
just betting on his horses...
A compelling saga of family secrets, heartache and happy endings.
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When
jeweller Edwin Jardine gives a job to Hilda Thorpe, his daughter Jane suspects
that he's been blinded to the attractive widow's flaws by her looks and
her hard luck story (she's alone with a teenage daughter, Kitty).
Jane's dismayed when Edwin and Hilda become romantically involved; she knows
that her father deserves happiness again after the death of her mother,
but must it be with Hilda?
With the help of her new fiancé, Nick, Jane begins to unravel the shocking
truth about Hilda's past – and soon she fears that Edwin may be about to
take a step he will live to regret bitterly.
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Childhood sweethearts Mary and Jonty have battled against the odds to be together.
Forced to run away from home because Mary’s father disapproved of their relationship, they’ve built a happy new life for themselves. Now they long to be blessed with a child, but it seems that's not to be. Until one stormy night when a yacht is dashed upon the rocks near their home. Mary and Jonty rush to the crew’s rescue. Amid terrible carnage, they manage to save a baby, who they name Charlotte and keep her as their own.
Charlotte grows up to be devoted to her parents, but fate intervenes when she decides to train as a nurse in Liverpool. For Liverpool is where her ‘real’ family lives: and it seems that past secrets are to be uncovered – with shocking consequences.
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Hilary
is a nurse, she's serious and bespectacled and what she wants from life
is a happy marriage and motherhood. Her sister Isobel is the family
beauty, she's seeking fun and exctement. Boyfrieds flock round her
wanting to give her a good time but this lands her in trouble. She
worries then that her secrets will find her out.
But Hilary faces a nightmare, her much loved twin boys are struggling at
school where their difficulties wth reading and writing are turning happy
children into wild and troubled lads. With no understanding of dyslexia,
Hilary doesn't know which way to turn.
Her sister Isobel is closest. Can she provide the help they need?
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Its 1980s Merseyside and teenage cousins Sophie and Charlie are at a turning point in each of their lives.
Sophie, seventeen years old and stunning, falls in love with Darrell, the school caretaker, who has plans to make it big with his rock band. But when Sophie discovers that shes pregnant, her relationship with Darrell comes to an end.
Though happiness is on the horizon for Sophie, it will take her time to realise who she is destined to be with. Charlie, eighteen and having struggled at school, is unhappy in his job as a chef. With Sophies help, Charlie joins the family business with surprising results
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It's
1931 and eighteen-year-old Greta is working in a laundry in Liverpool, where
she lives with her widowed mother and thirteen-year-old brother Kenny. When
a scruffy black and white collie follows Greta home one day, Kenny wants
to keep the animal, but they can't afford to feed him. And so Greta tracks
down the owner: Mungo Masters, a wealthy man who runs funfairs in three
towns.
Mungo falls for Greta, though he's her mother's age, and doesn't bother
to tell her that he's married already. When Mungo gives Greta and Kenny
jobs at one of his fairs, it seems life is looking up. But Mungo is not
good news, and there will be many hurdles to cross before Greta can find
happiness.
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Hannah
and her mother Esme are lucky to escape when their home is destroyed during
a bombing raid.
Forced to move in with Esme's difficult sister-in-law, they make the best
of things, and soon Hannah falls for the boy next door, Eric Goodwin.
But Esme's worried; she's always been afraid of Eric's father Arnold, and
she suspects that Eric is a chip off the old block, full of charm but up
to no good. Is innocent Hannah being drawn into an unpredictable and dangerous
world of crime?
'A stirring tale of romance and passion, poverty and ambition' Liverpool
Echo
A compelling book that you just don't want to put down' Southport
Visiter
'A lively and entertaining affair' Historical Novels Review
Another nostalgic story oozing with atmosphere and charm' Liverpool
Echo
'A heartwarming saga' Woman's Weekly
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A
heartwarming romance set in Merseyside during and after World War I.
Lovely young Cathy is left pregnant with her first child when her husband
is killed in the war. For a while she lives with her in-laws, but she leaps
at the chance to return as a maid to the household where she worked before
her marriage.
With the birth of her daughter she is compelled to return to her parents-in-law,
a less than ideal situation, particularly when in due course Cathy is being
courted by dear old friend.
When Cathy marries again and sets up in the antiques business with her husband,
it looks like at last she will find the happiness she deserves, but she
has made an enemy who can't bear to see Cathy enjoying her life...
'This novel is a joy to read' Coventry Evening Telegraph
'A surefire winner for all fans of the romantic saga' Lancashire
Evening Post
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It’s
1920, and Ellie Valentino is just like any other happy five-year-old growing
up in Birkenhead. Although her father is dead, and her mother works hard,
Ellie’s grandmother Bridie is always there to provide a welcoming
hug when the little girl returns from school.
But, one tragic day, Ellie’s secure world is suddenly torn apart with
the mysterious death of her mother, and Ellie is forced to live with her
uncle Mick, a man with a violent temper.
As the years pass, Ellie’s yearning to know the truth about her mother's
death never fades - it even casts a shadow over her blossoming romance with
childhood friend, Franco Baldini.
For Franco knows more about that fateful day than he dares admit, especially
to Ellie. Can their love survive when Ellie longs to uncover events that
Franco is desperate to forget? And will Ellie ever find out what really
happened to her mother...
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Lorna
Mathews couldn't be happier, it's July 1930 and the new owner of the business,
Mr Wyndham, wants to keep her on. But the revelation that Lorna is the illegitimate
daughter of Oliver Wyndham leads her to hard truths and difficult choices.deserves?
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Beth
Hubble has grown up in extreme poverty in Dock Cottages – a filthy
slum teeming with scruffy, malnourished children. And, although she loves
training to become a nurse, problems at home are never far from her mind.
Beth is shocked when doctors tell her mother that, after fourteen pregnancies,
she is too frail to survive another. She’s also angry because her
mother was refused help to avoid becoming pregnant again. Resolving to find
out how the middle classes keep their families small, Beth tries to get
her hands on books written by the notorious Marie Stopes. But in 1920 birth
control is a taboo subject, and Beth’s quest for knowledge is thwarted
at every turn.
Beth’s older sister also has a burgeoning family which she can’t
afford to feed, and Beth is determined that she won’t follow the same
path. She falls in love with Andrew Langford, a hospital lab technician,
who he hopes will take her away from the tenements for good. But will he
want to marry a girl from Dock Cottages? And will Beth ever find the love
and happiness that she deserves?
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When Josie Lunt is tragically and suddenly made a widow the day before
her daughter’s eleventh birthday, she turns to her husband’s
colleague, Luke Palmer, for comfort. Luke is handsome and caring but, unbeknownst
to Josie, he has few friends and many secrets.
Luke is keen to marry Josie - and with a growing daughter to feed and a
single income to survive on, Josie eventually decides that it’s the
right thing to do. But Luke is not what he seems, and it’s not long
before Josie regrets her decision.
In order to escape a man they now fear, Josie and Suzy must flee from Liverpool,
leaving everything they love behind. Crossing the Mersey, they arrive at
‘The Lawns’, a huge house in a wide, tree-lined road on the
outskirts of Birkenhead, which is to become a sanctuary. Josie is taken
on as the new cook for the difficult Mrs Smallwood and her family, and she
and Suzy soon relax into a new way of life. Indeed, despite the many tensions
within the Smallwood family, happiness at last seems within their reach.
But the past eventually catches up with Josie, bringing with it fresh terror
and heartache...
“Much vitality and local colour” Liverpool
Echo
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Daisy Corkhill has spent all sixteen years f her life living above Sampsons
– the local fishmongers and greengrocers in Liverpool’s Market
Street. But in all that time she has never discovered who her parents were
– or why they left her to be brought up by the couple she now calls
Uncle Ern and Aunt Gladys. Whilst Daisy yearns for the love and security
that a family of her own would give her, she finds great comfort in her
relationship with Brenda, her sophisticated and very beautiful older ‘sister’.
It’s an ordinary day in March 1919 when Brenda arrives home from work
at the local dress shop flushed with excitement. She has just set the date
for her wedding to businessman, Gil Fox. Daisy hears the news with a sinking
heart for there’s something about the handsome Gil she just doesn’t
trust.
Not long after their wedding Brenda begins to realise that Gil is quite
the man she thought he was. While happiness seems to be eluding her, Daisy’s
dreams are about to come true. Ellis, Gil’s upright, kind and dependable
brother, a survivor of World War I, falls in love with Daisy.
Marriage and a family of her own are finally within her reach. But will
they be enough to get her through some stormy times ahead?
“A delightful tale of love and family” Women’s
Realm
“A stirring tale of romance and passion, poverty and ambition...an
engrossing read. ” Liverpool Echo
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It is 1941 and Connie and Lottie Brinsley are nurses at Liverpool’s
Walton Hospital. When heavy bombing is followed by the news that their home
has taken a direct hit and their parents and little brother are dead, the
two sisters are utterly devastated.
Shortly afterwards, they are shocked to discover that their uncle Steve
is not who they thought he was. As Steve reveals one family secret after
another, it becomes clear that the Brisleys have been living a lie for years.
And Steve’s not the only on who’s hiding the truth, for when
Lottie meets and marries Waldo Padley, no one – least of all Connie
– tells her that he’s a liar and a cheat. While Lottie is away
from home working as an army nurse, Waldo pursues an occupation that will
end in disaster. But, no matter what life throws at them, the sisters find
the strength to face the troubles ahead.
“A classic romantic tale” - Ipswich Evening Star
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It’s August 1941, and the threat of war is weighing heavily on the
people of Liverpool, but beautiful Sarah Hoxton has other things on her
mind, for Toby Percival, the dashing son of the owner of the factory where
she and her mother work, has told her he loves her. Her mother is afraid
they’ll lose both their jobs and Sarah is worried she’ll hurt
John Ferry, who’s been courting her for years, but she’s prepared
to risk everything for Toby’s love.
Toby has been at loggerheads with his autocratic father for come time. That
he’s involved with one of the factory girls proves to be the last
straw and his father does his best to separate them. Father and son become
locked in a fierce battle. Toby is determined to defy him and turn his back
on his family, but is caught up in the patriotism and fever of war spreading
across Europe.
As the First World War rages on in Europe, Sarah finds that love alone is
not enough to overcome the obstacles that face her, but with the help of
her friends, her family and a resilience she never knew she possessed, she
discovers that there is light at the end of the darkness, though it shines
from a different direction to the one she expected.
“A compelling book that you just don’t want to put down”
Southport Visitor
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Kate McGlory longs to be loved. Her seven younger brothers are cherished
by their doting mother Lena, but for some reason Kate tends to be forgotten.
Then Kate catches the eye of Jack Courtney when she is serving behind the
counter of Halliday’s newsagents and at last she too is adored.
But their courtship is not straightforward. Jack comes from a family of
wealthy ship owners in Merseyside, who may not approve of their match; Lena
is terrified that history will repeat itself if her daughter falls in love
with a man above her station; and worst of all, Jack has not been entirely
honest with Kate from the start….Only time will tell what the price
of love is for all of them.
'A classic romantic tale' - Ipswich Evening Star
'A tender tale...' - Newcastle Evening Chronicle
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*** A UK SUNDAY TIMES TOP TEN BEST-SELLER ***
Young and pretty Evie Hobson spends her days serving behind the
counter at her father's chemist shop. Joseph Hobson is a bullying man and
Evie isn't the only one who lives in fear of her father's violent temper.
Then one day a bedraggled woman arrives at the shop and dies on the premises.
Evie is shocked to discover that the mysterious woman was in fact her mother,
whom she had been told had died many years ago. Why had her father lied
to her? What secret was he trying to keep?
One thing's for sure, Evie can't take much more from him and when she catches
the eye of local lad Ned Collins they plan to run away to begin a new life
together. But even when she has escaped and has started a family with Ned,
Evie has a long way to go before her happiness is secured...
“A heartwarming saga – fans of Anne Baker definitely won’t
be disappointed” Woman’s Weekly
“It is a truly compelling and sentimental story and rich in language
and descriptive prose” Evening Chronicle
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Alice Luckitt is only nineteen when her father, Len, commits suicide. Her
mother disappeared several months before, so Alice goes to live with her
grandparents, Edith and Monty. They love her dearly but are often too preoccupied
to have time for poor Alice. Her only real pleasure comes form the hours
she spends next door with Nell Ainslie and her handsome son, Eric.
Slowly but surely, Alice comes to terms with her loss. But when Uncle Frank
gets involved in the bakery business where she works, a chilling memory
from the night of Len's death comes back to haunt her.
And a shocking revelation changes the whole family...
"A gentle tale with all the right ingredients for a heartwarming novel"
- Huddersfield Daily Examiner
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When widower Henry Knell loses his glove-making business to the Dransfields
his life is well and truly ruined. With his six young daughters, he moves
into rented rooms in a Merseyside back street. Meanwhile, Hattie and Maggie,
the eldest girls are trying to hold the family together.
Sophie Dransfield's husband, Daniel, takes pity on the poverty-stricken
Knells and offers Maggie a job as a maid in the Dransfields' nursery. Maggie's
beautiful blonde hair soon catches the eye of Sophie's brother Tom, whose
dashing brother, Luke is equally enchanted by Hattie when she joins the
household as a lady's maid.
But the fortunes of the two sisters do not run according to plan. Maggie
finds happiness with Tom - but only after sacrifices have been made. And
Hattie, who cannot forgive or forget what her family has suffered, will
not rest until she sees the Dransfields fall from grace...
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Returning to Merseyside to join her stepmother's medical practice, Jill
decides to uncover the truth behind her painful childhood memories.
When Jill's stoical stepgrandmother tells her the harrowing tale of her
tragic past, Jill must learn the price of forgiveness and the power of love.
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When Elsa Gripper dies in childbirth on Christmas Eve, 1912, her grief-stricken husband is unable to cope with his two newborn daughters, Lucy and Patsy, so the twins are separated.
Elsa's parents, who run a highly successful business, Mersey Antiques,
take Lucy home and she grows up spoiled and pampered with no interest in
the family firm. Patsy has a more down-to-earth upbringing, living with
their father and other grandmother above the Railway Hotel. And through
further tragedy she learns to be responsible from an early age. Then Patsy
is invited to work at Mersey Antiques, which she hopes will bring her closer
to Lucy. But it is to take a series of dramatic events before the twins
are drawn together...
"Oozing with atmosphere and charm" - Liverpool Echo
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The Siddons sisters were brought up to respect their elders and uphold
family honour. When Katie falls pregnant her father will not forgive her...
... But she's not the only one with troubles, Amy loves Paul but the mention
of his name is forbidden, and Nancy is eager to wed Stan before the war.
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Abandoned by her mother at birth and brought up in Wales, illegitimate child Lizzie Mortimer is unaware of her heritage and of the riches to which she is rightful heir. But when her brother Joey takes her to Merseyside, Lizzie is increasingly drawn to the wealthy Mortimers - the family she has never known.
'A stirring tale of romance and passion, poverty and ambition...everything from seduction to murder, from forbidden love to revenge.' Liverpool Echo
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"Your mother was a naughty girl. She sinned." Aunt Maud's cruel words shock
Rosie Quest. But they also explain the atmosphere of hostility that surrounds
her on the run-down Wirral farm: no wonder her aunt resents having had to
take in an illegitimate child, born in the workhouse. It's quite a relief
to escape every day to her job as a machinist in Shearing's garment factory,
even though Beatrice Shearing is a demanding employer.
But when Rosie catches the eye of Ben Shearing, Beatrice is having none
of it: her son is much too good for a mere factory girl. When she fails
to halt the romance by conventional methods, Beatrice resolves to try more
drastic tactics, even if that means uncovering family secrets best left
buried.
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Living above her stepfather's fish and chip shop on Merseyside's Paradise
Parade, Emily Barr is glad to escape to her job in a jewellery factory.
When she is promoted to work for young Mr Giles, the owner's son, she is
the envy of her friends, and to her surprise he seems to want to woo her....
The compelling saga of love and betrayal from the Sunday Times bestselling
author Anne Baker.
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A poignant saga of love and family from Sunday Times bestselling author
Anne Baker
When Elin is seduced and left pregnant by her wealthy employer, she agrees
to marry the butler. Despite poverty and abuse, her daughter Laura forges
a successful career, but it takes a twist of fate to reunite Laura with
her wealthy relatives and to enable her and her mother to at last find love.
'Highly observant writing style..a compelling book that you just don't want to put down.' - The Southport Visitor
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