Catherine Cookson - Böcker

Even in the heat of battle, Geoff Fulton, a professional soldier, would always carry with him the memory of the night he was on leave, when his timely intervention rescued fourteen-year-old Lizzie from the oldest of perils for a young girl, and thereby began to change her life. Lizzie came from a desperately poor home, ruled by a slatternly stepmother only too ready to profit from setting the girl along the same sordid road as her elder sister had been made to take.The year was 1937 and the place a rural enclave of County Durham, where Geoff had been born and raised in the old farmhouse that remained the home of his parents, even though most of its land had been sold off to neighbouring Low Tarn Hall. There his father still worked as estate manager for the demanding Ernest Bradford-Brown, self-made owner of this and many another property. Anxious about his increasingly handicapped mother and seeing in Lizzie a girl of spirit, Geoff concluded that she might, with care and training, solve his problem and benefit herself. So, after a quick visit to outface the protesting Mrs Gillespie, he was soon back home with his willing protegée.Then, in 1943, when Geoff returned wounded from the desert war, it was to find a Lizzie he hardly recognised - mature and highly attractive. For her part, she soon came to realise that he too had changed. Embittered by his experiences at war and rejected by Ernest Bradford-Brown's daughter Janis after a lengthy relationship long opposed by her irascible father, to Lizzie he now showed a ruthless streak that was at considerable odds with the caring man who had, all those years ago, rescued her from poverty and deprivation.

Catherine Cookson is known and loved for her vibrant and earthy novels set in and around the North-East of England, past and present. Her autobiography makes plain how it is she knows her background and her characters so well.The Our Kate of the title is not Catherine Cookson, but her mother, around whom the autobiography revolves. Despite her faults, Kate emerges a warm and loveable human figure.Our Kate is an honest statement about living with hardship and poverty, seen through the eyes of a highly sensitive child and woman, whose zest for life and unquenchable sense of humour won through to make Catherine Cookson the warm, engaging and human writer she is today.

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.

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 when Mr Armstrong learned the name of his visitor, all the office staff were amazed at his reaction. For 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.

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.

Cumbria, 1870s.Just before her fifteenth birthday Jinnie Howlett is offered a position as maid-of-all-work at a farm near the Cumbrian border. She hopes this will be a welcome relief from the workhouse she knows too well.But when she meets her brutish employers Jinnie realises she has only exchanged one life of drudgery for another. She is grateful when one of the sons befriends her, but it isn't long before Jennie sees how tempting life is beyond her place of work . . .Catherine Cookson was the original and bestselling saga writer, selling over 100 million copies of her novels. If you like Dilly Court, Katie Flynn or Donna Douglas, you'll love Catherine Cookson.

Born into poverty, Katie Mulholland is forced to find work as a maid in the house of a wealthy family. But the beautiful young girl captures the eye of her employer’s evil son, who rapes her and leaves her pregnant. Out for themselves, the family forces her to marry the cruel manager of their mines. But Katie’s fate changes course when one man offers her the opportunity to make her own fortune, and to discover real love . . . Spanning Katie’s life from 1860 to the height of the Second World War, this is a timeless tale of one woman's fight for the happy ending she deserves. Catherine Cookson was the original and bestselling saga writer, selling over 100 million copies of her novels. If you like Dilly Court, Katie Flynn or Donna Douglas, you'll love Catherine Cookson.

Yorkshire, 1880sAt nineteen years old, Bridget Dean Mordaunt inherits her father’s candle and blacking factories. Determined to restore the businesses to their former glory, by the time she turns twenty-three she is running them as confidently as any man.But despite her success, trouble is looming.When the devious Lionel Filmore enters Bridget’s family life, hoping to marry into her hard-earned wealth, she has to use all of her strength and ingenuity to keep her family together.Then, when young Lily Whitmore comes to her after her husband – an overseer in one of Bridget’s factories – has wrongly been tried for his brother’s murder, Bridget has no choice but to help. If Lily’s husband didn’t kill his brother, who did?The decisions Bridget makes will shape the lives of generations to come. Can her family overcome the darkness of the past to find new happiness?Catherine Cookson was the original and bestselling saga writer, selling over 100 million copies of her novels. If you like Dilly Court, Katie Flynn or Donna Douglas, you'll love Catherine Cookson.

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, and will stop at nothing to give it to him.Ellen and Joseph soon find themselves in a convenient arrangement with Ellen’s brother-in-law, Sir Arthur, living on the family estate, an arrangement which quickly comes to work in conniving Ellen’s favour… But over the course of the next twenty years, as destinies intertwine, can Joseph Jebeau escape the clutches of his mother’s ruthless ambition, and emerge from the shadows of his heritage as the man he truly wants to be?Catherine Cookson was the original and bestselling saga writer, selling over 100 million copies of her novels. If you like Dilly Court, you'll love Catherine Cookson.

County Durham, 1830sWhen fifteen-year-old Cissie Brodie loses her parents to cholera, she is forced out of the family cottage and left to raise her nine brothers and sisters by herself. Although desperately poor, strong-willed Cissie determines to build a new home for them all, their own little shelter to keep them from the workhouse.They have friends, but charity cannot always spare them the harsh reality of their struggle and when Cissie attracts the unwanted attentions of a local landowner, her world seems close to collapse. Can love, when it arrives, teach her not to fear the world beyond the dwelling place?Catherine Cookson was the original and bestselling saga writer, selling over 100 million copies of her novels. If you like Dilly Court, Katie Flynn or Donna Douglas, you'll love Catherine Cookson.

When Millie's mother abandons her one late afternoon in 1854, fate brings the seven-year-old to Aggie's door - and life will never be the same for either of them.Known locally as 'Raggie Aggie' for her business of trading rags and old clothes, the older woman knows the dangers waiting for such a strikingly pretty girl left alone in their rough area of Newcastle, and sees no other option but to take her in.The unlikely pair soon form an unexpectedly strong bond. But there will be obstacles in their paths - will their friendship survive? Whatever happens, their relationship will change their lives for ever...Catherine Cookson was the original and bestselling saga writer, selling over 100 million copies of her novels. If you like Dilly Court, Katie Flynn or Donna Douglas, you'll love Catherine Cookson.

Born into grinding poverty, young Freddie Musgrave relies on his wits to survive and help feed his family. He earns a few shillings by navigating his little boat across the swift-flowing waters of the Tyne, running messages and smuggling goods between the busy seaports on either side of the river and evading the customs agents. Luck is on his side . . . until the night he witnesses something truly horrific. In a supremely brave act he saves a life – and changes his own forever. Gaining the patronage of Maggie Hewitt, a sea captain’s daughter, Freddie is able to shape a future he can be proud of. 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. If you like Dilly Court, Katie Flynn or Donna Douglas, you'll love Catherine Cookson.

_______________________"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 Times)County Durham, 1860s.Born to a family of wealthy glassmakers, Annabella Legrange leads a charmed life, shielded from the struggles of the lower classes. But when she is eighteen she learns the truth of her birth and her whole world is shattered… Forced to flee and leave behind everything she has ever known, she seeks to find a new life among the working classes where she hopes to forget the troubles of her past. She soon finds that moving on is harder than it looks and that there doesn’t seem to be place for her in either society. Catherine Cookson was the original and bestselling saga writer, selling over 100 million copies of her novels. If you like Dilly Court, Katie Flynn or Donna Douglas, you'll love Catherine Cookson.Originally published as THE GLASS VIRGIN

Rosie finds it hard to cope with her eldest sister's over-possessive nature. Since the death of their mother Beatrice has been insufferably dominating, taking over the running of the house and ruling their father and servants with an iron hand. She glories in being the mistress at Pine Hurst and never dreams of leaving. But when their father dies unexpectedly their security is threatened, and Beatrice must lay plans to protect this most prized possession.How will the sister's survive now their father is gone? Catherine Cookson was the original and bestselling saga writer, selling over 100 million copies of her novels. If you like Dilly Court, Katie Flynn or Donna Douglas, you'll love Catherine Cookson.

'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. So, when a music hall singer captures his heart instead there's hell to pay... Because of his betrayal, his family must face a series of reprisals... one so terrible it cannot go unanswered. A dark and twisting novel that follows Ward's journey and the succeeding generations. Catherine Cookson was the original and bestselling saga writer, selling over 100 million copies of her novels. If you like Dilly Court, Katie Flynn or Donna Douglas, you'll love Catherine Cookson.

Willington Place, London, 1879.In London's bustling streets, business is booming for Mabel Arkwright's hat shop. But as her health declines, she must entrust Emily Pearson, her capable and beloved employee, with more responsibility.After Mabel's death, Emily is stunned not only to inherit a completely unique broad-brimmed straw hat, but also the shop. But it isn't long before the extra work leaves Emily on the brink of exhaustion. Resolving to get some rest, she takes a trip to the south of France.There, she meets the stylish and enigmatic Paul Anderson Steerman who is instantly captivated by Emily's beautiful straw hat and sweeps her off her feet. But when they return to England to start their life together, it soon becomes clear that Paul isn't the man he claims to be. Can Emily free herself from his clutches or is it too late...?----------------From bestselling saga author Catherine Cookson, this forgotten classic is an epic tale of friendship, love and betrayal. If you like Dilly Court, Katie Flynn or Donna Douglas, you'll love Catherine Cookson.Previously published as The Golden Straw

'Catherine Cookson soars above her rivals' Mail on Sunday'Her characters have the grit of real life' Sunday Times'Queen of raw family romances' TelegraphAfter making his money as a respected manufacturer of an array of shoes, Samuel Fairbrother decides to find a new home for his business and family. When a grand mansion becomes available Samuel buys it - and with it, inherits the servants.But when his butler, Maitland, makes it clear he prefers Samuel's predecessor, a conflict between the classes begins to emerge. Maitland, believes Samuel is nothing more than an upstart and because Samuel knows his well-educated but troublesome butler is indispensable - they reach a stalemate. Until Samuel's eldest daughter, Janet, tries to reconcile the impossible; but can she bring the uneasy truce to an end?From bestselling saga author Catherine Cookson, this forgotten classic captures the conflicts of class in the society of the late nineteenth century. If you like Dilly Court, Katie Flynn or Donna Douglas, you'll love Catherine Cookson.Previously published as The Upstart.

When John O'Brien fell in love with Mary Llewellyn he knew there was a gulf between them that nothing could bridge - the gulf of the "Fifteen Streets".