Catherine Cookson Volgorde van de boeken (chronologisch)

'The Queen of raw family romances' Telegraph 'Catherine Cookson soars above her rivals' Mail on Sunday 'Her characters have the grit of real life' Sunday Times __________________________ In Christine Winter's youth, her family home was always full of love and laughter. Along with her brother Ronnie and their neighbours, Don and Sam Dowling, Chrissie passed a happy, untroubled childhood, even when the strains of the outside world darkened her family's doorstep. As she grew up, though, Chrissie quickly realised that she'd have to leave her carefree youth behind. As a young woman, she found that she was seemingly cursed with an indefinable charm that drew men to her, and in some cases led them to the brink of obsession. Chrissie was used to refusing men's advances, preferring to keep to herself even in the face of their passion. Until one day, Chrissie met a stranger on the river bank near her home and found her life irreversibly changed. _________________________ Readers love Cookson's gripping historical sagas: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐'Storytelling at its best' ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ 'Cookson's stories are timeless' ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ 'A great choice for a summer read' ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ 'Always a joy to read' Catherine Cookson, UK's top 100 bestselling authors of all time, Nielsen BookScan, July 2024

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.

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

'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.

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.

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...

Nach dem Tod ihres Mannes kehrt Tilly Trotter mit ihren Kindern nach England zurück. Dort trifft sie alte Freunde und konfrontiert ihre Vergangenheit, während eine alte Liebe neu entfacht wird.

Die zweiundzwanzigjährige Rosie trägt seit dem frühen Tod ihrer Mutter die Verantwortung für ihre Schwester Jennifer und ihren Vater, einen alkoholabhängigen Silberschmied. Nun scheint sie endlich ihr Glück gefunden zu haben: Ihr neuer Nachbar Michael, der kurz zuvor durch eine unverhoffte Erbschaft ein ansehnliches Vermögen erlangt hat, macht ihr einen Heiratsantrag. Doch nicht jeder gönnt den beiden ihre glückliche Zukunft. „Catherine Cookson ist eine der beliebtesten Autorinnen romantischer Prosa.“ BBC News „Catherine Cookson schreibt wunderbare Frauenromane.“ The Times

Prudence ist eine hübsche, intelligente und beruflich sehr erfolgreiche Frau. Um Ruhe und Kraft zu finden, zieht sie in ein kleines Haus auf dem Land, das dem unfreundlichen, verbitterten Davie McVeigh gehört. Durch tragische Ereignisse wird Prudence in die Geheimnisse um ihn und seine Familie hineingezogen.

Freddie Musgrave je drobný, nesmírně mrštný a mazaný dvanáctiletý chlapec, který pomáhá živit početnou rodinu tím, že dělá tajnou spojku pašerákům a jejich zákazníkům. Na své malé kocábce převáží přes řeku vzkazy nebo balíčky pašovaného zboží tak obratně, že ho celníci nikdy nechytí. Jedné noci se Freddie ocitne v domě nejvlivnějšího muže kraje boháče Rodericka Gallaghera a stane se svědkem šokujících událostí, které ovlivní celou jeho budoucnost. Spřátelí se s makléřkou Maggií Hewittovou, s její pomocí získá vzdělání a zabezpečí nezaměstnané členy rodiny. Zdá se, že vstoupil do šťastnější etapy svého života. Vše ale ještě může zvrátit odkaz Rodericka Gallaghera.

Die Trilogie um Tilly Trotter, die vom armen, als Hexe verschrienem Dorfmädchen zur Herrin aufsteigt, endet nach vielen Verwicklungen und Liebesabenteuern mit einem neuen Glück für sie

Obwohl Linda Metcalf aus der Grossstadt London kommt, will sie unbedingt Agrarwissenschaften studieren. Ihr Onkel ist Gutsverwalter, und sie hat die Ferien stets dort verbracht und Erfahrungen gesammelt. Einen Praktikumsplatz bekommt sie weit weg, an der nordenglischen Küste, auf der Farm der Familie Batley. Schon bei ihrer Ankunft wird sie in eine alte Fehde zwischen der Familie ihres Arbeitgebers und den Nachbarn Caldwell hineingezogen. - Unterhaltsamer Frauen- und Liebesroman

Když rodiče Cissie Brodieové zemřeli v roce 1832 na choleru, patnáctiletá dívka zůstala sama s devíti mladšími sourozenci, bez prostředků a bez střechy nad hlavou. Přestože takové neštěstí by porazilo i mnoho dospělých, Cissie se vzchopila, odvedla sourozence na nehostinné vřesoviště a odhodlaně začala budovat pro rodinu domov. Byl to jen přístřešek z hrubě opracovaného kamene, ale stačil k tomu, aby děti neskončily v sirotčinci. Ani laskavost přátel, mladého koláře Matthewa Turnbulla či mlynáře Watsona, je však nedokáže vždycky uchránit před krutou životní realitou a lidskou zlobou. A tak je Cissie postavena před nejtěžší rozhodnutí svého života – aby zachránila bratry a sestry, musí se vzdát svého malého synka. Podaří se Cissii vychovat a zabezpečit všechny své sourozence? A co dítě, které je v panském domě obklopené luxusem a pohodlím – nebude se jednou stydět za matku, která živořila v chudobě a je téměř negramotná? Nezapomene na ni? A bude ona sama po prožitých útrapách ještě někdy šťastná po boku někoho, kdo ji bude skutečně milovat?... celý text

Hannah Draytonová je čtyři roky vdaná, ale v jejím manželství to neklape. Aspoň Hannah má ten pocit. Její muž Humphrey je sice stále vlídný a zdvořilý, nicméně se chová podivně. Odstěhoval se ze společné ložnice a spí v pokoji pro hosty, přestože Hannah zoufale touží po dítěti. Do společnosti manželku příliš často nevodí, nemůže ji doprovodit ani do divadla a často ji nechává samotnou. Samozřejmě má pro své jednání vždy závažný důvod. Ve čtvrtek chodí pravidelně hrát bridž a víkendy tráví na venkově u stárnoucí tety a strýce, kteří ho vychovali. Hannah si s příbuznými nerozumí: nikdy ji nepřijali do rodiny, protože podle nich se drahý Humphrey mohl oženit mnohem lépe. Osamělá Hannah hledá náplň pro své prázdné dny a přemýšlí, jestli tak jako ona žijí i jiné manželské páry. Utíká se k psaní pohádek pro děti a uvažuje o tom, že je vydá knižně, přestože se jí to Humphrey snaží vymluvit. V den, kdy navštíví nakladatele Gillymana a seznámí se s jeho asistentem Davidem Craventonem, se však změní celý její dosavadní život. Tajné, byť zpočátku zcela nevinné schůzky s Davidem jí dodávají sílu a radost ze života, ačkoli ji trochu trápí výčitky svědomí. Hannah však netuší, že nově probuzená náklonnost může zničit mnohem víc než její prázdné a vyprahlé manželství.

Od chvíle, kdy Constance Stapletonová poprvé spatřila Shekinah Hall - dům na divokém vřesovišti, cítí k němu zvláštní přitažlivost. Brzy se v domě na blatech zabydlí a sblíží se s podivínskou rodinou O_Conorových. Když však proniknou na světlo šokující zprávy o jejím manželovi, Constance si uvědomí, že její život v domě na vřesovišti je vážně ohrožený...

Zwei Liebesromane 1., 2002 670 S. Taschenbuch Heyne,

Hannah und David, beide verheiratet, fühlen sich bei ihrem 1. Zusammentreffen sofort zueinander hingezogen. Aus Freundschaft wird Liebe - für Hannah die Rettung aus ihrer trostlosen Ehe mit einem Mann, dem alles wichtiger ist als seine Frau.

"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. "

Das Haus im Moor, auf das sie ihre Schwägerin aufmerksam machte, wird für Constance Stapleton zur Zuflucht und zum Ausgangspunkt, um aus ihrer zerrütteten Ehe ausbrechen zu können.

Tijdens een bootvakantie ontmoet een kinderloos Engels echtpaar een 15-jarig meisje dat een pleegdochter voor hen wordt.

Peter will Schauspieler werden. Endlich am Theater scheint er in Nyrene, dem Star des Ensembles, seine Traumfrau gefunden zu haben. Doch da macht ihm seine intrigante Mutter einen Strich durch die Rechnung: Sie stellt die Liebe und das Glück der beiden auf eine harte Probe.

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.

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.

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 . . .

Bridget Gether's parents were killed in the wartime Blitz and she had lived with the Overmeers at Balderstone since she was a child. Unaware that she had been manipulated into agreeing to marry their son Laurence, only an encounter with the son of a neighbouring farmer opened her eyes to the possibility she was making a mistake.

Roman, übersetzt aus dem Englischen von Eva-Maria Schwab und Heinz Nagel, umfasst 670 Seiten.

Zodra ze Shekinah Hall ziet, het huis op de heide nabij Hexham, voelt Constance Stapleton zich ertoe aangetrokken. Haar huwelijk staat op springen en ze weet dat een verhuizing de eerste stap kan zijn om eindelijk los te komen van haar echtgenoot Jim. Om het huis te kunnen kopen moet ze onderhandelen met ene Vincent O'Connor, een nogal botte, gesloten man. Ondanks zijn hoekige karakter en zijn zonderlinge haast om van het huis af te komen, sluit Constance een overeenkomst met hem. In de loop van de tijd die ze nodig heeft om aan haar nieuwe leven te wennen, gaat ze hem meer waarderen en steeds zwaarder op hem leunen. Totdat er schokkende feiten over haar man aan het licht komen, die haar bestaan op zijn grondvesten doen schudden.

England im 19. Jahrhundert: Hector Stewart steht vor dem Ruin. Er beschliesst, eine entfernte, reiche Verwandte zu heiraten. Seine Kinder sind zunächst gegen diese Verbindung, doch schon bald erweist sich die freundliche Moira Conelly als gute Wahl.

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.

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.

Mit der Ehe und dem väterlichen Betrieb steht es im Hause Remington nicht zum Besten und es fliegen an allen Fronten die Fetzen - doch zum Glück gibt es Betty, die dem Hausherrn zu neuem Eheglück verhilft.

Fellburn, 1880. Veel boerenfamilies hebben er te kampen met armoede. Wanneer Hector Stewart zijn huwelijk aankondigt met de rijke Moira Conelly, kan zijn zoon Daniel wel raden wat de ware reden is voor de verbintenis. Moira heeft echter iets verzwegen wat haar kapitaal betreft. Ze verwacht rijk te worden, maar is daarin afhankelijk van de gulheid van een tante, die haar een erfenis heeft beloofd. Maar als deze tante overlijdt, blijkt Moira tot haar verbijstering niets te erven.

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.

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.

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.

Im Alter von 15 Jahren kommt Jinnie Howlett aus dem Armenhaus als Dienstmagd auf eine abgelegene Farm. Niemand ausser Bruce, dem jüngsten Sohn der Familie, ist hier freundlich zu ihr.

Mühsam erkämpft sich die aus armen Verhältnissen stammende Lizzie ihr Lebensglück. Während des Krieges erwartet sie von ihrem Verlobten ein Kind, doch er stirbt als Soldat.

Beatrice Steel's whole heart belongs to the family estate Pine Hurst, the place of her childhood. When her father suddenly dies, she faces a shocking revelation after the reading of the will. However, Beatrice is determined to fight for the estate by any means necessary and to realize her dream of a life there.

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.

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.

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'.

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.

Eine über 4 Generationen reichende Familiengeschichte aus dem bürgerlichen England um die Jahrhundertwende

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

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.

Nach aussen im Wohlstand lebend, ist das Familienleben der Coulsons alles andere als harmonisch, denn die hysterische Ehefrau schikaniert nicht nur ihren Mann, sondern auch ihre drei Söhne, als sich diese von zu Hause lösen wollen.

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.

Na de dood van haar moeder wordt een mooi 7-jarig meisje opgevoed door een voddenkoopvrouw en een niet-volgroeide 17-jarige jongen, die haar proberen te beschermen tegen de gevaren van het 19e-eeuwse Engeland.

Ward Gibson heiratet unerwartet seine grosse Liebe, eine Tänzerin. Die Bauerntochter, die er verschäht hat, droht ihm ewige Rache an und setzt ihr Vorhaben auch sehr geschickt durch. Ein Epos voll Liebe und Hass.

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.

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.

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.

Een ambitieuze Engelse vrouw, die wil dat haar zoon later de titel en het landgoed van zijn oom erft, deinst er niet voor terug hiertoe over lijken te gaan.

Anna, die älteste Tochter von Nathaniel und Maria, leidet mit ihren Geschwistern unter dem Spott der Nachbarn wegen der unverheirateten Eltern. Sie sehnt sich nach Freiheit und kämpft gegen Bigotterie und Engstirnigkeit.

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.

"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."

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

Book by unknown

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.