Valerie Wood is uitgegroeid tot een van de meest geliefde auteurs van het Verenigd Koninkrijk, met initiële erkenning voor haar debuutroman via de Catherine Cookson Prize for Fiction. Haar verhalende decors putten vaak uit de landschappen van East Yorkshire waar ze haar vormende jaren doorbracht. Naast haar schrijfwerk zet Wood zich actief in voor bibliotheken en steunt ze tal van liefdadigheidsinstellingen, wat blijk geeft van haar diepe betrokkenheid bij de gemeenschap.
It is the late 1850s and a tired woman holding a baby walks from Hull to one of the big houses in Anlaby - the home of the wealthy Rayners. No one wants to take responsibility for the baby and it is about to be put into an orphanage when Sammi, James's cousin, decides to take the baby back to her parents' home on the Holderness coast.
When Georgiana Gregory and her maid, Kitty, make the long sea journey from their native Hull for New York, they hope to begin a new life in the freedom of the newly-formed United States of America.
The choice was hers - fame and fortune or true love. Poppy Mazzini, born in Hull over her father's grocery shop, lives up to the promise of her fiery red hair and Italian ancestry.
For ten years, Delia has had to fend for herself and her son Jack, and as a young unmarried mother, life has never been easy. But when the theatre work dries up, Delia faces a dilemma: continue the search for employment with no knowing whether she'll find the stability and security her son needs, or return to the place that should be home .
As the sea claims the land, can she claim the love she deserves? In the old fishing town of Hull, Sarah Foster's parents have been fighting a constant battle with poverty, disease and crime. When her father Will, a whaling man, is involved in a terrible accident at sea, their lives became even harder. But Will's good deeds of the past pay off as John Rayner decides to rescue the Fosters. John provides them with work and a house on the estate owned by his wealthy family. It is at this new home on the crumbling coastline of Holderness that Sarah is born - and grows into a bright and beautiful girl, and a great source of strength to those around her. As John grows closer to Sarah, he becomes increasingly aware of his love for her. But could these two very different people ever make their love story truly work? If you enjoy books by Katie Flynn and Dilly Court, you'll love Val's heartwarming stories of triumph over adversity.
With the responsibility of the family estate on his shoulders, Laurie must decide between staying in Yorkshire to farm the family land and following his dreams. Meanwhile, headstrong and independent Alicia is defying expectation and excelling at school.
Scarborough, 1880 Jeannie spends her days watching the harbour girls and waiting for Ethan Wharton to come in on his father's fishing smack. Jeannie had always expected to marry the loyal and dependable Ethan. But then she meets Harry, a stranger who has come to visit from Hull for the day, and she falls for him. When Jeannie finds herself pregnant and Harry breaks his promise to come back for her, she is left isolated. She and her child move to Hull where her life is touched by illness, tragedy and poverty. She longs for the simpler times of her past, and wonders if she will ever find someone who will truly love her - and if Ethan will ever forgive her . . . If you enjoy books by Katie Flynn and Dilly Court, you'll love Val's heartwarming stories of triumph over adversity.
though after finding momentary joy they soon learn once again that tragedy is never far away... If you've liked books by Katie Flynn and Dilly Court, you'll love Val's heartwarming stories of triumph over adversity.
In discovering the mysteries of Jewel's past the girls realise that this is a life-changing voyage of discovery for both of them, as they learn important lessons about family, friendship, love and home.
Can her courage lead her to a life of happiness? Annie Swinburn is harbouring a terrible secret. She has killed a man. The man was evil in every possible way, but she knows that her only fate if she stays in the slums of Hull is a hanging. And so she runs. As fast as she can, and as far as she can - up the river, along hidden paths of the Humber and into a new and familiar territory where she can start a new life. There she meets Toby Linton - a man born into a good life but now estranged from his family. He and his brother Matt earn a dangerous living as smugglers, but Annie soon realises they have more in common than she thought. And this new way of life might just offer her the chance of love, in spite of all the tragedy that has gone before... If you enjoy books by Katie Flynn and Dilly Court, you'll love Val's heartwarming stories of triumph over adversity.
