Frank English Boeken

Is reminiscence a sign of getting old? Jack's not too sure, although it's a cathartic process he very much enjoys indulging in with close friends and even closer family. Spending a lot of time with oldest friend Joyce Walker and her husband 'Stick' has proved to be an enjoyable and invaluable pastime.His life is still beset with 'diffculties' usually brought about by other people who still find his forthright Yorkshireness a little hard to handle at times. Generally speaking, though, life is as good as it gets for Jack and Jenny.Unlike most other parents - and grandparents - immediate family is spread across the globe, but despite the difficulty with direct communication, there are still surprises just around the odd corner or two.Heading towards retirement, perhaps, from his enjoyable but occasionally humdrum profession, what lies in store for this enigmatic but endearing Yorkshire couple? Could there be a calming-down of their sometime troublesome existence? Only time will tell...

Although brother and sister, ten-year-old James and nine-year-old Olivia couldn't be more different. James is the action man, with interests in everything sporty and adventurous. Olivia, on the other hand, spends most of her time in her own fantasy world that she takes with her wherever she goes. The beginning of their summer holiday is here, a time when they don't have to get up early to go to school. This is their favourite part of the year because they usually spend the first week or two with their Nanny Josie and Grandpa Jack on their wonderful farm in the country. Nanny and Grandpa seemed to be ordinary farming folk ... until strange things began to happen in and around the farm and the nearby forest. Something ... different ... always happens in the forest. Olivia is sure that Grandpa Jack can explain, or maybe...

Logan is a sad little boy who is bullied at school by thoughtless unfeeling children who like to make fun of him. His life is already a sad one because of circumstances beyond his control out of which initially he can see no escape. At home, following his attempt to put these unpleasant episodes behind him, an annoying noise disturbs his Saturday in front of the television - his only enjoyable time of escape from the daily sadness he experiences. Scouring the house to find the source, the unexpected inevitably takes him away from the humdrum existence he leads, into a world that is so vibrantly different from his own. What will he find in this place? Why has he been brought here, and will he ever return to his normal life?

Joss McIntyre is master of the Boulders Wood estate that his family has farmed for more than six generations. He is a hard man, his temper shaped by Victorian values and the harsh Yorkshire landscape in which he and his family live. Despite his attempts to control all those around him, Joss's young daughter, Annie, falls pregnant. As her child, Poppy, grows up Joss's true nature emerges - with tragic consequences for the family. Will Poppy survive the sometimes brutal events that beset Boulders Wood? Will the McIntyre sons, Joseph and Ross, manage to save the farm in the face of the rapid economic and social changes of the late nineteenth century and their father's intransigence? Or will hidden family secrets ruin everything?