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.

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.

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.

Everyone, 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.

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.

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.

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, 1830s When 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.

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.

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.

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...?

Just two years after the death of their mother, Hector Stewart tells his children he plans to remarry and has chosen a distant relative from Ireland to be his bride. Money is tight and the only thing the children remember about Moira Connelly is that she lives in a castle; they suspect that her apparent wealth is the reason their father is so keen to remarry. But Moira has also been far from forthcoming about her own circumstances – thinking she’s about to marry into landed gentry, she expects a lifestyle to match this title. So when she arrives in rural Fellburn she is surprised to find a rundown farm as her new home… Can a marriage based on deception survive? 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.

After 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.

Cock Shield Farm, 1881 After Molly Geary finds herself pregnant with landowner Angus McBain's child, she is left distraught and ruined. Dishonoured by being the secret mistress of McBain, she must find an alternative suitor to save her reputation, or else the threat of being discarded looms. McBain devises a plan to claim his employee, Davie Armstrong, as the father to Molly's child. Leaving the pair forced to marry, the issue appears resolved. But with secrecy comes consequences, and young Molly realises she is tied in a web of lies beyond what she could imagine... A dark and gritty saga from bestselling author Catherine Cookson about love, loss, and redemption, for fans of Dilly Court and Katie Flynn. Originally published as Feathers In The Fire.