Showing results by author "Anna Jacobs" in All Categories

Rachel Smedling is not like the other women in her isolated Pennine village: she is taller, stronger, and weaves cloth like a man. Without her, the household would fall apart, for her mother is ailing and her vicious drunkard father seems to hate her so much, he would happily offer money to any man who would wed her. When her mother dies, Rachel is at the mercy of her increasingly violent father. Her only escape is by marrying a kindly man with whom she finds happiness, if not passion, and her life begins to seem complete.  

After a stray bomb scored a direct hit on his childhood home in Hertfordshire, the only thing that has kept Francis Brady going while he works day and night salvaging what he can from the rubble is the thought that soon he'll be joining wartime friends Mayne, Daniel and Victor as electrician in their new dream building firm in Lancashire. But things are not going to plan: Mayne isn't answering any of his letters; Francis' wife is having a change of heart about moving up north - and her parents seem set on destroying his reputation....

As the only female cabinet maker in the valley in 1935, Frankie Redfern is unusual. She faces prejudice even from her own mother. But she's content working for her father and is unwilling to give up her independence or the work she loves for marriage. When her husband falls gravely ill, Frankie's mother takes over, causing serious trouble for her daughter. And her cousin, an unscrupulous local builder, starts to help her for his own reasons.

Keara Michaels doesn't want to leave her family in Ireland, but fate sends her first to Lancashire, then across the sea to Australia, pregnant and penniless. And Theo Mullane, the man who loves her, is married, with an ailing baby son, so cannot follow her as he longs to. Mark Gibson leaves Lancashire to avoid marriage. But gold prospecting is a dangerous pursuit, and when his gentle young wife dies in childbirth, his father-in-law kidnaps the baby. So Mark runs away again, this time to Western Australia, where he employs Keara in his country inn.

Lancashire 1934. Three years after her husband's sudden death, Stella comes into some money unexpectedly and decides to make a new start in the country. She settles on Ellin Valley, where she quickly begins to make friends. She falls in love with a cottage in Birch End. Life has changed drastically for local handyman Wilf Pollard as well. When tragedy strikes, Wilf is left as the only support of his two young children. But his friends rally round to help so that he can pull his life together. 

Lancashire, 1930: Leah Turner's father has been killed in an accident at the laundry, and since her mother died years ago it falls to her to become sole provider for her little sister. But women's wages are half those of men, and pawning the few belongings she has left will keep their vicious rent collector at bay for only a few weeks, so even if she finds a job, they'll lose their home. Out of the blue, Charlie Willcox, the local pawnbroker, offers her a deal.

The fourth book in Anna Jacobs' beloved Ellindale series. Lancashire, 1934. When Tam Crawford is unexpectedly bequeathed some money, he can finally realise his dream of settling down in the beautiful village of Ellindale. Tam knows he can be impulsive - his nickname isn't Crazy Tam for nothing! - but this time he is determined not to be ruled by his big heart and hot head. Yet somehow, within just one day, he has taken on a fiancée and two children to keep them out of the poorhouse - or worse. 

1945 - the war in Europe is over. It should be a time of utter joy and celebration. Most women can't wait for their men to return, but in the small town of Rivenshaw in Lancashire, Judith Crossley fears having her husband back in the house. He'd grown into a bully and a drunkard, and on the occasions he'd come home from leave, he'd hit her. He wasn't a good father, either. Luckily Judith has found an unlikely ally, a friend to turn to - Maynard Esher, from an old aristocratic family on the other side of town.

Recently widowed, Hannah Firth is still young - young enough to dream of a new life. When her spiteful daughter-in-law uses her as an unpaid servant, Hannah tries to leave, but she is unaware of the depths that Patty's spite will lead her to. Nathaniel King's life is ruined when his landlord's son lays waste to his market garden for a prank - and the resulting feud puts Nathaniel's livelihood at stake.

The third book in beloved and best-selling Anna Jacobs' Lancashire-based Ellindale saga. Lancashire, 1932. Widower Harry Makepeace lives in Manchester with his sickly daughter, Cathie, scrimping and saving to get by. But after she suffers a violent asthma attack, the doctors say she must move to the clean, fresh air of the countryside to have any hope of survival. When Harry chances upon a patch of land for sale in Ellindale and an advert for a disused railway carriage that can be made into a home, he snaps both up quickly.

Seventeen-year-old Liza is happy working as a lady's maid - until her employers decide to emigrate and her father makes up his mind that she is to wed an older widower whom she detests. Determined to avoid a loveless marriage, Liza plans to run away. But when the widower rapes her to force her to marry him, she flees back to the family for whom she worked. She feels she has no choice but to go with them to Australia, and they all set out on the long voyage. On board ship, Liza discovers to her horror that she has fallen pregnant. 

The new Anna Jacobs saga continues the story of the younger sisters of Keara Michaels, the heroine of A Pennyworth of Sunshine, following their fortunes from 19th-century Ireland to the brave new world of Australia. In 1863 the authorities send Irish orphans Ismay and Mara to Australia against their will. Just when they thought it couldn't get any worse, on arrival they're separated from one another. While Ismay is forced to take a job as a maid miles away in the country, Mara must stay in the care of the Catholic mission.

The Great War opened up an exciting new career for Vi in London. But that was yesterday. Now the war's over, her husband is dead and she needs to pick up the pieces of her life. On her way home from work she meets a man who is in huge need of her help. Recently demobbed, Joss Bentley has no job or home and, with his wife dead, there's a new baby to care for - and, what's more, it's not his. As he searches grimly for its real father, he runs up against people who will use any means necessary to conceal dark secrets, and Vi finds herself faced with conflicting loyalties. 

Germany 1939, and Christa Sommer boards the Kindertransport, unsure that she'll ever see her beloved mother and father again. Once in England she is taken in by elderly Mrs Pelling, who grows to love Christa as the daughter she never had. But in 1945 Mrs Pelling dies. While her will cannot be found, her money-grabbing niece appears out of the blue to claim her inheritance and turfs Christa out, with only a suitcase to her name. The prejudice against Germans still runs high in England, and Christa is unable to secure a job or a place to stay.

Ismay Deagan has one wish in the world - to leave Ireland and join her brother, Bram, in Australia. However, her father has other ideas and orders her to marry their vicious neighbour Rory Flynn, even though she loathes him. But after Rory brutally attacks her Ismay realises she has to escape. So, disguising herself as an impoverished young widow, she sets sail for Australia, hoping to be reunited with her brother. When she meets Adam Treagar on the ship, she finally starts to believe her dreams of future happiness may come true....

Jo Melling has arrived in Birch End from Australia, still grieving her father's recent death. She's not intending to stay long, but after tracking down her distant family, Jo becomes more involved in village life than she could ever have imagined - and suddenly in danger too. Jo also finds herself drawn to Nick, a handsome newcomer to the village. Nick had planned to settle in Birch End and start a business, but as he grows closer to Jo, he realises he may have to choose between his dreams and a chance at love. 

Jessie Burton is lively and intelligent - she wants more than the respectable life in service her mother has planned for her. Times are changing; railways are being built across the land, bringing new freedom and possibilities. Jessie tastes that freedom when she meets an ambitious young navvy, newly arrived in Yorkshire. The attraction between them is overwhelming. And Jared Wilde is determined to make Jessie his wife. 

Lizzie Kershaw is an independent spirit; ever since her father's death she has had to be a survivor. Home life is harsh, though, and desperate to escape it, she makes an ill-advised marriage. But she discovers that she's married a selfish and violent man. His beatings never seem to stop, and, with the help of some suffragettes, she escapes to Manchester, where she finds work in a munitions factory - she is finally the independent woman she has always longed to be. But her husband, whose cruelty knows no bounds, tracks her down and drags her back home to more beatings than ever....

Singapore in the 1860s is exotic and yet terrifying for a penniless Englishwoman, alone and vulnerable after her mother's death. Too pretty to obtain a governess' job, Isabella Saunders accepts an offer from Singapore merchant Mr Lee to teach him English and live with his family. Two years later Bram Deagan arrives in Singapore, determined to make his fortune as a trader. Mr Lee sees a way to expand his business connections and persuades Isabella to marry Bram. Bravely, she sets sail for a new land and life. 

Renie, the youngest sister, is living with the newly married Nell, happy in her waitressing job at the King’s Head Hotel. But a shadow falls over her the day Mr Judson arrives as assistant manager. Feeling increasingly harassed by him and also eager to escape from Nell’s unpleasant husband, Renie is delighted when she is offered a new job in London.