Nellie Wildchild


Book Description

The Glasgow Nellie Thompson had been born in city bled colourless by poverty and despair, and divided against itself by religion and class. A city where appearances meant more than the truth that might lie in a person's heart . . . Nellie knew what it was like to be hungry and hopeless; to live a bitter lie with a man she hated. But still she held on to her dreams. Somehow she would leave those grey and violent streets behind. Somehow she would make her own life and her own world - even if she were forever denied the comfort of love. Praise for Emma Blair: 'An engaging novel and the characters are endearing - a good holiday read' Historical Novels Review 'All the tragedy and passion you could hope for . . . Brilliant' The Bookseller 'Romantic fiction pure and simple and the best sort - direct, warm and hugely readable. Women's fiction at an excellent level' Publishing News 'Emma Blair explores the complex and difficult nature of human emotions in this passionately written novel' Edinburgh Evening News 'Entertaining romantic fiction' Historical Novels Review '[Emma Blair] is well worth recommending' The Bookseller




Lost Narratives


Book Description

Roger Bromley deals with the ways in which certain popular forms contribute to the social production of memories. The texts he examines include the fictions of R. F. Delderfield and Lena Kennedy. This book should be of interest to students of cultural studies and popular fiction.




The Blackbird's Tale


Book Description

From Glasgow on the brink of the Great War to the cut-throat world of London publishing - the spellbinding saga of three remarkable generations. Cathy: a Glasgow factory-girl who experiences love, its loss and a kind of victory in the space of two turbulent wartime years . . . Hannah: the daughter whose marriage enjoys the fruits of undreamt prosperity. But her love must learn to endure the turmoil of a very personal hurt . . . Robyn: the product of her generation. Modern, extrovert and vivacious, her heart is broken by the only man she'll ever love. Yet she finally comes to control her destiny - and that of the lover she never really lost... This is the unforgettable story of three women united in their love for books, for life, and for their men. A story which began with the little bookshop that Cathy fell in love with thirty years before. The Blackbird . . . Praise for Emma Blair: 'An engaging novel and the characters are endearing - a good holiday read' Historical Novels Review 'All the tragedy and passion you could hope for . . . Brilliant' The Bookseller 'Romantic fiction pure and simple and the best sort - direct, warm and hugely readable. Women's fiction at an excellent level' Publishing News 'Emma Blair explores the complex and difficult nature of human emotions in this passionately written novel' Edinburgh Evening News 'Entertaining romantic fiction' Historical Novels Review '[Emma Blair] is well worth recommending' The Bookseller




A Most Determined Woman


Book Description

For Sarah Hawke, daughter of an impoverished miner, life offered little beyond the grime of Glasgow in the 1890s and the eternal drudgery of back-breaking work. Until a mysterious stranger entered her life. A stranger who turned out to be her real father - and the owner of a vast and prosperous shipping empire. Catapulted into a world of luxury, of servants and stately homes, Sarah begins a new and glittering life. As sole heiress to a fortune, she has much to gain - and everything to lose. For she takes over the business, and with it the risks and rivalry, deceit and intrigue - and the prospect of undying love . . . From Scotland to Paris, from Jamaica to South Africa, Sarah charms - and fights - her way to success against all odds. For she is dealing in a man's world, where the only way to succeed is to be a most determined woman. Praise for Emma Blair: 'An engaging novel and the characters are endearing - a good holiday read' Historical Novels Review 'All the tragedy and passion you could hope for . . . Brilliant' The Bookseller 'Romantic fiction pure and simple and the best sort - direct, warm and hugely readable. Women's fiction at an excellent level' Publishing News 'Emma Blair explores the complex and difficult nature of human emotions in this passionately written novel' Edinburgh Evening News 'Entertaining romantic fiction' Historical Novels Review '[Emma Blair] is well worth recommending' The Bookseller




Finding Happiness


Book Description

Sandy McLean is training to be a doctor to follow in his father's footsteps - indeed, to surpass his father who is just a general practitioner: Sandy is to become a top surgeon. Or so his father insists. Sandy feels he has no choice, though knows he is not a natural and life is becoming miserable as he struggles through the exams. What he really wants to be is an artist. Every spare moment he paints and is especially good at people. He even gets a commission when a loyal pub bartender is retiring. And then a French girl, Sophie, offers to pose for him - which leads to his first love affair and the beginning of his rebellion against his father, leading to his running off to Montmartre. Meanwhile, left behind is his sister Laura. Her father believes she should wait about idly for a potential husband to turn up. But she wants to earn a living. She tells her parents she's working voluntarily for an orphan centre, but really she has a job working at the Marie Stopes Clinic. After a brutal assault leaves her traumatised, she follows in Sandy's footsteps to Montmartre . . . Praise for Emma Blair: 'An engaging novel and the characters are endearing - a good holiday read' Historical Novels Review 'All the tragedy and passion you could hope for . . . Brilliant' The Bookseller 'Romantic fiction pure and simple and the best sort - direct, warm and hugely readable. Women's fiction at an excellent level' Publishing News 'Emma Blair explores the complex and difficult nature of human emotions in this passionately written novel' Edinburgh Evening News 'Entertaining romantic fiction' Historical Novels Review '[Emma Blair] is well worth recommending' The Bookseller




Sweethearts


Book Description

For Lexa and Cordelia Stewart the late 1930s bring changes that neither could have dreamed of. For as well as the onslaught of war, the death of their father leaves them ill equipped to run the family business. Cordelia falls recklessly in love with Joe Given, who is not only married but is looking elsewhere. Meanwhile, Lexa finds brief happiness with William until the war cruelly postpones their wedding. Will the Tarot card message read by her grandmother years ago finally come true? Will a 'cruel misunderstanding' stand in the way of Lexa and her longed-for marriage? Praise for Emma Blair: 'An engaging novel and the characters are endearing - a good holiday read' Historical Novels Review 'All the tragedy and passion you could hope for . . . Brilliant' The Bookseller 'Romantic fiction pure and simple and the best sort - direct, warm and hugely readable. Women's fiction at an excellent level' Publishing News 'Emma Blair explores the complex and difficult nature of human emotions in this passionately written novel' Edinburgh Evening News 'Entertaining romantic fiction' Historical Novels Review '[Emma Blair] is well worth recommending' The Bookseller




Hester Dark


Book Description

Even to a girl from the slums of Bristol, the streets of Glasgow were inhospitable and grey; the wealth and splendour of its mansions cold and heartless. But for Hester Dark, there could be no turning back - she would make this cruel city the home of her dreams. Everyone said that Hester was lucky. Lucky to have a wealthy uncle in Scotland who was willing to take her in. Lucky to have all the advantages that his money could buy. But Hester's new, bright world held dark secrets, jealousies and fears. And no one had spoken of the women who would despise her for her beauty and her independence - and the men who would buy her soul and call it love. Praise for Emma Blair: 'An engaging novel and the characters are endearing - a good holiday read' Historical Novels Review 'All the tragedy and passion you could hope for . . . Brilliant' The Bookseller 'Romantic fiction pure and simple and the best sort - direct, warm and hugely readable. Women's fiction at an excellent level' Publishing News 'Emma Blair explores the complex and difficult nature of human emotions in this passionately written novel' Edinburgh Evening News 'Entertaining romantic fiction' Historical Novels Review '[Emma Blair] is well worth recommending' The Bookseller




Goodnight, Sweet Prince


Book Description

Emma Blair once again richly evokes the setting and characters of Scotland during the 30s. Continuing the story she began in Flower of Scotland, Emma invites the reader back into the lives of the Drummond family, who are still dealing with the aftermath of the First World War but now must also face up to the horrors of the Second. Andrew and Rose are running the distillery and have given a job to Jack's son, Tommy. Tommy hates the work and longs to be a pilot but Jack, horribly disfigured after the first war, forbids it. The onset of the new war sweeps aside any such decision . . . Andrew and Rose must cope with the loss of their baby; Andrew tries to manage as Rose's behaviour becomes increasingly bizarre but finds he must also face up to his own failing health . . . An enormously touching story and life, love and death. Praise for Emma Blair: 'An engaging novel and the characters are endearing - a good holiday read' Historical Novels Review 'All the tragedy and passion you could hope for . . . Brilliant' The Bookseller 'Romantic fiction pure and simple and the best sort - direct, warm and hugely readable. Women's fiction at an excellent level' Publishing News 'Emma Blair explores the complex and difficult nature of human emotions in this passionately written novel' Edinburgh Evening News 'Entertaining romantic fiction' Historical Novels Review '[Emma Blair] is well worth recommending' The Bookseller




Little White Lies


Book Description

For sixteen-year-old Lizzie McDougall, life in the Glasgow tenements comes as a culture shock after her sheltered upbringing in the Highlands. But for her father, who has just lost his job in the tiny town of Tomintoul, Glasgow offers employment. Her new life enables Lizzie to work in a factory as a seamstress - and it opens her horizons to new friends as well. Especially the spirited Pearl, who introduces Lizzie to her boyfriend Willie, and her cousin, the handsome, happy-go-lucky Jack - a real bobby-dazzler . . . It's not just Lizzie who faces temptation in the big city. Her father Doogie, also working in a factory, is exposed to it in the shape of the buxom Daisy. He moved here for the sake of his family's future, but now he's in danger of throwing that future away. Praise for Emma Blair: 'An engaging novel and the characters are endearing - a good holiday read' Historical Novels Review 'All the tragedy and passion you could hope for . . . Brilliant' The Bookseller 'Romantic fiction pure and simple and the best sort - direct, warm and hugely readable. Women's fiction at an excellent level' Publishing News 'Emma Blair explores the complex and difficult nature of human emotions in this passionately written novel' Edinburgh Evening News 'Entertaining romantic fiction' Historical Novels Review '[Emma Blair] is well worth recommending' The Bookseller




This Side Of Heaven


Book Description

When she was sixteen, Sheila Beattie knew exactly what her future would be. She would marry her sweetheart Eric, a fisherman like her father, and they would raise their family and dream their simple dreams in the village which they'd been born. Her life lay before her, happy, safe and secure. But she was sixteen - and about to discover in this world there is nothing certain but change . . . no one and nothing to be trusted but the voice of your own heart . . . Praise for Emma Blair: 'An engaging novel and the characters are endearing - a good holiday read' Historical Novels Review 'All the tragedy and passion you could hope for . . . Brilliant' The Bookseller 'Romantic fiction pure and simple and the best sort - direct, warm and hugely readable. Women's fiction at an excellent level' Publishing News 'Emma Blair explores the complex and difficult nature of human emotions in this passionately written novel' Edinburgh Evening News 'Entertaining romantic fiction' Historical Novels Review '[Emma Blair] is well worth recommending' The Bookseller