The Black Candle

Description

A classic family drama and a tale of triumph over adversity by the 100-million copy bestselling Catherine Cookson - the queen of saga - reissued in a fresh, gorgeous new package for today's readers. Yorkshire, 1880s At nineteen years old, Bridget Dean Mordaunt inherits her father's candle and blacking factories. Determined to restore the businesses to their former glory, by the time she turns twenty-three she is running them as confidently as any man. But despite her success, trouble is looming. When the devious Lionel Filmore enters Bridget's family life, hoping to marry into her hard-earned wealth, she has to use all of her strength and ingenuity to keep her family together. Then, when young Lily Whitmore comes to her after her husband - an overseer in one of Bridget's factories - has wrongly been tried for his brother's murder, Bridget has no choice but to help. If Lily's husband didn't kill his brother, who did? The decisions Bridget makes will shape the lives of generations to come. Can her family overcome the darkness of the past to find new happiness? 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.

Catherine Cookson was born in Tyne Dock, the illegitimate daughter of a poverty-stricken woman, Kate, whom she believed to be her older sister. She began work in service but eventually moved south to Hastings, where she met and married Tom Cookson, a local grammar-school master. Although she was originally acclaimed as a regional writer - her novel The Round Tower won the Winifred Holtby Award for the best regional novel of 1968 - her readership quickly spread throughout the world, and her many bestselling novels established her as one of the most popular of contemporary women novelists. After receiving an OBE in 1985, Catherine Cookson was created a Dame of the British Empire in 1993. She was appointed an Honorary Fellow of St Hilda's College, Oxford, in 1997. For many years she lived near Newcastle upon Tyne. She died shortly before her ninety-second birthday, in June 1998.

Queen of raw family romances * Telegraph * Humour, toughness, resolution and generosity are Cookson virtues . . . In the specialised world of women's popular fiction, Cookson has created her own territory * Helen Dunmore, The Times * Catherine Cookson soars above her rivals * Mail on Sunday *