Cordelia

Description

Manchester, 1867. Widowed in mysterious circumstances and compelled to marry again by his domineering father Frederick, Brook Ferguson selects as his new bride the beautiful, strong-willed Cordelia. But after she comes to live with Brook and Frederick, as well as their household of eccentric family members, it isn't long before Cordelia is locked in a quiet war of dominance with the elder Ferguson. In the stifling atmosphere of the Ferguson's manor house, petty arguments escalate and any small defiance becomes a grand betrayal, until the tension forces Cordelia out into the world in search of something more. Which is just when theatre-owner Stephen Crossley, with his quick wit and easy smile, strolls into her life - and Cordelia is forced to make the hardest decision of all: Loyalty... or love? A passionate romance, shot through with dark humour and melancholy, Cordelia is a modern classic of the Gothic genre from Winston Graham, the bestselling author of Marnie.

Winston Graham was the author of more than forty novels, including The Walking Stick, Angell, Pearl and Little God, Stephanie and Tremor. His novels have been widely translated and his famous Poldark series has been developed into two television series shown in twenty-four countries. Many of Winston Graham's books have been filmed for the big screen, the most notable being Marnie, directed by Alfred Hitchcock. Winston Graham was a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature and in 1983 was awarded the OBE. He died in July 2003.

Excellent. * TLS * Cordelia has the virtues of readability, of convincing motive and emotion and of vivid background . . . all the excellent Victorian ingredients - guilty love, surrender, pathos and comedy. It is enthralling from start to finish, a beguiling journey backwards in time. * Scotsman *