Gillyvors

A century or so ago there lived at Heap Hollow Cottage, situated near Fellburn in County Durham, a man and a woman and their six children. By all appearances they were a close and loving family. Yet across the happy facade lay a shadow that had lengthened and darkened with the passing years. For the father and mother were not husband and wife, which meant that, to the narrow and bigoted minds of the Victorian rural community, the offspring of Natheniel Martell and Maria Dagshaw were base-born gillyvors - in country parlance, bastards. Anna, the elder daughter, was entering womanhood resolved to face the legacy of her birth and the challenges it must continue to bring her. Her journey through life would not be an easy one and only her inborn courage and zest for life would sustain her quest for fulfilment and happiness.

This novel has everything. Family trauma, love, loss, hatred and shame. This story of a young girls struggle to be accepted and not scorned will have you reaching for tissues one moment and eyes popping out the next. A really good read if your a Cookson fan!!!