Corgi book Every Mother's Son Wood Val

A powerful story about a woman's struggle to claim what is rightfully hers, from the Sunday Times bestselling author Val Wood • 1850: Beatrix Fawcett is just eighteen when her father tells her she is to marry a stranger. Hesitantly, but with little choice, she agrees to the match - in the hope of a good husband in Charles, and a happy new life together in rural Yorkshire • As Beatrix sets about making their house a home, she falls in love with it and the surrounding countryside. But she does not fall in love with her husband... Charles has chosen her simply to meet the requirements of his inheritance and has little interest in his young wife • Soon, the only spark in Beatrix's lonely life is her beloved children. But when Charles threatens to take them away from her, Beatrix must find strength in desperate times

Jenny is determined to make her own way in the world, and she secures a job as the kitchen maid in a grand house in Yorkshire. Gradually, she gains the attention of the young master of the house, and they fall in love.But their hopes and dreams turn to nightmares, culminating in a scandal that will force Jenny to leave behind everything she knows • Cast aside by her own family, Jenny faces many difficulties until an usual promise changes the course of her life. Jenny the kitchen maid becomes the mistress of her own grand house. Although she tries to fit in with this new world, however, she never forgets the words that the gypsy told her: that one day she will return to where she was once happy - and discover her true love • If you've liked books by Katie Flynn and Dilly Court, you'll love Val's heartwarming stories of triumph over adversity

Sarah Foster’s parents have been fighting a constant battle with poverty, disease and crime. When her father, Will, is involved in a terrible accident at work, their lives became even harder • But Will’s good deeds of the past pay off as John Rayner decides to rescue the Fosters. John provides them with work and a house on the estate owned by his wealthy family. It is at this new home on the crumbling coastline of Holderness that Sarah is born – and grows into a bright and beautiful girl, and a great source of strength to those around her • As John grows closer to Sarah, he becomes increasingly aware of his love for her. But could these two very different people ever make their love story truly work? • If you enjoy books by Katie Flynn and Dilly Court, you'll love Val's heartwarming stories of triumph over adversity

For ten years, Delia has had to fend for herself and her son Jack, and as a young unmarried mother, life has never been easy. Every new coat and pair of shoes was bought with what little money she could scrape together as a singer on the stage • But when the theatre work dries up, Delia faces a dilemma: continue the search for employment with no knowing whether she’ll find the stability and security her son needs, or return to the place that should be home . . . where only spite and hatred await them • Desperate now, a chance encounter suddenly presents a lifeline. But Delia is faced with an impossible, heart-wrenching choice. Can she bear to leave Jack behind, hoping another family will care for him? Will they ever be reunited? • What else can a mother do to give her son the life he deserves? • Val Wood's wonderful historical sagas are perfect for readers of Dilly Court, Maggie Hope and Rosie Goodwin

When Ellen Jebeau’s husband dies in 1926, he leaves behind a legacy of debt and empty dreams • However, Ellen is determined that her son Joseph should have everything in life that she never did, and will stop at nothing to give it to him • Ellen and Joseph soon find themselves in a convenient arrangement with Ellen’s brother-in-law, Sir Arthur, living on the family estate, an arrangement which quickly comes to work in conniving Ellen’s favour… • But over the course of the next twenty years, as destinies intertwine, can Joseph Jebeau escape the clutches of his mother’s ruthless ambition, and emerge from the shadows of his heritage as the man he truly wants to be? • Catherine Cookson was the original and bestselling saga writer, selling over 100 million copies of her novels

Gritty and page-turning historical saga set in Northern England in the late 1800s, for fans of Dilly Court and Rosie Goodwin • Minnie Maddox cares deeply for mothers and their babies - she makes a living by taking in unwanted children and finding them good adoptive homes - and is delighted for her neighbour when she finally becomes a mother after decades of trying. But when the baby dies of natural causes while under her roof, and knowing her neighbour will be devastated, Minnie swaps it with one of the infants in her care • Now seventeen, Jewel Nightingale knows nothing of her true origins. But assaulted by her hateful cousin and making the dreadful discovery that she is pregnant, she faces a desperate dilemma. Fleeing her job as a domestic maid, she follows an advertisement to a house in Bolton's dark slums, where a woman promises to help her when the child is born

Cock Shield Farm, 1881 • After Molly Geary finds herself pregnant with landowner Angus McBain's child, she is left distraught and ruined. Dishonoured by being the secret mistress of McBain, she must find an alternative suitor to save her reputation, or else the threat of being discarded looms • McBain devises a plan to claim his employee, Davie Armstrong, as the father to Molly's child. Leaving the pair forced to marry, the issue appears resolved. But with secrecy comes consequences, and young Molly realises she is tied in a web of lies beyond what she could imagine • A dark and gritty saga from bestselling author Catherine Cookson about love, loss, and redemption, for fans of Dilly Court and Katie Flynn • Originally published as Feathers In The Fire

Holderness, 1846 • For reliable, thirteen-year-old Bella, life isn't turning out quite as she'd hoped. She lives at the Woodman Inn - an ancient hostelry run by her family in the Yorkshire countryside - with her parents and siblings, but when she learns not only that her father is seriously ill, but that her mother is expecting a fifth child, her dreams of leaving home to become a schoolteacher are quickly dashed • Times are hard, and when their father dies Bella also has to take on the role of mother to her baby brother. Her days are brightened by the occasional visit from Jamie Lucan - the eighteen-year-old son of a wealthy landowning neighbour. Also grieving the loss of a parent, Jamie has more in common with Bella than she thinks • When her mother announces out of the blue that she wants to move the family to Hull, Bella is forced to leave the only home she has ever known

A powerful story about the bond of sisterhood and how it can triumph against any adversity, from the Sunday Times bestselling author Val Wood • Hull, 1852 • Matty has had to care for her three younger sisters ever since their mother's death ten years ago. She and the girls' beloved father have worked hard to keep the family together and now it's time to celebrate as Matty turns eighteen • But their joy is short-lived when tragedy suddenly strikes and their father disappears on his way to London. The sisters have no way of knowing what has happened to him - only that he hasn't returned home. With little money left they're now forced to battle life's misfortunes alone

Winter, 1860 • Rosalie has been granted a life of comfort and wealth but neither of these protects her when her mother suddenly dies • Polly has lead a life of grinding poverty; after losing her own mother, she finds herself alone on the bitterly cold streets of Hull • Then fate intervenes, bringing the two girls together when Polly takes a job as a scullery maid in Rosalie’s lonely house. The girls become unlikely friends and, when forced to leave the city behind, find themselves setting out to live with Rosalie’s uncle on the North Yorkshire Moors. Here they discover a life that neither of them has known before; though after finding momentary joy they soon learn once again that tragedy is never far away…

At only thirteen, Mikey Quinn is arrested for stealing a rabbit to feed his family. Despite his age, he’s shown no mercy by the wealthy lawyer who sends him to prison. He returns home to find that his mother has died and his younger siblings taken into the workhouse • With only his determination, Mikey makes his way to London to seek a better life for his family. Whilst there, he meets Eleanor who he recognises as the daughter of the lawyer who ruined his life. Desperate, they band together forging a new life for themselves on the streets of London • Overlooking their initial differences, the two come to rely on each other and, when the time comes to return to Hull, they face the long walk home together

Hull, 1874. The beautiful, mysterious Jewel Newmarch, adopted as a baby, turns heads wherever she goes - her exotic looks point to her origins far away from the streets of Hull. Even at her cousin Elizabeth's wedding, she is the belle of the ball. But as she looks on at the happy, newly-married couple she feels a restlessness and intense longing to know her own roots • And so she decides to return to her birthplace in America, taking the bride's twin sister Clara as her companion. In discovering the mysteries of Jewel's past the girls realise that this is a life-changing voyage of discovery for both of them, as they learn important lessons about family, friendship, love and home. But most importantly, love • If you enjoy books by Katie Flynn and Dilly Court, you'll love Val's heartwarming stories of triumph over adversity