Hodder & Stoughton A Valley Wedding Jacobs Anna

Calico Road runs through a tiny Lancashire hamlet up on the edge of the moors, miles from anywhere. Its folk are an independent breed - and in 1827 they are a thorn in the side of the vicious mill owner in the valley below • Toby Fletcher's father ignored his bastard son while alive. Now Toby is the new owner of the rambling old inn, an unwitting keeper of its secrets. Then Meg Staley comes to Calico, a woman who was strong enough to survive one tragedy, but found it harder to withstand a second blow. Toby finds her wandering the moors, cold and starving, and brings her back to the inn • Working there, Meg starts to rebuild her life and find a fragile happiness. But then the secrets of Calico Road come crashing down on her and those she has grown to love

It's 1848 and preparations are underway for Annie Gibson's wedding to Bilsden's wealthy millwoner, Frederick Hallam. But not everyone is as pleased as they are • Frederick's daughter, Beatrice, is horrified at the prospect of a new attractive stepmother arriving at the house on Ridge Hill. Even Annie's own family feels threatened. The only person who seems pleased is Tom, Annie's brother • Soon, however, real troubles begin to pile up for the Gibsons. Tom's happiness is jeopardised by the news that he is father to a child he never knew about. Annie's son, William, is devastated to find out that his real father is not the man who brought him up. And even Annie's joy cannot last. Because someone has uncovered the secrets she has fought so hard to keep hidden

In 1820 Salem Street is sparkling and new: eight small terraced houses built by a Lancashire mill owner for his best workers. Annie Gibson's family is one of the first to move in - a step up in the world for them. But when her mother dies, Annie's happy childhood ends and she is left to bring up her brother and sister • Red-haired, intelligent and startlingly pretty, Annie soon finds herself banished from home by a jealous stepmother. She finds work in the local doctor's household where she learns about the fascinating world outside Salem Street. And when her adored childhood friend Matt asks her to marry him, Annie thikns her dreams are coming true • But suddenly everything turns upside-down. Abandoned and pregant, Annie returns to Salem Street, where an unexpected offer gives her independence

In 1863 the authorities send Irish orphans Ismay and Mara to Australia against their will. Worse, on arrival they're separated from one another. While Ismay is forced to take a job as a maid, miles away in the country, Mara must stay in the care of the catholic mission. Desperate to be reunited, they both run away but Ismay soon runs into danger out in the bush. She is saved by Malachi Firth, but although he's attracted to her, he doesn't want to be encumbered with a wife • Meanwhile, their elder sister Keara has not forgotten them. However, she has had her own struggles to face and by the time she reaches Melbourne she finds that the trail is cold. Danger continues to threaten all three sisters. Will they ever find one another again

Recently widowed, Hannah Firth is still young - young enough to dream of a new life. When her spiteful daughter-in-law uses her as an unpaid servant, Hannah tries to leave, but she is unaware of the depths that Patty's spite will lead her to • Nathaniel King's life is ruined when his landlord's son lays waste to his market garden for a prank - and the resulting feud puts Nathaniel's livelihood at stake • Hannah has only a few coins and dreams of a happier future to sustain her as she tramps the roads and evades pursuit. When she meets Nathaniel, the attraction between them cannot be denied and they join forces. But their enemies have money and powerful allies on their side and will stop at nothing to get rid of them

In 1845 Annie Gibson can finally leave Salem Street. Her dreams of being able to open an elegant dressmaking salon in the High Street of Bilsden, a Lancashire mill town, have come true. And she is going to take her father and his second family with her, away from poverty, away from the Rows • But Annie has not left trouble behind. Someone is trying to undermine her business. Her family have their own ideas about what they want to do with their lives. And several men are persistently trying to win favour with the beautiful young widow - including Frederick Hallam, the mill owner, and Daniel O'Connor, her childhood friend • As Annie gets better acquainted with both, she becomes increasingly confused about her feelings. Can she really be in love And can she risk trusting any man again

Lizzie Kershaw is an independent spirit; ever since her father's death she has had to be a survivor • She makes an ill-advised marriage in order to escape her harsh home life. However, she quickly discovers that she has married a selfish and violent man. His beatings are ceaseless and she finds herself compelled to run away. With the help of some suffragettes she escapes to Manchester, where she finds work in a munitions factory for a while. Sam manages to find her and drags her home. It is only when his violence causes her to lose their unborn baby that Lizzie really finds the strength to make things change, and to find happiness with a man who loves her

It is 1860 in Bilsden, the Lancashire mill town, and Frederick Hallam is dying. But first he makes secret plans to smooth the future path for his beloved wife Annie. Her sister, Joanie, is fed up with everything until a dshing new admirer crosses her path. But a spurned suitor is determined that Joanie will be his, whatever the cost. And he is not the only one who wants to harm the Gibson family • Meanwhile the Civil War in America cuts off cotton supplies, so that times are hard in Bilsden and unemployment is rife. Annie had to rebuild her life after her husband's death and plans to create Spinners Lake, an extraordinary project that will keep her workers from destitution and assuage her own grief • Tian Gilchrist is caught up in the American war and nearly dies there

In 1858 Annie Hallam has at last found complete happiness. She has three healthy babies and adores her husband Frederick. After years of struggling to make a living in the small Lancashire town of Bilsden, Annie knows she deserves to sit back and enjoy her life - after all, she's not yet forty, and still in her prime • But worries - at first faint clouds on the horizon - are imminent. Frederick has been looking pale and ill lately. Her brother Tom hasn't moved on after the death of his wife. Rebecca, her half-sister, is longing for something more than her work in the salon. And William, her son, isn't happy at university. In spite of Frederick's gentle urging not to take the entire burden of the Gibson family on her shoulders, Annie can't help feeling concerned

What do you do when the wedding of your dreams turns into a nightmare? • When Lizzie calls off her wedding in the south of France only a week before the big day, not even her closest friends know why. But since the chateau is already paid for, they figure it's the perfect place to take Lizzie's her mind off her suddenly single state • But when the group arrives, the wedding is waiting for them - food, flowers, and all • The next day, Lizzie wakes to find her friends have drunkenly revelled in the wedding-that-wasn't - but not all their antics were benign. Someone is set on tormenting Lizzie, and she can't think who • The more the friends try to piece together exactly what happened that night, the more secrets start to come out

Can she find happiness in her new home? • 1935. At thirty-six, Bella Porter is dependent on her abusive cousin, acting as an unpaid servant. When a kind relative leaves her a house in the village of Backshaw Moss, Thomas tries to take it from her, but she defies him and grasps this chance of a new start in Lancashire • It is not going to be easy, though. The house is on the edge of a slum and in a state of disrepair, let out as flats. As kind people help her find her feet, however, her confidence grows and when she meets struggling, widowed father-of-three Ryan, she begins to hope she may find the happy family she's always dreamed of • She's offered partial help with her renovations by the local council who are planning to clear up the slums, but other landlords will do anything to avoid costly improvements and protect their profits

Lancashire, 1930s. When her mother dies, leaving her an old sewing box and a clue to her father's identity, 22-year-old Maisie Bassett is determined to make a fresh start • Changing her name and moving to the small town of Rivenshaw, she finds a respectable job in a grocery store. But unwanted attentions from a man at her new church make life increasingly difficult - until the shy, handsome Gabriel Harte comes to her rescue • Then she receives an inheritance from a distant relative and her world is turned upside down. The home she's always dreamed of may finally be hers - if she can keep it safe from a grasping slum landlord. With Gabriel's help, can Maisie untangle the secrets of her past and secure her future?