Beggars & Choosers [Hardcover]

Catrin Collier (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1, 2003

In Pontypridd and the Rhondda in 1905, coal is king and the families who sunk the first collieries are rich. None is wealthier or more generous a benefactor than Harry Watkin Jones. His daughter Sali is about to marry her childhood sweetheart, but tragedy follows tragedy, and four years later Sali is a penniless outcast, fleeing from a violent husband and struggling to support herself and her son in a difficult world. Sali finds work in the home of family of colliers, and here she and her son find the warmth and love missing from their lives for so long. But unrest and violence have come to the valleys. Caught up in the conflict, Sali finds herself denying her roots, her class, and even sacrificing her son's future, for the sake of the people she loves and the cause they are prepared to die for.

Editorial Reviews

Review

'This was a convincing story with a host of well-drawn characters, from all levels of society. It was difficult to put down.' HISTORICAL NOVELS REVIEW 'Another typically enjoyable novel from the pen of Wales' answer to Catherine Cookson. ' BOOKCASE Catrin Collier, the author of numerous popular and critically acclaimed novels has brought us yet another winner! SOUTH WALES ECHO 'Catrin Collier brings this era and people to life. She makes it possible to imagine the living conditions of the people at that time and the class divide between the wealthy and the poor.' SOUTH WALES ARGUS 'Beggars & Choosers is quite graphic in parts, but that fits in with the gritty reality of the age. I enjoyed the book as a whole.' GWENT GAZETTE --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

About the Author

Catrin Collier was born and brought up in Pontypridd. She worked for a while in Europe and America before returning to her native Wales. She now lives on the Gower Peninsula near Swansea, with her family.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 416 pages
• Publisher: Orion Publishing (October 1, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0752853139
• ISBN-13: 978-0752853130
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6.2 x 1.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,854,641 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

CATRIN COLLIER/KATHERINE JOHN/CARO FRENCH/KATHERINE HARDY -
My most bemused moment. When someone commented, "It will be wonderful for Pontypridd when you die." (Many of my novels are set in the town)
My best "putting in place moment". When someone joined a queue at a signing session in Waterstones and waited ten minutes to say, "I don't want a book, love, but as you're here for two hours, look after my shopping for me." - I did.
My proudest moment, when I discovered my Catrin Collier novel, One Last Summer, based on my Prussian born mother's wartime diaries was named recommended reading for adults by the Holocaust Day Memorial Trust.
My new novel, Bobby's Girl, set in America during in 1968 - the era of the anti-Vietnam War and, Civil Rights movements and student protests will be published in the autumn of 2011.