Amazon.com Review
When English widower Hector Stewart takes a new Irish wife, his children, Daniel and Pattie, have considerable reservations. Their stepmother, Moira, has foreign habits, strange manners, and a brash maid named Maggie Ann. But as Hector becomes increasingly belligerent, Moira, Daniel, and Pattie bond together against his wicked tempers. Unable to withstand the growing tensions, Pattie leaves the farm and advises Daniel to join her. Though Moira bears numerous children, Hector continues to waste his money on drinking and whoring and earns the well-deserved hatred of the rest of his family.
Dwindling fortunes and a well-nurtured Oedipus complex accelerate the rivalries between son and father until a fatal "accident" removes the evil Hector. Daniel falls in love with the beautiful but shallow Frances and remains blind to the allure of the plain but reliable Janie. Burdened with the responsibility of Moira and her seven children, Daniel is unable to successfully woo Frances. Bound to the farm and the family, it looks as if Daniel may spend his life caring for everyone but himself.
Bestselling author Catherine Cookson uses her masterful knowledge of 19th-century English life to flesh out the setting of this classic contrast between familial duty and self-interest. While some readers may find Cookson's deliberate pace and ingenuous themes at times frustrating, others seek out her work for just this type of insight into human relations. --Nancy R.E. O'Brien
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From Publishers Weekly
Prolific author Cookson (The Lady on My Left), who died in June of this year after publishing more than 90 books, left this last novel, again concerned with poverty-stricken Northern Englanders in the late 19th century. Alcoholic widower Hector Stewart has subjected the family farm to near ruinous neglect. Though his children, David and Pattie, object to his remarriage to Moira Conelly?she's Irish, they complain?their kind new stepmum turns out to be a blessing in disguise. Hector, the uncomplicated villain of the tale, treats Moira badly and denies Daniel the education he needs to become a doctor. Daniel makes the best of a bad situation, however, working hard and struggling to keep the farm from total deterioration, while emotionally supporting Moira and the increasing brood of half-brothers and sisters. A decade of births (pregnancy being the constant fact of Moira's life), deaths (most relieving: Hector's), good times and bad passes quickly via Cookson's melodramatic prose. Her fans will not be disappointed.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
