From Booklist
Lucy Chandler knows that there will be changes now that her father has died, but she never could have imagined what actually happens to her middle-class family in Edwardian England. It turns out that her father was never legally married to her mother, enabling his first wife to take possession of their belongings, leaving her family homeless and penniless. The elder daughter, Lucy takes charge of her mother and her feckless teenage sister Eva. While she and her mother find menial employment, Eva schemes for a better life. Unfamiliar with financial matters, Lucy's mother borrows money from Stan, a ruthless loan shark. When she quickly falls in arrears, he threatens the family. Stan covets Lucy, and Eva covets the life Stan can provide for her, causing a rift in the family that threatens their very survival. Madoc gives readers an engrossing story that sheds light on the perilous lives endured by Edwardian women in a sexist society that also shuns families of limited means. Engelmann, Patty
--This text refers to the
Hardcover
edition.
Product Description
An enthralling saga from this popular author - Following their fathers death, Lucy and her younger sister are devastated when a woman arrives on their doorstep claiming to be Josephs legitimate wife and therefore the sole beneficiary of his will. Evicted and desperate, their mother borrows money, and when she falls behind with the repayments the loan shark offers them a way to clear their debts, but the price is far higher than they are willing to pay . . .
