When Thea Richardson and her best friend Ellie set out for the 1905 Newcastle Blondes and Brunettes beauty competition, Thea dreads to think what will happen if her authoritarian father ever finds out. But she never imagined that three days later she’d be ousted from the family home in Jesmond and sent to live with her mother’s unmarried sister, Marjorie, in disgrace.
Yet as the days go by, what was intended as punishment brings to Thea the contentment she has never known in her own home. In her Aunt Marjorie she finds the companionship she never had with her mother, and if it wasn’t for the fact that her aunt’s handsome artist friend, Robert Hedley, doesn’t seem to know she’s alive, everything would be perfect. But a dark force is about to shatter her new-found security and take Thea to a dangerous world she never dreamt existed…
Yet as the days go by, what was intended as punishment brings to Thea the contentment she has never known in her own home. In her Aunt Marjorie she finds the companionship she never had with her mother, and if it wasn’t for the fact that her aunt’s handsome artist friend, Robert Hedley, doesn’t seem to know she’s alive, everything would be perfect. But a dark force is about to shatter her new-found security and take Thea to a dangerous world she never dreamt existed…
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Reviews
Praise for Benita Brown: 'Romance, heartache and local history make a magical mixture...passion on every page
An ultimately heartwarming tale. Unlike some sagas, all the main characters here are well drawn...a satisfying read
A splendidly powerful and touching saga of love, passion and lust
Captures the atmosphere and emotion of the first part of the 20th century
A must for Catherine Cookson fans
You won't be able to put it down
A powerful story
A wonderfully Dickensian flavour... Everyone in the book is alive and believable