Ravenscar
3 primary works
Book 1
The Ravenscar Dynasty, introducing the house of DeRavenel, launches Barbara Taylor Bradford’s epic new series spanning a century.
Ravenscar: A house, a legacy and a dynasty.
On a bitterly cold day in 1904, the DeRavenel family's future changes for ever. When Cecily DeRavenel tells her 18-year-old son Edward of the death of his father, brother and cousins in a fire, a part of him dies as well.
Edward is comforted by his cousin Neville Watkins, who is suspicious of the deaths. The two men vow to seek the truth, avenge the deaths and take control of the business empire usurped from Edward's great uncle sixty years before. And so begins an epic saga about an astonishing family, set in extraordinary times.
Handsome, charismatic and a notorious womaniser, Edward battles his cousin, Henry Grant, for control of the family empire. Elizabeth Wyland, a young widow and a great beauty, stands by his side, and they are secretly married. She is power hungry, and ambitious. But Edward also has a mistress: Jane Shaw, a constant in his life. And as Elizabeth's jealousy damages their marriage, Edward's only solace is his work and Jane.
Edward's position as the glamorous head of the DeRavenels is fatally rocked when betrayal comes from within. Soon, catastrophe threatens to destroy the family and the business…Power and money, passion and adultery, ambition and treachery – all illuminate a dramatic saga set against the backdrop of the Edwardian Era and the Belle Epoque, just before the First World War.
Book 2
At the age of thirty-three, Edward Deravenel, having survived harrowing years of betrayal, threats from ruthless enemies, countless lovers, and a war that ravaged his country, is finally king of his company. It's 1918, an influenza pandemic is sweeping the country, and Edward has a family and a business to protect. He must thread his way between his loyal brother, Richard, and his treacherous middle brother, George, an alcoholic bent on self-destruction . . . but not before he tries to ruin Edward and his good name. Meanwhile, the wrath of his ever-jealous wife, Elizabeth, is reaching a boiling point as suspicions about Edward's relationships with other women arise.
Politics of inheritance are intense, and different family factions vie for honor over the years. An heir is needed to keep the Deravenel name alive, but tragedy and death remain obstacles at every turn. The choices include a loyal caretaker, a jealous rumormonger, a charming young woman, a sickly boy, and the scion of the family Edward ousted from power years before.
Barbara Taylor Bradford triumphs once again with a novel about passion, treachery, marriage, and family, and the compromises we're forced to make for power and love.
Book 3
Ravenscar: a house, a legacy, a dynasty.
Elizabeth Turner, scion of the fabled Deravenel family, carries the red-gold hair and beautiful English complexion of her ancestors. And it is not just her colouring that she has inherited from Edward Deravenel. Astute and charismatic, she is also bold, daring and fiercely ambitious, with the same ruthless streak.
Now, aged just twenty-five, she stands in the position she has dreamed of - inheriting the family business, Deravenels. Over eight hundred years old, the company is a bastion of male chauvinism and the challenge that lies ahead of Elizabeth is immense.
Her future is threatened also by the bitter enmity of her cousin, Mary, who believes herself the rightful heir.
Cecil Williams acts as Elizabeth's mentor while navigating the treacherous corridors of power with her. But her greatest ally is her childhood friend, handsome, charming Robert Dunley. Highly intelligent, he is her match in every way – and there is a spark between them that is impossible to resist. Yet Robert is already married. When they begin an affair it scandalises those around them. But far worse is to come…
From the family seat perched high on the Yorkshire moors to the glamour of London as the twentieth century draws to a close, Elizabeth fights for her birthright and her inheritance. Passion, drama, betrayal and death stalk the pages of this gripping new blockbuster from the author of A Woman of Substance.