The Poor House Lane Sagas

3 primary works

The Girl From Poor House Lane

by Freda Lightfoot

Published 2 February 2004

How far will a mother go to protect her child?

The slums of Poor House Lane are no place to bring up a child, and Kate O'Connor struggles to make ends meet when her beloved husband is killed, leaving her a single mother with a baby to support on the meagre hand-outs she gleans from charity. So when the childless Tysons, owners of Kendal's shoe factory, offer to adopt her son, Callum, and employ Kate as his nanny, she seizes the chance to ensure he has a better life.

To be so close to her son, yet no longer be his mother, is bittersweet. But Kate is not prepared for the jealousy the new arrangement provokes in Eliot Tyson's brother, Charles, who sees Callum as a direct threat to his inheritance...

An unputdownable saga of motherhood and family love, the first book in the The Poor House Lane Sagas is perfect for Rosie Goodwin and Dilly Court.

The Child from Nowhere

by Freda Lightfoot

Published 19 October 2010

As the Great War looms, will the women of Kendal rise to meet the challenge?

After giving birth to her daughter, Kate O'Connor finds herself back in Poor House Lane with some momentous decisions to make.

Faced with the opportunity to move out of the slums, she invests her unexpected fortune in a new shoe factory to challenge Eliot Tyson's monopoly over the workforce, regardless of whether or not he is the father of her children.

But nothing is ever that simple, especially when old enemies and estranged relatives return to thwart her every scheme...

The second, moving instalment in The Poor House Lane Sagas, The Child From Nowhere is a wartime saga perfect for fans of Val Wood and Katie Flynn

The Woman from Heartbreak House

by Freda Lightfoot

Published 1 August 2005

Can she ever find happiness? The Great War is over and Kate is ready to welcome back Eliot with open arms. But her husband is a changed man. Kate has become used to her independence, and to running the shoe factory and Eliot's return creates tensions both at work and at home, particularly with Kate's son, Callum. It tears Kate apart to see such strife between the two men she loves most. And her sister-in-law seems determined to stir up the animosity in order to benefit her own son. But when tragedy strikes, Kate cannot imagine just how much trouble Lucy's ambition can cause...Freda Lightfoot first introduced Kate O'Connor in her delightful saga, The Girl from Poorhouse Lane. In resuming Kate's story, she gives us a vivid picture of the radical changes on society affected by the First World War.