The Heather
3 primary works
Book 1
Little Victoria Pringle, orphaned at birth, has been raised by the woman she believes to be her great-grandmother in a cottage on the Darlonachie Estate. When Jane McCrady dies, Victoria is offered a home by the Pringle family, tenants of Sir William Crainby, Laird of Darlonachie. The Pringle brothers, especially Andrew, take Victoria under their wing, and she is allowed to work in the kitchens of the Castle, once the domain of Mistress McCrady. But times are changing, in the years after the First World War, and a new generation at the Castle is holding sway, both above and below stairs. As Victoria grows into a beautiful young woman, and a talented cook, she must face up to new choices and opportunities, and come to terms with a long-buried secret in her past.
Book 2
When war is declared in 1939, Andrew and Victoria Pringle are expecting their second child. What should be a happy time is marred by the threat to the peace and future of their beloved glens. As their family grows up they take comfort in watching them thrive, and in seeing young Libby, the only girl, inherit her parents' love of the land. Libby has a special friendship with Billy Lennox, the Laird's illegitimate grandson. But when tragedy strikes, Billy blames himself, and is assailed by doubts and dark moods. He moves to Yorkshire to start a new life, but is forced to ask whether he can stay away from the glens and from the friends of his childhood...
Book 3
This is the continuing story of life in the Scottish glens following on from "Secrets in the Heather"...Since Mark's death during the war, Victoria Pringle has lost touch with his fiancee, so it is a shock when she discovers she has a nephew, Peter. He has inherited his ancestors' love of the land, but he must fight fierce opposition if he is to follow his dream. Libby and Billy Lennox are now happily married and farming at Darlonachie. They are intent on resolving the family feud with the Crainbys in the hope that Charlotte, Billy's half-sister, can finally find the security and love she so desperately seeks. However, Willie Pringle is devastated when tragedy strikes and his daughter Mimi must use all her courage and determination to fight for her future happiness.