Hearts of Gold

9 primary works

Hearts of Gold

by Catrin Collier

Published 9 April 1992

Tells the story of the Powells who hail from Graig, a poor area. As her father, Evan, is on short time at the local colliery, it is Bethan, as a recently qualified nurse, who brings in the money. When she starts dating Andrew John, an affluent young doctor, his family disapprove.

One Blue Moon

by Catrin Collier

Published 15 April 1993

Maud Powell and her cousin Diana had always dreamed of becoming nurses, but their hopes are shattered when Maud contracts TB - a death sentence in 1930s' Pontypridd. With pits closing, Haydn abandoning a steady job for a stage career, and their cousin Diana's secret burden, the Powell family are facing hard times. Meanwhile Ronnie Ronconi, eldest of the large, cafe-owning family, has two simple beliefs: his sisters must marry good Italian Catholics, and determination and hard work will get him anything he wants. But his dreams are shattered when he realises that what he wants is Welsh, chapel-going, consumptive Maud. For once, high-handed, ruthless Ronnie seems to be facing the impossible...

A Silver Lining

by Catrin Collier

Published 21 April 1994

In strictly chapel Pontypridd in 1938, tongues are quick to wag when Alma Moore, abandoned by her lover, is rushed to hospital with stomach pains. The doctor may call it appendicitis, but the scandal-mongers think they know better. And then Bethan John, who's too good for the rest of them since she married a doctor, comes back to her mining family's house with her new baby - but without her husband, or any word of explanation. Ostracised by most - even their own mothers - Alma and Bethan face a lonely struggle to survive. Then taciturn Russian Charlie, an outsider haunted by his own past, reaches out the hand of friendship to them both, and in so doing begins to thaw his own heart...

All That Glitters

by Catrin Collier

Published 16 March 1995

In 1939, Haydn Powell returns to his native Pontypridd as a star for the summer season. It is his dream come true, but is soon soured when he finds his family divided. Haydn seeks consolation with the theatre crowd, but is also drawn to Jane, a young waif lodging with his family. But Jane is haunted by poverty and burdened by bitter secrets. Then there is Haydn's childhood sweetheart, Jenny, who is determined to win him back. She tries to make him jealous by flirting with his brother, the hot-headed boxer Eddie. But it is Jenny's reckless pursuit of her own ends that creates a dangerous tension in a town already braced for war ...

Such Sweet Sorrow

by Catrin Collier

Published 7 November 1996

In Pontypridd, in 1939, blackouts and conscription are beginning to strain the community. And three women are separated - perhaps for ever - from the men they love. Jenny Powell's husband, Eddie, abandoned her on her wedding night, and she must struggle to cope alone. Italian Tina Ronconi's sweetheart enlists, and she and her sister face internment as enemy aliens. And Bethan's doctor husband is called up, leaving her, along with all the women, with endless worry and fear. Forced to adjust to a world at all, all they can do is wait. Then comes news of the Allies' retreat at Dunkirk and, for many, life will never be the same again...

Past Remembering

by Catrin Collier

Published 3 April 1997

`A page-turner... a terrific read’ Susan Sallis

"A powerful tale of survival and hardship, very well crafted and with strong characters" - Publishing News

Past Remembering - Book Six of the Hearts of Gold series by Catrin Collier

1941. In Pontypridd, Ronnie Ronconi has returned home from war-torn Italy. The family are certain he will once again take charge of the family in his own forceful way, but Ronnie's escape from Italy has left him a much changed man. He accepts the rights and freedoms of his younger siblings as he never has before, and even finds time to help others, particularly Alma, whose husband has been sent on a most dangerous mission.

After the loss of his beloved wife, Ronnie is certain he will never look at a woman again; he certainly doesn't expect to fall in love - particularly with the wife of a friend... Diana is locked in an unhappy marriage - but can Ronnie and Diana put their own personal happiness ahead of that of an entire family?

Broken Rainbows

by Catrin Collier

Published 3 December 1998

The seventh novel set in South Wales during World War II. It is 1942 and America's entry into the war brings dramatic changes to Pontypridd. Colonel David Ford of the US army and his regiment descend on the small community left behind by their own men, bringing with them inevitable complications.

Spoils of War

by Catrin Collier

Published 2 March 2000

`A page-turner... a terrific read’ Susan Sallis

"A powerful tale of survival and hardship, very well crafted and with strong characters" - Publishing News

Spoils of War – Book Eight in the Hearts of Gold series by Catrin Collier

It is 1946 and the soldiers who have been away for the war are beginning to return to Pontypridd. But not all the reunions are happy... Bethan's lingering feelings for an American officer make it hard for her to readjust to married life. Tony's fiancee, a German refugee, arrives in Pontypridd to find herself shunned by all. And when she discovers Tony has lied to her, she must face the possibility that he is only marrying her to spite his family. Meanwhile, Alma and Charlie receive devastating news, which throws their whole world into confusion - and leaves Charlie to make an impossible choice. As the people of Pontypridd struggle to rebuild their lives, they discover that the end of war only marks the beginning of another more personal struggle...

Magda's Daughter

by Catrin Collier

Published 24 July 2008

`A page-turner... a terrific read’ Susan Sallis

"A powerful tale of survival and hardship, very well crafted and with strong characters" - Publishing News

Magda's Daughter - Book Nine of the Hearts of Gold series by Best-Selling author Catrin Collier

Stateless and destitute after the Second World War, Magda Janek settles in the Welsh town of Pontypridd, in the hope of building a new life for herself and her baby daughter, Helena. All Magda has to give Helena are the ambitions she had once cherished for herself; dreams cruelly snatched from her by the war and its terrible aftermath. But 1960s Pontypridd is a place of opportunity - at twenty-one, Magda's daughter has beauty, confidence and prospects beyond even her mother's wildest imaginings. With a university degree behind her, a coveted teaching post in her old Grammar school, and marriage to the love of her life, Dr Eddie John, the son of an old Pontypridd family to look forward to, Helena couldn't be happier.

Until tragedy strikes. A tragedy that robs Helena of the only family she has ever known and everything she has ever believed in; Helena uncovers a bitter secret, so explosive that her mother carried it to the grave...