The Lochandee
4 primary works
Book 1
In 1960s Scotland, the farming industry is on the brink of huge changes, becoming more mechanised and less dependent on manpower, but at Lochandee, it is a time of hope and promise for the future.
Ross and Rachel Maxwell have every reason to be proud of their expanding family. Daughter Bridie and her Nick are as happily married as they are, and working hard to build up their own farm. Eldest son Conan’s transport business is prospering, with he and Fiona planning to develop into the burgeoning tourist industry.
Youngest son, Ewan, is showing the same keen interest in farming as they did at his age. But there is a cloud on the horizon – the young woman Gerda Fritz-Allan, who seems to have caught his eye. Beautiful, ambitious and utterly selfish, she has the power to wreak untold damage, changing the lives of the Maxwell family for ever.
Book 2
In the years following the end of the Second World War, life at the Glens of Lochandee is tough. Many families in the village have been bereaved, and rationing is affecting business.
Nevertheless, Conan Maxwell's new garage is doing well, and he and his Welsh-born partner, Nick, are hoping to expand. But how will their partnership survive their differing ambitions?
Conan's young sister, Bridie is faced with a dilemma. Is her desire for Nick going to pull her away from her other great passion - her animals and farm? Will they ever be able to marry or afford a home of their own?
Old school friend Fiona Sinclair returns from the city, now a successful accountant. How welcoming are the village community going to be - especially her old childhood rival, Conan?
Rachel Maxwell, Bridie's mother, fears for her family and the long-term future of her beloved Glens of Lochandee.
Book 3
At sixteen, Rachel O'Brian finds herself alone in the world and accepts a home with an old friend of her father's, but she is unprepared for his wife's malice and cannot guess at the secret which feeds the woman's hatred.
The younger Maxwells welcome Rachel to their Ayrshire farm, especially Ross, but he too has earned Gertrude Maxwell's spite. When Ross disappears Rachel is dismayed to find herself destitute and expecting his child.
How will past secrets revealed help the two find each other again?
Can they face the challenges of life at the Glens of Lochandee where they must strive to build up the farm, raise a family, and rear their animals despite the heartbreak of diphtheria and foot-and-mouth disease.
Is their love of the land and each other enough to give them the strength and determination to face these hurdles, and more, as the shadow of a second World War looms?
Book 4
A new generation of the Maxwell family are farming at Wester Rullion during the 1980s. Young Paul Maxwell and his cousin Ryan are determined to work together to restore the farm’s prosperity. How will they achieve their ambitious aims – only with the support of their grandparents? Can they overcome the hurdles of new farming regulations?
Will Ryan get his heart’s desire and marry Molly Nairne, daughter of a prosperous local farmer? What of Paul – abandoned by his mother as a young boy – who is adamant that he will never fall in love? Can a new arrival at the farm cause him to change his mind?