Soundings S.
3 primary works
Book 1675
Since she was six, Hannah Peckham has known how hard the world is. Thrown into the workhouse by the cousin to whom her desperate soldier father entrusted her, she emerges determined to make the most of what little life has given her. But the cruel and narrow confines of the workhouse have left her vulnerable, ill-prepared for the heady hurly-burly of normal existence in the prosperous Liverpool household in which she finds work. Naively impetuous, she falls in love with a man she can never have, who sees her simply as a sweet, impressionable young girl. And when her illusions are finally shattered, she rushes into the arms of hard-drinking Alfie Duggan, and a violent, poverty-stricken marriage from which there seems no escape - without unthinkable consequences...
Book 1899
When the Ryan family lose their home and business in a fire, they wonder how they can survive after losing so much. They turn to Jack Ryan's brother, Conor, but he imposes a drunken tyranny ...
Book 2829
Maddy and Martin Brennan have a good marriage and two healthy children, Jess and Patrick. When Martin's lost at sea, though, Maddy's in for a shock: it transpires that her home is mortgaged and the family's finances are in a perilous state. Beaten down by a bitter feud with her brother and by her son Patrick's troublesome behaviour, Maddy carelessly steps in the path of a runaway horse and loses her life. It's left to young Jess to make something of the future. From near destitution she launches a business of her own, earning back the prosperity and respect her mother had in the end lost. But heartbreak lies ahead, and when love is on offer, is the man who wants Jess's heart worthy of it?