Showing results by author "Annemarie Brear" in All Categories

York, 1852. When Caroline Lawson becomes a young widow, her grief is deepened by the loss of her farm. A rash decision to travel to York to find work doesn't turn out as she expected. With money running low, Caroline fears she will soon have no choice but the workhouse. However, she is not without hope, and with her new friends, feisty Trixie, and her two little sisters and the unique Mussy, Caroline learns she is stronger than she realised and that even in the worst of times, friendship is all you need.

Wakefield 1870. On the banks of the River Calder, Meg Taylor struggles to care for her younger siblings and sick mother whilst her father is away working as a boatman on the canals. The slums where they live are rife with disease, and Meg longs for a different life, away from the grinding poverty, but she'll never leave her family. But with the canals slowly dying as trade moves to the railways, and with Meg’s father stubbornly holding onto the past, Meg fears her family’s future is going to get even bleaker. If only there was a way she could save them.

Loretta Chambers has spent her life working at her father’s boatyard down at the docks. She’s tried hard to keep the business afloat, but with the railways taking trade away every day, Lorrie fears for the worst. The arrival of handsome Italian, Matteo Falcone brings a brief glimmer of hope and a yearning inside Lorrie for another life, away from the filthy grime of the dockside.

Yorkshire Dales, 1850. As a terrible storm rages, Annabelle Wallis is shocked to find a distressed young woman at her cottage door, heavy with child. Moments later a baby girl is born. But by dawn, the mother has vanished, leaving behind the helpless child wrapped only in a silk peacock shawl. When news spreads that Lady Eliza Hartley, sister to a wealthy estate owner, has been found dead, Annabelle realises the terrible secret she has stumbled on. Terrified she’ll be blamed for Eliza’s death, Annabelle flees to the slums of York, where she plans to raise the orphan as her own.

Orphan Victoria Carlton is brought up by her uncle to be a lady and make a good marriage. Yet, she is drawn to help the poor families in the slums, much to her family’s disgust. When her uncle dies suddenly, her cousins blame Victoria, and she is thrown out of the house with nothing. Victoria flees to the poor side of York to start again in a world that is full of perils.

Charlotte Brookes flees her lecherous guardian McBride, taking her younger sister with her. After a year on the road, they stumble into a Yorkshire village where the Wheelers, owners of the village shop, take them in. This new life is strange for Charlotte, but preferable to living with McBride or surviving on the roads.

When her feisty grandmama takes her travelling, Prue is excited to explore outside of England. Determined to make the most of her holiday and have some fun, she wasn't prepared to meet a man who would make her question herself. In need of distraction, Brandon spends his time climbing mountains in Europe. The last thing he expected was to meet an attractive English rose with the same edgy spirit as himself. When Prue reveals past mistakes to Brandon, he must decide if she is the woman for him, but a tragic accident makes them both confront deeper feelings.

Ireland, 1851. After enduring years of the devastating potato famine, Ellen Kittrick is a survivor. To put food on the table, and to stop the landowner's agent from tearing down their cottage due to unpaid rent, Ellen defies her family and works at an Englishman's manor. But with an unemployed husband and a secretive brother-in-law wanting her for his own, she must face every challenge with new strength.

It’s 1850, and the Noble family have travelled to the other side of the world to start a new life after scandal drove them from their native England. Pippa Noble is determined to reclaim their honour by making her father’s plan for an outback farm a reality, although her ambition is frowned upon by a society that has very set ideas about a woman’s place. Pippa learns the hard way about the unforgiving nature of the bush, sometimes with devastating consequences.

Australia, 1853. Settled in the colony, Ellen is determined to make a happy new life for her family and forget the horrors of famine-struck Ireland. Married for security, she works hard developing their estate in order to give her children the privileged life they could have only imagined back home. However, danger lurks when a man from her past threatens her beloved sons; and when her marriage begins to crumble, all that she thought was safe is suddenly in jeopardy.

1867: Nicola Douglas attends a lecture given by Miss Maria Rye, the founder of the Female Middle Class Emigration Society, which inspires her to change her life. With no family, but a good education, she boards a ship to Australia with high hopes of a fresh start in a new country as a governess. Sydney is full of young women with similar ambitions and poor prospects - but when a wealthy benefactor appears, she finds a foothold. What she never anticipated was the attention of two suitors: Nathaniel, a privileged and attractive English gentleman; and Hilton, a beguiling American.

1879: Shipwrecked off the West Coast of Australia, Louisa Reynolds is aided by an aboriginal girl and a kindly doctor, eventually making a fresh start in the town of Albany. Unexpected new friendships with two men, old gentleman George and dashing Connor, give her joy - but when she accepts an invitation to stay at George's sheep station, the locals are scandalised by a single woman in the company of men.

Bridget Kittrick, headstrong and independent, is ready to show her worth when she's left in charge of her family's estate. She meets Lincoln Huntley, a man with a mysterious past which only heightens her attraction to him. A vicious neighbour, Mr Roache, holds a grudge against the family and orchestrates for Bridget to be kidnapped by wanted men, bushrangers, who take her deep into mountainous country to a hideout. The Boss, Donovan, is unlike any other man Bridget has known and he soon shows her a side to him that pulls at her heart.

Everyone thinks Lexi is crazy when she falls in love with Hollingsworth House, a crumbling old Georgian mansion in Yorkshire – and nobody more so than her husband, Dylan. But there’s something very special about the place, and Lexi can sense it. Whilst exploring the grounds, she stumbles across an old diary, and within its pages she meets Allie, an Australian nurse who worked in France during the First World War. Lexi finally realises her dream of buying Hollingsworth, but her obsession with the house leaves her marriage in tatters.

Yorkshire, 1913. Beth Beaumont enjoys her life as a rhubarb farmer's daughter. Although not thinking of marriage, when Beth meets village miner Noah Jackson, she is suddenly very aware that Noah is a man who could change her mind. But a disaster at the coal mine changes their lives forever and Noah's love for Beth is put at risk.

With the heat of their beloved India far behind them, Evie Davenport and her widowed British Army officer father, are starting a new life in England. But Evie is struggling. With her dearest mother gone, Yorkshire with its cold, damp countryside and strict societal rules makes Evie feel suffocated and alone. Her friendship with Sophie Bellingham, the gently reared daughter of a wealthy rail baron, is Evie’s only comfort. Until the arrival of local cotton mill owner, Alexander Lucas. Newly returned from America, it is expected Alexander will marry and finally make England his home.

The Great War is over, and Millie is ready to leave her loving family home and be a wife to Jeremy. But not long after their wedding, Millie discovers Jeremy is affected by shell shock, and moving into his late father's cold, dark estate escalates the problem. Millie tries to help, but Jeremy grows more distant and befriends a homeless, wounded ex-soldier, Monty, who has secrets....

It's a time of coming together, yet sisters Prue and Cece have very different ideas about how to celebrate the holiday, and their clash of personalities also causes damage to their hearts. All Millie wants is a happy home, yet her warring sisters try her patience, and she's stuck in the middle! Not only that, but her husband, Jeremy, is dealing with his own problems regarding his parentage, her mother is acting strangely and her grandmother is as opinionated as always! Will Christmas at the Chateau bring the family together or tear them apart?

West Yorkshire, 1914. Newly married to Noah Jackson, Beth is happily content working on her family's market stall while Noah fulfils his dreams of being a teacher. When war erupts, Beth's peaceful life is shattered by events beyond her control. Noah enlists to fight alongside his brothers. A devastating accident occurs that changes all their lives. Once a loving home, Beaumont Farm becomes Beth's responsibility.

Aurora Pettigrew has a loving family, a nice home, a comfortable life. She's waiting for the right man to offer marriage, and the man for her is Reid Sinclair, heir to the Sinclair fortune. But Reid's mother is against the match and unearths a secret that will tear Aurora's world apart. Unwilling to bring shame on her family and needing answers, Aurora moves to York. By chance, she reconnects with a man from her past, and before he leaves with the army to war in South Africa, he offers her security through marriage.