CATHERINE COOKSON, página 2 de 4

For seventeen-year-old Brid Stevens the day began at four o''clock on a summer morning, when her alarm clock roused her from a dream-filled sleep. She had an appointment to keep with Joe Lloyd, whom she had met at the weekly dance. On the cliff-top at Stockwell Hill, overlooking the sea, they were to watch the sun come up. What was to occur after that was to bring a day of such promise to a tragic end. The events of this powerful novel, set on the Northumbrian coast in the 1960s, take place over one day, a period during which everyone involved discovers that the consequences of an innocent meeting between two young people are far more significant than the event itself. The Bonny Dawn is a remarkable tour de force by Britain''s most popular novelist.

The woman who presented herself at the offices of a respectable firm of London solicitors was, the receptionist decided, clearly a vagrant. The clothes that hung on her frail body were filthy, and she seemed unable to speak. When she asked to see the firms senior partner, Alexander Armstrong, she was at first shown the door but when Mr Armstrong learned the name of his visitor, all the office staff were amazed at his reaction. For Irene Baindor was a woman with a past, and her emergence from obscurity was to signal the unravelling of a mystery that had baffled the lawyer for twenty-six years. Catherine Cookson's final novel brings to a triumphant close a career which has spanned fifty years and over a hundred books. Displaying all the qualities which have made Catherine Cookson Britain's best loved storyteller, The Silent Lady is a fitting epitaph to a writer who has brought pleasure to tens of millions of readers across the globe through her wisdom, courage and humanity.

Mary Walton is the apple of her father's eye; his only comfort during the dark years of the Depression when he is faced with both unemployment and a nagging, ambitious wife. His only hope is that Mary will one day find a way to escape the grinding poverty of the Tyneside slums. But when a secret is revealed these dreams are shattered and the lives of the Walton family change forever...Spanning Mary's life from the 1930's to the 1970's, "Pure as the Lily" is a spellbinding, unforgettable tale from one of Britain's most cherished novelists.

Vanessa Ratcliffe is just sixteen, daughter of one of the town's richest men. And in spite of her social standing and convent education Vanessa's provocative manner often draws envious eyes in her direction. Angus Cotton is a rough diamond, living in filthy Ryder's Row, but as engineer at Affleck and Tate he's worth his weight in gold. Angus has ambitious plans for his future, plans that had never included Vanessa - until now..."The Round Tower" is a beautifully imagined story of power, love, honour and greed and an award-winning novel from one of Britain's most popular novelists.

When fifteen-year-old Cissie Brodie loses her parents to cholera, she is forced out of the family cottage and left to raise her nine siblings alone. Although desperately poor, the strong-willed Cissie determines to build a new home for the Brodies. It is only a rough stone shelter, but to Cissie and her family it is enough to keep them from the workhouse. They have friends, but charity cannot always spare them the harsh reality of their struggle and the bitterness of those who wish them harm. But can love, when it arrives, teach Cissie not to fear the world beyond the dwelling place? Set in ...

Even in the worst days of the recession, the McQueen family remains upbeat. They watch as their neighbours depart for the workhouse, their last pieces of furniture carted off by the bailiffs. But even though there might not be much on the table, the McQueen house constantly echoes with laughter. This is what keeps them strong - when all else fails, you can always laugh. Like many of the residents of the Fifteen Streets, the McQueens are as blunt as they are big-hearted. They are opinionated, and speak with no holds barred if anyone dare go against social convention. So imagine their shock when Bridget McQueen brings home her African husband. "Colour Blind" is an absorbing story of prejudice, racial tension and family feuding in the 1920s, from one of Britain''s most skilled storytellers.

Even the approach to Christmas fails to excite restless Agnes Conway, the twenty-two-year-old manager of the sweet and tobacconist shops owned by her feckless father. There are dark secrets in Arthur Conway''s past, and these come tragically to light when Agnes'' younger sister falls pregnant by one of the notorious Felton brothers. And Agnes herself has a secret, which she knows she must keep from her father: her relationship with Charles Farrier, son of a local landowner, who outrages his own wealthy, pious family by proposing marriage. However Charles is not the only man who could shape Agnes'' furture, as his brother Reginald makes no secret of his admiration for her. But she could not have foreseen how significant a part he is to play in her destiny. "The Wingless Bird" is an absorbing story of love and the harsh realities of Britain''s class system.

Set against backgrounds of the north-east, the south coast and London, and ranging in time from the 1920s to the present day, here are ten stories from the pen of the incomparable Catherine Cookson. In these compelling tales we discover once again the magical storytelling ability that has made Catherine Cookson one of the worlds most popular writers. A husband is forced to re-examine his family relationships; life behind the scenes in a department store is revealed; friendship blossoms in the London Underground during the Blitz. And in an ambitious set of three stories, Cookson traces the changes she has witnessed during her life in the way we view marriage and pregnancy. The stories in this new collection have all the qualities that Catherine Cooksons admirers have enjoyed in her earlier books, and they will introduce her readers to a whole new gallery of true-to-life characters.