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Manchester Pride
'Polly is made of stern stuff. . .
and the tale of her courage and grit against the backdrop of a Northern city in
the grip of depression makes for a powerful narrative.'
Newcastle Evening Chronicle
'Freda Lightfoot's
new novel is a tale of a courageous young woman determined to make a better life
for herself and her family.'
Lancashire Life
Polly Pride feels luckier than many who live in the poor
Ancoats area of Manchester. She has a loving husband, two healthy children, a
place of their own and a regular wage. But it is the late 1920’s, unrest is in
the air, employers are putting on the squeeze and when Matthew loses his job,
Polly’s life is thrown into turmoil.
With no money coming in, Polly decides that only drastic
action can keep the family from starvation and in a desperate gamble she sells
all the family goods and chattels and buys a handcart from which she sells
second-hand rugs and carpets. But struggling to deal with poverty and her
husband’s hurt pride are only the start of her problems, for when tragedy
strikes Polly has to fight the bigotry of a sour brother-in-law to keep herself
and her family from falling apart.
Read
an extract
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Polly's War
the
sequel to Manchester Pride
Find out what happened to
Polly Pride after the war.
'A
heart-wrenching family story that keeps you turning the pages as the drama
unfolds...gripping to the end.'
Scunthorpe Evening Telegraph
'clearly
knows her Manchester well'
Historical Novel Society
World War II may be over but Polly Pride feels as though the fighting has moved
to her own home. Her son, Benny, is mixed up with some very shady
characters and trying to pull the wool over his mothers eyes about it.
Daughter Lucy is carrying on with a fancy man behind her husband's back and
leaving her children to run riot. Meanwhile, Polly's beloved husband
Charlie is battling ill-health and doesn't want her interfering.
Polly sees she risks losing all she’s worked so hard to
achieve, but refuses to go back to Ancoats and a life of grinding poverty. And
she won’t stand by and watch her family tear itself to pieces.
Read
an extract
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The Favourite Child
'Compelling and Fascinating'
Middlesborough Evening Gazette
Isabella Ashton has always been her father's
favourite, but when she becomes involved with the new Birth Control
Movement, Simeon is scandalised. Running a family planning clinic in Salford's
mean streets is challenging but rewarding work, and Bella is grateful for the
help of Violet Howarth a big, generous-hearted woman who takes her in.
Violet's son, Dan, also supports her mission, and comradeship quickly turns to
love. But Bella is involved with handsome ne'er-do-well Billy Quinn,
leader of an illegal betting ring. His jealousy and possessiveness bring
matters to a head and Bella finds everything she has worked for at risk, and
herself in mortal danger. . .
This book is dedicated to the
memory of all the women who were pioneers in the work of birth control and
improvements in women’s health care. In particular to Charis Frankenburg who,
together with Mary Stocks, opened the real Salford and District Mothers Clinic
for Birth Control in 1926.
The clinic depicted in this
story bears some similarities in its work and aims to the
original, but is entirely fictitious, as are the characters. Salford is as real as I
can make it. I would also like to acknowledge the unstinting help of the
Librarians at the Manchester Central Library who always seem to know what I am
looking for and how to find it.
Read
an extract
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Ruby
McBride
‘An
inspiring novel about accepting change and bravely facing the future.’
The Daily Telegraph
‘Charming and exciting.
A lovely story by an author with an extraordinary feeling in her
writing.’
Bangor Chronicle
The grand opening of the Manchester Ship Canal is a big day for Ruby McBride
and her young sister and brother. Its glories fade into insignificance
however when their mother, Molly McBride, is forced to entrust
her beloved children to Ignatius House and the not-so-tender care of the nuns.
Ruby, a rebel at heart, is always on the wrong side of authority. Her chief
concern is to keep her promise to take care of Pearl and Billy but when she is
sixteen, the Board of Guardians force her into marriage and she has to abandon
her siblings, vowing she will reunite the family when she can.
Convinced that her new husband is a conman, life on the barge
is not at all what she expects. Ruby is furious at being robbed of the chance to
be with her childhood sweetheart, Kit Jarvis, so resists Bart's advances as long
as possible. Only when Kit comes back into her life and jealousy between the two
men cause events to run out of control, does Ruby realise which one she truly
loves. But it takes the Great War for her to fulfil that childhood promise and
not in the expected way.
The
Idea
Today
the Manchester
Ship Canal
is a fashionable dockland area developed for leisure, commerce and housing. Affectionately
known as the 'Big Ditch', it was formally opened by Queen Victoria in May 1894.
Manchester was a fast growing city not only
because of Lancashire cotton but the city was also strong on engineering and
manufacture. Being landlocked, all
goods had to be transported by road or rail to Liverpool docks in order to be
exported, thus reducing profitability. The Canal brought shipping right into the heart of the city as well as employment
not only to industry in general but also to the owners of narrow boats and
barges who worked long hours in the canal basin, loading and carrying goods
through the network of canals.
Read
an extract
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Dancing on Deansgate
Where Big Band music is the food of
love
They called it the Christmas Blitz, but there are no festivities
for Jess, locked in the cellar by her feckless, tarty mother. And when
Lizzie is imprisoned for shoplifting, Jess is sent to live with her uncle, a
bullying black marketeer, who treats her like a slave.
Jess's natural musical talent offers an escape route - and the
chance for love. But Uncle Bernie has never forgiven his niece for
refusing to join his illegal schemes, and threatens to deprive Jess of her
hard-won independence.
Read
an extract
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Watch For The
Talleyman
Where there's muck
there's brass
Featuring
a feisty, determined heroine, this is a rattling good read!
www.bol.com
Dolly Tomkins knows what
it's like to live hand to mouth. In the mean streets of 1920s Salford, the
only one making a decent living is the talleyman - and Nifty Jack has a moneybag
where his heart should be. Dolly's mam is in hock up to her ears, but when
Nifty offers to wipe the slate clean in return for Dolly's favours, the girl
just can't bring herself to do it.
Instead, she takes him
on at his own game, and in the process is in danger of losing the love of her
life
Read
an extract
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