Search results for ""Author Anne Baker""

The compelling, heartwarming saga from bestselling author Anne Baker.When Helen Redwood is tragically widowed, she and her daughter, Chloe, move to Liverpool to be closer to her family. But it is being in her beautiful garden with her handsome young gardener, Rex Kenwright, that saves Helen from grief. Rex is no stranger to bereavement himself but, while he finds comfort in Helen's company, it is seventeen-year-old Chloe who steals his heart.It is the swinging sixties, however, and Chloe has dreams of her own. When she announces that she is moving in with her boyfriend, Adam Livingstone, and there's a baby on the way she has no idea of the devastating effect this will have on those she loves. Nor does she realise the rocky road to happiness that lies ahead...

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Bellwether, Noon Layer Drive, Passalewe Lane, Quadrans Close and Silicon Court: these are just a few of the peculiar street names that can be found in Milton Keynes. This work sets out to discover what they mean and why they were chosen. It covers the geographical areas of the town: central, south, north, east, and west.

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It's 1931 and eighteen-year-old Greta is working in a laundry in Liverpool, where she lives with her widowed mother and thirteen-year-old brother Kenny. When a scruffy black and white collie follows Greta home one day, Kenny wants to keep the animal, but they can't afford to feed him. And so Greta tracks down the owner: Mungo Masters, a wealthy man who runs funfairs in three towns. Mungo falls for Greta, though he's her mother's age, and doesn't bother to tell her that he's married already. When Mungo gives Greta and Kenny jobs at one of his fairs, it seems life is looking up. But Mungo is not good news...

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It's July 1930 and Lorna Mathews couldn't be happier. She thought she was about to lose her job but instead the business's new owner, Mr Wyndham, wants to keep her on. Lorna's mother, though, is horrified by the news and finally confesses that Lorna was the result of an affair with Oliver Wyndham, whose family cast her out when Oliver died and the pregnancy was revealed. Shocked to the core to learn that the man she has always thought to be her beloved father simply adopted her at birth, Lorna resolves to find out everything she can about the past and especially about the tragic death of Oliver Wyndham. Working with the Wyndhams, she soon begins to stir up old secrets and the truth starts to emerge. But Lorna hasn't reckoned with falling in love with a member of the family she should hate...

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Set in Liverpool at the end of the Second World War, Anne Baker's saga will move you to tears of sadness and joy.On a spring day in 1947, Millie and Pete Maynard take their daughter Sylvie on a boat trip that is to end in tragedy. Poor Sylvie blames herself for the accident and Millie needs all her strength to comfort her children and overcome her grief. Then Pete's will is read and further heartache lies in store...Meanwhile, Pete's younger brother and his good-for-nothing sons try to take control of the family business, but they've underestimated Millie's indomitable spirit. She's worked in Maynard's perfume laboratory for eighteen years and is determined to protect her husband's legacy no matter what obstacles are thrown in her way...

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Childhood sweethearts Mary and Jonty have battled against the odds to be together. Forced to run away from home because Mary's father disapproved of their relationship, they've built a happy new life for themselves. Now they long to be blessed with a child, but it seems that's not to be. Until one stormy night when a yacht is dashed upon the rocks near their home. Mary and Jonty rush to the crew's rescue. Amid terrible carnage, they manage to save a baby, who they name Charlotte and keep her as their own. Charlotte grows up to be devoted to her parents, but fate intervenes when she decides to train as a nurse in Liverpool. For Liverpool is where her 'real' family lives: and it seems that past secrets are to be uncovered - with shocking consequences.

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When Suzy Lunt's widowed mother Josie marries Luke Palmer, it's mainly to keep a roof over their heads. But soon Josie realises she's made a mistake, and she and Suzy flee Liverpool and a man they now fear. But will they be safe from the past in Birkenhead?

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Daisy Corkill has never known who her parents were - or why they left her to be brought up by the couple she calls 'Uncle' Ern and 'Aunt' Gladys. Daisy yearns for the love and security that a family of her own would give her, but she finds comfort in her relationship with Brenda, her older 'sister'. One day in 1919 Brenda arrives home flushed with excitement. She has agreed to marry businessman Gil Fox. Daisy is horrified, for she doesn't trust the handsome Gil. And soon after their wedding, Brenda realises that Gil isn't the man she thought he was. But Daisy's dreams are about to come true; a family of her own is finally within her reach. But will it be enough to get her through some stormy times?

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A poignant and dramatic saga set in Liverpool, perfect for fans of Katie Flynn, Annie Groves and Lyn Andrews. Praise for Anne Baker's Merseyside sagas: 'A stirring tale of romance and passion, poverty and ambition' Liverpool EchoIt's 1937 and for sisters Lizzie and Milly Travis there's nothing quite like the thrill of the funfair at New Brighton. Amid the bright lights and whirling rides, Lizzie wins a lucky sixpence on a stall - as well as the heart of a handsome stallholder.Ben McCluskey isn't the type of man Lizzie's respectable parents had in mind for her, nevertheless the young couple embark on a whirlwind romance. Lizzie's mother worries that history will repeat itself when Ben introduces her daughter to a world she never knew existed. And, as war looms, Milly realises that her sister's luck can't last for ever...

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Beth Hubble has grown up in extreme poverty in Dock Cottages and although she loves training to become a nurse, problems at home are never far from her mind. Doctors have told her mother that, after fourteen pregnancies, she is too frail to survive another, but they will do nothing more. Beth is determined to help, but, in 1920, birth control is a taboo subject, and her quest for knowledge is thwarted at every turn. Meanwhile Beth has fallen for Andrew Langford, a hospital lab technician, who she hopes will take her away from the tenements for good. But will Beth ever find the love and happiness that she deserves?

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When Elsa Gripper dies in childbirth on Christmas Eve, 1912, her grief-stricken husband is unable to cope with his two newborn babies, Lucy and Patsy, so the twins are separated. Lucy is taken home with Elsa's parents, who run a successful business, Mersey Antiques, and she grows up spoiled and pampered with no interest in the family firm. Patsy has a more down-to-earth upbringing, living with their father and other grandmother above the Railway Arms. And through further tragedy she learns to be responsible from an early age. Then Patsy is invited to work for her grandfather at Mersey Antiques, which she hopes will bring her closer to Lucy. But it is to take a series of dramatic events for the twins to be drawn together.

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When Dorothy Mortimer finds herself pregnant, she is sent away to family friends the Benders to have the child. Dorothy wants nothing to do with her daughter Lizzie, so the Benders arrange for the child to be brought up by the O'Malley's, a feckless family living on the estate. Lizzie is unaware of her parentage but her brother Joey is suspicious of the attention she receives from the Benders... Eventually he takes Lizzie to Merseyside to claim what is rightfully hers. But Joey's obsession to provide Lizzie with the riches she deserves leads to the destruction of their love, and Lizzie finds herself drawn to the family she has never known...

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Young and pretty Evie Hobson spends her days serving behind the counter at her father's Chemist shop. Joseph Hobson is a bullying man and Evie isn't the only one who lives in fear of her father's violent temper. Then one day a bedraggled woman enters the shop and dies on the premises. Evie is shocked to discover she was in fact her mother, whom she had been told was dead. Why had her father lied to her? What secret was he trying to keep? One thing's for sure, Evie can't take much more from him and when she catches the eye of local lad Ned Collins they plan to run away to begin a new life together. But even when she has escaped and has started a family with Ned, Evie has a long way to go before her happiness is secured...

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When all seems lost, will her mother's legacy keep her safe?Praise for Anne Baker's Merseyside sagas: 'A stirring tale of romance and passion, poverty and ambition' Liverpool EchoAimee Kendrick is no stranger to heartache. Having lost her father during the Great War and her mother, a famous French impressionist painter, in a tragic accident, Aimee is brought up by her troubled grandparents on the banks of the river Mersey. She works hard at her art lessons and is encouraged to believe she has inherited her mother's gift, but it is her childhood friend and fellow student Frankie Hopkins who shows greater talent. When Frankie joins the Kendrick's textile mill to work on new fabric designs, Aimee begs her grandfather to teach her how to run the business. Working together, Aimee and Frankie become much more than friends but then they find themselves involved in family problems and it is impossible to know what the future holds.

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A family struggles to survive bereavement, bombing and bitter rivalry...Patsy Rushton's brother Barney doesn't know the meaning of hard work, so when their father tragically dies, Patsy has no choice but to save the family's business. Meanwhile, Barney has got his girlfriend pregnant and, feeling trapped, he abandons her and leaves Merseyside altogether. But trouble follows Barney wherever he goes and when he learns of his sister's growing success, he can't help feeling resentful. Why is their mother, Beatrice, so quick to forgive him? Surely, she can't be blind to his faults? As Patsy is to discover, there's something else about Barney that is frightening her mother so much she has never dared to speak of it before.

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Its 1980s Merseyside and teenage cousins Sophie and Charlie are at a turning point in each of their lives. Sophie, seventeen years old and stunning, falls in love with Darrell, the school caretaker, who has plans to make it big with his rock band. But when Sophie discovers that shes pregnant, her relationship with Darrell comes to an end. Though happiness is on the horizon for Sophie, it will take her time to realise who she is destined to be with. Charlie, eighteen and having struggled at school, is unhappy in his job as a chef. With Sophies help, Charlie joins the family business with surprising results

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Bellwether, Noon Layer Drive, Passalewe Lane, Quadrans Close and Silicon Court: these are just a few of the peculiar street names that can be found in Milton Keynes. This work sets out to discover what they mean and why they were chosen. It covers the geographical areas of the town: central, south, north, east, and west.

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Bellwether, Noon Layer Drive, Passalewe Lane, Quadrans Close and Silicon Court: these are just a few of the peculiar street names that can be found in Milton Keynes. This work sets out to discover what they mean and why they were chosen. It covers the geographical areas of the town: central, south, north, east, and west.

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Set in Liverpool during the Depression and the Blitz of the Second World War, Anne Baker's dramatic saga brings a close-knit community vividly to life.It is the day of the Grand National, 1933, when Susie Ingram's fiance, Danny, is killed in a tragic accident. In a cruel twist of Fate, Susie discovers she is carrying Danny's child and, shunned by his parents, she turns to her mother for support. Louise Ingram, widowed during the First World War, knows how hard it is to bring up a family alone, but with the help of her eldest daughter, Martha, who lives next door, they manage to survive. When little Rosie is born there is no doubt that she is Danny's daughter, but it is destined to take many more years of heartache before the two families are united again...

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Bestselling author Anne Baker's compelling saga of family secrets, heartache and happy endings.When jeweller Edwin Jardine gives a job to Hilda Thorpe, his daughter Jane suspects that he's been blinded to the attractive widow's flaws by her looks and her hard luck story (she's alone with a teenage daughter, Kitty). Jane's dismayed when Edwin and Hilda become romantically involved; she knows that her father deserves happiness again after the death of her mother, but must it be with Hilda? With the help of her new fiance, Nick, Jane begins to unravel the shocking truth about Hilda's past - and soon she fears that Edwin may be about to take a step he will live to regret bitterly.

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Raising her daughters alone, widowed Flora Wilcox often feels out of her depth. There's no problem with mousy Hilary, but Isobel is a wayward beauty who can never forgive her plainer sister for stealing her boyfriend, and will be pregnant before she marries. Worse, the father of Isobel's baby isn't her new husband - and when the truth comes out, her marriage is likely to hit the rocks. Hilary's life seems to be moving along more calmly, until her husband is badly injured in an accident. And as she takes charge of his business Hilary also faces the discovery that her adored children are struggling at school. There's hope if the sisters can pull together at last - but can they ever put the past behind them?

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A VIEW ACROSS THE MERSEY by Anne Baker is a dramatic Liverpool family saga sure to appeal to fans of Katie Flynn, Annie Groves and Lyn Andrews.The youngest of five siblings, Lottie Mortimer has never felt like she belonged. Her mother died shortly after she was born, leaving her father and grandmother to raise the family and, despite their love and support, Lottie can't help wondering if there is something they are not telling her... With the First World War over, the Mortimers' ship-owning business is struggling to survive and Lottie, who works with her father, worries what the future will hold. Meanwhile, her elder sister Eunice is trapped in an unhappy marriage that causes concern for them all. Then Lottie discovers the shocking truth about her birth that turns her world upside down and the dramatic events that unfold affect them all...

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Jill Ridley's childhood was one of loneliness and fear, and returning to her family home in Merseyside to join her stepmother's medical practice she decides to uncover the truth behind such painful memories. The discovery of a photograph of her stepmother holding an unknown baby prompts Jill to ask questions. But no one seems willing to answer her. It is only when Jill's stoical stepgrandmother, Victoria, tells the harrowing tale of her tragic past that the pieces of the puzzle start to fall into place. Coming to terms with shocking revelations, Jill must also face the future. The surgery's prospects are bleak; Jill's father is buckling under work pressures; and Felix Kingsley, a young journalist, has started paying attention to Jill - but are his intentions honourable, or is he using Jill to probe for secrets that affect his own family...?

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It is 1941 and Connie and Lottie Brinsley are training to be nurses at Liverpool's Walton Hospital. When heavy bombing is followed by the news that their home has taken a direct hit and their parents and little brother are dead, the two sisters are utterly devastated. Later, they are shocked to discover that their uncle, Steve, is not who they thought he was, and the Brinsleys have been living a lie for years. And Steve's not the only one who's hiding the truth, for when Lottie meets and marries Waldo Padley, no one tells her that he's a liar and a cheat. But, no matter what life throws at them, the sisters find the strength to face the troubles ahead...

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Lovely young Cathy is left pregnant with her first child when her husband is killed in the war. For a while she lives with her in-laws, but she leaps at the chance to return as a maid to the household where she worked before her marriage. With the birth of her daughter she is compelled to return to her parents-in-law, a less than ideal situation, particularly when in due course Cathy is being courted by dear old friend. When Cathy marries again and sets up in the antiques business with her husband, it looks like at last she will find the happiness she deserves, but she has made an enemy who can't bear to see Cathy enjoying her life...

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A dramatic and warm-hearted Liverpool saga sure to appeal to fans of Katie Flynn, Annie Groves and Lyn Andrews.It is 1935 and as Carrie Courtney watches her twin sister, Connie, marry the man of her dreams, Carrie longs to find a love of her own. Having lost their mother at an early age, the girls were brought up by their maiden aunts and, with Connie leaving home, Carrie is desperate to spread her wings. Using her skills as a bookkeeper, Carrie gets an exciting new job but her stunning beauty soon attracts the wrong kind of attention. And romance is the last thing on her mind when her beloved father finds himself caught up in an illegal jewellery business that threatens to destroy them all...

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Living above her stepfather's fish and chip shop on Merseyside's Paradise Parade, Emily Barr is glad to escape to the relative peace of her job in Wythenshaw's jewellery factory. And when she is promoted to work for young Mr Giles, the son of the owner, she is the envy of all her workmates. What a catch he would be!Much to her surprise, Emily finds the eligible Giles is trying to woo her, and when he proposes she willingly accepts. But Giles is not the suitable suitor he appears to be and Emily soon discovers that the marriage isn't quite what she'd hoped for...

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It's August 1914, and the threat of war weighs heavily on the people of Liverpool, but not on Sarah Hoxton. For Toby Percival, the son of her employer, is in love with her. Her mother fears they'll both lose their jobs when Toby's father finds out, but Sarah's prepared to risk everything for Toby's love. Maurice Percival is furious when he discovers his son is involved with a factory girl. Determined to defy his father, Toby joins the army. Sarah is left facing what seem to be insurmountable obstacles, but with the help of her friends, family and a strength she never knew she possessed, she discovers there is a light at the end of the tunnel, though it shines from a different direction to the one she expected.

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When widower Henry Knell loses his glove-making business to the Dransfields his life is well and truly ruined. With his six young daughters, he moves into rented rooms in a Merseyside back street. Meanwhile, Hattie and Maggie, the eldest girls, are trying to hold the family together. Sophie Dransfield's husband, Daniel, takes pity on the poverty-stricken Knells and offers Maggie a job as a maid in the Dransfields' nursery. Maggie's beautiful blonde hair soon catches the eye of Sophie's brother Tom, whose dashing brother, Luke, is equally enchanted by Hattie when she joins the household as a lady's maid. But the fortunes of the two sisters do not run according to plan...

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Nancy, Amy and Katie Siddons are three of the prettiest nurses south of the Mersey. They've been brought up to respect their elders and uphold family honour at all times. Then sweet, naïve Katie falls pregnant, bringing shame upon the family's name. Alec Siddons, a local police constable, cannot and will not forgive his daughter for her immoral behaviour. But Katie isn't the only one with troubles ahead. Amy is in love with her cousin Paul, but owing to a family feud the mere mention of his name is forbidden in her father's presence; and Nancy is eager to wed her fiancé Stan before the Second World War takes him away. With the outbreak of war, the three sisters offer each other comfort and support. Their mother, meanwhile, is battling with painful memories of the past, and their father lives in dread that his own dark secrets will be revealed. As the war takes its toll on the Merseyside girls they learn that few things in life are more precious than honesty, love and forgiveness.

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When all seems lost, will her mother's legacy keep her safe?Praise for Anne Baker's Merseyside sagas: 'A stirring tale of romance and passion, poverty and ambition' Liverpool EchoAimee Kendrick is no stranger to heartache. Having lost her father during the Great War and her mother, a famous French impressionist painter, in a tragic accident, Aimee is brought up by her troubled grandparents on the banks of the river Mersey. She works hard at her art lessons and is encouraged to believe she has inherited her mother's gift, but it is her childhood friend and fellow student Frankie Hopkins who shows greater talent. When Frankie joins the Kendrick's textile mill to work on new fabric designs, Aimee begs her grandfather to teach her how to run the business. Working together, Aimee and Frankie become much more than friends but then they find themselves involved in family problems and it is impossible to know what the future holds.

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Rebelling against the domineering man she believes to be her father, Elin Jones runs away from her Welsh home to find a job on Merseyside as a maid in the wealthy Oxley household. Seduced and left pregnant by the son of the family, she feels forced to marry the butler, but finds herself condemned to a life of abuse and poverty. Only her love for her daughter, Laura, keeps Elin going. Laura grows up with her natural father's intelligence and drive, as well as his talent for business, and when she seizes the chance to buy an ailing company, it is the start of a meteoric career. But Laura's personal life is less of a success, and it will take a twist of fate to enable Laura and her mother to find love and happiness.

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