In the heart of industrial Lancashire in the early 1900s Victorian values are crumbling. More men have a vote but women’s choices are still limited.
When Mr Woodward, four times mayor of Atherley, and wealthy owner of cotton mills and coal mines, found himself in urgent need of a husband for his daughter, he made Edward Carter, an ambitious grammar school lad, an offer he could not refuse. Marriage to Dorothea in return for a half share of his business empire. Edward was torn between the dictates of his head and of his heart which he gave to Jenny when they were both at school.
Money talks. He marries Dorothea who is already pregnant with another man’s child.
In the days when a contract is sealed with a handshake and a man’s word is his bond, Edward has to stick to his side of this unholy bargain or lose his reputation as an honest business man. Divorce is as rare as comets and is confined mainly to dukes and earls.
Can Edward ever be united with the woman he loves?
Written by the award-winning author of Thornfield Hall.
Genre: Historical
When Mr Woodward, four times mayor of Atherley, and wealthy owner of cotton mills and coal mines, found himself in urgent need of a husband for his daughter, he made Edward Carter, an ambitious grammar school lad, an offer he could not refuse. Marriage to Dorothea in return for a half share of his business empire. Edward was torn between the dictates of his head and of his heart which he gave to Jenny when they were both at school.
Money talks. He marries Dorothea who is already pregnant with another man’s child.
In the days when a contract is sealed with a handshake and a man’s word is his bond, Edward has to stick to his side of this unholy bargain or lose his reputation as an honest business man. Divorce is as rare as comets and is confined mainly to dukes and earls.
Can Edward ever be united with the woman he loves?
Written by the award-winning author of Thornfield Hall.
Genre: Historical
Used availability for Jane Stubbs's The Law's Delay