RNIB National Library
Service
Giant Print 24
Family fiction
Andrews, Lyn.
A daughter's journey. 2009. 4v.
Angela O'Rourke is six when her parents hand
her over to an aunt and uncle in a distant village.
It's a common practice for large, hard-up families
in 1950s Ireland, but for Angela it means that her
mother and father don't love her any more. Still,
she's well cared for till she's sixteen, when her
uncle starts to take too much of an interest in her.
Moving to Liverpool in the early 1960s, she
becomes a success in the world of fashion
design. The pain of a disastrous love affair sends
her home to Ireland just after the death of her
aunt: and there, among old papers, Angela makes
an astonishing discovery. As she learns the truth
about the past, a brighter new future beckons.
Andrews, Lynda M.
A mother's love. 2005. 3v.
Eve and Eddie Dobson have been running the
George pub in Liverpool for over twenty years. It's
not been a bad life, with three nearly grown
daughters fed and clothed out of the takings. The
Depression is now taking hold and money is in
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short supply. It's galling for Eve that the barmaid
they can barely afford spends the day making
eyes at Eddie rather than pulling her weight
behind the bar. At least her girls have never been
a worry to Eve. Then Eddie's flirtation with the
hired help takes an unexpected turn. Suddenly all
the decisions are Eve's to make. And there are
other surprises in store, which will leave none of
Eve's family untouched...and call on all the
strength of a mother's love.
Bates, H.E.
The darling buds of May. 2006. 2v.
The Larkins; book 1. The sultriness of a summer's
afternoon; the sharp tang of autumn; the frosted
reeds at winter time; the sweetness of the
wildflowers in spring - all the glories of the English
year are captured in this selection from the work
of H. E. Bates. A lighthearted tale about Pop and
Ma Larkins and their six children; they eat well,
drink well, and, as Pop says, 'everything's perfick'.
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Bingham, Charlotte
Daughters of Eden. 2004. 5v.
Focuses on the lives and fortunes of four young
women at the outbreak of the Second World War.
Marjorie, left at a boarding school by her
emigrating mother; plain Poppy, pushed into
marriage with a mean-spirited aristocrat; Kate,
despised by her father, but determined to prove
herself; and man-mad Lily, who turns out to be
the bravest of them all.
Boyne, John
The dare. 2009. 1v.
When Danny Delaney's mother returns home one
afternoon, flanked by two policemen, he knows
that something terrible has happened. Mrs
Delaney has accidentally hit a small boy with her
car. Consumed by guilt, Danny's mother closes
herself off, while Danny and his father are left to
pick up the pieces of their fractured family.
Bradshaw, Rita
Ragamuffin angel. 2000. 4v.
Connie Bell is orphaned at 12 years old. She gets
work in the laundry of a workhouse, where she
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advances over the years. When her path crosses
that of Dan Stewart's events are set in motion that
threaten everything Connie's ever dreamed of.
There's a dark and terrible history between the
Bells and the Stewarts.
Buchan, Elizabeth
The good wife. 2003. 3v.
Fanny Savage has always been the dutiful wife.
Married to Will, a politician with big ambitions, her
life is a whirlwind of public engagements. Bound
by loyalty to the party, she is required to look
good and remain silent. But Fanny is no fool.
She's well aware that the world outside her
privileged home is one that seethes with despair,
danger, division and lack of faith. She knows how
fragile happiness can be. After twenty years of
marriage and self-sacrifice, she begins to
question her own concepts of fulfilment. Was
being the Good Wife worth it after all?
Cox, Josephine
Bad boy Jack. 2002. 5v.
Eighteen years ago when Harry was a boy, he
had made a decision that drove him from the
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place he knew and loved. But he had never
forgotten that warm, carefree girl with the
laughing eyes. Now for the first time in all those
years, Harry is heading back. Excited, afraid, and
full of doubts, he needs to know how events of the
past have shaped Judy's life.
Cox, Josephine.
Let it shine. 2001. 3v.
Many years ago, Ada Williams did something that
has tormented her ever since. Her greedy son,
Peter, overhears a conversation and plans a
terrible deed. In nearby Blackburn, happily
married Sylvia Bolton lives with her family. No
one, least of all Sylvia, can foresee the events
about to unfold.
Gale, Patrick.
Notes from an exhibition. 2008. 4v.
Gifted artist Rachel Kelly is a whirlwind of creative
highs and anguished, crippling lows. She's also
something of an enigma to her husband and four
children. So when she is found dead in her
Penzance studio, leaving behind some
extraordinary new paintings, there's a painful
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need for answers. Her Quaker husband appeals
for information on the internet. The fragments of a
shattered life slowly come to light, and it becomes
clear that bohemian Rachel has left her children
not only a gift for art - but also her haunting
demons.
Hill, Susan
The Beacon. 2008. 1v.
The farmhouse was called The Beacon and May,
Colin, Frank and Berenice had been born and
reared there. But now there was only May left.
Now she was the spinster daughter, who nursed
her father after his accident and looked after her
mother in her old age. Frank was the one who got
away. But why does no one ever mention Frank's
name?
Hislop, Victoria.
The island. 2007. 4v.
On the brink of a life-changing decision, Alexis
Fielding longs to find out about her mother's past.
But Sofia has never spoken of it. All she admits to
is growing up in a small Cretan village before
moving to London. When Alexis decides to visit
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Crete, however, Sofia gives her daughter a letter
to take to an old friend, and promises that
through her she will learn more. Arriving in Plaka,
Alexis is astonished to see that it lies a stone's
throw from the tiny, deserted island of Spinalonga
- Greece's former leper colony.
Howard, Audrey
The long way home. 2008. 4v.
Amy Pearson's family is desperately poor - even
by the standards of Edwardian Liverpool - but
they have each other. Until Amy is torn from her
home by her rich aunt. It is the beginning of a long
journey for Amy, as she desperately searches for
the family she lost, and a home where she can be
free at last from her aunt's possessive tyranny.
But she will have to endure a forced marriage and
a tragic war before she can at last find what she
seeks.
Hutchinson, Meg
All is not enough. 2007. 4v.
With mounting disbelief, Regan Trent realises that
the death of her beloved mother has left her
totally at her stepfather's mercy. To this ruthless
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man, Regan is simply an obstacle between him
and the Trent fortune. Promised in marriage to a
sadistic pervert, Regan prefers to take her chance
in the wide world. But Huntley will stop at nothing
to achieve his cruel ambitions.
Hyland, M. J.
Carry me down. 2006. 2v.
John Egan is a misfit - a twelve-year-old in the
body of a grown man with the voice of a giant who diligently keeps track of the lies large and
small that are told to him. With a keenly inquisitive
mind and a kind of faith, John remains hopeful
despite the unfavourable cards life deals him.
Jewell, Lisa
31 Dream Street. 2007. 4v.
In a rambling house, failed poet Toby Dobbs has
created a refuge for people who need one. But
when a quiet tragedy and an unwelcome letter
interrupt Toby's sedate existence, he needs his
housemates to find some direction in their lives.
Can Toby and Leah help these misfits to grow up,
move on and move out? And in doing so, can
they make their own dreams come true?
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Kuipers, Alice.
Life on the refrigerator door. 2007. 1v.
Told through notes left on their kitchen fridge, this
is an intimate portrait of the relationship between
a hard-working mother and her teenage daughter.
Stunningly sad but ultimately uplifting, it is about
being a 'good mother' or a 'good daughter', and is
a reminder of how much can be said in so few
words, if only we made the time to say them.
Lee, Maureen.
Mother of Pearl. 2008. 4v.
Pretty Amy Curran was just eighteen years old
when she met Barney Patterson, the love of her
life, on Southport pier in 1939. Their romantic,
passionate marriage was made in heaven, or so
they both believed. But when Britain declared war
on Germany, Barney hastily volunteered to fight,
and the couple were eventually separated for five
long years. When he returned to Liverpool after
VE Day he wasn't the same person - and neither
was Amy.
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Lewis, Susan.
Lost innocence. 2009. 6v
When Alicia Carlyle returns to the home of her
childhood after the
tragic death of her husband, she is hoping to put
the past behind her. But first she must come face
to face with the woman who nearly destroyed her
marriage and tore her family in two her sister-inlaw, Sabrina.
Scanlan, Patricia.
Foreign affairs. 1999. 8v.
Four women are at a crossroads in their lives.
These women all have difficult choices to make
and are in desperate need of a holiday. When the
four of them stay in a luxurious villa on a Greek
island, they soon realize that they have embarked
on more than just a foreign holiday. Amidst rows,
arguments, laughter and fun they come to see
each other in a different light. Can their
friendships be sustained? Indeed, will their lives
ever be the same again?
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Montgomery, L.M.
Anne of Green Gables. 1964. 3v.
Anne, an eleven-year-old orphan, is sent by
mistake to live with a lonely middle-aged brother
and sister on a Prince Edward Island farm and
proceeds to make an indelible impression on
everyone around her.
Morton, Kate.
The forgotten garden. 2008. 6v.
A lost child: On the eve of the First World War, a
little girl is found abandoned on a ship to
Australia. A mysterious woman called the
Authoress had promised to look after her - but
has disappeared without a trace. A terrible secret:
On the night of her twenty-first birthday, Nell
Andrews learns a secret that will change her life
forever. Decades later, she embarks upon a
search for the truth that leads her to the
windswept Cornish coast and the strange and
beautiful Blackhurst Manor, once owned by the
aristocratic Mountrachet family. On Nell's death,
her granddaughter, Cassandra, comes into an
unexpected inheritance. Cliff Cottage and its
forgotten garden are notorious amongst the
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Cornish locals for the secrets they hold - secrets
about the doomed Mountrachet family and their
ward Eliza Makepeace, a writer of dark Victorian
fairytales. It is here that Cassandra will finally
uncover the truth about the family, and solve the
century-old mystery of a little girl lost.
Mosco, Maisie.
Almonds and raisins. 1979. 4v.
Set in Manchester in 1905, this book begins the
story of the Sandberg family who, having escaped
from Eastern Europe, now struggle through the
Great War and the Depression in England.
Naughton, Bill.
Spring and port wine. 1994. 2v.
This play tells of a well-meaning father with firm
principles, who learns some truths in painful
clashes with his family.
Neill, Fiona.
The secret life of a slummy mummy. 2007. 4v.
It has been years since the dirty washing pile was
less than a metre high, months since Lucy
remembered to have sex with her husband, and a
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week since she last did the school run wearing
pyjamas. It's hard to remember exactly why
anyone would give up a career and their sanity for
three raucous sons and less than blissful
domesticity.
Parsons, Tony.
Man and boy. 2000. 2v.
Harry Silver has it all: a beautiful wife, a wonderful
son, a great job in the media - but in one night he
throws it all away. Then Harry must start to learn
what life and love are really all about.
Contains language that some readers may find
offensive.
Parsons, Tony.
Man and wife. 2003. 2v.
Harry Silver is learning how to be a good father to
his son Pat, who lives with his first wife, Gina, and
to Cyd's daughter, Peggy, who lives with him and
Cyd. But did he commit to a new relationship too
soon and can he keep his more complicated life
on the rails?
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Parsons, Tony.
My favourite wife. 2008. 4v.
Hot shot young lawyer Bill Holden and his wife
Becca move with their four-year-old daughter to
the booming, gold-rush city of Shanghai. It is a
place of opportunity and temptation, where
fortunes are made and foreign marriages come
apart in spectacular fashion. Bill's law firm houses
the Holden family in Paradise Mansions - a luxury
apartment block full of 'second wives'. When
Becca goes home, a friendship between a lonely
family man and a neglected mistress grows into
something more - something that threatens to
destroy all their lives.
Robinson, Marilynne.
Home. 2009. 4v.
Jack - prodigal son of the Boughton family,
godson and namesake of John Ames, gone
twenty years - has come home looking for refuge
and to try to make peace with a past littered with
trouble and pain. A bad boy from childhood, an
alcoholic who cannot hold down a job, Jack is
perpetually at odds with his surroundings and with
his traditionalist father, though he remains
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Boughton's most beloved child. His sister Glory
has also returned to Gilead, fleeing her own
mistakes, to care for their dying father. Brilliant,
loveable, wayward, Jack forges an intense new
bond with Glory and engages painfully with his
father and his father's old friend John
Ames.
Smith, Dodie.
I capture the castle. 1949. 3v.
This novel is written from the point of view of
seventeen year old Cassandra. It chronicles her
life in an old castle with her father who is suffering
from writer's block, her stepmother Topaz, a
model, her fiery sister Rose and younger brother
Thomas. She writes about her life and the arrival
of her landlords, the American Cotton family, and
she also writes about love.
St. Aubyn, Edward.
Mother’s milk. 2006. 3v.
The once illustrious, once wealthy Melroses are in
peril. Caught in the wreckage of broken promises,
child-rearing, adultery and assisted suicide,
Patrick finds his wife consumed by motherhood,
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his mother consumed by a New Age foundation,
and his five-year-old son Robert understanding
far more than he ought.
Contains language that some readers may find
offensive.
Steel, Danielle.
Echoes. 2004. 4v.
For the Wittgenstein family, the summer of 1915
was a time of both prosperity and unease, as the
guns of war sound in the distance. But for eldest
daughter Beata, it was a time of awakening. By
glimmering Lake Geneva, the quiet Jewish beauty
met a young French officer and fell in love.
Knowing that her parents would never accept her
marriage to a Catholic, Beata followed her heart
anyway. As the two built a new life together,
Beata's past would stay with her, and when
Europe faces war once again, Beata must watch
in horror as Hitler's terror threatens her family.
Steel, Danielle
The wedding. 2001. 5v.
Simon and Blaire are a couple who have defied
the Hollywood cliches, keeping their marriage
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together for decades. Their daughter, Allegra, an
attorney for the stars - a career which consumes
much of her energy - has little time for her own
life, until she finds herself planning her own
wedding.
Trollope, Joanna
Second honeymoon. 2006. 3v.
Ben is, at last, leaving home. His mother Edie is
distraught, his father Russell is rather hoping to
get his wife back, after decades of family life.
Meet the Boyd family and the empty nest, twentyfirst-century style.
Toews, Miriam.
A complicated kindness. 2005. 3v.
Nomi Nickel lives with her father, Ray, in East
Village, a small Mennonite town in Manitoba. She
dreams of escaping to the big city, but since her
mother and sister left home, it's hard to imagine
leaving her father behind. As she begins to piece
together the story behind her mother's
disappearance, she finds herself on a direct
collision course with the town's minister.
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Toltz, Steve.
A fraction of the whole. 2008. 7v.
Martin Dean spent his entire life analyzing
absolutely everything - from the benefits of
suicide to the virtues of strip clubs - and passing
on his self-taught knowledge to his son, Jasper.
But now that his father's dead, Jasper recounts a
boyhood of outrageous schemes and shocking
discoveries - about his infamous criminal uncle,
his mysteriously absent mother, and Martin's
constant battle to leave his mark on the world.
Walker, Alice.
The color purple. 1991. 2v.
The story of two sisters in the harsh segregated
world of the Deep South in the early twentieth
century. Celie has been raped by the man she
calls father; her two children are taken away from
her; her beloved, younger sister, Nettie, has run
away. Celie has no one to talk to but God. Then
she meets Shug and discovers not the pain of
rivalry but the love and support of women.
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