Her books have sold millions of copies, and her characters and their stories have captured the imaginations of readers around the globe. Now, available for the first time in this country, comes one of Cookson's earliest and most stirring historical romances: "The Fifteen Streets." John O'Brien lives in a world where surviving is a continual struggle. He works long hours at the docks to help support his parents' large family. Many other families in the Fifteen Streets have already given up and descended into a dismal state of grinding poverty, but the O'Briens continue to strive for a world they are only rarely allowed to glimpse.Then John O'Brien meets Mary Llewellyn, a beautiful young teacher who belongs to that other world. What begins as a casual conversation over tea quickly blossoms into a rare love that should have been perfect. Fate steps in, however, when John is accused of fathering the child of a local girl, and Mary's parents forbid her to see him. The couple begins to realize that the gulf of the Fifteen Streets between them is a chasm they could never bridge-or might they still find a way?In these pages Catherine Cookson displays the irresistible plotting, scene-setting, and characterization that have made her a recognized master of historical and romance fiction. Fans of her novels, with their larger themes of romantic love and class conflict, will be delighted to find that even at the beginning of her illustrious career, Cookson had the power to captivate audiences. Filled with passion and compelling drama, "The Fifteen Streets" is a rare treat for lovers of romantic fiction.

    And Wash had seen Lizzie only two or three times- never for than a moment or so at that. But Wash needed a wife to fit into the plan he had; and as for Lizzie, she wouldn't have hurt his feelings for the world.So they married and set out on a long and dangerous winter journey by covered wagon from Pennsylvania down the Valley of Virginia, to establish a home, a farm and a family in the wilderness of Georgia's Blue Ridge Mountains.Give Us This Valley is the story of the young couple's adventures, of their quarrel with Rafe Williams who had joined up with them for Georgia, of the terrible storm which almost crippled Wash and of the amazing Yancey family who settled the feud between the Stonecypher and the Williams kin. But most of all it is the tender and entrancing story of how Lizzie came to know and love 'Mr. Stonecypher', as she always called him, and of how at last she made him aware of the depth of her feelings for him.This is a warm, uniquely American novel which owes its quality to the old virtue of storytelling. It is rich in the authentic details of early pioneer life, a novel whose characters glow with the true light of human nature. It is a story to read and remember.

    Thomas Armstrong is the author of the "Crowther" novels.

    She comes to claim her beautiful estate, but along with it came a domineering butler, a sour maid and a perplexing mystery. She gradually realizes that evil forces are at work to cheat her of her legacy--perhaps even of her life!