But, of course, Lady Masters got things simply by always having had them and by taking it for granted that she always would have them. In Bramton Wick, the setting of Elizabeth Fair’s cheerful debut novel, tensions and resentments—not to mention romance—roil beneath the polite interactions of its charming and eccentric residents.There’s upper crust Lady Masters, taking the good things for granted but thoroughly cowed by her gardener. There’s Gillian Cole, a war widow, and her sister Laura, for whom romance may (or may not) be in the offing. There’s Miss Selbourne and “Tiger” Garrett, who met driving ambulances during the war (the first one, though Miss Garrett does get them confused). There’s Major Worthy, who is quite energetic for an invalid. And there’s the three Misses Cleeve, who are “all remarkably like toads” and who have a casual relationship with the truth.Furrowed Middlebrow is delighted to make available, for the first time in over half a century, all six of Elizabeth Fair’s irresistible comedies of domestic life. These new editions all feature an introduction by Elizabeth Crawford.“Miss Fair’s understanding is deeper than Mrs. Thirkell’s and her humour is untouched by snobbishness; she is much nearer to Trollope, grand master in these matters.”--Stevie Smith“Miss Fair’s first novel is not one of promise but of accomplishment. Good luck to her!”--John Betjeman“Deliciously malicious humour abounds.”--Vanity Fair

    The few people who saw it from charabancs on morning or evening or circular drives said: “Isn’t it peaceful?” or “Isn’t it quiet?”. And some said they thought it was a lovely place to be buried in, but while they were alive they preferred a place with more life, if you knew what they meant.The unlikely heroine of this delightful comedy of manners is Jocelyn Renshawe, young widow of the local squire, “a specimen of human cabbage” who “fitted into her surroundings so completely that she was hardly noticeable.” But she’s about to be noticed a bit more—by her jaded, much-widowed mother Ermyntrude, who breezes in on the look-out for her next conquest; by her aunt and mother-in-law, who have decided she should marry Colonel Tidmarsh, an elderly (and extremely dull) retired Army man; and by Gervase Blythe, a mysterious acquaintance of Colonel Tidmarsh’s, who arrives in town and rescues Jocelyn from a rainstorm before coming under suspicion as a jewel thief.One is safe in assuming that Jocelyn is about to leave her mouldering existence behind, but how she does so is the sparkling, cheerful plot of Much Dithering.

    "It was a wedding Mysie once went to. The bridegroom never turned up and the bride swooned at the altar.""Have you practised swooning?"It's 1948 in the Scottish Highlands, with postwar austerity and rationing in full effect, but Mr and Mrs MacAlvey and their family and friends are too irrepressibly cheerful to let it get them down. There's Raine, newly engaged to the brother of a local farmer, and Cleo, just back from three years in the States, along with their brother James, married to neurotic Trina, who smothers their two oversheltered children. There are also three MacAlvey grandchildren, orphaned in the war, whose hilarious mishaps keep everyone on their toes. There are wedding preparations, visits from friends, an adventurous hike, and frustrated romance. But really the plot of the novel is, simply, life, as lived by irresistible characters with humour, optimism, and affection.

    After his death, life is hard, fighting back loneliness and eking out a meager pension. So when her brother Dan, newly demobbed from the Navy, arrives to whisk them away to the seaside, Dinah can at last find peace - and, when she least expects it, love.

    And men take shocking advantage of her good nature when they need their problems listened to, their socks washed, their prescriptions filled, and employment found. But by the age of thirty, Louisa is tired of constantly being dispatched to the scene of some masculine disaster. It’s all well and good to be an independent woman—and certainly better than being a “timid Victorian wife”)—but the time has come for her to marry, and marry well. With admirable discipline and the dedication she displays in any endeavor involving men, Louisa sets out on her romantic quest.   This vastly entertaining chronicle of the life of a single woman who is both of her time and ahead of it is Margery Sharp at her witty, satirical best.

    I was often here alone in the blitz, and I was so frightened of the bombs that I quite stopped being frightened of burglars.” World War II has ended, residents are flooding back to London, and the housing shortage creates strange bedfellows. Elinor MacFarren—middle-aged spinster, botanical writer, and collector of prints and objets d’art—decides to rent part of her house to Antonia Bankes, whose American husband is with the Occupation Forces in Europe. While Miss MacFarren prefers to live alone, Mrs Bankes seems a perfect tenant. She admires Miss MacFarren’s beautiful things (“It’s the prettiest room I’ve ever seen in my life!”), promises quiet and care (“You’ll find me madly careful”), and seems an ideal homemaker (“I like housework. I’ve got quite a ‘thing’ about it.”).Inevitably, however, it’s not so easy. Mrs Bankes proves to be exasperating and helpless, skilled only in charm, manipulation, and blithely promising anything to get her way. What follows is an intricately plotted, gloriously entertaining saga of domestic warfare, as Miss MacFarren tries to cope, tries to cajole, and finally tries to rid herself of her meddlesome tenant, all while taking up whiskey—and all with unpredictable and delightful results. This new edition includes an introduction by Sir Roy Strong.

    There he falls in love with his Queen Alexandra Corps nurse, Louise, and she with him.The story moves back and forth from their time at the field hospital to the west highlands of Scotland where Donald grew up. As they talk in the quiet hours he tells her the stories of the coast and glens, how his family lived and the fascinating life of a century ago: bagpiping, sheep shearing, celidhs, illegal distilling, his mother saving the life of the people of St Kilda, the navvies building the west highland railway and the relationship between the lairds and the people. Louise in turn tells her own story of growing up in the Welsh valley: coal mining, a harsh and unforgiving upbringing.They get cut off from the allied troops and with another nurse are forced to make their escape through Turkey to Greece, getting rescued by a Coptic priest and ending up in Malta. By this time their love is out in the open, but there is still another tragic twist to their story waiting on the way back to Donald’s beloved highland home . . .

    Even if that means literally throwing herself at the Duke and risking her own ruination.No man is arguably more broken and debauched than Timothy Burton, the Duke of Marfront. But, according to his father’s will, he needs to wed and produce an heir. Only, he never sleeps with the same woman twice.When Diana finds herself bound to the same man she wanted to frame, she starts discovering not only his tender, guarded heart, but the big secret surrounding his mother’s death. For, she is about to follow her cold trail...

     “I climbed into this book and lived its plot. I read it at every spare moment.” Margaret “Beautifully written and engaging.” Ratana 1895, SCOTLAND Emma Greig is almost fourteen when her father announces she will be sent to be a maid at Bonnybrae Farm. She has never left her village so she is terrified of the change, especially when she realises she must learn to milk cows. PERFECT FOR FANS OF NADINE DORRIES, GLENDA YOUNG, DILLY COURT OR SHEILA NEWBERRY. Emma goes to work for the Sinclair family. Maggie Sinclair, the oldest of the Sinclair children, is kind and gentle. Her brothers, Jim and William, are friendly and tease Emma, but their mother offers no welcome. Mrs Sinclair is a proud woman with a secret in her past which has left her bitter and without compassion. She is angry when friendship blossoms between a mere maid and her own family. As the bond between Emma and her son strengthens, she dismisses Emma without notice or a reference. And William is banished from the farm he loves and sent away to Yorkshire to make his own way in the world. WILL THIS DESTROY THEIR LIVES AND BURGEONING ROMANCE? DISCOVER A ROMANTIC AND HEART-WARMING TALE ALSO BY GWEN KIRKWOOD SINCLAIR FAMILY SAGA SERIES Book 1: Moorland Mist Book 2: Moorend Farm

    The love of her life was out of reach, so she walked away and never looked back. Now, visiting the beautiful, snowy village of Glen Avich for Christmas, Viola is shocked to find him here, staying only metres away. Can she risk heartbreak again?Inary Monteith's life is at a turning point - a surprise baby has come to upset her plans and open the door to a whole new world. But as her bump grows, fear trumps over love and Inary feels completely inadequate to her new role. As she and her cousins, Eilidh and Viola, gather for Christmas lunch, no one could expect what lies ahead, least of all the arrival of a mysterious visitor who delivers a gift for them all...

    J. Cronin’s affectionate look at young Finlay Hyslop, a newly qualified Scottish doctor who assists a seasoned country GP in managing a variety of medical crises.

    For centuries the Scottish and English borders were known as the Debatable lands: wild, lawless, and the province of reivers, tight-knit robber families that roamed and pillaged the remote passes without fear...Fifteen-year-old Mintie Henderson has just seen her father murdered. With the Scottish King newly dead and an army of hired reivers on the march, justice is in short supply. Then she comes across Batty Coalhouse: one-armed and hard as nails. Together they will set out on a journey of revenge.But they are soon caught up in something bigger, a tale of Mary Queen of Scots and King Henry VIII. Stuck in the heart of a tempest, they know only one way to get out alive…Fight.

    Mr Drew's religious fervor holds a dark secret; Jim, the eldest son, is terrified of something from his past; Delia longs to escape from the island and tall, handsome Matthew wants only one thing - Rosa herself. Rosa's background is one of mystery, but Mr Drew knows the secret of Rosa's past - and so do the two mysterious Irishmen who come back to the island after many years to threaten everything Rosa holds dear...

    When her great-uncle died she was left a lonely cottage near the village of Nethersham with its hills and beech woods. Ivy liked the country, she had gipsy blood which made her fearless, independent and utterly content with the company of her dog, rescued unknown to the law from his undeserving owners. Ivy wanted nothing of the outside world but she could not cut herself off completely. One visitor at least was welcome: the runaway boy Mike who came in from the freezing night to share her fire. Any stray, any sick of suffering creature went straight to her heart.

    Her wealthy industrialist father has died unexpectedly, leaving her a half-share in a ruined whisky distillery and the task of scattering his ashes on a Munro. After discovering her fiancé playing away from home, she cancels their lavish Christmas wedding at St Giles Cathedral, Edinburgh and heads for the only place she feels safe - Eilean na Sgairbh, a windswept island on Scotland’s west coast - where the cormorants outnumber the inhabitants, ten to one. When she arrives at her family home - now a bed and breakfast managed by her left-wing, firebrand Aunt Esme, she finds a guest in situ - BRODIE. Issy longs for peace and the chance to lick her wounds, but gorgeous, sexy American, Brodie, turns her world upside down. In spite of her vow to steer clear of men, she grows to rely on Brodie. However, she suspects him of having an ulterior motive for staying at her aunt’s Bed and Breakfast on remote Cormorant Island. Having been let down by the men in her life, will it be third time lucky for Issy? Is she wise to trust a man she knows nothing about - a man who presents her with more questions than answers? As for Aunt Esme, she has secrets of her own . . .