The Gillyvors by Catherine Cookson

A family's courage against the cruelty of prejudice

Fair Condition - With heavy reading creases along the spine, scuffed and creased covers, chipped edges and worn corners. Small loss at the upper front corner and wear at the spine ends. Pages remain readable.

At Heap Hollow Cottage near Fellburn in County Durham, Nathaniel Martell and Maria Dagshaw have created a loving home for their six children. To their neighbours in the Victorian countryside, however, the parents' unmarried status overshadows everything else. Their children must bear the stigma of being called gillyvors, judged for circumstances beyond their control. As the eldest daughter, Anna, approaches adulthood, she determines to confront that inherited prejudice and seek a life defined by more than the community's disapproval. The road ahead will test her resilience, her hopes and her capacity for happiness. Catherine Cookson's family saga brings the pressures of social respectability into intimate focus, following a young woman's struggle to claim dignity and fulfilment in a world ready to deny her both.