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Author of Secrets On Shakespeare Cliff
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Writing in the genre women's historical fiction, I have completed my debut novel, Secrets on Shakespeare Cliff.
Set in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries against the backdrop of The White Cliffs of Dover, it tells the interlinked stories of Sarah’s quest to uncover the mystery of her past, and the tragic life of Elizabeth, the mother she has never known. Dover, 1875 to 1904: She never knew her mother. Uncovering her father’s dark secrets rewrites Sarah’s past. Handed over as a newborn to be raised by her father’s employer, Sarah knows nothing about her mother, not even how she died. Her father and guardian conspire to keep her ignorant, and she is certain a dark secret lurks. Although she leads a life of luxury, she is friendless, unloved, and desperate to escape the confines of her strict upbringing. Rescue comes in the person of Edwin, a labourer at the docks, a most unsuitable suitor, and Sarah must fight to be with the man she loves. Marriage and a poorer lifestyle present challenges, but when she gives birth to a daughter, her need to discover her roots grows urgent. It is her daughter’s birthright, and she will never feel whole until she uncovers the truth. She begins her quest in earnest, searching for clues and interviewing her estranged brother and half-brothers. But the search jeopardises her marriage and destroys her relationship with her father. When she discovers her mother’s deathbed letter, written over twenty years previously, her sense of self is turned on its head. Elizabeth, on the shelf at twenty-seven and desperate for children, is persuaded against her better judgement to accept a marriage proposal from a man she hardly knows. Soon after the wedding, his undesirable characteristics surface, fuelled by conflicts with his boss and the alcohol he drinks in increasing quantities. Trapped in marriage to a man she neither loves nor respects, Elizabeth grasps a chance at happiness in the arms of a lover, until her husband finds out and takes his revenge. With a unique cliffside setting, this dual protagonist novel explores the power of motherhood, the ugliness of domestic abuse, the corrosiveness of family secrets, and the healing nature of truth. It will appeal to saga fans everywhere. To read the beginning of the story click the tab WRITING. If you'd like more information, please get in touch below. |
