I enjoyed the story for much of the book, but either this one was too long for me or too depressing! The characters, especially Bridget, were realistically drawn and I was caught up in their life stories from the start. As I continued reading I hoped for some redemption for them, some kind of happiness out of their hopelessness. Thomas, Robert McG Jr. (12 June 1998). "Catherine Cookson, 91, Prolific British Author". The New York Times . Retrieved 15 January 2018.

The Black Candle - Wikipedia The Black Candle - Wikipedia

Many of Cookson's novels have been adapted for film, radio, and the stage. The first film adaptation of her work was Jacqueline (1956), directed by Roy Ward Baker, based on her book A Grand Man. [14] British readers have been familiar with this early novel by Cookson for five decades, but this reissue will please American fans who crave the late author's sudsy historical novels. John Continue reading » Cookson's 100th book, posthumously published, rounds off her oeuvre, but is more memorable for its landmark status than its content. Set in England's Northumberland countryside in the early 20th Continue reading » In 1983 Katie Mulholland was adapted into a stage musical by composer Eric Boswell and writer-director Ken Hill. Cookson attended the première. [16]

See also

The Secret (2000) with Colin Buchanan, Hannah Yelland, Elizabeth Carling, Clare Higgins, and Stephen Moyer

The Black Candle - Penguin Books UK

In her first contemporary romance, Cookson ( The Parson's Daughter ) introduces a thoroughly delightful extended family. Fiona Nelson is a 28-year-old widow with three children when Bill Bailey Continue reading » Cookson wrote almost 100 books, which sold more than 123 million copies, her novels being translated into at least 20 languages. She also wrote books under the pseudonyms Catherine Marchant [10] and a name derived from her childhood name, Katie McMullen. [11] She remained the most borrowed author from public libraries in the UK for 17 years, [12] up until four years after her death, losing the top spot to Jacqueline Wilson only in 2002. [13] Books in film, on television and on stage [ edit ]A dark family drama that begins in 1968 and spans 15 years, The House of Women is the most recent British import from the late Catherine Cookson (The Bondage of Love; A Ruthless Need; etc.). Emma Continue reading » When the devious Lionel Filmore enters Bridget’s family life, hoping to marry into her hard-earned wealth, she has to use all of her strength and ingenuity to keep her family together. The tragedy of the story is that much of the paths chosen by the characters were preventable. There are a few characters who are admirable, and who triumph over their circumstances. Joseph's elderly friend Bertha Hanratty learns to cope with her sadness. Mr. Bright remains steadfastly loyal to his difficult and often unlovable, elderly employer. The latest from Cookson ( The Love Child ; The Bailey Chronicles ) is a perfunctorily plotted novel of tragedy and romance. After his father's death in 1926, five-year-old Joe Jebeau and his Continue reading »

Catherine Cookson - Wikipedia Catherine Cookson - Wikipedia

Dame Catherine Ann Cookson, DBE ( née McMullen; 20 June 1906 – 11 June 1998) was a British writer. She is in the top 20 of the most widely read British novelists, with sales topping 100 million, while she retained a relatively low profile in the world of celebrity writers. Her books were inspired by her deprived youth in South Shields (historically part of County Durham), North East England, the setting for her novels. With 104 titles written in her own name or two other pen names, she is one of the most prolific British novelists. Life was unfair to women,'' thinks Agnes Conway, Cookson's latest naive but indomitable and likable turn-of-the-century heroine whose options seem to be a marriage of convenience or bitter Continue reading »It's the 1970s, and 21-year-old Jinny Brownlow has just heard her fiancé pronounce her a "cultured handmaiden"—slavishly eager to please—and announce he's Continue reading »