Books by Val Wood

Margriet grew up as a lonely child in the old town of Hull. Her adored father often travelled by sea to the Netherlands, leaving her with an unaffectionate mother and only her imagination of a little Dutch girl, Annelise, to keep her company. When devastation ravages her tiny family. Annelise becomes the comforting friend Margriet needs for a long time to come.A few years later, Margriet is blossoming into a kind young lady. Keen to escape her mother and strike out on her own, she forms an unlikely friendship with some of the street children who roam the town. As Margriet acts upon her inspiration to help them, will the troubles of her past break her spirit, or will she be able to overcome them?If you've liked books by Katie Flynn and Dilly Court, you'll love Val's heart-rending stories of triumph over adversity.

**PRE-ORDER NOW!**A powerful new family saga from the Sunday Times bestselling author Val Wood. 1864: Following the untimely death of her cold-hearted husband, Beatrix and her three children are finally free.

When Bella learns not only that her father is seriously ill, but that her mother is expecting a fifth child, her dreams of leaving home to become a schoolteacher are quickly dashed.Times are hard, and when their father dies Bella also has to take on the role of mother to her baby brother.

With only his determination, Mikey makes his way to London to seek a better life for his family. Overlooking their initial differences, the two come to rely on each other and, when the time comes to return to Hull, they face the long walk home together.

A powerful story about the bond of sisterhood and how it can triumph against any adversity, from the Sunday Times bestselling author Val Wood. Hull, 1852. Matty has had to care for her three younger sisters ever since their mother's death ten years ago.

Rosalie, brought up in affluence and comfort on the other side of town, loses her own mother in similar circumstances and on the same day.Polly takes a job as scullery maid in Rosalie's lonely house, and the two girls form an unlikely friendship.

Rather than stay - and starve - in the countryside they love, Harry sets out to find a job in the factories and mills of nearby Hull, and Ellen must leave behind everything she's ever known to follow her husband and build a new life for her family on the unfamiliar city streets.

For ten years, Delia has had to fend for herself and her son Jack, and as a young unmarried mother, life has never been easy. But when the theatre work dries up, Delia faces a dilemma: continue the search for employment with no knowing whether she'll find the stability and security her son needs, or return to the place that should be home .

It is the late 1850s and a tired woman holding a baby walks from Hull to one of the big houses in Anlaby - the home of the wealthy Rayners.

When Lucy's parents are killed in a train crash, her kindly uncle steps in to look after the little girl - to the initial apprehension of his wife and her son. However, Lucy's sweet, spirited charm slowly wins over her new family, and as she overcomes the trauma of her childhood, she grows up inspired to become a doctor, just like her father.

After her devious husband Billy tries to sell her at a wife sale, Lily Fowler finds herself alone, frightened and pregnant on the streets of Hull. Running out of options when even the workhouse turns her away, Lily is forced to swallow what little pride she has left and accept work in a once-grand mansion in Leadenhall Square - now a brothel.

When Georgiana Gregory and her maid, Kitty, make the long sea journey from their native Hull for New York, they hope to begin a new life in the freedom of the newly-formed United States of America. Georgiana wants to escape from the confines of English life, and to savour a land of emancipation and opportunity.

The choice was hers - fame and fortune or true love. Poppy Mazzini, born in Hull over her father's grocery shop, lives up to the promise of her fiery red hair and Italian ancestry.

Gradually she learns the true reasons behind Noah's desire to marry her - and realises that the only person she finds real companionship with is the person she can't possibly be with .

Annelise becomes the comforting friend Margriet needs for a long time to come.A few years later, Margriet is blossoming into a kind young lady.

Scarborough, 1880Jeannie spends her days watching the harbour girls and waiting for Ethan Wharton to come in on his father's fishing smack. She longs for the simpler times of her past, and wonders if she will ever find someone who will truly love her - and if Ethan will ever forgive her .

Her friends became the circus people, and her home the caravans and travellers' tents. Meanwhile, in a great house in Yorkshire, old Mrs Winthrop has never given up hope of finding her daughter Madeleine, who eloped with a handsome gypsy and was never seen again.

Harriet and Fletcher Tuke have worked hard to raise their children well. Daniel, the eldest son, has always accepted that his birth father died soon after he was born, and Fletcher has raised Daniel as his own. But as Daniel comes of age and begins to fall in love with childhood friend Beatrice Hart, he can't help but wonder about his heritage...

Emily was only five years old when she was sent away from her ma and pa and her brother Joe to go and live with old Granny Edwards. Roger's daughter Deborah takes a great fancy to Emily, and when Emily has moved to another household in Hull she finds that her new employer's son Hugo is to marry Deborah.

Gradually, she gains the attention of the young master of the house, and they fall in love.But their hopes and dreams turn to nightmares, culminating in a scandal that will force Jenny to leave behind everything she knows. Cast aside by her own family, Jenny faces many difficulties until an usual promise changes the course of her life.

An orphaned child from an island on the east coast of Yorkshire grows up to discover the secrets and tragedies of her past.

And so she ran -- up river, along the wild and secretive paths of the great Humber -- a new and unfamiliar territory which was to lead her into a new and unfamiliar life.Her first refuge was with Toby Linton, well-born, estranged from his father and -- with his brother Matt -- earning a dangerous living as a smuggler.