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Colliers Row
Colliers Row
Author: Jan Webster
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ISBN-13: 9780397012282
ISBN-10: 0397012284
Publication Date: 10/1977
Pages: 276
Rating:
  • Currently 3/5 Stars.
 1

3 stars, based on 1 rating
Publisher: Harpercollins
Book Type: Hardcover
Other Versions: Paperback, Audio Cassette
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Description from the cover:

"A first novel of genius. . . . Jan Webster has magic ... a remarkable degree of warmth, understanding, and compassion. She loves the world and the people in it." Alistair MacLean

Scotland, 1840: a country of contrast and change, where the cities are filled with whisky shops and brothels, and the countryside is tilled by men who are encouraged to have unmarried "followers" to provide cheap labor. A country, too, with great respect for education, as it struggles with the problems of coal miners' hours and safety. . . .

This is the world of young Kate Kilgour, housekeeper to James Galbraith, a minister of the Free Kirk in Greenock. Then local gossip about Kate's illegitimate son forces Galbraith to give her notice, even though his heart cries out that she should stay.

And so the story of lovely, strong-minded Kate begins. She will discover her link with the wealthy pit-owning Balfour family. She will marry an evangelical miner in the Lanarkshire coal pits. She will teach her children independence and pride and watch as they go out into a world of turmoil and transition: on son to America to become a rail¬road pioneer; a daughter to New Zealand on a "bride ship" after a disastrous affair; her handsome bastard to seafaring danger on Clyde-built clipper ships. Another son will stand for Parliament as one of the first Labor MPs, and Kate herself, in time of deep crisis, will return to James Galbraith's side.

Colliers Row is a rich, action-filled family saga, teeming with wonderful characters and bursting with vitality. You will turn the final page longing for more. And there will be more. This is only the first novel of a trilogy that will carry this fascinating Scots family to the present day.

JAN WEBSTER was born in Blantyre, in the heart of the Lanarkshire coalfields, where both her grandfathers worked at the pits. She became a reporter while still in her teens and has had many stories published and broadcast. Her husband, Drew Webster, is London Editor of United Newspapers.