The Year Of The Virgins - Softcover

Cookson, Catherine

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0552132470 ISBN 13: 9780552132473

Publisher: Corgi Books, 1994

Synopsis

Struggling to maintain a facade of family harmony for the sake of their religious beliefs and three grown children, Winifred and Daniel Coulson begin a legacy in which their youngest son, Donald, must choose between the values of the past and present. 30,000 first printing.

About this title

About the Author:

Catherine Cookson lived in Northumberland, England, the setting of many of her international bestsellers. Born in Tyne Dock, she was the illegitimate daughter of an impoverished woman, Kate, whom she was raised to believe was her older sister. She began to work in the civil service but eventually moved south to Hastings, where she met and married a local grammar school master.
Although she was originally acclaimed as a regional writer, in 1968 her novel The Round Tower won the Winifred Holtby Award, her readership quickly spread worldwide, and her many bestselling novels established her as one of the most popular contemporary authors. After receiving an OBE in 1985, Catherine Cookson was made a Dame of the British Empire in 1993. She died shortly before her ninety-second birthday, in June 1998, having completed 104 works.

From Publishers Weekly:

Hatred and duty and their effect on an English family in 1960 are the themes of Cookson's 14th novel (after The Maltese Angel). Ill-matched Daniel and Winifred Coulson have become enemies. Their children?Stephen, the retarded eldest; Joe, the adopted family rock; Donald, the youngest?all show the scars. Daniel, who has discreet affairs, has begun to consider leaving his miserable marriage for Maggie, the family cook. He has meddled in his sons' lives to get Donald away from Winifred's possessiveness, finagling a match between lovely Annette and Donald that culminates in marriage. All this hurts Joe, whose conflicting loves for the girl and for his brother are becoming nearly too much to bear. Then the newlyweds have a terrible accident leading to tragic consequences that render Winifred insane, and she plots a grisly revenge on her daughter-in-law. Cookson adeptly paints a stark, psychologically realistic portrait of the disintegration of the Coulson clan. The only flaw is the surprise of Winifred's violence, which doesn't quite follow from her characterization. A somber, affecting story for the author's large audience.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Corgi Books
• Publication date: 1994
• ISBN 10: 0552132470
• ISBN 13: 9780552132473
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 352