Hallam Square [Paperback]

Praise for Anna Jacobs:
'Catherine Cookson fans will cheer!' (Peterborough Evening Telegraph )

'Anna Jacobs' books are deservedly popular. She is one of the best writers of Lancashire sagas around.' (Historical Novels Review )

'An exciting book of immensely brilliant character portrayal and a great storyline' (Bangor Chronicle on OUR EVA )

'Another cracking read with a vivid insight into family relationships' (Coventry Evening Telegraph on OUR EVA )

'Once again you have given us a story that has me hooked from the first page to the last. The characters are so alive that I am loath to call them characters, they are people - so real that you almost feel for them' (Reader from Scotland on OUR MARY ANN )

In this saga set in 19th-century Lancashire and featuring the Gibson family, Annie is now happily married to mill-owner Frederick Hallam, but a threat from the past emerges to cause her anxiety.

Background information from the author
I'd originally intended to do only three books about the Gibson Family, but my agent said he thought I could write more, so I gulped and started thinking about what else could happen to Annie. That's how Book 4 in the ongoing saga came to be written, though each book is complete in itself.

This book has more darker tension in it than the others in the series (though you'll never find gratuitous violence in my books). Annie's husband Frederick is not well, and it takes her a while to realise that someone is trying to kill her. She meets a new man who is interested in her and whom she finds intriguing - Tian Gilchrist - but she loves Frederick and does not pursue that interest. Her step-daughter is having a hard time and her son isn't happy at university. In spite of Frederick's gentle urging not to take the entire burden of the Gibson family on her shoulders, Annie can't help feeling concerned.

The book also follows the civic developoment of the growing town of Bilsden (hence the title) and portrays a wide range of fascinating characters. It has, in my opinion, the warmest ending of all the Gibson family books, the sort that makes you say 'Aaaah, how lovely!' when you've finished it. I wrote it and I still get 'happy tears' in my eyes when I re-read the ending.

I hope you enjoy the book, too. I certainly loved writing it.