Mother of Pearl

by Maureen Lee

Book Overview

A tragedy tears a family apart - a superb novel from the Sunday Times bestselling author of THE LEAVING OF LIVERPOOL. Pretty Amy Curran was just eighteen years old when she met Barney Patterson, the love of her life, on Southport Pier in 1939. Their romantic, passionate marriage was made in heaven - but with the outbreak of war, Barney volunteered to fight, and the couple were separated for five long years. When he returned to Liverpool after VE Day,...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0752893815
• ISBN13: 9780752893815
• Release Date: February 2009
• Publisher: Orion
• Length: 363 Pages
• Weight: 0.60 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 5.0" x 7.6"

Customer Reviews

No love so great

Amy Curran was just 18, pretty as a picture and totally unworldly, when she met the love of her life, Barney Patterson, on the pier at Southport. It was a classic case of love at first sight and, within weeks, they had eloped, without a thought for anyone else. Barney's family was educated and wealthy, with a slightly unhinged mother whose hatred of Catholics was an obsession. Amy's family was very much working class with all of its members Catholics and with nothing in common with the Patterson's. When WW2 was declared, Barney immediately enlisted at Officer Training School and was sent to France where he was captured by the Germans and held in a prisoner of war camp until the end of the war. When he returned home, he was a completely different man from the cheerful boy who had married Amy. His attitude to Amy became more and more aggressive, ending with his accidental killing. Amy is sentenced to 20 years jail, so her daughter, Pearl is raised by Amy's brother and his wife, believing that her mother had deserted her and left the country. It's an undemanding story, good for the time when the reader wants a simple,easy to read tale.