The Promise (61 page)

Belle is a strong, courageous woman who is determined to maintain her independence – first as a milliner and then as an ambulance driver in France. What was it like being a married, yet working, woman at that time? How did society view working women?

Society tended to look down on working women in general before World War One. Not just factory girls, domestic staff and the like, but people in trade too. Women of the middle and upper classes rarely worked and were confined to their homes and families, but the war changed that for many. However, Belle wouldn’t have felt bound by the normal constraints of that period, not even when she married, because of her past and the way she was brought up. An occupation such as being a milliner would have been considered acceptable because it was a feminine job, yet being in ‘trade’ would have also set her apart. However, once so many society women rushed to become war-time volunteers when war broke out, most people – whatever their class – would have admired women who helped the war effort. After the war a great many more women embarked on careers. They were very much needed when so many of the young men didn’t make it home again.

Why did you decide that Belle and Mog should emigrate to New Zealand? What drew you to New Zealand in particular?

I felt that after the horrors of war Belle and Mog would want to start afresh somewhere else. They really had nothing to stay in England for. I chose New Zealand because I love it. I think if I were younger I’d like to go and live there myself. I also felt Mog and Belle had the right kind of pioneering spirit to make a go of it there.

The BOOKS

Georgia

Raped by her foster-father, fifteen-year-old Georgia runs away from home to the seedy back streets of Soho …

Tara

Anne changes her name to Tara to forget her shocking past – but can she really become someone else?

Charity

Charity Stratton’s bleak life is changed for ever when her parents die in a fire. Alone and pregnant, she runs away to London …

Ellie

Eastender Elite and spoilt Bonny set off to make a living on the stage. Can their friendship survive sacrifice and ambition?

Camellia

Orphaned Camellia discovers that the past she has always been so sure of has been built on lies. Can she bear to uncover the truth about herself?

Rosie

Rosie is a girl without a mother, with a past full of trouble. But could the man who ruined her family also save Rosie?

Charlie

Charlie helplessly watches her mother being senselessly attacked. What secrets have her parents kept from her?

Never Look Back

An act of charity sends flower girl Matilda on a trip to the New World and a new life …

Trust Me

Dulcie Taylor and her sister are sent to an orphanage and then to Australia. Is their love strong enough to keep them together?

Father Unknown

Daisy Buchan is left a scrapbook with details about her real mother. But should she go and find her?

Till We Meet Again

Susan and Beth were childhood friends. Now Susan is accused of murder, and Beth finds she must defend her.

Remember Me

Mary Broad is transported to Australia as a convict and encounters both cruelty and passion. Can she make a life for herself so far from home?

Secrets

Adele Talbot escapes a children’s home to find her grandmother – but soon her unhappy mother is on her trail …

A Lesser Evil

Bristol, the 1960s, and young Fif Brown defies her parents to marry a man they think is beneath her.

Hope

Somerset, 1836, and baby Hope is cast out from a world of privilege as proof of her mother’s adultery …

Faith

Scotland, 1995, and Laura Brannigan is in prison for a murder she claims she didn’t commit.

Gypsy

Liverpool, 1893, and after tragedy strikes the Bolton family, Beth and her brother Sam embark on a dangerous journey to find their fortune in America.

Stolen

A beautiful young woman is discovered half-drowned on a Sussex beach. Where has she come from? Why can’t she remember who she is – or what happened?

Belle

London, 1910, and the beautiful and innocent Belle Reilly is cruelly snatched from her home and sold to a brothel in New Orleans where she begins her life as a courtesan. Can Belle ever find her way home?

The Lesley Pearse
Women of Courage Award

was launched in 2006 to celebrate the extraordinary achievements of ordinary women; women who have done something special for themselves or someone else; women of courage.

Previous Winners

‘Winning the inaugural woman of courage award was a unique experience which I shall always remember’

NICOLE GALLAGHER
from Kent was nominated by her best friend because of her care and devotion to her children who both suffer from rare medical conditions.

‘I still have to pinch myself to remind me that I did actually win the award’

KAREN BAKER
from Harrow was nominated by her colleague. She provides full time support for her disabled daughter, Nicky, gives support to her colleagues in a busy role, looks after her father who has Alzheimer’s disease and is the key support for her husband who has epilepsy. As if that wasn’t enough, Karen has been living with cancer for years.

‘Winning has filled me with renewed enthusiasm to continue working hard towards my goals and to assist others in achieving theirs.’

KERRY-ANN HINDLEY
from Glasgow was nominated by her partner because she has overcome personal tragedies, hardship and a terribly troubled youth to take her experiences and turn them into something positive – helping others.

‘Winning the award was further reinforcement to me that child abuse will not be ignored in our society, and it has had the double effect of renewing my campaigning efforts.’

SIOBHAN PYBURN
from Southampton was nominated by her ITV Fixers project worker for her courage in taking back control of her life and using her own experiences of abuse and incest to help others.