Colour Blind

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This is an old novel (my copy was published in 1968) full of family scandal and rags to riches.. or riches to rags. The scandalous issues begin with upstarts, bitter neighbors, infidelity, and underage sex and end with unhappy marriages, in laws from hell, unwed mothers, and suicide. Vanessa is sixteen, well to do, and very sexually curious and well, it is the sixties. Needless to say, some bloke is more than willing to help Vanessa satisfy her curiosity and before you know it, she is "with bairn." Her upstart parents cannot force her to divulge who the father is and choose to lay the blame at Angus Cotton's feet, the son of their maid. Angus's mother and sister attempt to talk him out of being a good samitarian but much to their dismay, he marries the pampered Vanessa. He was interested in all aspects of production, as a fine jazz musician – he played keyboards and bass guitar, and Jelly Roll Morton on a national tour of a dramatic biography, Jelly Roll Soul, in the 1980s – and a technical geek, too, as he proved later in LA. As with many of the Fifteen Streets residents, the McQueens are big-hearted and blunt; opinionated and often speaking with no holds barred in the face of any attempt to go against social convention. Following the life of Rose Mary, readers witness racism in the 1950s and the destruction it causes, how ignorance ruins entire families. Towards the end, Rose Mary has a choice between two men that love her and want her no matter her race. (I still have my doubts about the one tho..) A considerable portion of Catherine Cookson’s books have been adapted into films, radio and stage plays. Jacqueline (1956), which was directed by Roy Ward Baker, was the first film to be produced from her work, based off of ‘A Grand Man’.

It was there she met and married her schoolmaster husband, Tom. The couple were childless and after four miscarriages she was admitted to hospital where it was discovered she had a rare blood disease that was to afflict her for the rest of her life. Read More Related Articles I could not put down this book, racing through it in two days. Catherine Cookson's writing is immersive and brings the period and characters to life. This is the first book of hers that I have read and I am impressed. The Abortion Act was passed in 1967 and was obviously of interest to Catherine Cookson, a pioneer of women's issues. Another indicator of the year: Max Bygraves 'Tulips From Amsterdam' 78 rpm was #3 in 1958,Catherine Cookson was an English author. Before her death in 1998, she was the United Kingdom’s most widely read novelist, boasting sales in the hundreds of millions. Despite her fame and fortune, she maintained a relatively low profile, even in the world of celebrity writers. Catherine was the illegitimate child of Kate Fawcett, an alcoholic. She was raised by her grandparents and, as a child, she thought Kate, her mother, was her sister. Her father was later revealed (by a biographer) to be Alexander Davies, a bigamist and gambler from Lanarkshire.

The Fifteen Streets is as impressive a Catherine Cookson novel as any other; the plotting is irresistible and the characterization explains her renown as a recognized master of historical and romance fiction.I was glad of some romance in the story but did not find it particularly convincing. Rose Angela, out of the blue, was suddenly in love with her employer and they seem to have ended up together by the end. Their relationship felt under developed and I wish it was begun earlier in the story. She is also pursued by an Arab named Hassan. I liked him but he seemed to grow obsessed by her, to the point that he attempted to kill his love rival. I have to say, this book was the first one ever that made me cry several times during the story. I love how the feelings of each character was captured and explained, so you could understand, that sometimes even the stupidest acts, have reasonable causes behind them. This book thought me that even without the desired happy endings, that each and every one us want, you can find a somewhat happy closure and that surprisingly, this alone would be enough. Britain’s best selling author was made a Dame in the 1993 New Year Honours List. She was already an OBE.

Obviously with it being written in the 60s I was expecting it to not be 100% PC by modern standards. But I was expecting it to have a point - some kind of statement about love and how hatred only begets hatred. The usual from Catherine Cookson. But instead what I got was kind of....nothing. Fate, however, intervenes. John is accused to fathering the child of a local girl, with Mary’s parents immediately refusing her to see him again. The couple learns of the widening chasm that exists between them as they wonder whether they can cross the gulf separating their worlds. It took Catherine a decade to recover from the mental breakdown she suffered following her miscarriages.All across the USA, people are showing up dead. The deaths don't appear to be connected in any way until one particular death occurs and gets the Secretary of Defense's attention. He arranges for a task force to investigate. Anyone that thinks of this novel as little more than fluffy romance will be surprised by the depth they discover. The second half of the book explores the experience of Bridget's daughter Rosie and how her mixed racial heritage impacts upon her life. So as toward off the perpetually settled depression, Cookson found console in writing. She joined Hastings Writers’ Group that helped her hone her writing skills and artistic sense. In 1950, she made her writing debut with Kate Hannigan. Although the novel was categorized as romance, Cookson shared her discontent regarding its stereotypical classification. She claimed her novels to be of historical nature primarily. Half a century later sequel to her first novel, Kate Hannigan’s Girl (2001), appeared posthumously. Subsequently, she wrote numerous novel, short stories and autobiographies in series format. Some of her well known works include The Mary Ann stories, The Mallen trilogy, The Hamilton trilogy, Plainer Still and Our Kate.

Getting in plenty of practice for Ascot's Ladies Day on the arm of boyfriend James Middleton, Donna Air doned a bonnet for Cookson's saga of love, hate and betrayal, spanning three generations. A lot of the work Catherine Cookson produced manifested the uncomfortable research she had to undertake to write her stories, this including going down a mine to study the setting of one of her stories. Hateful of each other, their neighbors and, inevitably, the newest addition to their family, readers are provided a firsthand glimpse into racism in the 1950s, the destruction it unleashed and the families it destroyed. While one went on to become one half of a much-loved TV duo and the other looked to Hollywood for megastar-status, Catherine Zeta-Jones and Declan Donnelly appeared together in historic drama, The Cinder Path, as feisty Victoria Chapman and erm, Stable Boy, respectively.There's also a bit of an antoginist in the form of her uncle, who wasn't killed by her father, but horribly disfigured. He causes trouble for her but in the end is beaten. However the scenes at the end of the book are so vague and POV that there isn't any satisfaction in seeing him finally dealt with. Hateful of each other, their neighbors and, inevitably, the newest addition to their family, readers are provided a first hand glimpse into racism in the 1950s, the destruction it unleashed and the families it destroyed. Well, Vanessa's dad is furious. His daughter in pregnant and married to a "common" man. Angus's mom is furious. She is worked off her feet and now she has to take care of Vanessa too. Angus's sister is furious for reasons of her own. Everybody is furious! It's only a matter of time before the you know what hits the fan!