by Ursula Bloom
The mist cleared.
The room was dimmed for November, and the lights were under pink shades. She lay on the bed and James Blair was looking down at her. It was an impression that had stayed in this room for ever, photographed in the atmosphere, something that would be with the house as long as bricks and mortar held. Now Hugo knew that nothing we have ever thought or said can die. It lives. It is a tune on a wave length for the world to tune in on if they will. It is undefeated and ageless, it is there.
The girl on the bed was talking in a tragic little voice. ‘He lived next door. He was young, oh, I knew that it couldn’t last. It was too much like a fairy-tale, a very beautiful one, but I did love him so much.’
‘Are you telling me of some vulgar infidelity?’ James Blair was asking.
‘The Navy called him back. There wasn’t the time to see you about the divorce. And now there’ll never be the time.’ She paused a moment because her voice had become very tired. Then she went on again. ‘It was so beautiful being together in the summer, and the spring. I’m glad that the baby will be born in the spring, so very glad about that. The snowdrops will be out.’
‘You are telling me that you are going to have a child, and some other man is the father?’ Her voice repeated the words as though they were a lesson that she had learnt.
‘Yes, I’m going to have a baby, and some other man is the father.’
For a moment the silence was tense. Then James Blair spoke.
‘I knew that I should regret marrying you. I thought you weak and foolish, a pretty, silly little doll, stupid, but never wicked.’
She began to cry pitifully. ‘You don’t see that you did it. You drove me to this. You drove me to hate you, you hurt me so much that I ‒ I wouldn’t have gone on living if there hadn’t been somebody else.’ And then, because she had realised the futility of it: ‘What will happen to us?’
‘I’ll tell you what will happen.’ It was James Blair who was speaking now, the man who had never been his father. The man to whom he owed no loyalty and no apology. The man who had not been soured and warped by his wife’s death, but who had caused it. ‘This child will be brought up as my son. I shall never have a child of my own and he will never know who was his father. I’ll make him suffer for this, and he will follow me into the tea office and grind out his life there. He’ll work hard, every day of his life, and I shall laugh to see him doing it.’
‘He won’t. I’ll go back to Daddy. Daddy’ll understand.’
‘Your poor old fool of a father would die of shame. Don’t be more stupid than you can help, Marguerite. Grow up. Realise what you are, what you’ve done.’
It faded out to the sound of her crying. Now everything was bare again, the room was choked with dust, the walls marked where pictures had hung, the carved white marble of the mantelpiece so heavy with dust that it looked like bas-relief. The September sunshine of 1938 was dappling into the room through the broken blind, and he saw her still beside him.
‘You were born here, Hugo. It all happened in this room and that is why I waited here. I could not go on. Perhaps these things react differently on different people. Just as he said, I died, because he had broken my heart. I died. Then, when it was all over, and I had thought that I would be with Richard, I couldn’t be. I had to remember you. I’d got to tell you about it. One day you’d be sure to come here, I thought, one day you’d come up the stairs, and I couldn’t go any further away until I knew that I’d told you and helped you.’
‘But you saw me?’
‘Yes, sometimes. At first as a bundle being carried about. You hadn’t any personality then, Hugo, that had to come before I could see you. But always under the tree I knew you. Always under that tree, and I could come closer to you there.’
‘I felt you. I didn’t know it at the time, but it was you. I hate that sordid tea office.’
‘Of course you do.’
‘I always thought my father was embittered and hated me because I had killed you.’
‘You never killed me, it was he who killed me. You had nothing to do with it.’
‘I wanted to go to sea but he said that tradition came first and all our family had always gone into the tea office.’
‘All your family went to sea, and now you’ll go. You’ll sail away, Hugo, and it will be real and fine and true.’
They had moved out of the room and he had closed the door behind them. The landing was very quiet, it was not so pregnant with memories.
‘But you?’ he said, ‘what happens to you?’ Again she laughed, the child once more, the gay little ghost girl with the fluttering hands.
‘I can go to him. I’m tired of this house, it’s old and unhappy. It always seems to be autumn here, but where I go it will be spring. It will be spring.’
He stood staring.
He was looking into space.
A moment before he could have sworn that an ordinary girl in a pink print frock had stood there, now he was holding on to space, because he was alone on the landing. The house was quite empty.
He knew that he had not dreamt this, it had not been imagination. As he went slowly down the stairs into the musty hall and across the black and white tessellated marble to the big front door, he could not make up his mind.
Outside the old woman was still sweeping leaves into the gutter, and he could see her ridiculous little button boots.
‘Here’s your key,’ he said, and put a note with it. She hardly seemed to notice.
‘It’s a rotten old house,’ she said, ‘nothing much to see in it when you come to look at it, and it means a sight of work.’
‘Nothing to see in it,’ he repeated mechanically.
As he walked away across the square he had an idea that suddenly she felt the note and turned to look after him, probably thinking that he was touched. As he went, he knew that it was into a new life. He had no father. He had no fetters. The destroyer racing across his mind was racing to fetch him to her decks. Tradition held him fast.
A newsboy with a war poster rushed past him excitedly. He saw that the shadows were at their shortest in the street. It was midday.
Wonder Cruise by Ursula Bloom
Thirtysomething Ann Clements takes a Mediterranean cruise which opens her eyes to the wider world, and to herself.
London, 1934. Ann Clements is thirty-five and single, and believes nothing exciting will ever happen to her. Then, she wins a large sum of money in a sweepstake and suddenly can dare to dream of a more adventurous life. She buys a ticket for a Mediterranean cruise, against the wishes of her stern brother, the Rev. Cuthbert, who has other ideas about how she should spend her windfall.
Ann steps out of the shadows of her mundane life into the heat of the Mediterranean sun. Travelling to Gibraltar, Marseilles, Naples, Malta and Venice, Ann’s eyes are opened to people and experiences far removed from her sheltered existence. As Ann blossoms, discovering love and passion for the very first time, the biggest question is, can there be any going back?
An engaging and witty story about an unforgettable 1930s woman; Ann Clements will stay with you long after the last page.
‘Ursula Bloom writes in a delightful way, with a deep understanding of human nature and a quick eye for the humorous things in life. Wonder Cruise … is one of the most entertaining novels we have read for a long time.’ Cambridge Daily News
‘Vividly entrancing.’ Scotsman
‘… with every book she adds something to her reputation … related with all Miss Bloom’s liveliness and easy skill.’ Daily Telegraph
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Youth at the Gate by Ursula Bloom
The touching true account of a young woman’s life on the home front during the First World War.
Ursula Bloom (who also wrote as Lozania Prole) movingly describes how the Great War forever changed the lives of ordinary people in Britain.
When Ursula says goodbye to both her suitor and brother as they go to war, patriotic excitement soon turns to worry and despair.
This memoir vividly brings to life the experiences of people struggling to live through World War I. Ursula Bloom’s honest and heartfelt story shows us the challenges of food rationing and the constant bombing by Zeppelins overhead. Rumours of German spies abound, and even Ursula and her mother find themselves under suspicion by their neighbours.
Ursula’s autobiography also looks at the realities of life in the early twentieth century, when operations were carried out on the kitchen table, a pregnant woman shouldn’t be seen in public, and an officer and a private couldn’t mix under the same roof.
Not only the realities of war force an innocent Ursula to grow up. She must face her mother’s serious illness, the demons of her husband-to-be, and the snobbery of his wealthy family. There are lighter moments too, such as the tale of the Bloom’s fictitious maid, Emily, who they have to invent rather than admit that they can’t afford a servant.
Ursula Bloom went on to become a bestselling novelist, playwright and journalist. This moving autobiography is a must for all of those interested in life at home during the Great War, as well as for fans of her novels, such as Wonder Cruise.
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Victoria Four-thirty by Cecil Roberts
London, 1937. A world famous composer, a honeymooning couple, a novelist in search of a plot, a German film star, a young crown prince and a sister of charity are among the disparate group of travellers on the boat train to continental Europe.
‘It would be very interesting to know the life history of everybody on this train – why we are travelling on it …’
Set amid the political upheaval of the 1930s, this is the witty, insightful and bittersweet story of the passengers on the Four-thirty from Victoria. Each is facing a different journey, with their own hopes, fears and challenges; and for some, their lives will cross in unexpected ways.
The 80th anniversary edition of the newly rediscovered classic bestseller from the 1930s.
A splendid achievement, with a classic quality.’ Daily Telegraph
‘What a good novelist …’ Sunday Times
‘A book of considerable imaginative quality.’ The Guardian
‘A marvel of construction and execution …’ Yorkshire Post
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Wind on the Heath by Naomi Jacob
A moving story of family ties and true love battling against the odds in wartime Yorkshire.
From their first meeting there is an undeniable attraction between Liz Tancred and Michael Anderson, but convention means they must keep their feelings to themselves, for now.
Liz is a courageous woman whose life is not all that it seems. Michael is a dutiful young man who steps in to run his family’s farm when tragedy strikes.
Then, the outbreak of World War II changes everything. As Liz and Michael rise to the challenges of wartime life, can their love blossom and, more importantly, will it survive?
From the bestselling author of The Gollantz Family Saga.
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The Print Petticoat by Lucilla Andrews
‘Arguably the best of all writers of hospital fiction.’ Nursing Times
A moving story of heartache and hope in the Maternity Unit of a busy 1950s teaching hospital.
Joanna Anthony is a dedicated Nursery staff nurse at St Gregory’s Hospital. The nurses and doctors share laughter and tears as they tend to the mothers and babies in their care.
There is time for romance, too. After five years together, is ambitious Dr Richard Everley finally ready to settle down with Joanna? And what of the two other young doctors who have more than a professional interest in her?
It takes a serious illness for Joanna to understand where, and with whom, her future really lies.
This engaging story of the everyday experiences of a 1950s nurse, vividly brings to life the colourful characters, drama, love and loss to be found on a hospital ward.
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A Shaft of Light by John Finch
The poignant story of young people growing up during the beginning of the Second World War.
Life in a Yorkshire mining village is tough, as families struggle to survive the harsh deprivations of working class life, and to keep hope, spirit and dignity alive.
Denis and Ted are best friends, but in some ways their lives are world’s apart. Shopkeeper’s son Denis questions what the future may hold for him. The advent of war shows him the possibilities of a life far from all he knows. Yet Ted, from the poorest part of the village, dreams only of becoming a man and starting to work down the pit, like his father before him. Both boys are drawn to Jean, a bold, spirited young woman from their village, but only one of them can win her heart.
The youngsters face the challenges and responsibilities of growing up, as they experience love, death and desire, and the consequences which will change their lives forever.
From the acclaimed creator and writer of the classic television family sagas A Family at War and Sam, and former Coronation Street scriptwriter, John Finch. Previously published as Cuddon Return.
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TIMELESS CLASSICS COLLECTION
by Ursula Bloom
Wonder Cruise
Three Sisters
Dinah’s Husband
The Painted Lady
The Hunter’s Moon
Fruit on the Bough
Three Sons
Facade
Forty is Beginning
The Passionate Heart
Nine Lives
Spring in September
Lovely Shadow
The Golden Flame
Many more titles coming soon
www.ursulabloom.com
Ursula Bloom: A Life in Words podcast
Listen to the free, five-part podcast series based on the autobiographical writing of Ursula Bloom. The podcast covers Ursula’s life as a young woman on the Home Front in the Great War, and her rise to success and fame in the publishing world of the 1920s to 1940s.
www.ursulabloom.com/ursula-bloom-a-life-in-words-podcast