Facade (Timeless Classics Collection)

by Ursula Bloom

  Quite late that night, Mrs. Parkin herself brought him in his last whisky and soda. She said, ‘It’s sad about Mr. Benson, sir, isn’t it? Of course, we all knew that it’d have to happen sooner or later, but I don’t suppose anyone thought as how he’d go and have another one quite so soon.’

  ‘Has he had another stroke then?’

  ‘Oh yes, sir, and he’s dead, sir. That’s what’s happened to poor Mr. Benson.’ She tried to look as shocked as though it were a personal loss. ‘Poor Mr. Benson, he’s been and gone and died this afternoon.’

  EPILOGUE ‒ 1924

  The new maid was coming up the garden path.

  It was May again and the red may scented the air like country wine. The falling mauve flowers of the lilac were already brown in places, and the syringa was heavily budded. The new maid wasn’t the kind likely to allow herself to be put upon and she wasn’t afraid of Mrs. Parkin. She just didn’t hold with Mrs. Parkin’s kind. She had taken the place knowing full well that it was beneath her dignity, but she couldn’t get anything else to do for the moment. It was that dratted war that had upset things; she didn’t hold with service, and would have liked to have gone into a really nice smart draper’s shop, only they all wanted her to start in the ‘habby’ and she wasn’t ‘habby’-minded.

  So she had come into service.

  She understood that the Lesters weren’t bad, as people go. Both of them had been married twice, and there’d been a bit of a scandal about his first wife; the present one had been married to an old parson, the one at Fincham, and very dull that must have been for her. They had one son, a Haileybury boy, the maid guessed that it would have been the first wife’s child, of course. He was away at school, so he wouldn’t give trouble, and Myrtle was very anxious that nobody should give her any trouble. Her one idea was to get through life with the least possible amount of work for herself, and all the pleasure that she could grab. She was prepared to grab hard.

  She came up the garden with her smart attaché case in imitation ‘croc’ in her hand. She walked towards the front door and rang the bell. If they thought she was going round to the back they were mistaken. The lawn was sweet with the warm afternoon sunshine; the trees quite still. She thought that the yew trees looked a bit dingy and eerie, churchyard trees they were and no mistake. Fancy anybody having the cheek to plant them in front of a decent house! Not that she thought it was such a decent house really, big and old and bulging, with no nice white paint, or a grained door, or anything of that! Myrtle liked ‘anything of that’.

  Mrs. Parkin came to the door. ‘Here, what are you doing here? I like your sauce!’ said she. ‘Your place is at the back door, and round to it you go.’

  ‘All doors are the same to me,’ said Myrtle, and walked inside.

  She saw the mistress coming down the curling staircase, walking awkwardly, and for a very obvious reason. Oh Lord, thought Myrtle, with a son at boarding school she had never thought of them going and having another baby. Why, the mistress looked quite old, nearly forty! She wasn’t the sort to stand for a nurse in the house keeping her running here, there and everywhere. She knew what she was up to, did Myrtle Hodges.

  ‘This’ll never suit me,’ she told Mrs. Parkin.

  ‘You ought to consider yourself lucky ever to get into a place of this kind,’ announced Mrs. Parkin, leading her down the passage that smelt of lamp oil to the kitchen. She was personally thankful that her own life was in its autumn, what with the way modern girls behaved. She was glad that old Mrs. Lester had died last winter, and the new Mrs. Lester was so kind. She was very glad that they were going to have a new baby this summer.

  ‘Lucky? My aunt!’ said Myrtle, and sat herself down with abandoned ease in the chair usually most faithfully reserved for the Parkin behind.

  ‘My God, what are we coming to?’ asked Mrs. Parkin.

  Along the sill the same ripely red pots stood, and on the table the ochred one of day lilies. The rag mat was newly shaken, the whole kitchen shone with cleanliness.

  Then Mrs. Parkin spoke; she said, ‘It’s easy to see that you’ve never been in decent service before, but I’ll have you know that here you behave yourself, or you go, and I have an idea that we shan’t be keeping you very long.’

  ‘Oh?’ said Myrtle Hodges.

  She didn’t care.

  ‘What about your luggage? I suppose you’ve got some?’ asked Mrs. Parkin.

  ‘The man’s bringing it up. He went to the inn for help.’

  Then she heard the sound of their boots in the passage. Mrs. Parkin led the men upstairs with the box, round the twisty corner where they swore, across the threadbare landing to the middle room. Myrtle followed. About the whole place was the essence of romance; even though she herself was prepared to be rude and annoyed and indifferent to it, she had the feeling that her fingers were passing lightly over some sentimental urge that had been here before her.

  ‘In there,’ said Mrs. Parkin, indicating the room.

  The men, puffing and blowing, carted the heavy trunk into the little room and set it down with a jar. The girl crossed the threshold. As she did so there came the dim scent of white-rose hair oil gone rancid.

  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 t
he 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.

  Read Youth at the Gate by Ursula Bloom now from Amazon UK

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  Promises by Catherine Gaskin

  The gripping story of a remarkable woman and the promises she must keep to those she loves.

  A sweeping family saga, from the grand homes of Yorkshire and London in the Edwardian era, to the heartbreak of a French nursing station during World War I, and the glamour of American high society in the 1920s.

  Lally Leeds is just a baby when wealthy Black Jack Pollock finds her abandoned in a Yorkshire street and decides to raise her alongside his own children. As Lally blossoms into a young woman, the love and loyalty she feels towards her adoptive family bring her both happiness and heartache.

  Over time, it is Lally’s strength and devotion which hold the Pollock family together: her dashing brother, Jon; her selfish and self-destructive sister Margaret; and fragile Alice, who must been protected from herself. And the family’s fortunes become entwined with those of another foundling ‒ the mysterious, self-made businessman Brock Weymouth. Lally discovers to her cost that sometimes the most difficult promises to keep are to those we love.

  By the ‘Queen of Storytellers’ ‒ over 40 million book sales worldwide.

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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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  Wyndham Books: Timeless bestsellers for today’s readers

  Wyndham Books publishes the first ebook editions of bestselling works by some of the most popular authors of the twentieth century, such as Lucilla Andrews, Ursula Bloom, Catherine Gaskin and Naomi Jacob. Enjoy our Historical, Family Saga, Regency, Romance and Medical fiction and non-fiction.

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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

  Classics Collection)