Morland Dynasty Books
In the Morland Dynasty series, the majestic sweep of English history is richly and movingly portrayed through the fictional lives of the Morland family. It is 1501, and Paul, great grandson of Eleanor Morland, has inherited the estate and has a son to follow him. But he fathers an illegitimate boy by his beloved mistress, and bitter jealously between the half-brothers causes a destructive rift that leads to tragedy. Paul’s niece Nanette becomes maid-in-waiting to Anne Boleyn, and at the court of Henry VIII witnesses first hand the events leading up to the rift with Rome, her mistress’s execution, and the further efforts of the sad, ailing king to secure the male succession.
1630: after long years of peace the reign of Charles I brings brutal civil war to England. The clash between King and Parliament is echoed at Morland Place when Richard brings home a Puritan bride while his brother, Kit, joins Prince Rupert and the Royalist cavalry, leaving their father Edmund desperately trying to steer a middle course between the fighting factions. As the war grinds on, bitterness and disillusion replace the early fervour, and the schisms between husband and wife, father and son, grow deeper. Edmund struggles grimly through it all in an attempt to keep the Morland fortune intact, but he is thwarted by the estrangement between his sons and then alienated from his beloved wife, Mary.
1659: Cromwell's protectorate is drawing to a close, and the restoration of the monarchy can only improve the fortunes of the Morland family. The years of civil war and their aftermath have left Morland Place in dire straits, but with the return of the King, Ralph Morland believes he can rebuild the family estates. For his beautiful and ambitious cousin, Annunciata, the Restoration means a journey to London - one that leads to the amours and intrigues of Charles's court and to the unlocking of her mysterious past. A new and kinder age is dawning - a time for healing wounds - but more uncertainty, conflict and sorrow await both Ralph and Annunciata before they can find peace and forgiveness...
1670: King Charles II's reign has brought peace and prosperity to the Morland family, but James II's ascent to the throne will shatter their restored fortunes. In Yorkshire, Morland Place has flourished during the Restoration, and in London the beautiful and sprited Annunciata, is now Countess of Chelmsford, a wealthy and well-connected woman, intimate with the Royal Family. But storm clouds gather over them all when the reign of James II brings rebellion and discord. Trouble is never far from Annunciata in these turbulent times. Jealousy, betrayal and violent death threaten her children, and for Annunciata herself comes the anguish of love lived in the long shadow of secrecy, a love that can only lead to tragedy.
In the Morland Dynasty series, the majestic sweep of English history is richly and movingly portrayed through the fictional lives of the Morland family. It is 1689, and Annunciata, fiercely loyal to the Stuart cause, follows King James II into exile, leaving her gentle grandson Matt to care for Morland Place. In her absence he contracts an unwise marriage with India Neville, a woman as heartless as she is beautiful, who drives him between the extremes of passionate love and deep despair. When James IIIthe Chevalierreturns to claim the Stuart throne, the Morlands are reunited in one country. The rebellion fails, and Annuniciata’s sons are on trial for their lives, but defeat and even death itself cannot conquer the Morland sprit.
In the Morland Dynasty series, the majestic sweep of English history is richly and movingly portrayed through the fictional lives of the Morland family. It is 1720, and political intrigue is rife as the Stuart-Hanoverian struggle continues. Jemmy, heir to Morland Place, contracts a dutiful marriage to the chilly Lady Mary in order to secure Hanoverian protection and safeguard his inheritance. Morland lives are riven by the '45 rebellion and the bloody massacre at Culloden, and at their lowest point, their fortunes rest in the small hands of Jemmy’s daughter Jemima. Intelligent and single-minded, Jemima proves a capable caretaker of the Morland heritage, and although Morland Place and its lands suffer from the excesses of her dissolute husband, her quiet courage earns her an abiding love and loyalty.
In the Morland Dynasty series, the majestic sweep of English history is richly and movingly portrayed through the fictional lives of the Morland family. It is 1772, and England is peaceful under George III, and Morland Place flourishes under the careful tending of Jemima and her loyal husband Allen. Their seven children often bring them heartache, but they are sustained by their love for each other and their absorbing interest in improving the estate lands. But beyond England’s shores things are not so calm. Morland cousins find themselves embroiled in the American war for independence, and the family’s bastard offshoot, Henri, disports himself in the salons of Paris while outside revolution creeps closer.
In the Morland Dynasty series, the majestic sweep of English history is richly and movingly portrayed through the fictional lives of the Morland family. It is 1788, and in France, as the revolution begins, Henri, the bastard offshoot of the Morland family, strives to protect his family. He binds his daughter Heloise in loveless marriage to a Revolutionary, and allies himself with the vigorous Danton. But in the bloodbath of the Terror and the fall of Danton, Henri goes to the guillotine and Heloise flees to England where she is welcomed warmly by the Morland family. In Yorkshire Jemima’s troublesome brood cause her anxietyespecially her youngest, Lucy, who disguises herself as a boy and runs away to seabut at last she sees three of her children marry and the hope of an heir to Morland Place.
In the Morland Dynasty series, the majestic sweep of English history is richly and movingly portrayed through the fictional lives of the Morland family. It is 1705, and the shadow of Napoleon is falling across Europe, and a restlessness seems to be changing mores and loosening society’s restraints. At Morland Place, James’ marriage to Mary Ann is falling apart; Lucy’s to Chetwyn is in the balance as she embarks on a blatant affair with a sea officer; and William supports a mistress he cannot marry. Mary goes to sea with her husband Captain Haworth and is caught up in the battle of the Nile; and as war becomes inevitable, Lucy knows she must say goodbye to her love as every fighting captain waits eagerly for his commission.
1803: Napoleon is poised to invade England, with only Nelson's weather-beaten ships in his way, but the French fleet are not the only threat to the fortunes of the Morland family. In the North of England, Mary Ann's relationship with the missionary, Father Rathbone, introduces her to the stark realities of life in plague-torn Manchester. In the South, Lucy's lover, Weston, is assigned to the blockade of Brest, while her neglected husband, Chetwyn, finally finds love in an affair which threatens him with disgrace and ruin. From the fashionable salons of Beau Brummell's London, to the shot-torn docks at Trafalgar, the Morlands face danger and personal tragedy, as well as love and fulfilment.
1807: the Napoleonic Wars continue and their violence reverberates in the lives of the Morland family. Lucy trying to rebuild her life after the death of her lover, Captain Weston, is thrown into doubt and confusion by an unexpected proposal of marriage. At Morland Place, the hard-won happiness of James and Heloise is threatened by his rebellious daughter, Fanny. As heiress to the Morland estate, Fanny is determined to claim more than her inheritance, but for those dependent on her generosity, Fanny's decision to marry the unscrupulous Lieutenant Hawker brings only anxiety. These troubled times hold many surprises, and in their darkest hour the Morlands make an astonishing discovery which enables them to face the uncertain future with new strength.
1815: Napoleon's escape from Elba and the preparations for battle entangle the Morland family in a web of romance and heartbreak. The Allied Army is gathering in Flanders, and where the army is, the fashionable world must go- so London society hastens to Brussels to enjoy the most exhilarating Season ever. For Heloise it brings a renewed acquaintance with her former suitor, to Duc de Veslne-d'Estienne; while Rosamund must finally come to terms with her feelings for her cousin Marcus; and for Sophie, a meeting with an enigmatic French major could well alter her future. But as romance flourishes in a warlike atmosphere, the looming shadow of battle only makes the dancers whirl more feverishly. And when the Army marches out to face the might of the French at Waterloo, one question is in every heart: which of them will not come back?
In the Morland Dynasty series, the majestic sweep of English history is richly and movingly portrayed through the fictional lives of the Morland family. It is 1816, and Napoleon has been defeated at last, but victory brings no peace to England. The cost of war has been devastating. Inflation rages, bankruptcies multiply, and many of the ruined flee to the continent, including that symbol of the age just past, Beau Brummell. Discharged soldiers swell the ranks of the unemployed, wages tumble and the bread price soars. It is a tinderbox which takes only a spark to flame into riot. James and Heloise stand guard over Morland Place, but a tragic accident takes the one person they depend on. A devastating scandal brings the Morland name into the glare of public notoriety with a trial in the House of Lords. And Sophie and Rosamund each have to learn the difference between real love and its enticing but dangerous illusion.
In the Morland Dynasty series, the majestic sweep of English history is richly and movingly portrayed through the fictional lives of the Morland family. It is 1820, and the landscape of England is undergoing sweeping change as the country pioneers the steam-driven machine age. In Manchester, Sophie and Jasper face violent opposition to their plans for rehousing factory hands; Lucy brings her sons home from their Grand Tour, brimming with ideas for their future; and Rosamund enters a bizarre agreement with her husband, with tragic consequences. And at Morland Place two brothers grow up with very different tastes and an unspoken rivalry.
In the Morland Dynasty series, the majestic sweep of English history is richly and movingly portrayed through the fictional lives of the Morland family. It is 1831, and as England emerges from the post-war depression, the country is changing, and the birth-pangs of a new age brink it to the brink of revolution. Violent times breed violent acts. Sophie’s life is shattered by a hideous crime. Morland Place falls into chaos as Heloise removes her hand from the reins. Benedict is forced to leave home and makes a life among the railway pioneers, leaving Nicholas free to indulge the dark side of his nature. And amongst them all stalks the deadly invisible threat of cholera.
In the Morland Dynasty series, the majestic sweep of English history is richly and movingly portrayed through the fictional lives of the Morland family. It is 1833, and the industrial age is sweeping through England and the Stephensons are planning the greatest engineering scheme ever undertakena railway line from Liverpool to London. At Morland Place, Nicholas had hoped that his brother Benedict had been banished for ever. But railway fever brings Benedict back to York as an engineer on the Leeds & Selby line. When plans are formed to bring the railway to York, Nicholas not only fears his brother may steal his inheritance, but that the iron horse will destroy the very Morland lands. The conflict between the brothers mirrors the nation’s battle between old and new.
In the Morland Dynasty series, the majestic sweep of English history is richly and movingly portrayed through the fictional lives of the Morland family. It is 1843, and after Charlotte’s father dies, she believes herself to be destitute. But a lawyer’s letter reveals she is not only a part of the Morland family, but wealthy and a countess in her own right. She is expected to make a great marriage, and with her vivacious cousin Fanny at her side she is launched into her first season. It is Fanny, the hardened flirt, who loses her heart first, while Charlotte catches the eye of Oliver Fleetwood, the most eligible man in London. But the season ends in disillusion, and Charlotte turns away from the life of idle amusement in search of something more substantial, though it involves flouting convention.
In 1851 the fortunes of the Morland family are more buoyant than they have been for years. Morland Place is recovering under Benjamin's steady hands - happy at last with Sibella. Charlotte, now Duchess of Southport, is shortly to give birth to hersecond child and on the point of opening her modern hospital for the poor. Cavendish's engagement to the ethereally beautiful but slightly silly Miss Phipps causes a stir in the drawing rooms of Mayfair and his wedding causes his family some misgivings. Then the storms in Europe spill in to Britain when the army is forced to defend Turkey against the Tsar. Within weeks Cavendish is in the Crimea and disappears in the Charge of the Light Brigade. Another moving and beautifully portrayed episode in the riveting Morland saga.
Benedict Morland's comfortable life is overset when an old enemy's dying wish leaves him guardian of an orphaned boy. No-one, including his wife Sibella, can understand why Benedict accepts Lennox Mynott into his household and, amid growing hostility at Morland Place, he takes the boy to America, to join his daughter Mary at Twelvetrees Plantation. Here, Benedict, as well as Lennox, fall in love with the Southern way of life, just at the moment when bitter civil war is about to destroy it forever.
In the Morland Dynasty series, the majestic sweep of English history is richly and movingly portrayed through the fictional lives of the Morland family. It is 1870, and George inherits Morland Place just before his majority, and though he believes himself more than equal to the challenge, he falls victim to the penniless but determined Miss Turlingham. He marries her against advice, and embarks on a spending spree the estate cannot afford to satisfy his new bride. In London, Charlotte’s daughter Venetia, inspired by what she witnessed in Berlin during the Franco-Prussian war, is determined to become a doctor. But society is not ready to let women join the profession, and her struggle seems doomed to failure.
In the Morland Dynasty series, the majestic sweep of English history is richly and movingly portrayed through the fictional lives of the Morland family. It is 1874, and Venetia is on the brink of marrying Lord Hazelmere when she discovers he does not plan to allow her to continue training as a doctor. She calls the wedding off, and from being the talk of the season becomes the scandal of the year. Estranged from family and friends, she needs all her determination to continue the fight. At Morland place George and Alfreda continue to spend on grandiose building schemes despite the threat of bankruptcy, while Henrietta’s cold marriage to the ascetic Rector of Bishopthorpe brings her close to questioning her religion.
Freed from her miserable marriage by widowhood, Henrietta is at last able to marry her beloved Jerome Compton, but his divorced state means that they have to make their home away from Yorkshire. Settling in London Henrietta finds she takes to urban life with great enjoyment, as does her daughter Lizzie. Soon their home is full of visitors from the best of the city's artistic and scientific circles, and she also makes contact with her cousin Lady Venetia - now a qualified doctor and married at long last to 'Beauty' Haselmere. Venetia's marriage has redeemed her reputation and they find themselves guests at Sandringham and Hatfield. Healthy children are born to both women and it seems as though the comfortable tenor of their lives will never be disturbed again, but clouds are gathering on the horizon and when the deluge comes one of them is forced out of society. Yet it proves more of a homecoming than an exile. Another absorbing piece of English history, deftly told with a rich and colourful background.
In the Morland Dynasty series, the majestic sweep of English history is richly and movingly portrayed through the fictional lives of the Morland family. It is 1898, and on the brink of a new century, the great stability of Victorian England is under threat. Europe is dividing into armed camps, while at home socialism and the suffragette movement challenge traditional values. At Morland Place, Teddy begins to restore the estate to its former glory, while his sister Henrietta’s family fill the house with life, and nephew Bertie finds a haven from the strictures of his own home. As Victoria’s reign draws to a close, war with the Boers becomes inevitable. Young men volunteer in droves, among them Henrietta’s beloved "extra son" Bertie. The Tommies march off singing, eager for a scrap; but what horrors will face them under the burning South African sun, and which of them will come marching home again?
Edwardian England is a country at the peak of its power; a kingdom of peace, prosperity and progress. As Jessie and Violet enjoy their coming-out in the glittering Season of 1908, their thoughts are of pleasure, dancing and falling in love. For the Morlands things seem set fair: new business ventures expand their influence and wealth; there are weddings, babies in the nursery, careers for the boys now reaching manhood. It is an exciting age, with new technologies - motor cars, telephones, radio, aeroplanes - extending man's control over the natural world. But under the appearance of permanence, a different reality is stirring. Socialism, the suffrage movement, the constitutional crisis, all call forth ever more dissent and anger. Increasingly violent protests and strikes disturb the peace; war with Germany looms ever closer. With the King's death, it begins to seem that the safe Edwardian world was only a dream, from which the wakening will be hard indeed.
In the Morland Dynasty series, the majestic sweep of English history is richly and movingly portrayed through the fictional lives of the Morland family. It is 1912, and England still conducts herself with Edwardian confidence; but beneath the surface cracks are breaking society apart. Socialism, strikes and riots, social unrest, and then the disasters of the Titanic and Captain Scott shake the ordered world. Among the Morlands, Jessie and Violet struggle to adapt to the demands of married life; Jack, unlucky in love, designs aeroplanes and trains pilots for the new Royal Flying Corps; and Anne, as the struggle for the Vote becomes more violent, takes comfort in the friendship of an unusual young woman. Meanwhile, the war no one wants comes ever closer.
In the Morland Dynasty series, the majestic sweep of English history is richly and movingly portrayed through the fictional lives of the Morland family. It is 1914, and the outbreak of war is greeted with euphoria. Thousands flock to volunteer. Everyone believes the war will be over by Christmas, so there’s no time to waste. Bertie, a reservist, is one of the first to go to France; Jack is invited to join the Royal Flying Corps, and Ned joins one of the new "Pals" units. The brutal reality of Ypres dispels illusion, but only fuels determination, as the war comes home to everyone, in ways they have not expected.
In 1915 the first euphoria of the war has worn off, but the nation is more determined than ever to win. When Ned is sent to the Front ahead of his battalion, Jessie, already involved in various charity works, feels the need to do more and becomes an auxiliary nurse. But life on the wards is harder than she expects. Meanwhile, Helen and Jack settle in a home of their own at last, and Helen takes on a surprise war role of her own. And for Violet in London, a chance meeting with talented young artist threatens to destroy her calm and ordered life. With stalemate on the Eastern Front, everything now hangs on the new September offensive on the Western Front, the Battle of Loos. Both Ned and Bertie will be leading their men over the top, leaving the rest of the family to pray for their safe return.
1916. England is at war, and the Morland family is in the thick of it, with two men already in France and three more soon to go. Tragedy strikes Morland Place when Jessie's husband Ned is reported missing on the Western Front. His father launches a desperate bid to find him, but the family fear the worst. Jessie, in mourning and frustrated by her job as an auxiliary nurse, goes to London to work in a military hospital. There she is reunited with her old friend Oliver, posted to the capital under the RAMC. Also in London is Violet, whose affair with the brilliant artist Octavian Laidislaw is about to erupt in scandal . . . The Measure of Days paints a portrait of a family, and a nation, at war, at a pivotal point in history. With the onset of conscription, no one is left unaffected. Every man must hold himself in readiness; and every woman knows that when she says goodbye, it might be for the last time.
It’s 1917 and the Allies are determined to finally defeat a weakened Germanyeverything is building up to the summer’s Big Push. Germany strikes back with U-boat attacks to starve England out, giant airplanes to bomb London, and the cunning withdrawal to the Hindenberg Line. Every Briton must do his bit, and the Morlands are involved at every stage: fighting and nursing in France, stoically surviving at home, and finding love where they can along the way. Continuing the great saga of the Morland dynasty, The Foreign Field carries its members into a new set of conflicts and tests their courage to the limit.
Continuing the addictive saga of the Morland family, now with its many branches spread across the Empire and the new world 1918: German troops flood back from the Russian front for an all-out assault in France, before the Americans can join the war. The under-strength British retreat; and for the first time the real possibility of defeat comes home to a shocked nation. At the front, Bertie struggles to bring his battered battalion out safely; at home Jessie, carrying his child, faces her family’s censure. Thomas follows the Romanovs to Ekaterinburg as Russia descends into bloody civil war. Emma drives an ambulance in the FANY, and Jack is shot down. In the last, terrifying year of the war, the Morlands are more than ever in the thick of it, and only love, faith, and compassion will keep the family safe until the longed-for days of peace.
The addictive saga of the Morland family continues, now with its many branches spread across the Empire and the New World In 1919, as the euphoria of the Armistice fades, the nation counts the cost: millions dead or disabled, unemployment, strikes, and shortages. As prices and taxes rise, it becomes harder to remember what the war was for. Teddy tries to recreate balance, but then a trip to France to see the place where Ned fell has unforeseen consequences. Polly, grieving for Erich Kuppel, persuades her father to send her to New Yorkdespite Prohibition, the great city, pulsing with life, promises her a fresh start. Jessie and Bertie, detained in London by Bertie's job, long to start their new life together; while Jack becomes a pioneer of civil aviation, but when the company fails he's faced with unemployment, with a growing family to support. The generation that saw things no man should see must find relief from their own memories. A new world is struggling to be born out of the ashes; but as long as the music lasts, they will keep on dancing.
1925. England is prosperous; the nation has put the war behind it, and hope is in the air. The Jazz Age is in full swing in New York, where Polly Morland is the most feted beauty of the day. But a proposal of marriage from the powerful, enigmatic Ren Alexander takes her by surprise. Her cousin Lennie, expanding his interests from radio to television and talkies, worries that no one knows much about Ren; but his attempts to find out more threaten disaster. In London, the General Strike gives the country another chance to show its stiff upper lip, as everyone turns to and helps out. Emma drives an ambulance again, while Molly runs a canteen, and each unexpectedly finds love, and a new career. But the whirligig is slowing, shadows are gathering over Europe, and the good times are almost over. Morland Place is threatened by the worst disaster of its history, and the Old World reaches out a hand to pluck Polly from the New. The Wall Street Crash brings the fabulous decade to a shattering close, and nothing will ever be quite the same again; but new shoots emerge from the ruins, hope is reborn, and the Morlands prove again that family is everything, and will endure.
The 35th thrilling installment of The Morland Dynasty series takes readers on a wonderful journey from 1931 to 1936 It is 1931 and the world is still reeling from the aftermath of the Wall Street Crash. Polly Morland has returned to Morland Place, saving it from financial ruin. Her plans to change things are met with resistance, however, and she must prove her mettle in a man's world. Jack, war hero and family man, knows that he must make a change for the sake of those he holds dear, so when an opportunity arises that would take him back to York, he seizes it with both hands. In London, Robert is bored with his office job and seeks something grander. Fatherless and dealing with the repercussions of his family's bankruptcy, he must make his own way now that he has been left to the mercy of the world. His sister Charlotte, also frustrated with her life and sure that she will never receive an offer of marriage, longs for something different as well. As the years roll by, the threat of another war hangs in the air, and when King Edward VIII takes to the throne, things seem to be on the brinkof change once more. But like a phoenix rising up from the ashes, the Morlands prove yet again that they will emerge from whatever they must face stronger than ever before.