A LANCASHIRE LASS ( THE MILL TOWN LASS ) BY LIBBY ASHWORTH
PAPERBACK PUBLISHED BY ARROW BOOKS 6Th AUGUST 2020
LANCASHIRE, 1832
Maids Hannah and Mary finds themselves with no jobs and no home when their employer, Henry Sudell, loses all his money and disappears in the middle of the night, leaving them with no choice but to return to Blackburn. Hannah is lucky enough to be taken in by her sister Jennet and brother-in- law Titus, but Mary must seek lodgings in the infamous star beerhouse.
With no support for the working class and an influx of workers from the countryside, jobs are scarce, and Mary attempts to get her job back as a weaver are in vain. She has little choice but to remain at the beerhouse, forced to risk her reputation and even her life.
In the middle of a cholera outbreak and with political upheaval at its most tense, will Mary ever find a way to recover all she’s lost?
MY REVIEW
Lancashire Lass is a historical saga and the second page turning novel in the inspirational Mill Town Lasses Series. Libby Ashworth books are perfect for fans of Val Wood and Catherine Cookson.
PART OF CHAPTER ONE
Gone? Gone where? asked Hannah.
Sally, the scullery maid, shrugged her shoulders.
I came down to set the fires and get the water on to boil, but Cook never showed up and when I knocked on her door there were nobody there. All the bedrooms are empty. Upstairs and down.
Mary hurried in, pushing her hair into her cap.
What’s to do? She asked when she saw their faces.
Sal says everyone’s gone.
Don’t ever daft, said Mary, glancing at the row of bells high on the wall as if she expected them all to start tinkling at any moment. We’d best get started on making some tea and toast before MrsSlater gives us a telling off. I’ll scramble the eggs. She reached for a dish and the bowl of eggs and began to break them one by one, whisking as she went.
Sal says the family’s all disappeared as well said Hannah, reaching out to stay Mary’s hand as she picked up another egg.
ABOUT AUTHOR LIBBY ASHWORTH
Libby Ashworth writes sagas set in Lancashire in England where she was born and brought up.
Libby still lives in Lancashire and is passionate about its history. She can trace her direct ancestors back to the village of Whalley in the Middle Ages. Many of her ancestors worked in the cotton industry – first as home-based spinners and hand loom weavers, and later in the mills of Blackburn. It is their lives Libby has drawn on to tell her stories.
Libby also writes historical fiction under the name Elizabeth Ashworth.
http://www.elizabethashworth.com
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