Mistress of Fairlyden

"As with the first novel, this is a compelling tale of country life and is emotionally and descriptively fullfilling" - The Dumfries & Galloway Standard and Advertiser

As Mistress of Fairlyden, and happily married to William Fairly, Sarah feels her life complete.

But longing to share the joyful news of her pregnancy with Beatrice Slater, her childhood friend, Sarah defies her husband's wishes and goes alone to Muircumwell Mill.

But it is not Beatrice she finds at the mill.

She could not have foreseen the dreadful consequences which are to haunt her for the rest of her life, and force her to become the sole keeper of a disturbing secret.

At the Mill, she meets Beatrice's sly and ambitious father, Edward Slater, whose evil jealousy and desire for revenge lead to a frenzied attack upon Sarah.

Months later little Alex is born; a cripple whose deformity Sarah blames upon herself. William cannot bear the fact that his son will never be perfect and a rift develops.

Bored with the farm life of Fairlyden, and troubled by his son's condition, William sets up a precarious business venture with Sir Simon Guillyman.

Sarah cautiously welcomes this outside interest, thinking it good for William and their marriage. But when Sir Simon dies unexpectedly, his attractive widow poses a new problem.

With a growing family, financial hardship and the secret burden resulting from Edward Slater's revelations, Sarah finds herself increasingly drawn to Crispin Bradshaw, owner of a Yorkshire woollen mill.

Mistress of Fairlyden is the moving and evocative second novel a quartet of life on the land in nineteenth-century Scotland. It follows Fairlyden.

Praise for the Mistress of Fairlyden:"

"As with the first novel, this is a compelling tale of country life and is emotionally and descriptively fullfilling" - The Dumfries & Galloway Standard and Advertiser

Praise for Fairlyden:

"Romance with a capital R" - Manchester Evening News

"A dramatic period tale set in the villages and countryside of Lowland Scotland". - Fife Free Press

"An enjoyable family saga of life in nineteenth century Scotland, when country people lived close to starvation and were subject to the whim of the laird." - South Hams Free Press

Gwen Kirkwood is the author of sixteen Scottish novels and six shorter romantic novellas, including A Question of Love , The Wary Heart and A New Beginning . She won the Elizabeth Goudge Trophy, judged by Richard Lee, when it was re-introduced to mark the millennium in 2000. She lives in Scotland.


Genre: Historical Romance