Morning Glory

The title page of ''Morning Glory'' lists Julia Cleaver Smith as its author. But Julia Cleaver Smith is really two people - Diane Cleaver and Nikki Smith. ''Morning Glory'' is a family saga about three generations of strong-willed women in the Harlow family. It is set in a small town in northeast Texas in a period spanning from 1917 to 1975, when the main character, Amelia Bliss Harlow, builds a publishing and communications empire. Amelia runs her empire and her family with an iron hand. The climax of the novel is a much-publicized trial in which Amelia fights for the custody of her granddaughter and heir, Kate Morning Glory Harlow. Cleaver and Smith say their plot was inspired, in part, by the famous Gloria Vanderbilt custody case, described in Barbara Goldsmith's book, ''Little Gloria . . . Happy at Last.''


Genre: General Fiction