Early 19th Century.
Hariot's life is changed forever when she makes the fateful decision to take Julia in as her companion...
Tension soon arises with the unexpected arrival of Hariot's troublesome stepson, sixteen-year-old Pelham, who comes to stay following a short stint in jail.
While Pelham increasingly comes to resist the authority of his stepmother, matters are not helped by the stifling presence of Hariot's brother, Sir Miles Cary, whose harsh discipline of the young man is also met with resistance.
Caught up in the power struggle is Julia, who is torn between her growing attraction to Pelham and the possibility of finally marrying an eligible bachelor - Miles Carey.
But Pelham's growing infatuation with Julia and jealous hatred of Miles threatens to turn all of their lives upside down...
The Swan is a compelling tale of dangerous passions and inner conflicts set in the heart of the English countryside.
'Miss Steen is a superb manipulator of scene, and she makes her places as alive as her people' - Daily Telegraph
'Rich and enjoyable' - The Observer
'fine scenes and piquant portraits' - The Sunday Times
'a vivid narrative' - Manchester Guardian
'full of colour and character' - John o' London's Weekly
'rich, lavish, violent, passionate' - Evening News
Marguerite Steen (12 May 1894 - 4 August 1975) was a British writer. Very much at home among creative people, she wrote biographies of the Terrys, of her friend Hugh Walpole, of the 18th century poet and actress (and sometime mistress to the Prince of Wales) Mary 'Perdita' Robinson, and of her own lover, the artist Sir William Nicholson. Her first major success was Matador (1934) , for which she drew on her love of Spain, and of bullfighting. Also a best-seller on both sides of the Atlantic was her massive saga of the slave-trade and Bristol shipping, The Sun Is My Undoing (1941) . She was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature in 1951.
Genre: Literary Fiction
Hariot's life is changed forever when she makes the fateful decision to take Julia in as her companion...
Tension soon arises with the unexpected arrival of Hariot's troublesome stepson, sixteen-year-old Pelham, who comes to stay following a short stint in jail.
While Pelham increasingly comes to resist the authority of his stepmother, matters are not helped by the stifling presence of Hariot's brother, Sir Miles Cary, whose harsh discipline of the young man is also met with resistance.
Caught up in the power struggle is Julia, who is torn between her growing attraction to Pelham and the possibility of finally marrying an eligible bachelor - Miles Carey.
But Pelham's growing infatuation with Julia and jealous hatred of Miles threatens to turn all of their lives upside down...
The Swan is a compelling tale of dangerous passions and inner conflicts set in the heart of the English countryside.
Praise for Marguerite Steen
'Miss Steen is a superb manipulator of scene, and she makes her places as alive as her people' - Daily Telegraph
'Rich and enjoyable' - The Observer
'fine scenes and piquant portraits' - The Sunday Times
'a vivid narrative' - Manchester Guardian
'full of colour and character' - John o' London's Weekly
'rich, lavish, violent, passionate' - Evening News
Marguerite Steen (12 May 1894 - 4 August 1975) was a British writer. Very much at home among creative people, she wrote biographies of the Terrys, of her friend Hugh Walpole, of the 18th century poet and actress (and sometime mistress to the Prince of Wales) Mary 'Perdita' Robinson, and of her own lover, the artist Sir William Nicholson. Her first major success was Matador (1934) , for which she drew on her love of Spain, and of bullfighting. Also a best-seller on both sides of the Atlantic was her massive saga of the slave-trade and Bristol shipping, The Sun Is My Undoing (1941) . She was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature in 1951.
Genre: Literary Fiction
Used availability for Marguerite Steen's The Swan