Blackpool's Daughter: Heartwarming and hopeful, by bestselling author Mary Wood writing as Maggie Mason

Written by Maggie Mason

Narrated by Anne Dover

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Maggie Mason is the pen name of bestselling author Mary Wood
***Previouslypublished as BLACKPOOL EVACUEE in hardback only***

'In the grand tradition of sagas set down by the late and great Catherine Cookson'
Jean Fullerton on Blackpool Lass

Blackpool's Angel - the first book in Maggie Mason's brand new Sandgronian trilogy - is OUT NOW.
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England, 1940

Clara is forced to flee her home as the Nazis invade the beautiful island of Guernsey, leaving her mother Julia behind. She's scared and alone, but her spirits lift a little when she learns she's headed for Blackpool.

Her slight hopes are crushed however when she is housed with and at the mercy of a cruel shopkeeper, Miss Brandon. Clara is worked like a dog, but the warmth of some newly made Blackpool friendships will go far to save her.

Separated from her beloved daughter, Julia heads to London to try and track Clara down but she is thwarted at every turn. With no idea where her daughter is, and the trials of war keeping them far apart, will they ever be reunited?

The perfect read for fans of Mary Wood, Kitty Neale, Val Wood and Nadine Dorries

• Language: English
• Publisher: Little, Brown Book Group
• Release date: Jul 25, 2019
• ISBN: 9781405545471

Maggie Mason

Maggie Mason also writes saga as Mary Wood. Mary was born the thirteenth child of fifteen and throughout her life had various factory, office and home-based jobs, finally becoming a probation service officer before she retired. Mary married in 1963 and with her husband Roy has four children, eight grandchildren, and five step-grandchildren. She got her first book deal in 2013 and has not looked back since.

Reviews for Blackpool's Daughter

[nicx27 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I do love a Mary Wood book. But this is not a Mary Wood book, I hear you cry! Well, it is but under a different name. And that's all that's different. We still have the brilliant, heart-warming storylines, the characters you grow to love (and those that you grow to hate too). She just provides a wonderful read from start to finish.

Blackpool's Daughter is the story of Julia and her daughter, Clara. They're from Guernsey but the island is becoming dangerous. War has broken out and the Nazis are expected to invade so Julia takes the difficult decision to send Clara away to England for safety. What they don't expect is that nobody keeps a record of where the evacuees are sent and so when Julia makes her way to England soon after, she has no idea where to look for Clara. I can't imagine what that must have felt like. The sheer horror of not knowing where your child is, whether they are safe and whether they have found a happy home or not must have been overwhelming, but I understand that it really did happen that way.

Clara ends up in Blackpool, a place relatively untouched by the war. But her time there starts off unhappily and goes from bad to worse really, with the odd glimmer of happiness every so often to remind her that she has to keep going, in the hope of seeing her mother again one day.

The author lives in Blackpool so she knows the area really well and that shows in Blackpool's Daughter. It's really brought to life so vividly, the sea and the seafront, the amusement park, the smell of fish and chips, the shows. Clara ends up thinking of the town as home and makes some fabulous friends.

As I would have expected with this author, I got completely engrossed in the story and didn't want to put it down. Both Clara and Julia go through an incredible amount of pain and anguish, but the author pulls it back so that it's not all doom and gloom and there are moments of real happiness in amongst the difficult times.

Blackpool's Daughter is an emotional, sometimes shocking story of war, family, loss, love, friendship and camaraderie. It's written by, for me, one of the best saga writers around. I know that Mary/Maggie will always deliver a completely absorbing and gripping story with characters I come to care for, just as I cared for Julia and Clara. In case you didn't realise, I loved it!