Claire Rayner (1931–2010)

Another book that I read way back but stayed with me. I never forgot the story of street urchins Abel Lackland and Lilith Lucas and who they grew up to be. I didn't forget Jesse or poor Dorothea, suffering from a terrible case of unrequited love; if only she had looked elsewhere, she might have found a HEA, instead of scheming to get the man she loved, hoping he'd grow to love her in time (so pathetic in its desperation).

Why this novel, and the next one in the series ("The Haymarket") were show more never made into a movie or miniseries really puzzles me. What actress wouldn't jump at the chance to play Lilith Lucas! She's hardly the typical heroine (a far cry from it) but, despite her selfishness and heartless attitude, there's no doubt she's entertaining to read about, not one dull scene where she's the star. And not one dull page in this book! show less

The story continues, with the second book as good as the first, perhaps even better. "The Haymarket" continues the "Gower Street" story of Abel Lackland and Lilith Lucas, who have gone their separate ways, but their lives are still entwined, thanks to Abel's son Jonah and Lilith's daughter Celia. Once again, Dorothea (now Abel's wife) plays a part in the story, as does their daughter Abby.

With the first book, I was entertained by the story and characters, with this one, I got more involved show more and could feel empathy for the characters: Abel, who couldn't let go of his feelings for Lilith, Dorothea, who gave all her affection to her son to make up for her husband's rejection, Jonah, who got too little love from his father and too much from his mother, Celia, who suffered so much emotional abuse from her callous mother.... and then there was Abby, a teenage girl in love with a man more than twice her age.

Two scenes that stuck in my mind (and I won't go into detail and be a spoiler) were the confrontation between Lilith and Dorothea over Jonah, where the differences in their personalities was so profound and, towards the end of the novel, where Lilith wants to make her aware of the hold she still has over Abel, and now Jonah as well, leading to a dramatic conclusion.

The same goes for another scene, this time between Lilith and her daughter, where Celia finds the courage to stand up to her heartless mother and assert her independence.

This book, along with the first, needs to become a movie. Why that hasn't all ready happened, I can't figure out, especially with the British love for historical series and romances.

I just want to end by saying that, while I read a few of the later books in the series, they didn't capture my interest like the first two,. which explains why I can't remember much about them. What I do remember is that they lost something special that the first two had. show less

This was the last of the series that I remember and the last that held my interest. I wouldn't give it the top rating I gave the first two, but I would recommend it to anyone who read them as this third one sees the tragic heroine Celia get quite a revenge on her villainess mother, Lilith. It's worth reading just for that.

Like many UK residents I was aware of Claire Rayner primarily as an agony aunt on TV-am in the late 1980s and early 1990s where she gave out advice on a variety of emotional issues in the manner of an all knowing kindly old aunt. I discovered this book recently as my child of eleven years was being taught about the effects of smoking and alcohol at school and I wanted to help find a non-threatening way of handling this delicate and sensitive subject in order to show the negative effects but show more not to sound patronising and preachy. I think I was doing a good job, but this book handles the subject excellently and I was most pleased with it indeed. I recommend it to parents highly and will be reading it shortly with my eight year old too! show less