This volume contains all three novels of the Mallen trilogy. Starting in 1851, the book follows the stormy lives of the Mallens through succeeding generations, linking the England of Queen Victoria with the dark days of World War I.

Thomas Mallen of High Banks Hall had many sons, most of them out of wedlock. But to all of them he passed on his mark - a distinctive flash of white hair running to the left temple, known as the Mallen Streak. It was said that those who bore the Streak seldom reached old age and that nothing good ever came of a Mallen. In 1851, Thomas Mallen found himself a ruined man, forced amid scandal and disgrace, to sell the Hall. With him went his two young wards and their indomitable governess. Then the Radlet brothers of Wilbur Farm arrived, one of whom bore the unmistakable Mallen Streak.

From bestselling author Catherine Cookson comes a compelling riches-to-rags story featuring secrets, scandal, and emotional drama set in Victorian England. Annabella Lagrange had the kind of childhood that most can only dream about. The only child of an aristocratic couple, raised on their magnificent estate in the English countryside, she was loved by her parents and coddled by servants who acquiesced to her every whim. She was allowed to do anything she wanted, except, of course, to stray too far from her wing of the house. But her seclusion didn't concern her too much, because when she grew up, she planned to marry her handsome cousin Stephen and live happily ever after. However, on the morning of her tenth birthday, Annabella ventured farther than she'd ever gone before. Overcome with curiosity, she opened a forbidden door that led into her father's private quarters, and what she found there showed her with shocking clarity that her father was not the man she thought he was. And though she couldn't know it at the time, the events of that day set in motion the uncovering of a secret that had been kept for many years. So begins the remarkable story of Annabella Lagrange, a sensitive, beautiful young woman who was raised as a lady. But when she turns eighteen, she learns the surprising circumstances of her birth, and her entire world quietly crashes around her. Suddenly she's forced from the genteel surroundings of her youth into the rough, lower-class society of Victorian England, where only her quick wit and determination can save her from starvation. Catherine Cookson was one of the world's most beloved writers, and in The Glass Virgin her powers are at their height. Rarely has a heroine been portrayed more sensitively or a situation more compellingly. Filled with passion and drama, The Glass Virgin is a rare treat for lovers of romantic fiction.

A chance reference to the triplet sons of Dan and Barbara Bensham as "the Mallen litter" creates a bitter resentment in Barbara that is to have far reaching consequences. Barbara married Dan on the rebound from a disastrous passion for her cousin, Michael Radlet, himself now married and father of Hannah. Neither Barbara nor Michael can escape the memory of their love for each other, and when they meet again it leads to an explosive situation.

To coincide with the republication of the Hamilton trilogy, Rosie Goodwin has written The sand dancer in the style of Catherine Cookson - a final instalment to one of her most popular series. Despite her success as a writer, Maisies life has never been easy. But with the help of Hamilton, the imaginary horse she conjures up to escape harsh reality, her humour and courage pull her through.

Tilly Trotter isn't like the other girls in the villages of County Durham. Tall and coltish, she's not afraid of taking on man's work to help out the grandparents who raised her. There's an unusual beauty in her too, a beauty that's envied by the local women and lusted after by the men.

A beautifully illustrated and well-written reflection on one of the most creative prayers in Christianity and a popular study of one of its most charismatic and beloved spiritual teachers.