The Golden Straw

Review Battered by a man she was warned not to marry, milliner Emily Pearson Ratcliffe is healed and her spirit redeemed by the friendship with her beloved employer, Mrs. Awkright. Emily loves and respects her employer like no one else in her life, so she's tolerant when Mrs. Awkright pushes Emily to pursue the handsome doctor who makes frequent house calls. The trouble is, Emily sees Dr. Steven Montane as self-possessed and acid-tongued. When the elderly lady dies, she leaves Emily with a thriving business and one request: to vacation in the South of France, where Mrs. Awkright once had the time of her life. Before she leaves, Dr. Steve makes his intentions toward Emily known, and she rebuffs him. At the very same hotel where her employer was so happy, Emily finds herself head over heels in love with a dashing, charming, and very married man, Paul Steerman. But, divorced herself, Emily is drawn into an affair that continues once the lovers return to London. Until the day that Emily finds herself pregnant. While the women who work for her surround her with love and support, her dashing hero all but deserts her. And then his other, older mistress of eighteen years tracks Emily down and beats her so badly that Emily looses the baby. And now she's lost another ally-- Dr. Steve tells her that he's engaged and will be married in the next year. But then Emily is raped by Paul, her former lover, and Steve can no longer allow his pride to get in the way of caring for the woman he has always loved. He proposes marriage, and Emily accepts. Only once married, both must learn to live with the far-reaching consequences of Emily's choices.Vintage Cookson! A delicately-drawn tale filled with rich and complex characters! A true morality play about making choices and living with the consequences! A novel filled with both the joy and heartbreak of love! Like a fine red wine, Golden Straw is a story that grows more complex with emotion with each page!Annette Carney --