Doris E. Smith

For a long time Liz's friendship with Steven Howard had been quietly and satisfactorily developing; they were fond of each other, Steven's young daughter got on well with Liz, and it seemed obvious that in due time, when Steven had got over his wife's death, they would marry. Until the glamorous Michelle turned up as an unexpected threat. Or did Steve's brother-in-law Ashley Sutcliffe represent an even greater threat to Liz's peace of mind? Was it competition from Michelle, attraction to Ashley - or the mysterious hostility she could sense around her that was going to give Liz her biggest problem?

After Myles O'Malley's death Johanna wasn't sure why she had come to Ireland to seek out his family, when they didn't even know she had known him, let alone that she had planned to marry him. And when she had met Shay and Douglas O'Malley, Johanna was even less sure....

She wore her heart on her sleeve! Valentine's night spent in the arms of Marcus Ballantyne! It happened to Joy--but not without the leading actor in the TV series "Pilgrim's Game" thinking that she was a married woman with a string of lovers! In reality, Joy was a provincial librarian who hadn't had a date since her boyfriend jilted her--how on earth had she landed herself in this mess? And how could she convince Marcus that she wasn't just another good-time girl hoping to be a notch on his bedpost...but that he was the one and only man she'd ever love?

To Sing Me Home Deborah had the best of reasons - she thought - for having a low opinion of the singer Colin Cameron. But somehow he kept finding his way back into her life.... Seven of Magpies After Myles O'Malley's death Johanna wasn't sure why she had come to Ireland to seek out his family, when they didn't even know she had known him, let alone that she had planned to marry him. And when she had met Shay and Douglas O'Malley, Johanna was even less sure... Dear Deceiver When Haidee Brown masqueraded as a girl named Suzanne Desmond, who was apparently her double, it was with the best and kindest of intentions, to bring comfort to a dying woman. But Haidee found herself involved in the unknown Suzanne's life in a way that she had never bargained for.

When Haddee Brown masqueraded as a girl named Suzanne Desmond, who was apparently her double, it was with the best and kindest of intentions, to bring comfort to a dying woman. But Haidee found herself involved in the unknown Suzanne's life in a way that she had never bargained for.

Mary Collins, is a young women has divided her life between looking after an invalid mother and working in an insurance office in Dublin. For years she had treasured the memory of a young man called Mike who as a Trinity College student had lodged in their home before emigrating. She was in love with him, believed he was In love with her and when she knew he was returning to Ireland believed the time had come to hear wedding bells. She is to be bitterly disappointed for Mike has fallen in love with someone else. Mary does her best to make him see that she would be a much more suitable wife for him and almost succeeds. Two other men also play important parts in her life, Jeffrey Spain. the writer of a radio serial, and Dave Davidson who has made his home in Dublin in an attempt to start a new life after the death of his wife and their unborn child.

It was love that made Charlotte move from a busy animal hospital in London to the peace of a veterinary practice in the Cotswolds. But she was to find that her new employer, the devastatingly attractive Kenneth Carr, provided her with more heart-searching that she ever experienced before!

Which was the best kind of love, Constancy wondered—the warm sheltering sort, or the wild exciting one? And if a girl was given the choice of one or the other, how could she possibly choose? Constancy needn't have worried. When love finally came her way and it was time for a decision, she realized that all she really wanted was Ken!

Ruth had been an impressionable teenager when she met Domenico Rosselli and fell briefly in love with him. But he had gone away and she had never seen him again. Now, eight years later, Ruth had grown up, and had heard that Domenico was dead. But when his brother David asked her to bring Domenico's young daughter Benedicta over to live with him in Italy, she could hardly refuse. But in David, she seemed to see Domenico again, and it was not long before she had fallen in love with him. But with David's interest centred either on Benedicta's glamorous aunt Suzy or his ex-fiancée Sophia, there was no room in his heart for Ruth.

Martin Trelawney insisted on telling Judith that her feelings for his cousin, Hew, were only brotherly -- based on habit rather than mature love. She should put Hew out of her mind, he said. But suppose she fell in love with someone else -- someone who didn't want her?

Kim enjoyed her work as secretary to Giles, her sister's fiancé, at Fallowcarft Woodcarvers in the gentle Yorkshire countryside. She had always loved Giles, and the fact that she knew he would never see her as anything but a 'kid sister' didn't stop her making the best of things and at least giving him all her loyalty, even if he didn't want her love. So when the old lord of the manor died, and it transpired that Giles was not the heir but that the title and all that went with it would go to an unknown cousin named Jeremy Rippon, Kim had more than one good reason for taking Giles's side in the affair. She felt justified in her attitude when the exasperating Jeremy Rippon arrived to take over - but all the same, might not Jeremy also have a point of view ?

To Anna, small has always been beautiful, small restaurant, small pleasures like a day in the country, small dreams about her dilettante boyfriend that never came to anything. Then one day she wakes up in hospital after a car crash and finds the familiar small life has been swept away. She has turned her back on Keith, the long-loved boyfriend, and marries Charles, owner of a carpet mill and a lovely old house in the Cotswolds. But why, how and when ? That is the trouble. She remembers nothing and there is only this stranger, Charles, to tell her. That is bad enough without the feeling that there are still some vital factors Charles is hiding from her.

Deborah had the best of reasons - she thought - for having a low opinion of the singer Colin Cameron. But somehow he kept finding his way back into her life....

Born in 1876, Natalie Barney-beautiful, charismatic, brilliant and wealthy-was expected to marry well and lead the conventional life of a privileged society woman. But Natalie had no interest in marriage and made no secret of the fact that she was attracted to women. Brought up by a talented and rebellious mother-the painter Alice Barney-Natalie cultivated an interest in poetry and the arts. When she moved to Paris in the early 1900s, she plunged into the city's literary scene, opening a famed Left Bank literary salon and engaging in a string of scandalous affairs with courtesan Liane de Pougy, poet Renee Vivien, and painter Romaine Brooks, among others. For the rest of her long and controversial life Natalie Barney was revered by writers for her generous, eccentric spirit and reviled by high society for her sexual appetite. In the end, she served as an inspiration and came to know many of the greatest names of 20th century arts and letters-including Proust, Colette, Edna St. Vincent Millay, Isadora Duncan, Gertrude Stein, Ezra Pound, and Truman Capote.A dazzling literary biography, Wild Heart: A Life is a story of a woman who has been an icon to many. Set against the backdrop of two different societies-Victorian America and Belle Epoque Europe- Wild Heart: A Life beautifully captures the richness of their lore.

Maggie Campbell had no doubts about her love for Angus MacAllan, or his for her. She might be his second wife, but she knew without a second thought that he loved her as much as he had loved Jean. At least, this was what Maggie thought until after the wedding and then the secret little niggling fears and suspicions began to creep into her unwilling mind. Had Angus really married her for the money he thought she had? Hadn't he wanted to marry his old friend Barbara Terry — who hadn't as much to offer as Maggie had ? It all added up to the fact that she just did not have the whole of Angus's heart. Was it really true ? And if it was, how could Maggie deal with the situation?

This story deals with further episodes in the lives of John and Gail Siberry, the young married couple of whom the author has written in an earlier novel - Star To My Barque. It is a story of a well-adjusted marriage that nudges to failure through the wife's desire to stay with her pleasant village life where she can play the young Lady Bountiful and then is jerked to re-appraisal by an intrusion from the past. The setting moves from a small Irish village to the Cotswold country. Major incidents include a serious accident with its prolonged effects, and quite an involved affair of mistaken identity which causes much worry and misunderstanding until the problem is eventually solved.

For most of her life, it seemed to Lucinda, Nicholas Dent had bullied and managed her - for her own good, he hastened to tell her, but the young teenage Lucinda had only resented his efforts. But even Nicholas had had to take a back seat when she married Job and went off to live a life of her own. Now that marriage was over, and Lucinda was alone again — this time with two small children to cope with as well. And although she managed to cope very well, she couldn't help a certain feeling of relief when Adrian Abercrombie came along and she found herself falling in love again. Yet once again Nicholas was taking it upon himself to interfere. Why couldn't he leave her alone ?

It had been Bobbie herself who had terminated her short-lived engagement to Dr. Andrew Lamb. She had her pride and could only take so much of the Lamb family’s opinion that their housekeeper’s niece was honoured indeed to become engaged to the son of the family. She left Scotland behind her and soon became involved in the success of The Black and White Door television series - and also in the life of one of its stars, John Craig. There was, however, one good reason why any relationship between Bobbie and John could not develop beyond a certain stage - and why the doors between Bobbie and Andrew could remain open.

When Maria's husband a vet, is killed in a road accident, her one aim is to keep the practice going for Sim, her young stepson. Herself a vet, she works tirelessly, earning the admiration of all in the little Highland town. And then the Castle, vacant since the death of the old Laird, is bought by an international syndicate, and Allan Falconer, a Scottish director, arrives to put their plans into action. Maria's premises are on a lease from the Castle and the future looks menacing, but why can she not consistently detest Allan, and why does she find herself sometimes envying Laura, the architect he has brought with him?