The first splendid saga of the Howarths of Garth...Lancashire, 1760As a genteel woman with an education but no dowry, Dorcas Wilde has resigned herself to a life as the companion of her spinster aunt.

However, when she receives a proposal from Ned Howarth - a kind yeoman farmer - she puts aside her prejudices and agrees to become his wife.

The couple's family and friends all disapprove of the match. And as the mistress of Ned's farm, Kit's Hill, Dorcas feels isolated and unwelcome.

But as she learns more about the land and the household, she begins to find ways to put her shrewdness and education to good use...

Can Dorcas find her place at Kit's Hill? Will she and Ned find true happiness together?

Or will they come to regret their hasty marriage?

Kit's Hill is the first book in The Brief Chronicles, a gripping family saga set in rural Lancashire during the Industrial Revolution.

'A master storyteller' - Publishers Weekly

'Skilfully constructed and very strong on period detail' - TLS

'She writes so infernally well' - Daily Telegraph

'Stylish, witty, poetic and true' - Spectator

'A good feeling for place and period ... with its roots firmly in the earth' - Home & Gardens

THE BRIEF CHRONICLES SERIES:
Book One: Kit's Hill
Book Two: The Ironmaster
Book Three: The Vivian Inheritance
Book Four: The Northern Correspondent