Goodnight Lady |
 |
 click here for more details, find new or used items |
Martina Cole
|
|
Pages: 704 (Paperback)
ISBN: 0747244294
Pub: Headline
Pub date: 1994-06-16
Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 2654
Reader Reviews:
Great read (0/0 people found this helpful)
I love Martina Cole and this is another great read! I couldn't put it down, she keeps you so enthralled throughout the book. I have not read a book that she has wrote that I have not enjoyed.
Goodnight lady (0/0 people found this helpful)
If you are looking for entertainment in a book, then this is a good choice. The book is easy reading, with different things happening all the time, so it keeps your attention as it is interesting. However, it is rather superficial without giving enough material for character building or much else. You do not get attached to the main character, as in other books. The style of writing is simplistic and probably is adequate for the storyline.
one of the best books i hav ever read (0/0 people found this helpful)
absoultely a must have book for all martina cole fans, from the 1st few pages i was hooked couldnt put it down. brilliant story and unpredictable plot a must read!!
A Good Read....If A Little Unbelievable (0/0 people found this helpful)
Although I quite liked this book it was definitely not one of her best. Firstly I couldn't really warm to any of the characters and I disliked Briony most of all. The book begins with a fiery, comical and sweet old woman (Briony) so I was expecting to admire her but I just found her irritating. The fact that sleeping with Henry Dumas did not repulse her was a little unbelievable, her sister was more realistic. Martina tried to portray Briony as a hard 'face' but all she really was was a madam, how does that make you such a feared individual?? Don't get me wrong, I read the book in three days and parts were great, but it wasn't up there with Two Women or the Take.
Call me madam.... (1/1 people found this helpful)
My mum lent me this when I was staying at hers and having finished Sniper One (see other review) in two days I was stuck for something to read. Not my usual choice, but I found it enjoyable and it is now my guilty secret.
The Cavanaghs were a large family of Irish immigrants struggling in London's East End at the turn of the century. When the no-good drunkard father is offered two pounds a week for the "services" of his eldest daughter by the wealthy Henry Dumas he readily agrees. On reaching puberty, Eileen is callously discarded and her younger sister, the ambitious Briony, seizes her chance for a shot at the good life and takes her place with the reluctant consent of her mother. She unfortunately becomes pregnant and with nowhere to turn, she accepts Isabel Dumas' offer to take the son as her own in exchange for Briony's silence, the house and a large allowance. Meeting and falling for the Artful Dodger-type Tommy Lane changes things and using her windfall, they go into business opening their own bordello (not bad for a pair of teenagers...)
The rest of the book deals with Briony and her family as they go from strength to strength though the path is rocky, violent and controversial. Eileen never recovers from her stolen childhood and dies in childbirth leaving "madam" Briony to bring up her boys Daniel and Boysie (aka Ronnie and Reggie) with devastating consequences. Throughout this, she carries the burden of giving up her only son, but he is never far from her mind.
Quite an epic novel, it reads like a female Jeffrey Archer, the story spanning almost a century though the Great War is strangely omitted and the second glossed over. More historical references may have given it extra credibility and a better time-line I think. Some of the cockney dialogue is cheesey enough to make an Eastenders scriptwriter wince. The plot does stretch credibility at times, but overall it's quite a good read and next time I'm stuck for a read at my mum's I'll check out her other Martina Coles. Just don't tell anyone.... :o)
Similar Products
Dangerous Lady
The Ladykiller
Categories
Amazon.co.uk places this book into the following categories:
Books -> Special Features -> Custom Stores -> Fiction Complete -> Contemporary Fiction
Books -> Special Features -> Custom Stores -> Fiction Complete -> Crime, Thrillers & Mystery -> Mystery
Books -> Special Features -> Regular Stores -> Up to 50% off selected Crime, Thrillers & Mystery Books
Books -> Subjects -> Crime, Thrillers & Mystery -> Mystery -> General AAS
Books -> Subjects -> Fiction -> Authors, A-Z -> C -> Cole, Martina
Books -> Subjects -> Fiction -> By Period -> General AAS
Books -> Subjects -> Fiction -> General
Books -> Subjects -> Fiction -> General AAS
Books -> Refinements -> Language (feature_browse-bin) -> English
Books -> Refinements -> Format (binding_browse-bin) -> Paperback
Books -> Refinements -> Font Size (format_browse-bin) -> Regular Size