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Elizabeth Jeffrey's first novel was
published in 1988. Since then she has written a further 15 novels.
Publishers: Judy Piatkus (Publishers) Ltd of 5 Windmill
Street, London W1T 2JA
Click
here for Elizabeth Jeffrey's home page
 Strangers' Hall
(1988) In the year 1591, Jannekyn comes to Colchester to make her home
with her uncle and escape the tyranny of the Spanish Inquisition in
Flanders. But her
uncle, a prosperous clothier, is not the kindly man she has been led
to expect and
immediately disowns her, treating her as a servant in his house. Her
life would be
intolerable were it not for Adam, the young Englishman who works in
Jacob's
weaving sheds and plans to marry her. But Uncle Jacob has other
plans for her and it
is not until a dreadful past secret is revealed that Jannekyn can
find happiness.
(An absorbing microcosm of post-Armada England. Northern Echo,
Darlington) |
| Gin and Gingerbread (1989) Set on and
around the banks of the River Colne in Victorian
Colchester. Abigail is the daughter of Henry Chiswell. the town's
richest oyster
merchant. But Abigail is in love with Matthew Bateman. the grandson
of Henry's former business rival and the unwritten law of the
families is that Chiswells and Batemans don't mix. Added to that
Matthew is a poor man...
(.. .a fascinating mixture of history an romance,
steeped in the atmosphere of
Colchester's 19th century past. East Kilbride News.)
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Cassie Jordan
(1990) lives with her widowed mother who runs the Falcon Inn in the village
of Wyford (which bears a remarkable resemblance to Wivenhoe) in the
1880s.
Unable to marry the man she loves, Edward Price-Carpenter, a rich
yacht-owner's
son, she turns instead to Luke Tumbull, a ship's joiner in his
uncle's boatyard. But
life at the Falcon is far from uneventful and there are many twists
and turns and many
colourful characters emerge before Cassie discovers where her true
love lies.
(A gentle tale of loves lost and found. Evening Echo, Basildon) |
Turn of the Tide
(1989) A historical adventure for children. Jan stows away on a boat
bound for England from Holland in order to find the grandfather he
has never met, in
the hope that he can enlist his help to rescue Jan's mother from
war-torn Holland in
1575. But Jan and his English friend Nick must secure their own
safety in a world of
thieves, murderers, traitors and spies before they can begin to
search for the
grandfather about whom Jan knows nothing. Not even his name.
(.. .a mystery thriller of much charm.. .Scotland
on Sunday, Edinburgh) |
The Buttercup Fields
(1993) Set in the village of Wessingford
(just over the river from Wyford) Becca,
the ploughman's daughter is all set to marry George, the
blacksmith's
son, when Becca's
sister Ellen announces she is pregnant with George's child. So Ellen
must marry George and in defiance
Becca marries Jethro Stansgate.
the chair
mender,
who has plans to better himself, even though she doesn't love him.
The
contrasting ups
and downs of the two sisters' lives drives a wedge between them that
only events will heal.
(.. .a
very satisfying read. The judges in the Catherine Cookson
Prize)
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 In Fields Where Daisies Grow
(1994) Sally Stansgate and her family flee to Wyford after a
pub brawl in which her father is injured. At the beginning of World
War One an old
family secret wrecks her chance of happiness and she goes to work in
her Aunt
Becca's antique shop, where she falls in love with Sam Bridges. But
Sam's mother opposes their marriage and Sam has to go to war.
leaving Sally to make a life for herself and her child...
(Let me commend this book for its social empathy.. .John
Firle,
Essex County Standard)
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| Fields of Bright Clover
(1995) It is not until Rachel Gardner's beloved father dies in the 1930s that secrets are revealed, one of which is
that Nellie, the harsh woman she had thought was her mother, was his second wife and that she, Rachel
had spent her first three years brought up by her grandparents, of whom nothing is
known. But throughout her life. running away from Nellie and making her home
at the Rectory with her friend Angela; during the war where she
serves in the WAAF;
and afterwards
(.. .some
delightful characters.. .the
plot is cleverly woven together to reach a happy ending. Colchester
Express)
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Far Above Rubies
(1996) Newly
armed
from India, Laura Chapman wakes to find herself destitute in a Victorian London workhouse with all her belongings
stolen and at the
mercy of Jack Plant,the workhouse overseer. She flees to Colchester to find her
grandparents, only to find that they have both died. Taken in by
the poor but kindly Taylor family she finds work at Beresford's
Silk Mill. where she fights for fairer opportunities for the girls who work there.
Alex Beresford,
son of the Silk Mill owner falls in love with her and in spite of opposition from his
family her happiness seems secure until Jack Plant reappears in her life and threatens
to reveal the secret she has tried so hard to keep.
(Treat yourself to a good read! Jane Cole,
Tidings)
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Dowlands'
Mill (1997) Taking a short cut home across the
Suffolk marshes in the year
1910, Rose Bentley
falls and sprains her ankle. Struggling on, panicked by the rising
tide and gathering darkness,
her imagination runs riot and she imagines she sees a
dead body in a gully. She realises her foolishness when she is
rescued by Michael Dowland
and taken to his home. She finds the mill at the end of the creek a
haven of
comfort and order after the chaos of the farm where she lives with
her parents.
Michael's mother and brother Daniel,
too are charming, as is the little serving girl, Lissa.
She is only too happy when Michael courts her. But once married and
living at the mill Rose begins to discover that things - and people
- are not at all what she
had thought. Only Dan seems to be the open, friendly person she
first met...
(Nice book, well-written. Historical Novels Review) |
Hannah Fox
(1998) is a silver-polisher in one of the sweat-shops in Victorian
Sheffield.
When she has the opportunity to escape and go to work as a housemaid
at Cutwell Hall on the Truswell
Estate her father refuses to let her go because of an old feud.
She defies him and takes the job but finds that the Truswell's
treachery is not
confined
to the past and when she is forced to leave Cutwell Hall she marries
Reuben
Bullinger for mutual convenience. Hannah
becomes a buffer lass, but she is
determined to make something of herself and show the Truswell's
that the name of
Fox is a name to be reckoned with.
(A well-rounded and enjoyable romantic story. Historical Novels
Review) |
 To Be A Fine Lady
(2000) Abandoned as a baby in the 1850s, Joanna was brought up on
the outskirts of Sheffield
by the cruel farmer who found her, and put to work on his
land as soon as she could walk. Despite the hardship. Jo has kept
her spirits up,
strengthened by the knowledge
that she was discovered wrapped in a luxurious blue
velvet cloak - evidence, She is convinced,
that her true mother must have been a fine
lady. She dreams of a reunion with her rich family. When successful
local factory
owner Abraham Silkin
decides that, with a few lessons in etiquette and elocution, she will make him a good wife, Jo believes her dreams are coming true.
From her grand
new home she will be able to start looking in earnest for her real
family. But she hasn't bargained on her forbidden attraction
for Abraham's godson. Nor does she
realise that the truth behind her parentage lies just round the
comer - and will reveal
itself on her wedding day. |
Cast A Long Shadow
(2001) When her father dies in 1916, Poppy Barlow goes to live with
her two aunts at Dale House in Sheffield, a house that looks
imposing from the outside but on closer inspection is falling apart. Against her Aunt
Kate's wishes she
applies for and gets a job as book keeper/secretary to Sir Frederick
Kenton
at the local
scythe works. As Poppy learns to survive in a man's world, facing
prejudice from
every direction, she is tormented by many unanswered questions. Why
had her father
rejected Dale House
and neyer mentioned his past? And what could have happened between
her aunts and Sir Frederick Kenton, her new
boss, that could cause them so
much anguish every time his name is mentioned?
(The plot was neatly contrived, believable, built up a lot of
tension. Historical Novels Review)
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 Ginny Appleyard
(2002) When Nathan Bellamy, Ginny's
childhood sweetheart returns to Wyford
after a season racing with the yacht AURORA in the year 1934, she
expects
him to bring her an engagement ring. Instead of this, he disembarks
with Isobel Armitage, the daughter of the yacht's owner,
telling Ginny he is going to London with
Isobel to pursue his dream of becoming an artist. Distraught at the
tragic death of her
beloved father. Ginny is further devastated to hear that Nathan and
Isobel are to be
married, especially when she discovers she is expecting Nathan's
child. Her hard-hearted mother forces her to choose between being 'put
away' in
an asylum or a
marriage of convenience to a man she doesn't even like...
Published 2002
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 (Published
2003) When Anna
discovers her father's plans to marry her off to an old widower for
financial gain, she determines to escape. Her mother is sympathetic
and secretly helps her to flee Holland and she elopes with her
sweetheart Jan, to England. They go to Colchester, the hub of the
thriving cloth trade, where there is a substantial immigrant
community. However, settling in is not as easy as the young lovers
had imagined. There is a great deal of animosity between the English
and the Dutch community, and riots often break out.
On the advice of the local church
minister, Jan takes up poorly paid work as a dyer, in very had
conditions. Anna seems to have fared better at first, as she is
offered a place in the minister's house, keeping house and looking
after his pregnant wife. But she soon realises the true motives
behind Minister Archer's generosity when he tries to assault her.
Anna runs away from his house and vows never to return. When she
tells Jan, he is horrified but with no money and nowhere to live,
their future is far from certain.... |
 Mollie
on the Shore. (Published January
2006). After the death of her
mother, Mollie Barnes was lucky to be taken in by her Aunt Rose and
Uncle Sam. Rose, however, has never hidden her resentment towards
the girl, and frequently makes her life a misery. Mollie has learned
to live with this as best she can over the years, and tries to
balance her Aunt's unreasonable demands with more than her fair
share of the household chores. But, following an angry outburst from
Rose, Mollie inadvertently discovers the shocking truth about her
parentage. Everyday, Mollie had been working by the shore, under the
shadow or the big house on the cliff, but now she knows that the
master of that house, James Grainger, is her real father, and she
vows that one day she will sit at his table.
Charlotte, the young Grainger
girl, gets stranded on the beach one day and Mollie comes to her
aid. Following their encounter, they become friends and Mollie gains
access to the house. However, things don't go quite according to
plan as she finds herself the unwilling object of James' son's
affections, and matters are further complicated when she realises
she is falling for none other than Mark Hamilton, a distant relation
of the Graingers', who has been betrothed to Charlotte since
childhood... |
 Travellers'
Inn. (Dec 2006) Bethany
and her mother are left destitute following the scandalous death of
her father. They prevail upon their only living relative, Great Aunt
Sarah, who runs a coaching inn that has seen better days. Bethany is
quick to adapt to their reduced circumstances, however, and
persuades Sarah to build up the business again. Trade at the inn
increases, and their future looks secure. However, trouble lies
ahead, not only in the rumours of a planned railway, but also in the
form of Zachary Brown, an itinerant labourer who takes a shine to
Beth, but who is not all he seems… |
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