At sixteen she runs away with a farmworker, and two years later she is alone and homeless with her two daughters.Her friend, Mrs Hart, leaves her big friendly house for Ruby to look after, and it is here that her life unfolds. Her children leave but return when tragedy befalls them. Through all this, the enigmatic Matthew Flynn drifts in and out of Ruby's life. She ignores him until it is almost too late.

Developing Professional Practice in the Early Years encourages the reader to critically consider key aspects of early childhood education and care. The book is a valuable and accessible tool for those on professional pathways to Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) or Early Years Teacher Status (EYTS) or those engaged in Early Childhood Studies programmes or similar degree programmes courses relating to early years practice. This book will also be of interest to those engaged in continuous professional development (CPD) programmes. The book recognises the important contribution that early years education and care can make to children's future outcomes. It can be read in-depth or dipped into when need arises. Each chapter will help the reader to engage with challenging concepts and ideas which underpin early childhood policy and practice. Strong practical elements to the book aim to support the application of learning to high quality practice with young children. The generic term 'early childhood professional' is used throughout the book to encompass the diversity of roles within early childhood practice. The book aims to support the reader to critically consider the complexity of 'being professional' in contemporary early childhood practice by providing a strong theoretical and practice-based framework of the role and context of the early childhood professional. Key features of the book include: * Reflective tasks to support critical thinking about key aspects of professional practice * Case studies to enable the reader to learn from stories and situations about real professionals and their practice * Positive Practice Impact (PPI) boxes to provide specific examples of good professional practice in early childhood. Each chapter of this essential text concludes by signposting further reading - book chapters, journal articles, websites - to build greater depth of knowledge and extend the reader's understanding of early childhood theory and practice.

Millie Cameron is not at all pleased when she finds herself obliged to sort through the belongings of her aunt Flo who recently died. She hardly knew her aunt and besides, she has her own career to think about. But when she arrives at Flo's basement flat, Millie's interest is awakened. As she sorts through her aunt's collection of photographs, letters and newspaper cuttings she finds herself embarking on a journey - a journey to a past which includes a lost lover and a secret child. Picking through the tangled web of Flo's life, Millie makes the startling discovery that all the threads lead to herself . . .

Ex-secretary and ex-mistress of a wealthy businessman who committed suicide, the unpleasant Laura complains to her neighbour that she would have inherited much more than her cottage if a certain will had not disappeared. The arrival of a strange woman with threats of blackmail results in Laura being deprived of her cottage - and more as she receives her full deserts.4 women

A heart-warming tale set in Liverpool and London during the post-war years, from bestselling author Maureen Lee 'Queen of saga writing' My Weekly Liverpool, 1945. Three women, firm friends, return home from the war and try to fit back into their old lives after they've been demobbed. They've been thrown together by the war, and have shared all sorts of good and bad times. Now their old lives seem dull in comparison. But not for long... The younger women, Maggie and Nell, are both twenty-one and are full of hope and excitement; Iris, on the other hand, is feeling apprehensive about returning to civilian life. At the age of thirty, her only wish in life is to have a baby, but sadly this wish has yet to come true. When one of the women falls pregnant, there begins a dramatic sequence of events so far-reaching that the three friends' lives will become more intricately interwoven than they could ever have imagined. Over the next quarter of a century, this story of three remarkable - and very different - women unfolds into an uplifting tale of how three ordinary families become extraordinary.

The third novel in bestseller Maureen Lee's outstanding Liverpool sequence about family life during World War II Two years of war have taken a terrible toll on Pearl Street, Liverpool. German bombs have reduced some houses to rubble and most of the inhabitants have lost friends and family. While sisters Eileen and Sheila share the anxious burden of absent husbands, the conflict for others brings excitement and freedom. Kitty Quigley, stuck at home for years with an invalid father, is forced to register for war work and is delighted to become an auxiliary nurse. And Jessica Fleming, struggling to earn a living, finds herself and friend Rita increasingly drawn to the glamour and excitement of the Yanks.

Liverpool, 1920, and on a stormy September night two women from very different backgrounds give birth to daughters in the very same house. Enemies at first, they become friends, united by their own separate troubles which turn their lives upside down. But friendship between their daughters is another matter...Nineteen years later, at the start of the Second World War, Cara and Sybil find themselves thrown together when they both enlist and are stationed in Malta.

At the age of nineteen, Kitty McCarthy has decided she is going to live a life less ordinary - although she doesn't know quite how to go about it. What she does know is that she doesn't want to get married and raise children in Liverpool like her elder sisters: Claire, who is a mother-hen; easy-going Norah and elegant Aileen. But Kitty's resolve is tested by the unexpected direction her life takes.The combination of an impetuous youthful decision and a chance meeting twenty years later are to have momentous repercussions that will stay with her for ever, and it is her sisters who are the constant thread when other relationships come and go. They know her best, they say, and in the end they know what's best for her - although Kitty would almost certainly disagree...

A warm-hearted story of one idyllic summer and four very different women - from the bestselling author of MOTHER OF PEARL. Brodie Logan's seemingly idyllic life with her once-loving husband is suddenly turned upside down - so she moves to a big shared house in Liverpool, and there meets a remarkable group of people. Twenty-five-year-old Diana seems so innocent and childlike, yet she was responsible for raising her three younger brothers. But suddenly there is no place for her in the only home she has ever known. Vanessa, once a successful career woman, still can't get over the shock of an unexpected rejection. And Rachel, barely fifteen, with her baby daughter, Poppy, is determined to keep the child some people seem set on taking away from her. As they while away the brilliant summer under the trees in the lovely garden of the big house, friendships form that will last a lifetime - but there are troubles on the horizon; after all, nothing lasts forever...

The second novel in bestseller Maureen Lee's outstanding Liverpool sequence about family life during the Second World War September 1940 - the cruellest year of war for Britain's civilians as the Luftwaffe mercilessly blitz their cities. In Pearl Street, near Liverpool's docks, families struggle to cope the best they can. A nasty surprise for ever-cheerful dressmaker Brenda Mahon, and flighty Sean's love for little Alice, show how life goes on even when it appears to be falling apart. Yet while Eileen Costello tries to hide her ruined hopes of happiness with Nick, and do her best by the husband she hoped had gone for ever, Ruth Singerman returns, having escaped from Austria. Even the joy of seeing her father again cannot make up for the bitter loss of her children.

A sweeping Liverpool saga following the fortunes of one woman from the 1940s to the 1990s, by the ever-popular, award-winning author. Annie Harrison has a difficult childhood, and she eventually goes to live in the Grand Hotel with a rich schoolfriend. Marriage follows and when her husband dies, she throws herself into providing for her children. Starting with a market stall, she discovers a talent for designing clothes that develops into a successful business. But there comes a time amid the success when Annie feel she can no longer go on. Then a chance meeting leads to events she has no control over, and at last she finds the happiness that has previously eluded her.

A powerful First World War story of a woman's quest for justice, from the bestselling author of NOTHING LASTS FOREVER and THE LEAVING OF LIVERPOOL. Liverpool 1915. Martha Rossi lives in a tenement with her husband and their five children. Despite working all the hours she can, the family don't have much to get by on. When Martha's fourteen-year-old son, Joe, proudly enlists to fight for his country just to earn his mother an extra shilling, Martha is horrified. She realises the government is turning a blind eye to the scores of young boys who are joining the army. Despite her pleas and protests, Joe is dispatched to France within weeks. Unbeknown to them all, Joe's act of selfless heroism will have huge implications for Martha and all the family. As the dreaded telegrams begin to arrive from the front in France, mothers' hearts are broken across the country. Spurred on by grief of her own, Martha Rossi begins a quest that will take her right to the doors of No. 10 Downing Street. Martha's journey there will be a tough one, but with courage and the support of her friends and family, it will be the most important undertaking of her life.

A wonderfully involving family story that begins in Liverpool at the beginning of the Second World War and spans forty turbulent years. Liverpool, 1939. The Second World War is about to start when pretty Laura Oliver meets Queenie Todd. Laura is twenty-one and happily married. At fourteen, Queenie lacks Laura's confidence and has been deserted by her good-time mother. The two become friends, but when the air raids begin Queenie is trusted to look after two young children, and the three of them are evacuated to a small town on the coast of Wales. At first, it is a haven of peace and quiet. The girls have a wonderful time - and then something happens, so terrifying that it will haunt them for the rest of their lives.

Another wonderful Liverpool saga from bestselling author, Maureen Lee. At the age of nineteen, Kitty McCarthy has decided she is going to live a life less ordinary - although she doesn't know quite how to go about it. What she does know is that she doesn't want to get married and raise children in Liverpool like her elder sisters: Claire, who is a mother-hen; easy-going Norah and elegant Aileen. But Kitty's resolve is tested by the unexpected direction her life takes. The combination of an impetuous youthful decision and a chance meeting twenty years later are to have momentous repercussions that will stay with her for ever, and it is her sisters who are the constant thread when other relationships come and go. They know her best, they say, and in the end they know what's best for her - although Kitty would almost certainly disagree...

A compelling Liverpool story of deep emotion and tangled family relationships which hide a dreadful secret. Alice Lacey couldn't be more different from her sister-in-law, Cora. Alice is married to John, Cora to his hapless younger brother Billie. Both women give birth to sons on one chaotic night in 1940. It is Cora's jealousy and resentment that prompts her to swap her puny baby for Alice's beautiful son. With Alice's marriage in tatters, she borrows money from Cora in order to purchase the lease of the tiny hairdresser where she works. Alice is talented; the business thrives and a chain of salons becomes Laceys of Liverpool. The relationships between the cousins Cormac and Maurice, their parents, Alice's three girls and their eventual husbands and children, combine to give a unique picture of Liverpool in the last sixty years of the twentieth century.

A brilliantly compelling Liverpool saga following the lives of two women - three generations apart. Millie Cameron is not at all pleased when she finds herself obliged to sort through the belongings of her aunt Flo, who has recently died. She hardly knew her aunt and besides, she has her own career to think about. But when she arrives at Flo's basement flat, Millie's interest is awakened. As she sorts through her aunt's collection of photographs, letters and newspaper cuttings she finds herself embarking on a journey - a journey to a past which includes a lost lover and a secret child. Picking through the tangled web of Flo's life, Millie makes the startling discovery that all the threads lead to herself...

Pearl Street, Liverpool, Christmas 1942. Despite the drama and tragedy of the War, the street's spirit and friendship in adversity binds them together. Since her husband was injured, Eileen has worried about the growing distance between them. Lena Newton longs for a baby but with her husband posted in the Navy, it's looking unlikely. And Kitty has hidden away since she discovered her lover was married, too ashamed to return in disgrace with her baby.

Two families - and their secrets . . . A superb Liverpool saga from bestselling author Maureen Lee 'The queen of saga writing' MY WEEKLY 'Maureen Lee is one of those hugely talented authors who writes great women for women readers. Her books don't just have one heroine, they have several. But even by her popular standards, The September Girls is exceptional. ... a thumping multi-generational saga' DAILY RECORD In Liverpool, on a stormy September night in 1920, two women from very different backgrounds give birth to daughters in the same house. Enemies at first, they later become friends when separate troubles unite them. But friendship between their daughters, Cara and Sybil, is a different matter. Nineteen years later, at the beginning of the Second World War, Cara and Sybil find themselves thrown together when they enlist and are both stationed in Malta. It is a time of live-changing repercussions for them both while, back home in Liverpool, the bombs rain down on a defiant city.

The Second World War - a mother must make a heart-breaking sacrifice in order to save her child... 'Maureen Lee weaves intrigue, love and warmth into every page' MY WEEKLY 'A fine writer' EVENING TELEGRAPH 1944. It is spring, late morning, when Flora's life changes for ever. She is standing on a platform in the Swiss mountains, watching as a cattle train draws near. From within the wooden trucks she can hear human voices - groaning, pleading and desperate. Horrified, she begins to run alongside the train, frantically trying to help. But as the train picks up speed, a filthy bundle of rags is thrust through the slats and into her arms - 'Take him. His name is Simon.' Flora stands on the platform, a baby boy cradled against her. And although everything looks exactly as it did moments before, nothing will ever be the same again. Sunday Times bestseller Maureen Lee has written a powerful, moving story of war, motherhood and love.

Set during the Second World War in Liverpool, this is a wonderful Maureen Lee tale - written specially for the World Book Day Quick Reads promotion. On 3 September 1939, Amy Browning decided to start writing a diary. It was a momentous day for so many reasons: it was Amy's eighteenth birthday; her sister had just given birth to a baby boy; and on the radio it was announced that Great Britain was now at war with Germany. For a while, life didn't change very much for Amy. Living with her family in Opal Street, Liverpool, Amy and her friend both got jobs at a factory and spent their free time looking round the shops, or watching the ships being loaded at the docks. But as the months went by, things began to change. The bombing started, and Amy's fears grew for her brother, fighting in France, and her boyfriend Ian, in the RAF...

A heartbreaking story of wartime love, loss and courage, from No.1 Sunday Times bestseller and queen of saga, Maureen Lee. Liverpool, 1937. Trapped in a loveless marriage, Jessica endures her husband's petty cruelty for the sake of her two young children. Her only escape is the local cinema, where she can lose herself for an hour or two in the glamour and passion of the silver screen. But when she is offered a glass of champagne in a Liverpool hotel - and with it, the thrill of her own romance - her quiet life is shattered forever. When her husband uncovers the truth, he is ruthless in his revenge. Left without a home, and separated from her beloved children, Jessica is alone and desperate. But as the storms of war begin to gather, there are others in even greater need. Attempting to help a friend and her children escape from France, Jessica finds herself stranded in Paris under German occupation. To care for her new family in this darkest hour, she must find a courage she never knew she possessed... *Previously published as Au Revoir, Liverpool*

It should have been the start of a brand new life in Liverpool... Patricia, Tara and Aideen couldn't be more excited about leaving Dublin with their father and heading for a new life in Liverpool. Yet it soon becomes clear that all is not as it seems. The day after the family arrive in England, father Bernie hastily sweeps the girls onto a huge ocean liner heading to New York. When Bernie tragically vanishes midway across the Atlantic, the grieving sisters are forced to prepare themselves for a new life far away from home, friends and family. What was their father running from? Can the girls put the tragedy behind them and build new lives in New York? A heartwarming family saga from Sunday Times bestselling author Maureen Lee - perfect for readers of Katie Flynn, Dilly Court and Kitty Neale. What readers are saying about Maureen Lee - the queen of Liverpool sagas 'A great storyteller' Liz, Amazon reviewer 'The characters jump off the page, I would definitely recommend' R, Amazon reviewer 'I never want to put Maureen's books down' Whitehouse, Amazon reviewer 'I couldn't put this book down' Pat, Amazon reviewer 'Kept me gripped from the very first page...highly recommend' Diana, Amazon reviewer

Liverpool, 1942. As the residents of Pearl Street prepare for Christmas, adversity and tragedy bring them ever closer together. A powerful new saga from the bestselling author of AFTER THE WAR IS OVER. Eileen is worried about the growing distance between herself and her RAF husband since he was seriously injured. Why does Nick find every excuse to stay in London on his weekends off, not returning to his loving wife and gorgeous little boy in Liverpool? Lena Newton has longed for a baby of her own but, with her husband posted overseas with the Navy, it's looking unlikely. Lena's lonely days are brightened by visits to the cinema with her neighbour, Mr Ransome, until a familiar face returns to Pearl Street... Since she discovered her American lover was already married, Kitty has hidden away, too ashamed to return to Pearl Street in disgrace with her baby. Finally facing her fears - and her old friends and neighbours - Kitty learns that life has one more surprise in store for her. As the final years of the war are played out, Pearl Street sees friendships forged, hearts broken, babies born and the most joyful of reunions. Once again SUNDAY TIMES Top 10 bestseller Maureen Lee brings to life the small Liverpool street where everyone has a key on a string in their letter box, in case a friend is in need...

A powerful and compelling Liverpool saga of one woman's life from bestselling author Maureen Lee. For Josie Flynn, the war was just the start of a journey that began in heartbreak when she was sent to live with her aunt and uncle. Life took her to Barefoot House as the paid companion of an elderly woman, and seemed to promise lifelong happiness in New York with the handsome, charismatic Jack Coltrane. But once again, life is not turning out the way Josie has imagined and she finds herself back in Liverpool, alone. As she renews old loves and former friendships, and reflects on her time at Barefoot House, she embarks upon a career which is as unlikely as it is successful.