Product details
- ISBN 9781806002153
- Weight: 485g
- Dimensions: 152 x 229mm
- Publication Date: 30 Sep 2025
- Publisher: Boldwood Books Ltd
- Publication City/Country: GB
- Product Form: Hardback
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Paisley, Scotland 1775
In the midst of a street brawl, Margaret Knox first encounters Islay McInnes, a Highland girl struggling to support herself and her two cousins in the Paisley slums.
Their two lives are polar opposites. Islay, at sixteen, spins yarn to make ends meet whilst Margaret, wife to a surgeon and teacher at the pauper school, pursues charitable endeavours to ease the plight of those less fortunate.
With the slums rife with illness and as the pox begins to spread Margaret seeing it as her Christian duty to help, persuades her friend Jamie Todd to allow Islay and her cousins to live above his weaving shop.
Meanwhile Islay is torn when she receives a marriage proposal that would mean moving away from all she knows and cares for, especially Margaret. But when she falls for a man who doesn’t seem to care for her at all, the consequences are disastrous.
Can Islay stay in the new home she has grown to love and can Margaret hold together a family beset by conflict and illness?
Will their friendship help them navigate difficult times?
Book two in the bestselling The Paisley Women saga series from Evelyn Hood, the original Scottish saga writer. Storytelling at its best 💫Previously published in paperback as A Matter of Mischief
PRAISE FOR EVELYN HOOD
'Compelling from the start, heartfelt and beautifully written.' - Rosie Clarke
'If you like Catherine Cookson, you’ll love Evelyn Hood’s books.’ - Lizzie Lane
‘Evelyn Hood’s characters step off the page and into your heart.’ - Sheila Riley
‘This is addictive and heartfelt storytelling, with colourful characters you'll never want to say goodbye to.’ - Jane Lark
''Loved the strong, relatable characters. A lively, refreshing read.' - Kate Eastham
'Wonderfully descriptive, with memorable characters and a true sense of place.' - Tracy Baines
'Faultless historical detail and emotionally complex characters makethese engrossing and intelligent Evelyn Hood's sagas deeply satisfying' - Maisie Thomas
‘Evocative, beautifully rich, brilliantly detailed and meticulously researched - this story transported me and kept me up way past my bedtime - a triumph of a story. I very highly recommend Evelyn Hood’ – Renita D’Silva
'Scotland's Catherine Cookson' - Scots Magazine
‘Hood is immaculate in her historical detail’ - Scottish Herald
'Quite simply, I couldn't put it down. A rich and rewarding read' - Emma Blair
'Evelyn Hood has been called Scotland's Catherine Cookson. Unfair. She has her own distinctive voice' - Scots Magazine
‘Touching, romantic and unforgettable’ - Reader Review
‘Love all her books’ - Reader Review
‘Evelyn Hood produces the best of stories’ - Reader Review
‘I cannot put her books down’ - Reader Review
‘Love everything Evelyn Hood writes’ - Reader Review
‘Evelyn Hood is a fantastic writer, bringing the past to life and drawing you right into the story’ - Reader Review
