Copyright
Published by HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd
1 London Bridge Street
London SE1 9GF
www.harpercollins.co.uk
First published in Great Britain by HarperCollinsPublishers 1996
This edition published by Harper 2017
Copyright © Barbara Erskine 1996 and as follows:
The Toy Soldier (Womans Weekly) 1996; Writer (Chic Magazine) 1996; Aboard the Moonbeam (Womans Story) 1976; Dance Little Lady (Rio) 1981; Distant Voices (Womans Weekly) 1994; A Family Affair (Rio); The Fate of the Phoenix (Womans Weekly) 1993; Flowers for the Teacher (Your Story) 1975; Moment of Truth (Romance Magazine) 1978; The Poet (Judy) 1976; Strangers Choice (Scottish Home & County); A Test of Love (Romance) 1976; To Adam, a Son (Truly Yours) 1975; Watch the Wall, My Darling (Womans Realm) 1989; When the Chestnut Blossoms Fall (Womans World); Choices (Sunday Post) 1996; Island Shadows (Sunday Post) 1996
Cover layout design © HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd 2017
Cover images © Shutterstock.com
Barbara Erskine asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work.
A catalogue copy of this book is available from the British Library.
This novel is entirely a work of fiction. The names, characters and incidents portrayed in it are the work of the authors imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is entirely coincidental.
All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins.
Source ISBN: 9780008180911
Ebook Edition © January 2017 ISBN: 9780007375103
Version: 2017-09-08
Praise
Written with imagination, and spiced with a sharp observation of human foibles. Youll be hard-pressed to find a better book for your bedside table.
Yorkshire Evening Post
Dedication
In Memory of
Uncle Stuart
STUART ERSKINE BIRRELL
18871916
a kindred spirit
Table of Contents
Cover
Title Page
Copyright
Praise
Dedication
Preface
Distant Voices
The Drop Out
Moment of Truth
The Duck Shoot Man
Frost
The Fairy Child
Who Done It?
Watch the Wall, My Darling
OBE
The Gift of Music
Island Shadows
A Test of Love
Witchcraft for Today
The Poet
The Toy Soldier
To Adam a Son
Writer
The Fate of the Phoenix
When the Chestnut Blossoms Fall
The Inheritance
Dance Little Lady
Rosemary and Thyme
Flowers for the Teacher
A Family Affair
Networking
Catherines Cat