Our Sweet Violet

Rosie Goodwin

AS the nation waits for our long-awaited spring to blossom, Rosie Goodwin, one of Britain’s favourite saga queens, conjures up her warm and wonderful storytelling magic for the third and final book in her much-loved Flower Girls series.

A former social worker and foster mother, four-million-copy bestselling author Goodwin (pictured below) has penned over forty dazzling historical romances, exploring life and love in days gone by. She was also awarded the rights to follow three of the late, great Tyneside writer Catherine Cookson’s trilogies with her own sequels.

And now she’s back to win our hearts with another gritty and drama-filled tale which stars a young woman whose fate and fortunes change almost overnight when her father dies and secrets from the past turn her life upside down.

In Hull in1905, Violet Stroud has had a comfortable, happy childhood as the much doted-on daughter of William Stroud, the local doctor... and that’s despite a distinct lack of love from her cold-hearted mother Anna.

But when her father unexpectedly dies, Violet’s life changes in an instant and when secrets about the family come to light, Violet finds herself homeless and with no one to turn to apart from Edie Thompson, the family's gentle, loving and long-serving housekeeper. 

Violet and Edie set out on their own to run a café by the docks and life, while humble, starts to settle down. Perhaps, Violet may find happiness again... and even love? But when Violet’s brother, Oliver, comes back on the scene, chaos follows at every turn and while walking home alone one night, something unthinkable happens. With her contented existence and her chance at true love under threat, Violet must summon all the strength she has to put her life back together. Will she ever find the peace that she so desperately desires?

It’s no surprise that Goodwin is one of the most borrowed authors from UK libraries and here she packs in all those human events and emotions – births and deaths, loves and losses, good people and bad people – that have made her novels so beloved by readers over the decades.

Violet’s journey from the comfort of a happy home with her loving father through unexpected change, misery and hardship proves to be a gripping emotional rollercoaster ride with plot twists aplenty and a story full of intrigue and heartache but also friendship, family, resilience and love.

Full of Goodwin’s wisdom and warmth, Our Sweet Violet is a sweeping and romantic page-turner and the perfect ending to a sweet and heady series... and for those already eager for another Rosie Goodwin special, she has a sparkling new series planned for later this year!
(Zaffre, hardback, £14.99)