Jean Mead Homepage
THE WIDOW MAKERS
ISBN 9781903490693
Re-published May 1st 2011
Pegasus Elliot Mackenzie
Cambridge
This is the republished edition of the 1st book in the historical trilogy
The Widow Makers
Top 10 British out of print books 2007
The Widow Makers was number 3
Also Amazon Kindle ebook
The Widow Makers
Strife
ISBN 9781907424144
Published May 2011
Bwthyn Publishers
Paperbacks of both books
available
Gwales.com
WHSmiths on-line
Waterstones on-line
Alibris on-line
Amazon on-line
Bookshops
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Historical Novel Society review:
Strife is the second book in the Widow Makers trilogy. It is a well-paced, very readable novel in the same successful style of the Widow Makers. It continues the saga of the Standish family who live and work in the Slate mines of North Wales in the 19th century, having moved from the coalfields of Lancashire.
The parents, Joe and Emily, have a very ambitious hard-nosed son Tommy, who becomes manager of the Garddryn quarry and who will do anything in his pursuit of power. Tommy has little feeling or thoughts about his wife, Henrietta, an opium user who suffers depression and about his young son, Edward. His treatment is the same for his father, Joe, and his brother Frank, who are both quarrymen. Joe fights for better pay and fairer working conditions for the quarrymen, and Tommy fights to get every last bit of work out of them to make himself wealthier. Tommy would let his quarry workers and their families starve in his quest for power.
It is a very well-written book with colourful, believable characters and vivid descriptions. The author is a wonderful storyteller who uses authentic well-written language. It is a real page-turner but also a relaxed read that really transports its reader into the time and place. It takes you through highs and lows and makes you feel real anger at the treatment of the workers by Tommy, and its story stays with you after the book in finished.
A great read, well recommended even for readers who have not read the first book as it stands alone as a separate story.
Barbara Goldie for the Historical Novel Society.
Welsh Books Council Review
Fans of Jean Mead's first novel in the Widow Makers series will love this, the second in the saga of the mining Standish family. Set in the mid-nineteenth century, it continues the tale of the family's fortune in the slate quarries of North Wales.
The eldest son Tommy Standish is now the hard and ruthless manager of the Garddryn Quarry, while his father Joe and younger brother Frank are quarrymen. The family find themselves pitted against each other as Joe fights for fairer working conditions and pay for his fellow workers, while Tommy is determined to grind every last bit of sweat and toil out of them to further his own ambitions and wealth.
A nasty character through and through, Tommy treats everyone equally badly - from his depressed and opium addicted wife Henrietta to his young son Edward and his parents, who remind him of his embarrassingly humble upbringing. You find yourself caught up in the struggles of those he is oppressing, hoping that his scheming will be foiled and that someone will stand up to him, as Jean Mead sweeps you along with her vivid descriptions of nineteenth-century life and the harshness and beauty of Snowdonia. A compelling vivid account that leaves you finishing the last page with regret and hoping for more!
Helena Earnshaw -Gwales Review.
A review from The Welsh Books Council. www.gwales.com
Mead's novel The Widow Makers is inspiring reading: a classic tale, full of all the
ingredients which make for the finest novels. Based in the mid-19th century, it tells the story of the young Standish family, who move from the coalfields of Lancashire to the slate quarries of North Wales in search of a better livelihood.
Mead's exceptional talent as a raconteur lets us share the family's emotional roller-coaster ride, as they lose their eldest son, as he grasps the riches that are so important to him, regardless of the hurt and misery he causes his family and anyone who dares to step in his way. Joe, his father, is a gentle giant of a man and through his eyes we see the beauty and majesty of the Welsh countryside, thus giving this book a greater substance. My only criticism of The Widow Makers was that it ended too soon; I felt bereft! A sequel, please.
Norma Penfold www.gwales.com
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