The Glass Virgin

by Catherine Cookson

Annabella Lagrange was the only child of a wealthy family, owners of a glass-works in the North-East of England. When Annabella was seven, she thought the world a delightful place to live in, and only occasionally wondered why her parents never took her beyond the gates of their magnificent country estate. When she was ten she decided that the seclusion didn't really matter because when she grew up she would marry her handsome cousin Stephen and never be lonely again.But when she was eighteen, Annabella learned the circumstances of her birth—and her entire world crashed around her...

Genres: Historical Fiction, Romance, Fiction, Historical, Historical Romance, Classics, British Literature

352 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1969

About the author

Catherine Cookson was born in Tyne Dock, the illegitimate daughter of a poverty-stricken woman, Kate, who Catherine believed was her older sister. Catherine began work in service but eventually moved south to Hastings, where she met and married Tom Cookson, a local grammar-school master.

Although she was originally acclaimed as a regional writer - her novel The Round Tower won the Winifred Holtby Award for the best regional novel of 1968 - her readership quickly spread throughout the world, and her many best-selling novels established her as one of the most popular contemporary woman novelist. She received an OBE in 1985, was created a Dame of the British Empire in 1993, and was appointed an Honorary Fellow of St Hilda's College, Oxford, in 1997.

For many years she lived near Newcastle upon Tyne.

Reviews

[Mariel · Rating 2 out of 5]

How to write a Catherine Cookson historical romance novel. The authoress is dead. This is knowledge gleaned from a few read in middle school and from my ouija board. I didn't take a course that I got from a mail order invite inside a dodgy magazine that I never subscribed to (yeah right).

Make your heroine as simpering and useless as you possibly can. If she is good at anything it has to be cleaning or some kind of housework. Not in the happy way of an Eva Ibbotson (those girls loooooved chores too) but the drudgery I shouldn't want anything else and if I do I'm a spoiled twit. I'm a spoiled twit 'cause I hate cleaning.

Every character but the hero will want to rape the heroine. Three rape attempts, at least. The hero will have designs on her from childhood and is impossibly creepy. But it is okay because he's the hero! Of course he'll tell her what to do and will be morally and intellectually superior to her in every way. She's a silly woman! She cannot function without the hero to the point where she'll attempt suicide if things aren't going right.

Points for at least not writing about the nobility, like most other historical romancers. It is refreshing that they care about something other than dresses. But the rape attempts what the hell? It wouldn't have been so bad if it was commentary on the status of women. It was like commentary on how hot they were so ew.

Oh yeah, and their mothers should be prostitutes. The poor heroine having to live down the mistakes of her parents! At least there is a man to tell her what to do.

Wait, I should put my money where my mouth is, as they say. Let's try out this theory!

Louisa sobs over her dead mama's body. Her angry pimp is flashing a big knife to stick in her. He's also flashing a sharp metal blade to stick in her if she doesn't do it with him and then with all of his friends for the money the horrible prostitute mother owes him. "But what about daddy?" She wails. Luckily, daddy's best friend Luke is there take her away. "I told you to go to bed on time." Lousia realizes that Luke is always right, as usual. "If I had gone to bed on time none of this would have ever happened." At least her bed is properly made with hospital corners and everything. She's good at housework so Luke agrees to marry her and save her the trouble of working for the pimp. "You can keep my house and have sex with me in the evenings. But I like to have a beer with the buddies after work." Louisa doesn't like this. "But drinking is awful!" She tries to kill herself. "Silly woman." Luke is right again.

I hope I get a spot in the discard bins now! Wait, I forgot to make that historical. Did I mention that they are all dirty and, uh, they live a few streets down from Cheapside in London? Jack the Ripper is the pimp!

Wait, I forgot the rape attempts!

Wilson grabs Lousia's arms. "Just give us a good time! Your mama liked a good time."

"Leave me alone!" She sits on the floor and cries until Luke comes to save her (again).

Wilson later travels hundreds of miles, on foot, and at great personal cost to himself, to attempt rape on Lousia again. Because she's just that hot, despite being hungry and dirty.

Then another random dude does the same thing. This time two of the attempts are from Wilson. Gotta mix it up a little. Who would believe three different dudes?

You know what? I'm gonna charge a whole quarter for this beauty. I'm a pimp!

[☽•☾-Grimalkin-☽•☾ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Catharine Cookson really did her homework on glass and the process in which it was produced back when it was an uncommon household rarity. I learnt so much about how glass is made and the different types and how hard it was to make back then.
The story follows Annabella Lagrange as the only child of a wealthy family of prosperous glass manufacturers. Annabella's privileged world and innocent outlook on life is quickly put to the test when she first witnesses her father not being as kind and good natured as she originally believed.
From that point on, Annabella is pulled one way and then the other by her parents, being manipulated to marry for love or for money until one day her life is saved by a handsome Spaniard, Manuel Mendoza who, unknown to Annabella, would change her life forever.
THIS IS NOT YOUR SOPPY, TYPICAL ROMANCE!!
The story is fast paced and there is a massive amount of moving around from location to location so you have to be on your toes and not be complacent with where you think the story is leading you.
I was at points utterly heartbroken and tearful as you desperately want things to work out and feel content on the characters behalf. Simply put, The Glass Virgin is a story about how life can, will and does kick you up the arse most of the time but if you grow and adapt, you only become stronger and more able to roll with the punches and occasionally, hit da F*&K back!

[Shirley Revill · Rating 5 out of 5]

Whenever I had a Catherine Cookson book in my hand I knew an amazing story was waiting for me.
I often re-read the books that she wrote and I always get as much pleasure as when I first read her stories.
Storytelling at it's best. Recommended.

[Igor Witch · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Samoća je užasno prokletstvo za dušu.” 📝

[Sarah Mac · Rating 3 out of 5]

First, let me say how I love the old Bantam cover art. It's so blue & moody. It looks like you're seeing everything through a bottle (which is particularly appropriate to the title) & it shows an actual scene from the book. Nice.

Second, let me say how I love the title. It's a three-way pun: Annabella's heritage (i.e., the glassworks), Annabella's virginal status (which remains intact until the last couple pages), & Annabella's initial role in society (the pampered, brittle Proper Lady of Victorian mythos).

...Unfortunately, a pretty blue cover & many-layered title are the highlights of this particular novel.

That's right, friends. It's boring as hell.

The opening section features Annabella's childhood in sprawling Redford Hall. The husband & wife living in social separation within a single estate felt like something out of an authentic sensation novel, while the clashing interiors -- refined & austere on the mother's side versus decadent & sexual on the father's side -- made everything vaguely menacing in an oh-so-comfortably gothic way. So far, so good.

But then we shift from Redford Hall & follow Annabella as she spends a year with working-class folks.

Due to circumstances beyond her control, Annabella is kicked from her cozy goffick house. (Nevermind that the entire experience could have been avoided if she'd swallowed her pride & asked for help.) She also finds a companion in Redford's former horsemaster, Manuel, who isn't actually Spanish. Manuel is supposed to be Annabella's social conscience, I suppose, as she struggles through the plights of being normal & having to work for a living. Meanwhile, Annabella continually acts like the world hates her...though in reality, she's quite fortunate. After a couple false starts, she & Manuel are accepted on a farm where their employers treat them like extended members of the family. (Horrors!) Our heroine turns even more emo after Manuel flirts with the bitchy housemaid. Her solution? Refuse to marry the farmer's son (a gentle but ugly man), despite the fact that he's offering a safe, solid lifestyle with a comfortable house & decent money. Hell no! That shit don't fly. Instead she tries to hang herself in the barn.

*facepalm*

Things to from bad to worse when Manuel accidentally kills a guy & gets sent to prison for six months, where he's convinced he's going to die because he can't be outside for six months. I repeat, six months. Ah-ha! Rather than Spanish, Manuel is ELFISH -- a particularly whingy, ball-less elf who got lost on his way to the Tolkien tryouts. (So much the better. Elrond would have run this guy through with a stick.) Meanwhile, Annabella suddenly turns into Susie Homemaker. Cue several pages of her family trying to destroy the marriage. Cue angst. Cue stubborn clinging. Eh, whatever. These two deserve to marry -- they can inflict their emoz on each other & spare the rest of humanity.

Three stars for the first section & the overall writing, which was pretty good. But the rest was a chore.

[Mookie · Rating 5 out of 5]

You know, I've read this book before and didn't think much of it. I suppose I didn't like the pairing, or mostly I supposed I was embarrassed for Annabella Lagrange. Throwing herself on a man who wanted nothing to do with her, despite caring about her. Following him around England, forcing him to accept worse jobs in order to maintain her. A ball and chain, cynically speaking. Isn't that awful of me? I have a bad habit of wanting my female protagonists to have dignity and capabilities to keep her afloat, man or no man. A central point of this book is about Manuel being nervous and unbelieving about her love in him. I guess I've always read this the other way around. How is she to know his true feelings about her? He's a good man, we're taught, who'll stand by his obligations. I suppose somehow I came to believe that Annabella was another obligation that Manuel felt responsible for. It felt like an unkempt pairing. A rover who values his freedom, landed with a dependent woman best situated on the bench of a piano, or something.

Reading it this time around was different because I actually paid attention. It is clear that Manuel falls in love with Annabella, suddenly and slowly. It is clear that sometimes a rover can find his way home, even if home isn't a place but a person. They are one another's home. He becomes as dependent on her as she is to him. It's interesting that reading this a fourth time around, I'm thinking that this is one of the best love stories I've ever read. Cookson often likes to use the Book of Ruth 'where thou goest' theme in her books, and it's interesting that in the Glass Virgin, both the man and the woman choose to follow one another, that together they become a sun and the world and all its obligations just orbit around them.

Of course, it wouldn't be a Cookson book without some commentary about social/class structures. I think characters like Manuel Mendoza and Robert Bradley (The Moth) are some of my favourites because they are men that work alongside the social and gendered constructs expected of them, while keeping the subversiveness of their radical beliefs (radical for this time period, that is), to themselves. The ability to stay true to yourself and your opinions, without bending to the demands of society is a beautiful character trait. Annabella is an interesting character because she belongs to no social class. She has nothing, but she is someone. Over-educated and over-refined to be accepted into the working class, penniless and a bastard to boot to be accepted by the upper class, she is worse off than all of them. She'll never fit in anywhere. Moreover, even in the company of people who accept her as she is (however strange she might be), once it's found out that her mother is a 'trollop', they are more than happy to see the back of her. 'Blood will out', thinks the farmer's wife, believing that Annabella, despite her genuine sweetness, will somehow taint her pure family. This ignorance is both taught and internalized, in order to keep people in their 'rightful' places.

Her situations reflects well the hypocrisies and the overall laughability of social segregation. An Indian coworker of mine spent last night telling me how contrary to Western belief, the Caste system is alive and well in India, and in many cases your caste is demarcated in your education record. I was very polite about it, but during the exchange as she was explaining to me the ills of the caste systems, I was thinking, 'god, this is as backwards as a Cookson book'. I just wish for everyone in a position of social power, and those subjugated to higher powers, and mostly for people who have thoroughly internalized their place at the bottom of the totem pole and strive to keep their kin there with them, to one day see classist structures as the man-made construct it is.

One thing I'm curious about is where Cookson gets all her expressions from. She includes so many sayings in all her books, but often when I google them later, I'm unable to find any other reference about them. "Don't laugh at the moon", "Look at her, sitting there like an old woman dreaming of her Egypt", "don't give God a chance". Where do these come from?

(I need more Goodreads friends! If you like my reviews, please friend me and I'll reciprocate. :)

[Lori · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it just like I loved the movie!

[Viivika Tamm · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Klaasneitsi" on lugu kõrgseltskonna neiust, Annabellast, kes avastab üks hetk et on tegelikult hoopis (väga) madalat päritolu. Suures meeleheites põgeneb ta kodust koos ustava noore teenri Manuel Mendozaga.

Raamatu esimene pool meeldis mulle tunduvalt enam. Seal oli põnevust ja sünget eelaimust tulevikusündmuste kohta. Positiivselt mõjusid ka peategelased. Manuel tundus olevat aus, sirgjooneline, kannatlik ja töökas mees. Annabella kohta oli natuke raskem järeldusi teha, tegu oli ju ikkagi alles lapsega. Aga temagi jättis mulle hea mulje oma vaikse oleku ja korrektsusega.

Teises pooles aga valmistasid mõlemad mulle pettumuse - Annabella osutus araks ja klammerduvaks naisterahvaks, kes enda eest eriti seista ei osanud ja toetus ainult Manuelile. Manuelgi kaotas minu jaoks enamuse oma võlust - kannatlikkust ja heatahtlikkust jätkus tal ainult nii kaua, kuni olud olid head. Kohe, kui asjad kiiva kiskusid, avaldus tema järsk ja äkiline külg. Mehel olid joomiseprobleemid ning kasutas iga provokatsiooni korral rusikaid. Rääkimata sellest, et ta valetas oma päritolu kohta.

Suurimaks miinuseks pidasin aga viisi, kuidas Manuel vabandusi otsima hakkas, kui võõra naisega voodist leiti. Selle asemel, et asi ilusti ära seletada, hakkab ta end õigustama "meeste loomulike vajadustega". Väga nõme!

Ehk siis. Lugu iseenesest oli üsna huvitav - noor kaunis kõrgseltskonna neiu peab oma teenri abiga kohanema töölisklassi elustiiliga ning armub sealjuures nimetatud teenrisse. Peategelased aga rikkusid loo minu jaoks täiesti ära.

Hinne 2.75

[Wendy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Severely disappointing after how much I enjoyed The Black Velvet Gown , but not really completely awful on its own. I found it rather dull, most of the time, and I really just didn't like Annabella, the main character. I suppose it's supposed to be about her character development, but that didn't come through very strongly, partly due to how the point of view bounces around even within chapters. If it had truly been her journey wholly through her eyes, that might have helped. As it was, she felt like a ping-pong ball for most of the book--she doesn't act or plan, she reacts and allows herself to be pushed and pulled around rather aimlessly.

I also found Manuel, both as a character and as a romantic interest, somewhat objectionable. He's something of a Gary Stu--he's an ace, great at everything, with a special gift with animals, the ability to pick up new skills easily and quickly, and very few unpleasant qualities. His drinking to excess is not good, but he only does it once that we see and then swears off alcohol on the strength of Annabella's disapproval. He accidentally kills one man and breaks another's jaw due to his powerful though untrained boxing ability--he feels guilty about it, though, despite both occasions being warranted, one owing to self-defence and the other to defending Annabella, which tempers its 'badness.' He is never, ever wrong, except about Annabella's love for him. When done well, I don't really mind this sort of character, and I suppose his circumstances should have made it acceptable to me, but I just found him off-putting.

His and Annabella's love was the worst part of the book, though, in my view. They meet when he's twenty and she's ten, and later she says that she loved him from when she first saw him? Ick. That aside, they do spend a lot of time together once they hit the road, but it seems more like she grows to depend on him than her growing to love him. She becomes obsessed and latches on to him as her savior--at the end of the book, I agreed with Rosina, that she'll grow out of it. At one point she even tries to kill herself because she thinks Manuel wants someone else, and are you kidding me? This was part of me disliking her and disliking the romance--that's not romantic, it's pathetic, obsessive and more than a little scary. She needs mental help, not to marry him.

Betty Watford was pretty despicable, but the text kind of leaves it up to you, not being overly judgmental toward her one way or another. I did feel bad she got raped and had to spend a long time searching for work after she got fired, but blaming a seven-year-old child for your misfortunes is just ridiculous--particularly after she was the one who was foolish enough to call Annabella a bastard within her hearing. Of course the kid was going to go ask somebody what that means, idiot. That was like asking to get fired. And then she tries to get revenge on her years later? Annabella had previous accidentally got the cook fired, too, and everyone in the house acted like she was evil. She was just asking questions, as curious seven-year-olds are wont to do--she didn't know it would get anyone fired when she asked what a bastard was or why the cook wouldn't just give the table scraps to the beggar children for free. The fact of her age is never brought up in Annabella's defence, so I feel the need to do it here. I feel bad for Betty Watford, but seriously, lady, blame Annabella's parents if you need to blame someone, not the little kid who just wanted to know what a word meant. She even refused to tell who'd called her a bastard when the whole household got in a hubbub over it, so you should actually think kindly of her. Stupid wench.

I did enjoy Edmund and Rosina's drama, I don't know why. Maybe the tactics they use to deal with one another, and the fact that Rosina eventually 'wins,' I guess. It's just nice to see a terrible marriage with no easy outs or sudden changes of character--Edmund doesn't suddenly become a nice person just so there's a happy ending. But the rest of the book was pretty dull.

Read The Black Velvet Gown instead, it's much better paced, with more interesting characters and situations, and strong women I can get behind.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

A TV series The Glass Virgin (1995) was made based on this book and it is available at YouTube.

From IMDb:
Set in 1870s England, the story tells of Annabella Lagrange and the terrible secret her wealthy parents have kept from her. When she finally learns the truth, she runs away and eventually finds solace in the company of her family's former groom, a young Irishman with the very Spanish name of Manuel Mendoza. Together they travel the Northumbria countryside from job to job in his horse and caravan, Annabella trapped in limbo between her upper class upbringing which has rejected her, and the working class who are sometimes suspicious of her, only Manuel understanding her situation.

[Ruthliz · Rating 5 out of 5]

As the book started, I could not imagine what was in store for me. Its amazing how Cookson builds Annabella from the young lady she is taught to live like, into the young woman who can hustle in life even with the help of a young courageous groom. I really admire the strength Cookson gives this characer and how she successfully keeps the reader on edge in a bid to know what happens next. I totally love the ending!

[Anna Plishak · Rating 4 out of 5]

Якось у юності я переглянула екранізацію "Скляна Мадонна", багато епізодів з якої не стерлися з пам'яті й дотепер. Нещодавно дізналася, що фільм знятий за романом британської письменниці Кетрін Куксон, який потрапив мені до рук, тож вирішила ознайомитись з оригіналом.
⠀
Книга непогана у своєму жанрі сентиментального роману. У ній багато персонажів, що стали жертвами обставин і їхнє життя - це суцільне страждання. І якщо у юності, коли я переглядала фільм, мені було невимовно шкода кожного з них, то зараз, читаючи книгу, я зрозуміла, що страждання - це їхній свідомий вибір.
⠀
Як тоді, так і зараз, я шалено вболівала за головних героїв - Аннабеллу та Мануеля, які подолали чимало випробувань на тернистих шляхах до свого щастя.
⠀
Окремо хочу зазначити, що у романі багато інформації про склодобувну промисловість: походження і виготовлення скла. Для мене вона стала своєрідною родзинкою, що додала книзі оригінальності.

[Amina Hujdur · Rating 5 out of 5]

Romani Ketrin Kukson odišu toplinom, nostalgijom za starim vremenima, očuvanjem tradicionalnih vrijednosti. Ovaj ljubavni roman o sretnom ostvarenju ljubavi sa preprekama od srca preporučujem.

[Sverre · Rating 5 out of 5]

Catherine Cookson was (1906-98) was perhaps Great Britain’s most popular author of the last half of the 21st century. She was certainly the most prolific, having written almost one hundred books. Many of her novels are historical, somewhat in the same mode as those of Charles Dickens and Elizabeth Gaskell and just as poignantly dramatic. I found this novel to be excellent in every way. A lot can be said for reading more recent works such as this one which is easy to understand but still is true to the historical and cultural setting in which it is placed.

Cookson wrote about what she knew and/or had personally experienced about class differences and discrimination, submission, poverty, illness, moral ‘illegitimacy’ and abandonment. The story of Annabella, the main character in this novel, contains several parallels with Cookson’s own life. The plot, transpiring in the early Edwardian timeframe in northeastern England, serves up many twists and turns to keep the reader’s attention right to its climactic emotional end. Bravo! I will certainly read more of Cookson’s works while they are still available.

[Michele · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm giving it five stars because I found it very satisfying. Took it with me on my trip to Mesa Verde and it was the perfect book to read while I waited to fall asleep in a tent on a mediocre air mattress.

I think a great title for this book might be, "What happens when you don't marry a gentleman." Or, "The truth behind Pride and Prejudice." This book was raw, gritty and real and sometimes you just appreciate a little bit of absolute truth. I felt like this book showed what it was like when you thought you were marrying Mr. Right and he turns out to be after your money and turns into Mr. Wrong!
I thought Manuel was a gentleman in so many ways, most of all his patience and understanding heart.
I enjoyed getting behind the scenes to what marriage was like for those who were duped and conned and you know that happened a lot more than what we see in the regular literature.

[Olivia · Rating 5 out of 5]

It seems that every time I read a Catherine Cookson novel, I come out of it thinking & saying 'This is one of the best I've read by wor Cathy!' and I mean it every single time. Once again, I listened to the audio version of this, read by the brilliant Anne Dover, who does Geordie accents brilliantly and vividly. Wor Annie, a belta!!

This is a little different from some of Cookson's other novels that I've read in that the main female protag, Annabella, initially begins the novel as a gentleman's daughter and believes she is of genteel birth. Of course, she learns differently as the story progresses and the realisation means she falls from her position, and fast. As a genteel character, a cosseted teenage girl, she's a little bit of a wet lettuce (kind as she is), but as she experiences the reality of her birth/beginnings, and after she has to go on the run with her father's Irish groom, Manuel Mendoza, she develops into a strong, passionate woman who learns to stand her ground & have all that she wants. I predicted she would have a romance with Manuel from the moment she met him, but it was a slow-burn and sexy...because the most explicit Cookson gets with describing their intimate moments is the heat of their kiss, Manuel buying Annabella a gown & then imagining taking it off of her, Manuel's head resting against her naked stomach/breasts...the rest is subtext, but the power of JUST a little peak of what will happen when they finally sleep together is great (interestingly, their wedding night keeps being torn from them due to circumstances. It happens at least twice. The final paragraphs of the book constitute their wedding night FINALLY granted to them, and Cookson is decidedly coy about it - although she does mention Annabella's post-coital "ecstasy" eyes emoji)

I've said before that Cookson is a little prejudiced against Irish characters in her other novels, but Manuel is well-rounded, complicated and with vices but in a way that is human, rather than a caricature of an Irishman. He also stands up for himself and refuses to take anti-Irish sentiment, even when he is told that it's just the way things are. (Also, shoutout to Manuel's cute horse, Dobby!!! Fave character)

Another stand-out character for me was Rosina, the gentlewoman who Annabella believes is her biological mother and who loves Annabella as her own. True, she is extremely prejudiced against Manuel when she learns that Annabella has married him, she's reluctant to accept the coupling, but we know she loves Annabella, despite the circumstances of how Annabella came to her as a baby, despite how Annabella's "father" Edmund LeGrange abused her and used Annabella to taunt her....she's been through a lot. She's been completely broken down by men in her life and her ability to accept that Annabella could decide to love a man, passionately, is diminished.

I haven't seen the adaptation, starring Emily Mortimer as Annabella and Brendon Coyle as Manuel, but I'm excited to!

[William · Rating 4 out of 5]

A novel of family secrets and the move from innocence to experience, "The Glass Virgin" tells the story of Annabella Lagrange, the privileged, pampered daughter of a well-do-to family of glassmakers in Northern England during the 1860s. On the surface, Annabella's life seems charmed. Behind closed doors, however, all is not well; and when the truth about her heritage bursts forth on her seventeenth birthday, Annabella's life will change dramatically. Cookson tells a story of survival, love, and adaptation, paying particular attention to gender politics, to class differences, and to social mores. She also creates powerful, sympathetic characters in Annabella and in her mother Rosina Lagrange. Although Cookson does not shy away from dealing with adult themes, the novel is not explicit; and a good example of why the prolific Cookson was a perennially popular historical novelist.

[Kit★]

We had a 1 month free trial of Netflix on the PS3, and after I watched all the PBS Masterpiece Classics (the Wuthering Heights one was the greatest) and Jane Austen movies on there, I found a handful of movies based on Cookson's work. I'd heard of her before, but never read her books, in fact I used to get so irritated when I was younger and glomming Catherine Coulter's books and the used book stores would have loads of Cookson's mixed in with Coulter's and I'd get all excited thinking I'd found some for my collection, only to have it be the wrong author. I don't know why I never tried her books out, for all I know, I may have liked them. But anyway, back to the Netflix story, I watched the movie of this one, starring a younger Brendan Coyle, who I enjoyed highly in Downton Abbey as Manuel. I really enjoyed the movie, and so now I'd like to read the book. I see Cookson books at Goodwill all the time, so I'm hoping I'll find this one soon.

[Carmen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Set in 1870s England, the story tells of Annabella Lagrange and the terrible secret her wealthy parents have kept from her. When she finally learns the truth, she runs away and eventually finds solace in the company of her family's former groom, a young Irishman with the very Spanish name of Manuel Mendoza. Together they travel the Northumbria countryside from job to job in his horse and caravan, Annabella trapped in limbo between her upper class upbringing which has rejected her, and the working class who are sometimes suspicious of her, only Manuel understanding her situation.

[DeEtte · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is a "period piece", so if you're a fan you'll most likely enjoy it. The story keeps you interested and I really liked the lead male character. However, it kind of just reminded me of a cheap English knock off of "Far and Away" (you know the Tom Cruise/Nicole Kidman rags to riches/riches to rags epic movie...blah). Still, I finished the book and wasn't bummed out that I did. If you're looking for a strictly fluff novel to read, I recommend.

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

Catherine Cookson writes more gritty alternatives to Georgette Heyer's light-hearted tales of the upper crust. The Glass Virgin portrays the underbelly of English gentry where the men squander their money on philandering and booze while the women bound to them are helpless and trapped. Here one girl finds an escape but only through relinquishing her way of life. At the end, the reader can only hope that her love will strengthen her through poverty and social isolation.

[Emily · Rating 2 out of 5]

Poor character development, poor dialogue, dragging plot, historically inaccurate, not engaging.

[Shaista · Rating 5 out of 5]

I wish i could give it hundred stars😌. One of the most beautiful books that i have ever read❤️.

[Elena Micheli · Rating 2 out of 5]

Noioso

[Bettie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bettie's Books

[Glenn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Already learning the township going on the gambling man inspired the beast to those playing about with fire, drawn on the other hand the further attention goes just outside the town and to the rural district and the cultural property of interest, Redford Hall. Those faster approaching the Cleadon park Mansion will also learn that the similarities was the same business est. South Shields Town nearby. And glassworks was there business. Edmund in the scene where his coach drives through the colliery, and Annabella's mother watching. Edmund beforehand asks for the coach to take a right in other words the route from Cleadon park Mansion is down the hill west facing and the Harton Colliery is nearest to the right to Boldon Lane.

The Glassworks was doomed to failure even before it had begun. A bad heart of Edmund whilst doing business goes without saying never will he end up where desired. Acted alike the Alpha and the Omega, and punished the illiterate worker around his demeanour; presence of ego, equally so met him as the gambler to the fool's life, was on the other hand the devil excited throughout himself and both the marriage had already nulled itself bearing.
Further onto prearrange his daughter' marriage of Annabella as a business transaction; he had dealt and brought a bastard out of a prostitution ring. And to womanise his own fantasy world and forsake his baron wife to aid this?
God had forbidden him even before to have children. The heart wasn't working right with his soul. And a man of such power and influence to the next generation God could not allow.

Edmund exploit the fact the servants and local colliery nearby were poorer in spirit. And those whom simply because they were illiterate and weren't made from love simply never knew what love was.
This book clearly shows those the way. Note what happens when a man has something alike Manuel and other locals aren't the master's choice, in other words brought the fight among the servants and surrounding area to outsider. Tell-tale the master quotes to Manuel for the fresher pasture just about the people resent his and to reverse his personality from working also. Marsden nearby is well known to the people of Horsley Hill/ Nook Cleadon and Boldon Lane (Harton) area for the boxing stage and, neither are those bairns made from love. No doubt the longer Manuel had stayed with Edmund's leadership and in this area, the township system would have got the better therefore was created to fight each other to greed rather than in love one another. Manual was one with nature, knowing what that his strengthens the community following, or employ into; home trusting by him, so makes him the strongest fighter anyone would ever come across and, as going on what he is.

Manuel however should have never married Annabella, even though he had made enough love to stay together with her forever. 17 years mothered on the other hand was trained up already the daughter to be a lady and nobody from gentry would have touched her thereafter considering. The resentment shown from locals and either above everything else also to who she was and where she came from. Neither had the period when she returned back to her mother's also nobody came to see them. The business would have failed regarding. The return home, then to Redford Hall and attempting to save the glassworks would personal need for him to be single and just a lover. However the family home had been degraded to far and this marriage would further distrust the work put in already beside mother and daughter working together. Manual's strength is his trait mark once literate, but not the other way around when amongst the gentry class: he wouldn't be cleverer enough to lead them and the business minded still was amongst the fools and this story ending already.

Note in 1918 Cleadon Park Mansion was handed over to the townhall and as assumed abandoned.
Not entirely convinced the truth about where Catherine Cookson got her information from considering the period it was published. The job is Manuel wanted to graze on his own land and farm. However, the military gone to war with Ireland also.

[Rosalie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was my first Catherine Cookson novel although I’ve heard about her books all my life, having grown up in England. But she’s not so well known in Canada and I’d kind of forgotten about her. But after watching some dramatizations on Britbox I became intrigued - this one was the only Cookson novel in our local library, so I picked it up. And I loved it!

Yes, I have read other reviews who state the female characters are outdated and the story “boring” but I couldn’t disagree more - in fact, I couldn’t put it down. Yes there is melodrama but it’s also a really gritty look at Victorian social mores and the injustices and humiliations that women had to endure at all levels of society. It’s also a strong commentary on the powerlessness of married women in Victorian times, and while the events in the story are sometimes a bit overdone, it is a really good story, with many plot twists that keep the story moving. As another reviewer said, the story is so engaging that you are really pulling for the characters and for things to work out for them - and that, to me, is the sign of a great story. It’s not brilliant, “serious “ literature, but it’s not pretentious or self-conscious, as so many modern novels are. If you like historical fiction with a strong plot, I’d recommend this!

[Janice · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nice study into Victorian England without the complexities of Victorian morals

I very much liked this book. The time, the age, the culture are very interesting and the author does an excellent job fleshing out that part of the book. What I found less satisfying, however, were the characters. They were pleasant enough or villainous enough depending on their role in the book. There was not, however much complexity and because of that I did not feel drawn to any of them except in the most limited way. The plot line, too, was rather predictable and the ending was apparent from almost the get go.

An altogether pleasant book but certainly not Wuthering Heights.

[charactermileage · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had heard of Catherine cookson before and I wrote her office since I put Danielle steel romance novelist. not that I don't enjoy romance movies, but I was expecting something extremely savvy. bodice ripping type stuff boy was I wrong. The TV movie version is one of my all-time favorite comfort movies....that and The Scarlet Pimpernel (I wasn't expecting to fall in love with that novel either). Well written, emotionally stirring, romantic and yet gritty. I am definitely checking out more of her books. Brendan Coyle is great in whatever role he plays but he nails the romantically loyal working man character wonderfully. And Emily Mortimer is a pitch perfect Annabella.

[P · Rating 2 out of 5]

I couldn't connect with the characters. The theme is falling from grace, just like GWTW. But I felt little to no sympathy for Anabella Legrange because I knew that she could've turned to her great-Uncle and great-Aunt or she could have at least left a note for her mother, telling her where she was or where she would be in the near future. Quite frankly, I think she overreacted. Her mother knew about her identity and wanted her to live in the old house despite everything, so why did she leave with the groom? It makes no sense at all.