The Smuggler's Secret

by Catherine Cookson

The Smuggler's Secret is a tour de force of historical imagination, a story with an enthralling plot, thick with the intertwining stories of richly drawn characters, and a brilliantly detailed portrait of the oppression of the poor by those who reaped the rewards of the British Empire. But most of all, this is a story of romance.

Born into grinding poverty, ten-year-old Frederick Musgrave spent his childhood living by his wits. Agile in mind and body and never more so than when navigating his little boat across the swift-flowing waters of the Tyne between the busy seaports of North and South Shields. The shillings he picked up running messages and smuggled goods, evading the ever-watchful eyes of the customs agents, helped to feed his family amidst the endless battle for survival fought by so many in this year of 1843.

But one night a mission took this small runner to the house at The Towers, where madness had been known to lurk, and there he witnessed a scene of unremitting horror. His silence was bought and the tide of his life shifted. He gained the patronage of Miss Maggie Hewitt, the middle-aged sea captain’s daughter who was to play a major role in shaping Freddie’s life and fortunes as he grew to manhood.

But years later the madness at The Towers again threatens, and Freddie must once more rescue his hard-won happiness and security from cruel fate and escape the long shadow cast by Roderick Gallagher, whose power and influence threatened all who crossed his path.

The Smuggler's Secret is one of Catherine Cookson’s most powerful and ingeniously devised novels, a tale rising to a suspenseful and exciting climax.

466 pages, Kindle Edition

Published March 24, 2011

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

[Sue Lilley · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought I’d read everything years ago but must have missed this. It’s a riveting story, rich in period detail. Freddie and Belle are intertwined for years, a great combination. Couldn’t wait to see what happened to them. Maggie and Jinny are also intriguing characters, in the grand tradition of strong Tyneside women. Maybe as a local, I’m biased but I loved it.

[Marianne Webb · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked the descriptions of the period. Early 1900 or earlier and the resilience of the main character as a boy and what they had to do and how he used his wits.

[Rebecca Biggs · Rating 3 out of 5]

My first Catherine Cookson book! An enjoyable easy historical read with a pretty predictable ending.

[elizabeth hillier · Rating 5 out of 5]

Better than the film. Holds your interest right the way through