The Quiet Earth

For decades Jonadab Oaks has rules his family and farm with a rod of iron . . . Now Joseph, his eldest son, has announced that he has to marry pretty Mary Butler. Not only that, but Jonadab's two daughters, Beth and Tamar, become the focus of unwanted attention and his son, George, is showing signes of demanding an independence that Jonadab isn't ready to grant. Set against the touchness and beauty of the Yorkshire Dales in mid-Victorian England, The Quiet Earth celebrates real family life: its strengths, its tussles, it's losses and gains. Jonadab has to face scandal, tragedy and the challenge of new directions - and the triumph of Margaret Sunley's rich and many layered novel is that she creates her story with unforgettable vividness and heartwarming truth.