To the End of Her Days

Published by St Martin's Press and Piatkus, 1994

When Jessica Lanyon's husband finally dies in 1920, of wounds from the Great War, she finds herself in charge of her own destiny for the first time ever. She does not lack for friendly and not-so-friendly advice but has no real ally until Lorna Sancreed, also widowed, arrives one day. But can the supposedly vulnerable Lorna be trusted?

• The setting for Macdonald's new historical romance is the Cornish town of Penzance during WWI [sic!], but it might as well be Peyton Place for all the secrets and sexual high-jinks it hosts. The pages don't exactly fly by but they do offer the well-wrought historical details, plot twists, and vivid characters his fans expect — Publishers Weekly
• A tale of voluble and feisty young women who give off sparks and set off conflagrations in a tight little village community of antagonistic genders and generations. The talk floods like a Cornish tide. Some may find the sheer volume of chatter enervating, but, on the whole, the gossiping village neighbors will prove to be genial company for the author's following — Kirkus
• He is every bit as bad as Dickens – Martin Seymour-Smith

Jacket artist
Alan D. Dingman

Kernow & Daughter

Published by St Martin's Press and Piatkus, 1994

Jessica Kernow, a daughter among three brothers, has always had to fight her corner – and never more so than when, in 1900, she wants to go into the family business, against her father's desire for her to marry. But when she and Cornwallis Trelawney find common cause in a concocted engagement, they both get more than they bargained for.

• Macdonald combines strong characters and a brisk narrative full of sharp observations about life, love, and the eternal struggle between men and women caught up in tightly structured, turn-of-the-[19th]-century society — US Booklist
• Macdonald in his usual expertise has created an outstanding novel, mastering a vivid account of life, love, and the problems affecting affairs of the heart. It is well worth the extra time and effort of an occasional second read to fully understand this excellent historical story — Affaire de Coeur
• He does write a very readable yarn, with vivid characters and an easy style — Western Evening Herald
• Another absorbing historical novel in this dependable writer's skillfully fashioned narratives. Macdonald expertly blends romance and historical drama into an intelligent and satisfying tale — Publishers Weekly
• Another Cornish-set tribute to women possessed of drive and impossible dreams ... With [elaborate] detail Macdonald tries to involve the reader in his latest extra-romance enthusiasm. A tall order, but his many fans are indulgent. Buried in yards of talk, sparks of fun, and family feeling – and a plug for female get-up-and-go — Kirkus
• He is every bit as bad as Dickens – Martin Seymour-Smith

Jacket artist
Stuart Bodek

Crissy's Family   British hardback title – which I preferred, but the paperback and American publishers chose
The Trevarton Inheritance

Published by St Martin's Press and Piatkus, 1995

When both parents die in the same week in 1890, their family of five is split up and sent to various institutions. But Crissy, the second eldest, is determined to get them all back under one roof again despite the implacable opposition of her grandmother, who had disinherited her daughter, Crissy's mother, many years earlier.

• Prolific and reliable, Macdonald again offers sound commercial fiction that combines history and romance. Crissy is his strongest female protagonist yet. Macdonald always maintains a brisk narrative pace, and his sound social commentary adds to the reader's enjoyment — Publishers Weekly
• Yet another of Macdonald's relentlessly loquacious tributes to feisty turn-of-the-century Englishwomen. Crissy's narration is not as entertaining as the gabble, gossip, and joshing in some of Macdonald's other Cornish sagas, but there's always an audience for his tales of rags-to-sensible middle-class prosperity — Kirkus
• An enjoyable romp for historical fiction fans — US Booklist
• His depiction of the burgeoning photography business is fascinating. The porrtrait of Crissy is strong. Fans are sure to enjoy this latest offering — Library Journal
• Yawns more than provocative thoughts are generated by reading this tale — Chattanooga Times
• He is every bit as bad as Dickens – Martin Seymour-Smith

Jacket artist
Stuart Bodek

Tomorrow's Tide

Published by St Martin's Press and Piatkus, 1996

In 1910 young teenager Jennifer Owen discovers an abandoned baby in a field, wrapped up with a penny for luck. [In fact, I wanted to call the book A Penny Child.] Years later, with the help of society hostess Millicent Colston-Smart, she decides to track the child down. The trail leads to some startling discoveries for all concerned.

• Some books keep you hooked from start to finish and this is one of them — [syndicated review]
• Some wonderful characters and witty dialogue. Jennifer's escapades are like a whirlpool that sucks you in and throws you out at the end, tired but exhilarated — Herald Express
• Bringing his characteristic ingenuousness to another well-executed historical romance, Macdonald ... delivers all the comforting sentimental pleasures that readers have grown to expect from him — Publishers Weekly
• Weaves a heart-wrenching story of love, acceptance, and tolerance — Romantic Times
• A superbly written novel — Midwest Book Review
• No one handles this sort of somber historical romance better than Macdonald, and this his latest outing shows no decline in his storytelling gifts. Unsurprising but effective — Kirkus
• He is every bit as bad as Dickens – Martin Seymour-Smith

Jacket artist
not credited

The Carringtons of Helston

Published by St Martin's Press and Piatkus, 1997

In 1914 widower John Carrington returns from America to Cornwall, his ancestral homeland, with his grown-up children in tow. They hope to settle comfortably but an ancient feud with the neighbouring Liddicoats resurfaces – only to be complicated by love affairs across the feud lines.

• Ultraprolific Irish author Macdonald's 27th book ... an amiable story full of iron-fibered characters and their agreeable wisechat as Macdonald unspools from his heart long passages of period description that seemingly celebrate his own powers of memory and the tug of the past. Appealing calendar art brought to life on a tide of romantic passion and much tartly genial irony. — Kirkus
• Macdonald sprinkles his tales with credible historical details and Cornish colloquialisms but he is at his best when writing straightforward narrative. For all its subplots and quaint village characters, the novel unfolds with a light enough touch to satisfy most readers of the genre — Publishers Week ly
• Lengthy but well written, this could have been a lot worse — Newcastle Evening Chronicle
• Another splendid novel from Malcolm Ross which reveals a true knowledge of Cornwall and the Cornish — The West Briton, Truro
• An intriguing novel of family rivalry and Cornish life, with vivid portrayals of character and landscape — Kingsbridge Gazette, Devon
• He is every bit as bad as Dickens – Martin Seymour-Smith

Jacket artist
not credited

Like a Diamond

Published by St Martin's and Piatkus, 1998

It is 1910 and young Peter de Vivian, arriving at his new family home in Falmouth, is instantly smitten by Gemma Penhallow, a senior housemaid. But Gemma has more reasons than most to keep her distance. In a long campaign to win her heart, Peter underestimates his family's opposition and Gemma's stubbornness.

• This compelling Cornish saga will delight all who love the author's gentle and beguiling novels – and deserves to win new admirers along the way — Bookshelf
• Another sparkling, well-researched novel. Malcolm Ross writes ... with racy humour [and] ably creates a way of life before the Great War. A must for lovers of historical novels —The West Briton, Truro
• Staggeringly prolific Irish author Macdonald's 28th ladies' romance, all of them big, talky, and nostalgic bales of banter lightened by heartfelt passions and pleasurable irony. Gemma, of course, is “like a diamond” and shines only the brighter the blacker the background against which she turns. Fluffier and more charming than even Macdonald's usual tales of young ladies caught up in social rigidities.Kirkus
• He is every bit as bad as Dickens – Martin Seymour-Smith

Jacket artist
not credited

Tamsin Harte

Published by St Martin's and Piatkus, 1999

When her husband dies and she is forced to take in paying guests, Harriet Harte feels she has come down in the world. For her lively and forward-thinking daughter Tamsin, however, their lapse from Society is a welcome release. No more tiresome balls, supper parties, and musical evenings for her; instead she is free to concentrate on her main ambition in life: to restore the family's fortunes by becoming Penzance's principal hotelier.

   There are, of course, obstacles in her path, such as the dashing and attentive Standish Coverley, who already is the town's leading hotelier. Is Tamsin to succeed at the expense of a friend and devoted admirer? There is also Victor Thorne, a handsome dilletante who makes no secret of his interest in her, to the fury of his protective and scheming mama.

   And then there is Newlyn fisherman, David Peters, last surviving son of local character “Captain” Benny Peters. All he can offer is his skill as a smuggler — and the lobsters he sometimes catches by accident. Small wonder that Tamsin prefers to keep her thoughts strictly to matters of business — until some surprising revelations about all three of her admirers compel her to consider them in an entirely different light.

• Set in a Cornish fishing village at the turn of the last century, Macdonald's latest historical romance evokes the moment when England's rigid class structure first began to loosen and the upper classes began to reconsider their conventional injunction against the self-made man, or, in this case, woman. ... There is plenty of social intrigue and high adventure, including brandy smuggling ... fine dining and skinny dipping. Delightful descriptions of Victorian-era practices ... add historical color. Macdonald tells a lively and engaging tale. — Publisher's Weekly
• The heroine of the prolific Macdonald's latest historical novel is a feisty young entrepreneur corralled into running a bed-and-breakfast with her mother after her beloved father's death. ... No matter what she gets up to, [she] retains her light-hearted innocence and joie-de-vivre. — Booklist
• He is every bit as bad as Dickens – Martin Seymour-Smith

Jacket artist
Richard Jones
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