The prequel to the million-copy bestseller, A Woman of Substance,
where, high on the Yorkshire moors, the story of Blackie O?Neill
and Emma Harte begins - Orphaned and alone, 13-year-old Blackie
O'Neill must leave County Kerry to find work and put food in his
mouth. His only chance of survival lies with his mother's
brother, far away in Leeds.
There, amid the noise and bustle, the mills and manufactories of
the clothing industry that have made Leeds one of England?s most
prosperous cities, Blackie's spark of ambition becomes a flame.
Working in his Uncle?s business, he nurtures a dream of throwing
off the impotence of poverty, of building houses and perhaps even
of becoming a gentleman.
And then, high on the Yorkshire moors, in the mists of a winter
morning, he meets a kitchen maid called Emma Harte.