Severn House Publishers
Featuring: Joe Halderthay; Michael Conrad; Anne Symons
192 pages ISBN: 072788784X EAN: 9780727887849 Kindle: B07CWW4XHV Hardcover / e-Book (reprint) Add to Wish List
This is a reissue of a book from the 1970s which was
published under a pseudonym. You may be familiar with
author Cynthia Harrod-Eagles for her long-running police
series featuring Bill Slider, or her historical novels such
as THE PRINCELING. Off on a completely different track, THE
TREACHEROUS HEART was a women's fiction of the time.
In 1978, indeed, a young lady in the West Country might
think she was doing very well for herself by getting a
receptionist's job for a legal firm in town. She might have
no higher goal in mind than being wooed by an up and coming
local man, and eventually marrying someone prosperous. Anne
Symons has a well-ordered life, in which she lives with her
widowed father, a station master, and goes to work in the
market town each weekday. But the young man who calls for
her, Joe Halderthay, is a pig farmer, and as kind, honest and
dedicated as he is, Anne sets her sights on a more exciting
life. Trouble is, Joe doesn't understand that she is only
spending time with him until someone better comes along --
such as Michael Conrad from London.
I can't really call this romance, as it's quite restrained.
But in the 1970s middle class young people were conscious
of the proper way to behave; they thought dining out was
adventurous and fast cars were rather flash. Women had few
options (we see no businesswomen) so they made decisions based
on the best bargain they could make, if their heart was not
completely smitten. And Anne's best friend Wendy doesn't
hesitate to declare that Anne is an organized person, not
an emotional one. Today, she would probably be a lawyer in
the firm.
Readers may be interested in the evocation of 1970s
England, the lack of today's personal electronics, the
witty, referenced conversations people had to have when
they could not send tweets and texts and look things up
online. And some readers may be interested in observing the
development of their favorite author. I am stunned to
realize that this book is forty years old. Life has
certainly changed. THE TREACHEROUS HEART was originally
titled NEVER LOVE A STRANGER.
First published as NEVER LOVE A STRANGER, and
originally under a pseudonym, this is a new edition with a
new introduction from the author.
Anne Symons is content living with her widowed father in a
sleepy Dorset town.
She has a good job in a solicitor’s office and a kind,
reliable, good-looking boyfriend Joe. But when enigmatic,
sophisticated Michael Conrad appears on the scene, she
suddenly feels something was missing from her life.
But should she really risk a safe future with loyal, adoring
Joe for the dangerous allure and excitement of this
fascinating stranger?
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