The Piper's Tune
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- $11.99
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- $11.99
Publisher Description
Jessica Stirling's Glasgow comes to scintillating life in The Piper's Tune, a story of love and fortune set in Edwardian Scotland.
Lindsay Franklin's life is an adventure she has just begun to enjoy. At eighteen, Arthur Franklin's cosseted daughter has left her Glasgow school and finds her role as a marriageable young lady with a widowed father more than agreeable. And the source of her family's wealth, the Franklins' shipbuilding yard on Clydeside, is prospering as the long peace of Queen Victoria's reign gives way to the feverish arms race of the new century.
But Lindsay's life takes an unexpected turn when she is given a share of the family business. Equally unexpected is the appearance of Forbes McCullough, her charming Irish cousin whose attentions she secretly welcomes. To everyone's surprise, Lindsay decides to master the family business as carefully as her male cousins. What is not surprising is that several eligible men have decided that it is time to master Lindsay.
As the mysteries of shipbuilding open to her, and the puzzle of male behavior becomes both more fascinating and more dangerous, Lindsay is forced to make some fateful decisions.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Glasgow-born Stirling (Prized Possessions) brings Edwardian Scotland to life in this compelling coming-of-age tale. Eighteen-year-old Lindsay Franklin gets an unexpected jolt when her shipbuilding magnate grandfather gives her a share of the family business. At the same time, her all-too-charming Irish cousin, the womanizing Forbes McCulloch, comes to Glasgow to learn the family business from the bottom up and sets his sights on marrying Lindsay. The style and design of the cover give the impression that this is a historical romance, but the tale is much more than a formulaic love story. Stirling does a bang-up job of illustrating how character shapes a person's life. Forbes, a conniving, self-centered rogue with a mistress on the side and an overpowering sense of entitlement, is a perfect example of how lack of honor can destroy a life. Lindsay, on the other hand, is clearly meant to embody integrity in this complex story full of passion, true love, loyalty, betrayal and revenge. As Lindsay matures and comes to see her husband for what he is, the author adeptly unearths Lindsay's fundamental traits and motivations. Throughout, Stirling explores family dynamics among the proud Franklins and the despairing McCullochs, showing remarkable insight into the different manifestations of human nature. She also provides a fascinating behind-the-scenes look at the development of early wartime submarines, adding historic punch to this tale about the triumph of honor over greed.
