Product Description

Young Philippa Cranley is living a lie. Her tyrannical father Archer forces her to masquerade as a man in order to comply with the terms of her maternal grandfather's Will, and enable him to inherit the glassworks. By threatening her fragile mother with imprisonment in a mental institution, he forces Philippa to become Philip, wearing men's clothes and unable to reveal her identity to anyone.

To increase her humiliation, Archer Cranley forces 'Philip' to do a stint in the glassworks, which puts her in danger from her rough co-workers as well as from the machinery itself. There the girl is befriended by Joshua Fairley, whose pity is aroused by the gentle 'lad'. But soon Joshua finds his feelings for 'Philip' are more than just pity, and is tormented by the thought that he is being tempted into a homosexual relationship. Luckily, by the end of the novel Philippa is able to reveal the truth and marry Joshua.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #319486 in Books
• Published on: 2003-01-06
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 416 pages

Bolton Evening News
Praise for THE JUDAS TOUCH:
'Meg Hutchinson's tales enthrall . . . satisfying.'

Review
Praise for THE JUDAS TOUCH: 'Meg Hutchinson's tales enthrall . . . satisfying.' (Bolton Evening News )

'Her inimitable style and deftness of touch are much in evidence.' (Evening Gazette (Teeside) )

'A cruel yet moving saga' (Coventry Evening Telegraph )

Praise for NO PLACE FOR A WOMAN: 'Meg Hutchinson's storytelling skills are attracting a bigger and bigger audience.' (Newcastle Evening Chronicle )

Praise for CHILD OF SIN: 'Hutchinson captivates by developing loveable, strong-willed characters, delving into real-life situations and resolving dilemmas along the way. Above all, this tale shows the path of life never runs smooth.' (Newcastle Journal )

Evening Gazette (Teeside)
'Her inimitable style and deftness of touch are much in evidence.'

Customer Reviews

Gripping read
The four stars given are mainly for the way the author generates an authentic atmosphere of the period of the novel. Her characters are unforgetable, if sometimes difficult to understand motive-wise. In this story a man hates his own wife and child with such intensity, but the reason for this hatred was not explained to my satisfaction.
The interaction of the characters creates terrific tension, and the pace of the writing keeps the pages turning. However, I found the premise on which the whole plot turns, i.e. that a beautiful young woman can pass herself off as a man while working closely alongside men in a glass-making factory week after week yet remaining totally undetected, very hard to swallow, so much so that my inability to believe it took away some of the pleasure in the reading. Having said that, the story and characters still linger in my mind. I have no doubt that the author's many loyal fans are lapping it up.