Product Description

Annabella Lagrange is the only child of a wealthy family. She thinks the world a wonderful place and only occasionally wonders why her family never takes her beyond the gates of the estate. But she will discover, at the age of 18, the circumstances of her birth and her world will collapse.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #632874 in Books
• Published on: 1994-12-22
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 432 pages

From the Back Cover
As an only child, Annabella LaGrange lived a privileged, secluded existence, and accepted that her wealthy parents lived at opposite ends of their magnificent country estate and that she was never taken beyond the gates.

But at seventeen she learns something so shocking about her past that she flees her childhood home, forced to embark upon a new existence with an invented past. Suddenly Annabella must unlearn everything she has been taught about class and love.

Set in rural Edwardian England, The Glass Virgin is a lavish, romantic upstairs-downstairs drama from the pen of a skilled storyteller.

About the Author
Catherine Cookson
Catherine Cookson was born in Tyne Dock, the illegitimate daughter of a poverty-stricken woman, Kate, whom she believed to be her older sister. She began work in service but eventually moved south to Hastings, where she met and married Tom Cookson, a local grammar-school master. Although she was originally acclaimed as a regional writer - her novel The Round Tower won the Winifred Holtby Award for the best regional novel of 1968 - her readership quickly spread throughout the world, and her many best-selling novels established her as one of the most popular of contemporary women novelists. After receiving an OBE in 1985, Catherine Cookson was created a Dame of the British Empire in 1993. She was appointed an Honorary Fellow of St Hilda's College, Oxford, in 1997. For many years she lived near Newcastle upon Tyne. She died shortly before her ninety-second birthday, in June 1998.

Customer Reviews

Full of twists and turns
I enjoyed this book trmendously. Catherine's talent for writing is shown here to its best advantage. This story was one that made me almost unable to put the book down. This tale of a young womans terrible discoveries of her own beggining, and of the world outside the one in which she was brought up will keep you gripped until the last word. Though by that time the words 'Oh Manuel' will be enough to make you scream!

This is one of her best.
We have to remember that catherine cookson would be over 100 years old if she were still alive, so we cannot compare her work with stuff that is written now - it is of a completely different era and style, but nobody can deny that woman could put a story together and hold your attention for hours. If you have never read any of her work i would suggest maggie rowan as a starter - it`s her best in my opinion.

Nothing personal, but it's just not personal!
Until recently I had never heard of Catherine Cookson and until two days ago I hadn't read a single one of her books I had only watched the BBC remakes. I enjoyed "The Glass Virgin" but though this may be shocking to say I preferred the TV adaptation (that is a first believe me) its not that I didn't like the book, but I felt it could have been so much better! The first issue I had with the book was its perspective. My favourite author is Juliet Marillier and that is because she writes in the first person she makes you feel like you are living in the characters head and you get to know them. This book was less personal and though we get glimpses into the main characters mind's it's like a candle in a dark tunnel compared to the industrial flashlights of Juliet Marillier's works. The other issue I had with this book was Annabella's vocabulary I wanted to scream when she said "oh Manuel"...she said it sooo many times (it was nearly all she said!) Then there was Manuel's character I wasn't expecting a knight in shining armour but he seemed abit manipulative and their romance was...well I almost agreed with Annabella's mother (nuff said). This feeling may be because of a lack of communication on both Annabella's and Manuel's part, but that's just me! I enjoyed this book, but if I hadn't watched the BBC adaptation I would have be lost!