Kate's Daughter by Catherine Cookson
"Kate's Daughter" gets to the heart of the Catherine Cookson story. With the help of material only made available since Catherine's death, Piers Dudgeon, lifts the veil on the myth and lays bare the true nature of this complex and fascinating woman. When it was known that "Kate's Daughter" was being written, close family made contact with the author to unburden themselves of material they had always refused to share when Catherine was alive. People who knew her when she was a child and at every stage of her life also came forward to set the record straight. Meanwhile Catherine's written records, letters and diaries, only recently lodged in the Catherine Cookson archive at the University of Boston, were made available. What emerges is a documentary portrait, illustrated with contemporary photographs (many provided by her family and never seen before), shot through with a psychological dimension that explains for the first time the fears that cast Catherine into the nightmare of mental breakdown and strung the very darkest veins of autobiography in her novels.
This is as close to Catherine Cookson as anyone will ever comeIt is an affectionate warts-and-all account of her life by Piers Dudgeon, who knew her well. I worked with Catherine Cookson for 17 years before my retirement, and then for some time afterwards. She was a wonderful friend - loyal, generous to a fault, but also demanding. I loved her dearly and still miss our regular telephone calls as, indeed, I miss her presence. Yes, she could be difficult, but I admired her quality of writing and the sheer power of her storytelling. This book brings out the hardships and miseries she faced with Tom, as I once described him, 'the power behind the throne'. A wonderful illuminating summary of her life and work by someone who really cares. A must for all her fans.
Piers Dudgeon worked for ten years as a publisher in London before starting his own company and publishing a number of bestsellers with authors as diverse as Daphne du Maurier, John Fowles, Edward de Bono, Peter Ackroyd and Susan Hill. In the 1980s he worked with Catherine Cookson on her memoir, Catherine Cookson Country. Since 1989 he has worked as a journalist and written nine works of non-fiction. In 1993 he moved with his wife and three children to a village on the North Yorkshire moors, where he is setting up a residential school for writers and artists.
| SKU | Unavailable |
| ISBN 13 | 9780593051412 |
| ISBN 10 | 0593051416 |
| Title | Kate's Daughter |
| Author | Catherine Cookson |
| Condition | Unavailable |
| Binding Type | Hardback |
| Publisher | Transworld Publishers Ltd |
| Year published | 2003-10-01 |
| Number of pages | 192 |
| Cover note | Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary. |
| Note | Unavailable |