The Hunter's Moon (Timeless Classics Collection) Read online

  A young porter took her to her bedroom, and indicated that it had a bathroom attached, which did not work properly, but if one put the sponge in the plughole and kept the tap running all the time, it would be satisfactory. She changed into a light cotton frock, for it seemed to be pleasantly warm. The young man had said that he would send the lunch up here for her.

  ‘Too tired,’ was his explanation, and he smirked from the doorway. ‘Spring make one tired, madame.’

  She lay down on the bed. Not far from them a man was playing a guitar to a girl, a love song, she felt sure, rich in emotion, and it soothed her. She felt as though she approached the threshold of a period in her life which she could almost call ‘the lovely years’, for her imagination was coaxing her. The impulsive episode with John was over; maybe the girl who had suffered for the quick emotions of youth, was changed, and she was happier to realise this. She saw ahead of her the life of a woman who created, and drew joy from her creation. She fell asleep to the love song of another, and woke when the man brought her lunch on a tray.

  Scraggy chicken, with rice and olives. Fresh oranges, a couple of peaches, and some very good coffee. There was a bottle of sweet wine, which she drank.

  She rested until the afternoon grew older, then she walked out. It was a lovely view, a world which she could enjoy. With the softening light the mountains looked radiant, sharply etched against the sky shot through with pearl. The sun seemed to gain speed as it moved westwards. Suddenly she knew that she was supremely happy. She had asked the young man about the address, and elaborately he had told her the way. She only hoped that she could find it.

  ‘Monsieur is a great sculptor,’ he said, with an impressive reverence.

  ‘Yes, he is very famous.’

  ‘He make the memorial in the square, but it is the secret,’ and he grinned roguishly. ‘Everybody know, but it is the secret.’

  ‘He is very great.’

  ‘And he love the pewtiful ladies?’

  ‘I don’t know about that,’ and she quickly changed the subject. She said the first thing that came into her head. ‘I also sculpt.’ It gave her a thrill.

  She stepped out along the rough road, and somehow she knew that she was a changed woman. A man sang as he drove cattle along the path beneath her, his voice was coarsely strident, but all part of this country.

  The path went on.

  When she looked back she was amazed to see how far she had come, and that was when she heard the sound of another man singing, it was a song from an English musical which she recognised. It’s Bernie, she thought.

  She came to the last steep incline, and now could see the plateau where the grass was shorter. A eucalyptus tree swayed in the light wind, and somehow here its scent seemed to be quite pleasant. It did not recall violent colds in the head as a child. Small campanulas blossomed in the grass, a halcyon blue, and she gathered some and pinned them to her dress. She went up the last of the rough path and on to the plateau before the chalet where he was staying. She saw him sprawled in a chaise longue eating fruit from a huge wooden bowl, and still singing. Then he paused, for a twig had broken under her foot, and he turned.

  ‘Diana!’

  ‘Bernie?’

  He swung round. ‘How on earth did you find me? or is it that you are truly the huntress at heart?’

  ‘A star led me,’ she said and laughed. She knew that never in all her life had she felt so joyously ebullient as she did at this moment, facing him. He came down to her, and swung her up into his arms as though she were merely a flower from the side of the path.

  ‘Why have you come?’

  She spoke the truth. ‘I wanted you. I’m tired of being alone, sick of Madame and the Riviera, and that sort of thing. I suppose I wanted reality, and that is you.’

  ‘I want you,’ he said and kissed her. Perhaps until this moment she had not realised the sort of man he was, but with her head nestled to his big breast she felt herself at peace with all the world. She had come here along what had seemed to be a never-ending road, but she had got here.

  They sat down on the grass, and the loveliness of the Corsican evening enclosed the place. She knew that she had no idea what lay ahead of her, and whither the path would lead her, save that she was his for ever. She was unbelievably happy, and gay.

  He said, ‘I missed you terribly. I never thought it could be quite so bad, but my God, how you haunted me!’

  ‘Why did you leave?’

  ‘I felt that I ought to give the other chap a chance. I could be the block between you.’

  ‘But that is over. I think when I first knew John I was young and starved for love and all those ordinary things of life which I had never had. Maybe I was just hungry for life.’

  ‘You were indeed. Now you are hungry for real love,’ and the hazel eyes danced. He held her closer. ‘I have so much to give you, both of us have suffered, both of us are half starved. I shall make you mine for ever, and you will sculpt and be famous with me.’

  The sun was dropping and had almost gone, and instantly the soft bilberry light of this hour crept over the world. After a moment he spoke again.

  ‘We’ll get a special licence, and go back into the town and have the best supper of our lives. Tomorrow is another day with the whole world ours. This is going to be our life.’

  ‘Our life,’ she said contentedly.

  Half an hour later, before it grew too dark, they went down the side of the mountain hand in hand. A goatherd with a herd being brought home for the night saw them, and laughed at their happiness. He watched them, an old man wizened and bearded, but a wise man for all that. ‘In life there is always love,’ he smiled to himself, and then swore at a roving goat. In life there is always love.

  Wonder Cruise by Ursula Bloom

  Thirtysomething Ann Clements takes a Mediterranean cruise which opens her eyes to the wider world, and to herself.

  London, 1934. Ann Clements is thirty-five and single, and believes nothing exciting will ever happen to her. Then, she wins a large sum of money in a sweepstake and suddenly can dare to dream of a more adventurous life. She buys a ticket for a Mediterranean cruise, against the wishes of her stern brother, the Rev. Cuthbert, who has other ideas about how she should spend her windfall.

  Ann steps out of the shadows of her mundane life into the heat of the Mediterranean sun. Travelling to Gibraltar, Marseilles, Naples, Malta and Venice, Ann’s eyes are opened to people and experiences far removed from her sheltered existence. As Ann blossoms, discovering love and passion for the very first time, the biggest question is, can there be any going back?

  An engaging and witty story about an unforgettable 1930s woman; Ann Clements will stay with you long after the last page.

  ‘Ursula Bloom writes in a delightful way, with a deep understanding of human nature and a quick eye for the humorous things in life. Wonder Cruise … is one of the most entertaining novels we have read for a long time.’ Cambridge Daily News

  ‘Vividly entrancing.’ Scotsman

  ‘… with every book she adds something to her reputation … related with all Miss Bloom’s liveliness and easy skill.’ Daily Telegraph

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  Youth at the Gate by Ursula Bloom

  The touching true account of a young woman’s life on the home front during the First World War.

  Ursula Bloom (who also wrote as Lozania Prole) movingly describes how the Great War forever changed the lives of ordinary people in Britain. When Ursula says goodbye to both her suitor and brother as they go to war, patriotic excitement soon turns to worry and despair.

  This memoir vividly brings to life the experiences of people struggling to live through World War I. Ursula Bloom’s honest and heartfelt story shows us the challenges of food rationing and the constant bombing by Zeppelins overhead. Rumours of Germa
n spies abound, and even Ursula and her mother find themselves under suspicion by their neighbours.

  Ursula’s autobiography also looks at the realities of life in the early twentieth century, when operations were carried out on the kitchen table, a pregnant woman shouldn’t be seen in public, and an officer and a private couldn’t mix under the same roof.

  Not only the realities of war force an innocent Ursula to grow up. She must face her mother’s serious illness, the demons of her husband-to-be, and the snobbery of his wealthy family. There are lighter moments too, such as the tale of the Bloom’s fictitious maid, Emily, who they have to invent rather than admit that they can’t afford a servant.

  Ursula Bloom went on to become a bestselling novelist, playwright and journalist. This moving autobiography is a must for all of those interested in life at home during the Great War, as well as for fans of her novels, such as Wonder Cruise.

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  Promises by Catherine Gaskin

  The gripping story of a remarkable woman and the promises she must keep to those she loves.

  A sweeping family saga, from the grand homes of Yorkshire and London in the Edwardian era, to the heartbreak of a French nursing station during World War I, and the glamour of American high society in the 1920s.

  Lally Leeds is just a baby when wealthy Black Jack Pollock finds her abandoned in a Yorkshire street and decides to raise her alongside his own children. As Lally blossoms into a young woman, the love and loyalty she feels towards her adoptive family bring her both happiness and heartache.

  Over time, it is Lally’s strength and devotion which hold the Pollock family together: her dashing brother, Jon; her selfish and self-destructive sister Margaret; and fragile Alice, who must been protected from herself. And the family’s fortunes become entwined with those of another foundling ‒ the mysterious, self-made businessman Brock Weymouth. Lally discovers to her cost that sometimes the most difficult promises to keep are to those we love.

  By the ‘Queen of Storytellers’ ‒ over 40 million book sales worldwide.

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  Victoria Four-thirty by Cecil Roberts

  London, 1937. A world famous composer, a honeymooning couple, a novelist in search of a plot, a German film star, a young crown prince and a sister of charity are among the disparate group of travellers on the boat train to continental Europe.

  ‘It would be very interesting to know the life history of everybody on this train – why we are travelling on it …’

  Set amid the political upheaval of the 1930s, this is the witty, insightful and bittersweet story of the passengers on the Four-thirty from Victoria. Each is facing a different journey, with their own hopes, fears and challenges; and for some, their lives will cross in unexpected ways.

  The 80th anniversary edition of the newly rediscovered classic bestseller from the 1930s.

  A splendid achievement, with a classic quality.’ Daily Telegraph

  ‘What a good novelist …’ Sunday Times

  ‘A book of considerable imaginative quality.’ The Guardian

  ‘A marvel of construction and execution …’ Yorkshire Post

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  Wind on the Heath by Naomi Jacob

  A moving story of family ties and true love battling against the odds in wartime Yorkshire.

  From their first meeting there is an undeniable attraction between Liz Tancred and Michael Anderson, but convention means they must keep their feelings to themselves, for now.

  Liz is a courageous woman whose life is not all that it seems. Michael is a dutiful young man who steps in to run his family’s farm when tragedy strikes.

  Then, the outbreak of World War II changes everything. As Liz and Michael rise to the challenges of wartime life, can their love blossom and, more importantly, will it survive?

  From the bestselling author of The Gollantz Family Saga.

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  The Print Petticoat by Lucilla Andrews

  ‘Arguably the best of all writers of hospital fiction.’ Nursing Times

  A moving story of heartache and hope in the Maternity Unit of a busy 1950s teaching hospital.

  Joanna Anthony is a dedicated Nursery staff nurse at St Gregory’s Hospital. The nurses and doctors share laughter and tears as they tend to the mothers and babies in their care.

  There is time for romance, too. After five years together, is ambitious Dr Richard Everley finally ready to settle down with Joanna? And what of the two other young doctors who have more than a professional interest in her?

  It takes a serious illness for Joanna to understand where, and with whom, her future really lies.

  This engaging story of the everyday experiences of a 1950s nurse, vividly brings to life the colourful characters, drama, love and loss to be found on a hospital ward.

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  A Shaft of Light by John Finch

  The poignant story of young people growing up during the beginning of the Second World War.

  Life in a Yorkshire mining village is tough, as families struggle to survive the harsh deprivations of working class life, and to keep hope, spirit and dignity alive.

  Denis and Ted are best friends, but in some ways their lives are world’s apart. Shopkeeper’s son Denis questions what the future may hold for him. The advent of war shows him the possibilities of a life far from all he knows. Yet Ted, from the poorest part of the village, dreams only of becoming a man and starting to work down the pit, like his father before him. Both boys are drawn to Jean, a bold, spirited young woman from their village, but only one of them can win her heart.

  The youngsters face the challenges and responsibilities of growing up, as they experience love, death and desire, and the consequences which will change their lives forever.

  From the acclaimed creator and writer of the classic television family sagas A Family at War and Sam, and former Coronation Street scriptwriter, John Finch. Previously published as Cuddon Return.

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  Wyndham Books: Timeless bestsellers for today’s readers

  Wyndham Books publishes the first ebook editions of bestselling works by some of the most popular authors of the twentieth century, such as Lucilla Andrews, Ursula Bloom, Catherine Gaskin and Naomi Jacob. Enjoy our Historical, Family Saga, Regency, Romance and Medical fiction and non-fiction.

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  TIMELESS CLASSICS COLLECTION

  by Ursula Bloom

  Wonder Cruise

  Three Sisters

  Dinah’s Husband

  The Painted Lady

  The Hunter’s Moon

  Fruit on the Bough

  Three Sons

  Facade

  Forty is Beginning

  The Passionate Heart

  Nine Lives

  Spring in September

  Lovely Shadow

 
; The Golden Flame

  Many more titles coming soon

  www.ursulabloom.com

  Ursula Bloom: A Life in Words podcast

  Listen to the free, five-part podcast series based on the autobiographical writing of Ursula Bloom. The podcast covers Ursula’s life as a young woman on the Home Front in the Great War, and her rise to success and fame in the publishing world of the 1920s to 1940s.

  www.ursulabloom.com/ursula-bloom-a-life-in-words-podcast