Secrets of the Chest (Paperback)

On the morning of her 18th birthday, when Suzanne opens a letter left to her from her deceased grandmother, Marie, little does she know what a roller-coaster of surprises lies ahead of her. Her birthday gift from Marie is an old oak chest which had been passed down through generations of the women in her family since it was made some 400 years ago. Within the chest, waiting for Suzanne to discover, are some of the life stories and secrets of her female ancestors from 1604 right up to the 20th century. First there is Mary, for whom the chest was made, who is married to an abusive husband, and writes of violence and murder in a diary meant for her sons. This journal starts with arrival in England of the first Scottish king, and continues through the Civil War to the Great Fire of London. Then there are Miriam and Maria. Miriam is a lost soul, who questions why she was abandoned by her mother, and Maria is a lively teenager, whose diary begins with her love and longing for a handsome soldier during the culmination of the long Napoleonic Wars.
Finally there is Marie, herself, who not only follows her mother's family connections from the struggles at home during the Second World War right back to the 1600s, but is also taken on an emotional journey of self discovery. Now it is time for Suzanne to share the secrets and perhaps, in time, to include some secrets of her own!