Lesley Pearse
Lesley Pearse is one of the UK's best-loved novelists with fans across the globe and sales of over 2 million copies of her books to date. A true storyteller and a master of gripping storylines that keep the reader hooked from beginning to end, Pearse introduces you to characters that it is impossible not to care about or forget. There is no formula to her books or easily defined genre. Whether crime as in 'Till We Meet Again', historical adventure like 'Never Look Back', or the passionately emotive 'Trust Me', based on the true-life scandal of British child migrants sent to Australia in the post war period, she engages the reader completely.
Truth is often stranger than fiction and Lesley's life has been as packed with drama as her books. She was three when her mother died under tragic circumstances. Her father was away at sea and it was only when a neighbour saw Lesley and her brother playing outside without coats on that suspicion was aroused - their mother had been dead for some time. With her father in the Royal Marines, Lesley and her older brother spent three years in grim orphanages before her father remarried - a veritable dragon of an ex army nurse - and Lesley and her older brother were brought home again, to be joined by two other children who were later adopted by her father and stepmother, and a continuing stream of foster children. The impact of constant change and uncertainty in Lesley's early years is reflected in one of the recurring themes in her books: what happens to those who are emotionally damaged as children. It was an extraordinary childhood and in all her books, Lesley has skilfully married the pain and unhappiness of her early experiences with a unique gift for storytelling.
“Hate was a far easier emotion to deal with sometimes. It burned fiercely and eventually died. Love stayed.”
“You can't do anything about the past, it's done and can't be mended. But the future is different, if you just think what you really want and reach out and take it.”
“I was too stubborn to really take on what she was saying. But we're all guilty sometimes of only listening to what we want to hear.”
“So how do you know when the boy's perfect for you?' Dulcie askedBetty gave her a tender look. 'You'll just know. That sounds vague, I know, but it's true.”
“Now, tomorrow you got to put on a happy face, not for me, nor May, or anyone else, just for yourself. 'Cause that's a magic trick I learned a long time ago, if you look like you're happy, you soon get to be.”