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Sea Change
Katherine Summerbee, has been brought up on a boat by her gruff father with no luxuries and little love. She meets handsome, courageous Matthew Oliver, an Englishman who is smuggling Confederate gold out of Civil War-torn New Orleans on the eve of the Yankee occupation. A tumultuous night ends in lust, a forced marriage and Matthew's quick departure. When Kate travels to England to find her husband, however, she discovers that he is actually the owner of a huge shipping concern, that they were not legally married and that he has a new wife. But her fate is irrevocably intertwined with that of Matthew and his family, and she is soon firmly lodged in the middle of a bitter battle of wills between Matthew and his father, the spirited, dashing and trustworthy Adam Gaunt.
- GenresFictionHistorical
448 pages, Hardcover
First published March 15, 1992
About the author
Alison McLeay
16 books5 followers ALISON McLeay was an author with a special flair for historical and romantic fiction. Formerly a distinguished freelance radio presenter and producer with the BBC, she began writing in the mid-Seventies and went on to achieve a remarkable international readership throughout Europe and the United States, where she entered the bestseller lists.
After Dundee High School, where she was English dux, McLeay studied English and medieval history at St Andrews University.
While a student at Scotland's oldest university, she was a founder member of the biennial St Andrews Festival of Arts -organised and administered solely by students and, as such, unique in Europe - which became recognised as one of the principal international winter festivals in the country, although eventually folding during the Nineties.
After graduating from St Andrews, she went on to Glasgow University to complete a postgraduate course in radio drama, before joining the staff of the BBC.
She later became a freelance with BBC Radio in a wide variety of live morning programmes on Radio Scotland, on occasion presenting and producing Woman's Hour and Kaleidoscope, and also writing drama productions.
On her marriage to Simon Martin, a former journalist and salvage diver, in 1980, she returned to St Andrews where she was to live for the rest of her life. The couple set up and operated the town's first wine bar, and later a cookshop.
Her first book, The World of The Onedin Line, about the real-life seamen's world behind the popular television series, was published in 1977. "I kept trying to reassure myself that I had a book in me, until one day I bunged the manuscript down to a publisher and within a week I had an acceptance."
Her second book, Tobermory Treasure, which appeared in 1986, told the story of the Spanish Armada ship wrecked off Mull with its fabulous cargo worth $30 million. Such was her meticulous attention to detail in the research for her books that she learned to dive to join the salvage team involved with the Spanish galleon. She also scripted and produced a Radio 4 feature on the 400-year search for the vessel.
But it was not until the publication of her first novel, The Wayward Tide, in 1990, that McLeay became a formidable player in the literary market for historical romance. The book became an instant best-seller, and was labelled "the most stunning fiction debut in years" by Publishers' Weekly in America, where the first print run reached an astonishing 100,000 copies. The Wayward Tide was published in ten different languages.
The sea, travel and the lure of distant lands, played a central role in her tales of love and life. Her second novel, Sweet Exile, set in New Orleans and the Fens in England, followed soon afterwards. Her next, The Dream Maker, was set in Hudson's Bay. This was followed by After Shanghai and The Summer House, the paperback of which is due to be published later this month. Her recent works have proved to be particularly popular in France and Germany.
McLeay travelled to many parts of the world to carry out research for her books. "If you are going to have the feel of the place, you have to go there," she once said. Her other interests included cooking, gardening, painting, collages and reading.
Alison McLeay is survived by her husband and their 12-year-old son, Richard.
- Source: http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi...
After Dundee High School, where she was English dux, McLeay studied English and medieval history at St Andrews University.
While a student at Scotland's oldest university, she was a founder member of the biennial St Andrews Festival of Arts -organised and administered solely by students and, as such, unique in Europe - which became recognised as one of the principal international winter festivals in the country, although eventually folding during the Nineties.
After graduating from St Andrews, she went on to Glasgow University to complete a postgraduate course in radio drama, before joining the staff of the BBC.
She later became a freelance with BBC Radio in a wide variety of live morning programmes on Radio Scotland, on occasion presenting and producing Woman's Hour and Kaleidoscope, and also writing drama productions.
On her marriage to Simon Martin, a former journalist and salvage diver, in 1980, she returned to St Andrews where she was to live for the rest of her life. The couple set up and operated the town's first wine bar, and later a cookshop.
Her first book, The World of The Onedin Line, about the real-life seamen's world behind the popular television series, was published in 1977. "I kept trying to reassure myself that I had a book in me, until one day I bunged the manuscript down to a publisher and within a week I had an acceptance."
Her second book, Tobermory Treasure, which appeared in 1986, told the story of the Spanish Armada ship wrecked off Mull with its fabulous cargo worth $30 million. Such was her meticulous attention to detail in the research for her books that she learned to dive to join the salvage team involved with the Spanish galleon. She also scripted and produced a Radio 4 feature on the 400-year search for the vessel.
But it was not until the publication of her first novel, The Wayward Tide, in 1990, that McLeay became a formidable player in the literary market for historical romance. The book became an instant best-seller, and was labelled "the most stunning fiction debut in years" by Publishers' Weekly in America, where the first print run reached an astonishing 100,000 copies. The Wayward Tide was published in ten different languages.
The sea, travel and the lure of distant lands, played a central role in her tales of love and life. Her second novel, Sweet Exile, set in New Orleans and the Fens in England, followed soon afterwards. Her next, The Dream Maker, was set in Hudson's Bay. This was followed by After Shanghai and The Summer House, the paperback of which is due to be published later this month. Her recent works have proved to be particularly popular in France and Germany.
McLeay travelled to many parts of the world to carry out research for her books. "If you are going to have the feel of the place, you have to go there," she once said. Her other interests included cooking, gardening, painting, collages and reading.
Alison McLeay is survived by her husband and their 12-year-old son, Richard.
- Source: http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi...
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
Read
March 21, 2022While the American civil war is in the background during much of this novel, the primary story is that of Katherine Summerbee - a young girl born and raised on a Mississippi river boat. Katherine, who is white, has been raised, off the grid so to speak, by her father and his crewman - a freed black man. A former passenger taught her to read, so reading old newspapers and found books is her primary education. One night her life is altered forever when her father agrees to help an englishman around the blockade. Katherine spends most of the rest of her life in England - in very non-traditional roles. In spite of her informal education, Katherine/Kate is very much herself. A fun read.
July 11, 2020
This book came off my TBR shelf and needed to be dusted off. I'm so glad I finally got around to it. I loved the characters and the author did a great job putting the story together. A timeless family saga.
June 25, 2013
I enjoyed this book - just for the pleasure of reading it. If you are a true realist, this book is not for you - I found the romance unbelievable and the final adventure contrived. That being said, if you like interesting characters and/or a nice romance with a bit of excitement in it, try this one! I'm not usually into romance, but this book was well written and entertaining.
Read
January 11, 2014excellent character development and interesting Civil War-era plot.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews