Omnibus: The Quality of Mercy + Harvest of Courage

by Eileen Ramsay

THE QUALITY OF MERCY - As an orphan waif growing up in a Glasgow convent before the warm Ferelith Gallagher was used to going her own way in life and dreamed of being Scotland's first female legal advocate. An early, disastrous marriage makes her bury her head in her studies and forsake the attentions of the eligible men in whose circles she moves. Yet if love has not finished with her for good, is it possible she can still have it all? HARVEST OF COURAGE - Blissfully happy in the countryside of her birth, Mairi McLoughlin was content to marry a farmer's son. Her brother Ian feels destined to be more than a farmer and is envious of his friend Robin's academic prowess. With the outbreak of war, Robin's romantic spirit is crushed in the horror of Ypres and Ian, a conscientious objector, sees the world in ways he had never dreamed. As Mairi works the land, harvesting continues across the fields of France - the harvest of human lives...

592 pages, Paperback

Published January 1, 2002

About the author

Eileen Ainsworth was born on 16 December 1940 in the South-West of Scotland, where she brought up. She wrote since she was seven, but she decided become a teacher. After graduating she went to teach in the USA for a year - and stayed 18 years. She married Ian Ramsay, a Scottish mathematics scientist working on the first moon shots. They had two chidren. They returned to their native Scotland.

Her writing for children and adults has won several awards, including the Constable and Pitlochry trophies from the Scottish Association of Writers and the Romantic Novelists' Association's Elizabeth Goudge Award. In 2004 she was short listed for the Romantic Novel of the Year award.

Eileen is an honorary member of the Angus Writers Circle, was vice-president of the Scottish Association of Writers, a member of the Society of Authors and was on the committee of the Scottish branch for about six years and for four was the Secretary, and she was elected the twenty-seventh Chairman (2015-2017) of the Romantic Novelists' Association.

Reviews

[Rosslyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a story of 3 youngsters in the early 1900's. It tells of their hopes, dreams, loves and desires and how this is affected by the first world war. I found the novel quietly compelling as it focused on the home front and how the deaths of so many young men affected wives, mothers, sisters etc. in England. Without being over sentimental it gave a glimpse into the mind set of those returning from the war, conscientious objectors, class breakdown, and more more. It is not the greatest literary work but it is worth reading.

[Klemans Des]

A highly enjoyable book about women issues in the 20th century, about wars and about what it takes of mercy and courage to achieve life goals and survive wars and loss...