Harold

The Hamilton Trilogy #3

by Catherine Cookson

Catherine Cookson's well-loved novels HAMILTON and GOODBYE HAMILTON told the story of Maisie, who invented an imaginary horse to keep her company through the long years of an unhappy marriage, and became a bestselling author. In this engaging sequel, Hamilton has vanished from Maisie's life and two human companions take his place in a story full of excitement, laughter and love. In the days of mourning that followed the death of her second husband Nardy, Maisie took comfort from the company of the cheerful, bright-eyed little cockney boy called Harold. Now, a year later, she has decided to adopt him, to the delight of his large, raucous family - and, of course, Harold himself.

Genres: Fiction, Romance, Audiobook, Historical Fiction

263 pages, Paperback

First published February 9, 1985

About the author

Catherine Cookson was born in Tyne Dock, the illegitimate daughter of a poverty-stricken woman, Kate, who Catherine believed was her older sister. Catherine began work in service but eventually moved south to Hastings, where she met and married Tom Cookson, a local grammar-school master.

Although she was originally acclaimed as a regional writer - her novel The Round Tower won the Winifred Holtby Award for the best regional novel of 1968 - her readership quickly spread throughout the world, and her many best-selling novels established her as one of the most popular contemporary woman novelist. She received an OBE in 1985, was created a Dame of the British Empire in 1993, and was appointed an Honorary Fellow of St Hilda's College, Oxford, in 1997.

For many years she lived near Newcastle upon Tyne.

Reviews

[[ J o ] · Rating 1 out of 5]

My first Catherine Cookson book, I hesitate to say it won't be my last despite the fact I really didn't enjoy it. Mercifully it was written well and was a very quick read, but otherwise the plot was not to my liking and I found the characters very twee: rather odd for 80s English, however middle class they may have been.



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[Kristal Fleming · Rating 5 out of 5]

Harold
Warning: Domestic Abuse is in here along with assaults and other crimes for that time.

Thoughts: another great book by Catherine Cookson. A lot of details that makes it truly shine and take off. This is one of the best trilogies she did in my opinion. I can’t wait for more.

Synopsis:
We start by having Maisie adopt Harold. She collects him from his Grans and he says bye. The father checks he can see him.

Tommy picks them up and takes them for tea. He admits he wants more and Maisie is not sure she does. Harold tries to hurry Tommy out the door.

Maisie finds a babysitter and goes out with him on several occasions. Harold enjoys the Captain and Lady who see to him. Harold is asked to join the choir but is to shy.

Harold struggles with his outings with his father and asks to not go.

Maisie’s relationship with Gran remains strained. The pains in her stomach and strange feeling has returned. They argue over Harold’s adoption and Stickle’s fight in the prison before she hangs up on her.

Janet tells her that Harold’s father is free again. This worries Maisie. She led not know why. She heads to see the doctor about the pain in her stomach. She runs into John (Mohican) who has a message for Hilda he wants to leave. There is a small scene with him and the police.

Maisie soon finds Harold and herself in a troubling con artist history where a Native American called John wants to help, but Tommy does not trust him.

Poor Harold feels pulled from pillar to post.

Mr Stoffart Harold’s father tries to push his luck and when Maisie bows away he gets nasty. Mr Tommy arrives after seeing Mr Stoffart hit Maisie. They brawl in the street and get arrested.

Maisie leaves Harold with Mr and Mrs Brown when she goes to see Mr Tommy. A reporter pounces on her and one of the policemen is rude. The other chases after her and reassures her.

Back home Maisie takes Harold upstairs and he asks if his dad had fought Mr Tommy. Maisie has to explain what happened.

Maisie seems to turn her life around even being visited by Doctor Kane who recommends she sees Dr Bell about speaking to someone about her mind. He even suggests that Harold is the best thing for her.

One night after Doctor Kane leaves Maisie has a nightmare and no pain. She discovers that Stickle has hung himself in prison, as her gran tells her all about it in the papers.

Doctor Kane calls and says he must see her the next day. He talks to her and tells her that she will be okay. She is free of Stickle.

The following day she meets the Mohican called John who points out the shop but gets into a scuffle. Maisie runs to help him and witnesses him being killed.

They kidnap her and keep her till dark dosed to the eyeballs in some sort of drug. She is taken to the cliffs and thrown off. Somehow Maisie survives.

Maisie wakes up in hospital in London with a broken leg, arm and skull fractures. Almost a month after being kidnapped. She is so confused.

She finds out the Mohican had survived too and was an officer. He tells her how they caught the men. They are up on attempt murder charges. He has to leave when Tommy arrives. In that meeting he declares he has bought a boat and is determined to sail with her Maisie is unsure.

Being reunited with Harold is touching when he tells her he got three stars and that he loves her. Janet promises to bring him around.

Mike visited and filled her in on her injuries. He is worried for her and she know she loves him.

Gran and Georgie stop by when Maisie is struggling with food. Where things go okay. Gran is focused on May and the kids rather than Maisie now. Maisie realises it’s the way it should be.

Mohican tries one attempt to sway Maisie to accept him. He fails. Maisie is left confused and angry at herself. Hilda comes to beg her to appeal to him. She finds out that the Mohican made her get an abortion. She is staying with Maggie now.

Maggie comes to visit with Harold in tow and learns that Stoddart is not his real father. That Harold will be staying with her and she was there to reassure her.

Tommy arrives like it’s Christmas. He tells her that he has bought the boat. She is shocked and tells him that she will marry him. That she on some level of love, has managed to love him.

Mohican visits again and Maisie tells him of the outcome. He is not shocked and is disappointed. The discuss the trail and he leaves her a little rattled.

Back home with Harold, Tommy, Janet abs Sandy she talks to Hilda where she tells her that to show the Mohican he is wrong is the only way. She learns of her new job and asks Hilda to drop in on her every so often.

Maisie visits the boat and is blown away. They take a trip up the river and she finds all is right with the world again.

Maisie is violently ill when she goes to trial yet makes it through it despite Mohican’s comments that makes her uncomfortable.

The men and woman are found guilty. They go away for long stretches. Gran and Janet realise they are the same. Maisie marries Mr Tommy and she reassures Harold he always has his place with her.

[Redfox5 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although I really enjoyed the third book in the 'Hamilton' series, there were a fair few things that bugged me. I'll get them out of the way first!

1) Maisie's relationship with Tommy. I just wasn't feeling this and I'm not sure how you can force yourself to love somebody because he is your dead husbands best friend. A best friend who acted terribly towards your dead husband as he was dying! I really didn't want her to marry him. Was hoping she would go off with John at the last minute.

2) Maisie's relationship with Gran. This was so lovely in the first book, it started to go sour in the second book and had completely disintegrated by this one. It got to the point where Gran was just phoning up to insult Maisie and I didn't like this at all. Thankfully it seemed to have been patched up by the end but it did mean we also spent most of the book without her and George, both whom are great characters.

3) Howard being able to do voodoo magic on Maisie when he was in prison. What!? And it actually worked. This made no sense.

Now for the good things! I love Harold. His relationship with Maisie is something special. I'm so glad she adopted him. This also led onto us meeting more of Janet's family who I liked and laid down the main plot of the story, which I won't spoil but it involves a mohican and some drug runners. Very good!

I'm really interested to read the next one even though it's not written by Cookson. I read the extract at the end of this book and it doesn't look like it's been all happy ever after for Maisie just yet :(

[Jeannine · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not as good as the first two, but still quite enjoyable.

[Pattie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow, talk about going through a lot of tough things and being resilient. I really enjoyed Harold. He actually made me laugh out loud. This 3 book series was extremely good.

[Rachelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Had this on my shelf for months before picking it up, as I borrowed it from my mother. Had 'judged it by its cover' thinking it was from the 1960s, and since she had gotten it as discarded from the city library, assumed it wouldn't be good at all.
Liked the first half or so more than the second, seeing the relationship build between Maisie and Harold. Actually thought the book was going to be about adoption (as I never read the back to know anything about a book before I begin it). Nor did I know until right now that this is part of a series! LOL I think I'd like to read the book about the horse (Hamilton?). Fortunately, the references to earlier books in this series were just that, and this one started off well enough where I wasn't confused by anything.
The dramatic events, or should I say main plot, of this book were enough to keep me entertained, but the end was predictable.

[Hannah Polley · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the first Catherine Cookson book I've read in a long time (over 10 years) and it is the third book in a series. I've not read the first two but I think I would like to after reading this one.

The book is about Maisie, who is adopting a child after the death of her husband. It is nice reading about Maisie's relationship with the child and her developing relationship with Tommy, who was in love with her before her husband died.

The book then takes a weird turn that seems out of character and Maisie is kidnapped, drugged and thrown off a cliff. It all happens and is resolved so quickly that it just seems really strange to have such a fanciful story line in the book. Anyway it all works out in the end and finishes with Maisie marrying Tommy.

It is a nice enough book and it was an easy read. It's silly in places but I liked it and would be interested in reading the earlier books.

[Lynn Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

SYNOPSIS: 1984
Although Maisie is grieving for her beloved second husband, she finds comfort and even joy in the company of a bright-eyed little lad named Harold. Deciding to adopt him, she begins to find happiness once more, and rarely needs to escape from reality into her imagination. She is even beginning to hope that true love could strike twice. But life is never simple, and an unexpected friendship with a curious man could leave Maisie in grave danger... Harold is the final novel full of excitement, laughter and love in Catherine Cookson's delightful and hugely popular modern trilogy.

[Barbra · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is the final part of the 'Hamilton' triology.

Back Cover Blurb:
The imaginary horse has vanished from Maisie's life, and in the days after the death of her second husband she takes comfort from the company of a cheerful, bright-eyed little Cockney boy named Harold.

[Rachel (Sfogs) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good book! Much happier overall than the last two, though when Maisie's was abducted it was scary!

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a classic Catherine Cookson story. It continues the story of Maisie following the death of her beloved husband Nardy. Harold is her adopted son, and he keeps her on her toes!