Paradise Park - Hardcover

Gower, Iris

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0593040171 ISBN 13: 9780593040171

Publisher: Bantam Press, 2002

Synopsis

Rhiannon, proud and spirited, is alone in the world after her one-time sweetheart found a new love. From being a shanty-town woman amongst the railway navvies in Swansea, she wants to make a fresh start and a better life, and finds a position as a housekeeper to a railway engineer. But unforeseen circumstances force her back on the streets, where she faces destitution. At the entrance to the notorious Paradise Park Hotel she encounters Sal, a young street girl whom Rhiannon tries to rescue. Her attempt ends in failure, Sal returns to her old life on the streets and Rhiannon is even more determined to become respectable. She obtains a post as maid to unhappy Janey Buchan, who takes a liking to Rhiannon and teaches her ladylike ways. But tragedy and unhappiness are never far away from Rhiannon's life, until eventually she is able to overcome her heartache and become a successful local businesswoman and owner of the Paradise Park Hotel.

About this title

About the Author

Iris Gower was born in Swansea, where she still lives with her husband in a house overlooking the sea she loves. The mother of four grown-up children, she has written over seventeen bestselling novels. She received an Honorary Fellowship from the University of Wales Swansea in 1999 and was recently awarded an MA in Creative Writing from the University of Cardiff.

From the Back Cover

Rhiannon, proud and spirited, is alone in the world after Bull Beynon, her one-time lover, marries someone else. She gains a respectable post as housekeeper to an elderly man, but when he dies his waspish sister throws her out onto the streets where she faces destitution. At the entrance to the notorious Paradise Park Hotel she encounters Sal, a young street girl whom she tries to rescue.

Her attempt ends in failure and Sal returns to her old life on the streets, leaving Rhiannon is even more determined to become respectable. She obtains a job as maid to unhappy Janey Buchan, who takes a liking to Rhiannon and teaches her ladylike ways. Her rascally husband Dafydd, once the lover of Llinos Mainwaring, causes Janey great unhappiness, and eventually she runs away, leaving Rhiannon once more without a job or a home.

In desperation, knowing that little stands between her and a return to her old life, she finds herself back at the Paradise Park Hotel. Once scarcely more than a bawdy house, it has now changed hands and Rhiannon starts working there, helping gradually to transform it from a place of ill-repute into one of the finest hotels in Swansea. The only thing lacking in her life is love, and with Bull Beynon married to sweet, gentle Katie, she fears that she may have to live out her life alone . . .

Paradise Park is the triumphant finale to Iris Gower's Firebird sequence, set amongst the romantic clay potteries of South Wales.

Edition details

• Publisher: Bantam Press
• Publication date: 2002
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0593040171
• ISBN 13: 9780593040171
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 304