The Clydesiders

Margaret Thomson Davis

Feb 2000 · The Clydesiders Trilogy Book 1 · Black & White Publishing

About this ebook

In the summer of 1914, as the storm clouds of war begin to gather over Europe, life in Glasgow goes on as normal - for the rich in their elegant mansions, and for the poor in the overcrowded tenements of the Gorbals. Up at Hilltop House, home of the wealthy Cartwright family, Virginia Watson is a kitchen maid whose life below stairs is an endless round of hardship and drudgery. Back in the Gorbals, her family are fighting a losing battle against unemployment, hunger and disease, while her father and brothers dream of the revolution that John Maclean and the 'Red Clydesiders' promise will be their salvation. Everything changes for Virginia after a chance meeting with Nicholas Cartwright, a dashing young army officer and heir to the Cartwright fortune. Defying all the conventions of the time, their illicit romance has hardly begun when war breaks out, and Nicholas leaves to face the horrors of the Western Front. A powerful tale of love and loss, The Clydesiders is a brilliant portrayal of Glasgow during the First World War and the revolutionary turmoil of Red Clydeside.

About the author

Margaret Thomson Davis was born in Bathgate, West Lothian, Scotland on May 24, 1926. She left school and began a lifelong practice of observational writing. While writing stories and sketches for magazines, she worked in factories and nurseries. She wrote more than 35 novels during her lifetime including The Breadmakers, A Baby Might Be Crying, A Sort of Peace, The Dark Side of Pleasure, In Light and Dark, Goodmans of Glassford Street, and the Clydesiders trilogy. She also wrote two autobiographies entitled Making of a Novelist and Write from the Heart. She died on June 14, 2016 at the age of 90.