Showing results by author "Mary Jane Staples" in All Categories

The Adams family were poor, cheerful and, above all, respectable. There was Mrs Adams, a widow having lost her husband in the Boer War; Boots, the bright one; Tommy, the quiet one; Sammy, a wheeler dealer in the making; and Lizzy. Lizzy was a real pearl - one of the prettiest girls in Walworth. Then Lizzy falls in love it is 1914. War is coming, and everyone is going to be affected. Will the Adams family - gutsy, tough and cheeky - pull through? Down Lambeth Way is the first in Mary Jane Staples' Adams Family series. Their story continues in Our Emily.

Susie Brown is overjoyed when her brother, Will, turns up unexpectedly on leave from service in time for her wedding to Sammy Adams. But Will's leave is an extended one due to bad health, and he's unsure whether the army will keep him or whether he'll be able to find a job in the slump of the '20s. To make matters worse, he's at risk of falling in love with the young and personable Annie Ford.

The house in Caulfield Place, off Browning Street in Walworth, was haunted, or at least that's what the street kids said. So when two men, a woman and a parrot moved in, everyone was very interested, especially 14-year-old Cassie Ford, who was particularly fascinated by the parrot. And it was just about this time that Mr Finch, Chinese Lady's husband and Boots's stepfather began to get mysterious telephone calls. Mr Finch had never told the rest of the Adams family - except for Boots - the secrets of his past, or what kind of work he did for the government.

Jack Andrews was having a tough time. He'd come back from the First World War to find his wife had 'got religion'. She'd got it so badly that she finally went off, left Jim and the three children and joined Father Peter's League of Repenters. She never really came home again. Jack and the children managed as best they could, but things were pretty tough when Aunt Edie turned up. The first thing she did was give her cousin, Maud Andrews, a piece of her mind for running off and leaving her family. But when that didn't do any good, Edie moved in and took over the Andrews family.

Can she win over her sweetheart's family? Emily had always been a trial as a child - pushy and rough - and Boots had always avoided her. But now she's an elegant and stylish young lady, and she and Boots are due to be married - and must face the challenge of his wartime injuries together. Can she draw on that steely toughness to rise to the challenge and do right by the love of her life and his family?

Can she win the heart of the man she loves? Sammy has always had an eye for business and a good deal and is determined to expand the family business. But as his mighty empire grows, his assistant Susie Brown has plans of her own.... Susie has always adored Sammy and has decided that he will be the man she marries. But marriage doesn't figure in Sammy's plans. Will he fall into line? Does he stand a chance against a determined woman and the rest of the Adams family?

The seemingly endless war was at last coming to a conclusion. But for the country and for the Adams family, there were still many tribulations to be overcome. Flying bombs - the deadly V1 buzzbombs - appeared over London, causing dreadful destruction. The struggle continued to overcome the most powerful war machine the world had ever known. But amongst the Cockney community there were lighter moments, too. For Felicity, Eloise and Lizzy there was the happiness of knowing that their menfolk were safe and well.

It was 1940, and many of the younger members of the Adams family were caught up in the war in France. Boots, now a major and on the staff of General Sir Henry Simms, was one of the thousands of British troops trying to escape in the armada of little boats from Dunkirk. His son, Tim, and nephew, Bobby, were also struggling to reach the coast and safety, while Eloise was with the ATS awaiting the homecoming soldiers at Portsmouth with a comforting cup of tea and a ticket home. Boots and Tim both made it safely back, but of Bobby, there was no sign, and the family all feared the worst.

Young Maisie Gibbs is a conscientious young woman, though life is harder since both her parents passed away. She is relieved when she finds a position as a housemaid in Kensington, under the watchful eyes of the formidable housekeeper, Mrs Carpenter, and she quickly settles in. When she meets a handsome young soldier, she is tempted to give him his marching orders. But gradually Corporal Daniel Adams starts to win her over.

From autumn 1941 to the first months of 1942, the war continued to affect the lives of the Adams and Somers families. It was not so much the war, however, as a succession of tragic domestic events that brought a sad and lonely little girl called Phoebe into the care of Susie and Sammy Adams, reminding them of the entry of Rosie as a child into the lives of Boots and Emily. Much needed to be done to cure little Phoebe of her sadness, and it proved a difficult time for Susie and Sammy.

By the year 1949, life in Walworth has almost returned to normal. Sammy and Boots, now in a highly successful partnership, are rebuilding the old family firm. But an old enemy resurfaces - Mr Ben Ford, better known as the Fat Man, who seems determined to ruin the various branches of this growing business. It takes all the well-known Adams ingenuity and determination to outwit the thugs in the Fat Man's pay.

As the 1950s progress, several unexpected happenings ruffle the usually calm atmosphere of Adams family life. Sammy and Boots are troubled by the first stirrings of industrial unrest, as the unions start to flex their muscles and old loyalties change, while an attractive new employee causes Sammy some troubles of a different kind.

The new generation of the family are growing up quickly - Philip and Phoebe are spending time together and Maureen has ambitions to become a model. A local company wants to take over Adams Fashions and Boots and Sammy have difficult decisions to make. Rosie and Matt are thinking about selling the farm but worry their workers. While Felicity has resigned herself to never regaining her sight, Polly sees a familiar face that she can't place - a mysterious stranger who is being sheltered in Walworth. Anneliese encounters someone she never wished to see again and turns to Boots for help.

Sammy Adams is always on the look-out for a new business opportunity. When he hears from his son David about the new-fangled supermarkets that are becoming all the rage in America, he immediately starts looking for a suitable site in South London. Meanwhile, legacies of the last war continue to haunt the Adams family. The mystery of Katje Galicia, the Polish woman who knows something of Sir Edwin Finch's past, becomes a major police enquiry while a beautiful German girl appears, bringing wartime memories back to Tim Adams and his wife, Felicity.

Horace was 10, Ethel seven, when Jim Cooper, home from the trenches, minus an arm and just about managing on his own, found them huddled in a doorway on a wet night in Walworth. Slightly against his better judgement he took them in, fed them cocoa and put them to sleep in his bed. A few days later he found that - somehow - he had become the unofficial guardian of Horace and Ethel.

It's 1959, and Boots Adams and his wife, Polly, are at their favourite Camberwell pub when they witness with horror a sudden and vicious attack on the barman, Joe, by a knife-wielding thug. Is this a sign of the times? Is contempt for old traditions and enthusiasm for everything new and fashionable going to threaten the Adams family and their easy-going existence? While Gemma is courted by one of the young men who works for her father, her twin brother, James, finds himself affected by his girlfriend's intriguing family secrets.

Times move on for the Adams family in South London, and as business prospers, there are new worries to deal with. A young woman arrives who is intent on ruining Sammy Adams' winter fashion show, and Sammy must deal with her unwelcome attention. Boots has to find a solution when one of his female employees tells him about a sinister visitor, but he doesn't realise that his family are being observed.

The 1950s are in full swing, and the Adams family is blessed with many new additions. Chinese Lady now has so many grandchildren that even she can sometimes scarcely remember them all. Boots and Sammy are kept up-to-date by the Adams youngsters, some of whom are now working in the family business. But they also welcome newcomers, including the lovely Anneliese, whose German ancestry makes her less than popular with some of her South London neighbours, and Joe and Hortense, newly arrived from the West Indies and working hard for Matt and Rosie on their farm in Kent.

Excitement is running high in the Adams family. Mr Finch, after a long career in secret government work, is to be knighted - which means that Chinese Lady will become a real 'Lady'! What with having to find a new outfit suitable for the occasion, and worrying about whether she'll have to curtsey to the king, the redoubtable matriarch of the Adams family scarcely knows if she's coming or going.

It is 1946, and with the war at last at an end, members of the Adams family who had been serving with the forces begin to come home. Boots is reunited with Polly and their twins, his son, Tim, returns to the welcoming arms of Felicity, and with so many others coming back, Chinese Lady finds herself once more the watchful matriarch of the family. But grandson Daniel is still serving in an army unit out in Palestine, where he is caught up in life-threatening circumstances, and his American fiancee, Patsy, counts the days until his return.