The Adams Family

The beginning of a wonderful saga telling the story of a Cockney family in peace and war from multi-million copy seller Mary Jane Staples. Perfect for fans of Kitty Neale, Maggie Ford and Katie Flynn.

PRAISE FOR THE ADAMS FAMILY SERIES!

"Mary Jane Staples makes you care about her characters, which explains why her books have enjoyed so much popularity" -- Take a Break
"Forget Eastenders, this it the London of old, when people knew each other's names and communities really pulled together." -- Woman's Realm
"Mary Jane Staples completely capture the feel of the period and the essence of the people...has warmth, humour and charm. An ideal book for you holiday reading." Finesse
"I get so engrossed in the stories I feel like one of the family." - ***** Reader review.
"The story of the Adams family is just wonderful, I can't put this book down. You feel part of the family as you read all about them." -- ***** Reader review.

*****

ON THE EVE OF WAR, CAN SHE AND HER FAMILY PULL THROUGH?

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.

When 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's Adams Family series. Their story continues in Our Emily.

The continuation of a wonderful saga telling the story of a Cockney family in peace and war from multi-million copy seller Mary Jane Staples. Perfect for fans of Donna Douglas, Kitty Neale and Maggie Ford.

PRAISE FOR THE ADAMS FAMILY SERIES!
"Mary Jane Staples makes you care about her characters, which explains why her books have enjoyed so much popularity" -- Take a Break
"Forget Eastenders, this it the London of old, when people knew each other's names and communities really pulled together." -- Woman's Realm
"Mary Jane Staples completely capture the feel of the period and the essence of the people...has warmth, humour and charm. An ideal book for you holiday reading." Finesse
"I get so engrossed in the stories I feel like one of the family." - ***** Reader review.
"Read this book and you want it to go on, you want to know more of the Adams Family, can't wait to read more." -- ***** Reader review.

*****

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?

Our Emily is the second in Mary Jane Staples's Adams Family series. Their story continues in The King of Camberwell. Have you read Down Lambeth Way, the first Adams Family book?

The next instalment of a wonderful saga telling the story of a Cockney family in peace and war from multi-million copy seller Mary Jane Staples. Perfect for fans of Kitty Neale, Maggie Ford and Katie Flynn.

PRAISE FOR THE ADAMS FAMILY SERIES!
"Mary Jane Staples makes you care about her characters, which explains why her books have enjoyed so much popularity" -- Take a Break
"Forget Eastenders, this it the London of old, when people knew each other's names and communities really pulled together." -- Woman's Realm
"Mary Jane Staples completely capture the feel of the period and the essence of the people...has warmth, humour and charm. An ideal book for you holiday reading." Finesse
"I get so engrossed in the stories I feel like one of the family." - ***** Reader review.
"These books about the Adam's family are fantastic! These books are the kind you can read, leave a while and read again & again!" - ***** Reader review

*****

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 Adam's family?

The King of Camberwell is the third in Mary Jane Staples's Adams Family series. Their story continues in On Mother Brown's Doorstep. Have you read Down Lambeth Way and Our Emily, the first two books in the series?

By Sunday Times bestseller Mary Jane Staples, this is the gritty and uplifting next instalment in the Adams Family saga. Perfect for fans of Maggie Ford and Kitty Neale and Donna Douglas.

PRAISE FOR THE ADAMS FAMILY SERIES!
"Mary Jane Staples makes you care about her characters, which explains why her books have enjoyed so much popularity" -- Take a Break
"Forget Eastenders, this it the London of old, when people knew each other's names and communities really pulled together." -- Woman's Realm
"Mary Jane Staples completely capture the feel of the period and the essence of the people...has warmth, humour and charm. An ideal book for you holiday reading." Finesse
"I get so engrossed in the stories I feel like one of the family." - ***** Reader review.
"These books about the Adam's family are fantastic! These books are the kind you can read, leave a while and read again & again!" - ***** Reader review

*****


AS WEDDING BELLS RING, WALWORTH IS TURNED UPSIDE DOWN BY TRAGIC EVENTS ...

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 Twenties. To make matters worse, he's at risk of falling in love with the young and personable Annie Ford ...

Amidst the joyous wedding preparations, a cloud hangs over Walworth - the mystery of three young girls missing from their homes. A mystery that will culminate - along with Will's personal problems - on the night of the wedding.

On Mother Brown's Doorstep is the fourth in Mary Jane Staples's Adams Family series. Their story continues in A Family Affair. Have you read Down Lambeth Way, Our Emily and King of Camberwell - the first three Adams Family novels ?

By Sunday Times bestseller Mary Jane Staples, this is the gripping next instalment in the Adams Family saga. Perfect for fans of Donna Douglas, Maggie Ford and Katie Flynn.

PRAISE FOR THE ADAMS FAMILY SERIES!
"Mary Jane Staples makes you care about her characters, which explains why her books have enjoyed so much popularity" -- Take a Break
"Forget Eastenders, this it the London of old, when people knew each other's names and communities really pulled together." -- Woman's Realm
"Mary Jane Staples completely capture the feel of the period and the essence of the people...has warmth, humour and charm. An ideal book for you holiday reading." Finesse
"I get so engrossed in the stories I feel like one of the family." - ***** Reader review.
"These books about the Adam's family are fantastic! These books are the kind you can read, leave a while and read again & again!" - ***** Reader review

*****

CAN THE FAMILY KEEP SAFE FROM HARM?

1926: A murderer is behind bars - thanks to Boots - but he is now plotting revenge on the entire Adams clan from his cell.

When a dapper, quiet, but rather odd lodger turns up at Doreen Paterson's house, nobody thinks anything is amiss. Certainly not Doreen - who works for Boots in Adams Enterprises and thinks him just wonderful...

Could the strange lodger be plotting the downfall of the irrepressible, outrageous, and larger-than-life Adams clan?

A Family Affair is the fifth in Mary Jane Staples's Adams Family series. Their story continues in Missing Person. Have you read the first four Adams Family novels?

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 fourteen-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, and he decided not to tell them about the slightly sinister telephone calls either. It was when he took Chinese Lady on a summer's day jaunt in his Morris motorcar that things began to happen. For, in the Hog's Back Hotel, Chinese Lady went to the cloakroom, and when she came back Mr Finch had vanished. It took all of Boots's ingenuity to discover what had happened, and Cassie's knowledge of the Caulfield Place parrot was to prove a vital clue in unravelling the mystery.

There was a new family in Browning Street, Walworth - the Harrisons. Respectable and well-behaved, the only thing unusual about them was that Mr Harrison was never there. He was a sailor, said Ma Harrison, away fighting pirates in the China Seas. Actually, 'Knocker' Harrison was in Marsham Gaol - he had unfortunately burgled a lady's suite when she happened to be there. Pa wasn't really a very good burglar. When young Nick Harrison, eldest son and heir of Ma and Knocker, met Annabelle Somers he found himself in a very difficult situation. For seventeen-year-old Annabelle was a peach of a girl, was related to the highly respectable Adams family, and was really quite keen on Nick, very interested in him and in his family. What with keeping Annabelle at arm's length in case she found out about Pa, and with the problems of running the Browning Street Rovers football team (the ball was owned by Chrissie Evans who laid down her own rules about the team) Nick sometimes wondered if his life would ever be sorted out.

It was June 1916 when Sergeant Boots Adams of the Royal West Kents, together with his men, was billeted on the Descartes farm in Northern France. It was a short break from the turmoil and horror of the trenches, and Boots and his men, in return for their free billeting, were to help the farmer in his fields. It came as something of a surprise to discover that the land was being managed by a young French war widow, Cecile Lacoste and, to the distant sound of guns, a brief wartime friendship flared between Boots and Cecile. The friendship was cut brutally short when, once more, the West Kents were called back to the trenches and Boots suffered an injury that was to take him home to London, to Sammy and Chinese Lady, and all the valiant cockney friends of Walworth who were to help him through the darkest period of his life. It was to be many years before Boots' friend, Miss Polly Simms, visiting the old battle haunts of France, stumbled once more upon the Descartes farm, and the memories of the past were rekindled.

Once they had been called Orrice and Effel, two bedraggled, scruffy waifs who lived rough off the streets of Walworth. Now they were Horrace and Ethel Cooper, grown up - quite respectable really - and living with their adopted parents, Jim and Rebecca Cooper.

When Horrace saw the pretty girl who worked as a shop assistant in Adams (Ladies Fashion Modes) he was quite bowled over and knew he had to meet her. From then on he was in and out of the shop, buying hats and stockings and ribbons, trying desperately to persuade Miss Sally Brown to come out with him. And while he was laying siege to Sally, his sister Ethel was listening to her poet boyfriend spouting forth his romantic verse. But Ethel's involvement with the poet was to end more dangerously and dramatically than either she or Horrace had imagined and several quite startling events were to happen before Horrace and Ethel's affairs were resolved.

There was a double wedding planned in Walworth. Sally Brown was marrying Horace Cooper, and her brother, Freddy, was at last getting hitched to his childhood sweetheart, Cassie Ford. But the wedding wasn't the only thing being planned, for Ginger Carstairs and Dusty Miller were working out a bank robbery and, unbeknown to the inhabitants of Walworth and Denmark Hill, both Freddy Brown and the Adams family were to be deeply involved and put in considerable danger.

It took much ingenuity on Boots's part to come up with a scheme that would foil the plans of the raiders. And all this was happening at a time when Boots had other worries in his life, and when the unity of his own little family was being threatened.

Job and Jemima Hardy weren't Londoners by birth. They had both lived in a Sussex village until lack of work had sent Job and the family to Walworth - to a house in Stead Street. They got it cheap because of the poltergiest but they were sensible folk and decided that eight shillings a week rent was a bargain and - well - if the floors and doors sometimes moved a bit, they could live with it. They settled quickly into London life - particularly Jonathan, the eldest. Jonathan got a job at Camberwell Green and it was there, in Lyons teashop, that he met Emma Somers, niece of Boots Adams. Over a long and hazy summer - the summer of 1939 - the two young people met, always at lunchtime, and never allowing their friendship to progress too far.

Then, as the clouds of war gathered over Europe, Jonathan got his call-up papers. And the first alarms of conflict began to affect the Adams family in other ways. Boots, on the Officer's Reserve list, was called onto the staff of General Sir Henry Sims, and Polly Sims herself joined the Auxiliaries. Suddenly there was only a little time left for people to lead ordinary lives - and Jonathan Hardy and Emma Somers had to make decisions about their future.

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.

In a farm some miles from Dunkirk, however, Bobby was alive but injured, and trapped by the advancing Germans. The farmer and his wife offered him refuge but Helene, the farmer's independent-minded daughter, was scathing about the retreating British army and gave the brave, joking young sergeant a hard time. Working in the fields, dodging the German soldiers, Bobby was desperately looking for a way to escape and Helene, despite her hostility, found herself increasingly anxious to help the Englishman to get back home. Their adventures were to thrill the Adams family when they came to hear about it.

The war is only into its second year, but already it has claimed one victim from the Adams family. Emily, Boots's cherished wife, has died in an air-raid,and the whole family mourns her. But for Polly Simms the prospect of a new life dawns, while the members of the younger generation who are in uniform, and doing their bit for King and Country, have their own problems to contend with. Tim has been posted to Scotland, to train as a Commando, and has met the lovely young officer Felicity; Eloise, now a sergeant in the ATS, is enjoying her new job as driver to the formidable Major Lucas. And has Rosie, now commissioned, lost her heart at last?

The Blitz all but destroys the factory in Shoreditch, but Sammy and Tommy Adams manage to find some alternative accommodation. And love is in the air - for young and old alike - as the Adams family refuse to let Hitler get the better of them.

In 1941, the United Kingdom was in desperate straits, standing alone with its troops against the colossal war machine of Nazi Germany. There was always Prime Minister Winston Churchill, however, who growled his defiance to Hitler and induced in his people a determination to endure.

The Adams family shared that determination and their own kind of optimism. Emma went happily into her marriage with Jonathan, while Boots's son Tim, in between his hazardous exploits as a Commando, helped his fiancee Felicity in her courageous fight against blindness, the result of a terrible injury in the bombing. Rosie Adams was due to marry Matthew Chapman from Dorset, but Chinese Lady was unsure about it. He seemed a fine enough man, but what with a lame leg that prevented him from doing his bit for his country, and the uncertainty of his garage business, she felt that he was hardly the ideal choice for such an eligible young woman as Rosie. As for Boots and his new wife Polly, they came up with some very unexpected news for the family...

It is summer, 1941, and the country is still at war. In the Devon village of Ashleigh, however, evacuees from the London blitz are living in an atmosphere of rural peacefulness, although Daisy Ricketts of Bermondsey isn't sure if she'll ever get on with carping Mrs Mumford, the subject of whispers because of her husband's mysterious disappearance.

David, the elder son of Tommy and Vi Adams, meets Kate Trimble, a cockney girl from Camberwell who has just arrived in Ashleigh with her aunt. Kate is imaginative and precocious, while David is happy-go-lucky , and as the war is directly affecting the lives of so many other members of the Adams family, Kate and David establish a friendship in the summer sunshine of Devon. But as their friendship develops some exciting undercurrents, an incident occurs which brings home to them the darker intrigues of wartime and provides a devastating shock to everyone.

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.

Further shadows fell when news came that Tim was a prisoner of war, and that Japan had attacked the American fleet in Pearl Harbour and British bases in the Far East.

But Boots's French-born daughter Eloise had her dearest wish come true when she married Colonel Lucas of the Commandos in Alexandria.