Cook, Gloria

PERSONAL:

Born in Cornwall, England.

ADDRESSES:

Home—Truro, England.

CAREER:

Writer.

WRITINGS:

"PENGARRON FAMILY" SERIES

Pengarron Land, Headline (London, England), 1992.

Pengarron Pride, Headline (London, England), 1993.

Pengarron's Children, Headline (London, England), 1993.

Pengarron Dynasty, Severn House (Sutton, England), 2002.

Pengarron Rivalry, Severn House (Sutton, England), 2004.

"HARVEY FAMILY" SERIES

Touch the Silence, Severn House (Sutton, England), 2003.

Moments of Time, Severn House (Sutton, England), 2003.

From a Distance, Severn House (Sutton, England), 2004.

Never Just a Memory, Severn House (Sutton, England), 2005.

A Stranger Light, Severn House (Sutton, England), 2006.

A Whisper of Life, Severn House, (Sutton, England), 2007.

"MERYEN" SERIES

Keeping Echoes, Severn House (Sutton, England), 2006.

Out of Shadows, Severn House (Sutton, England), 2007.

OTHER NOVELS

Trevennor's Will, Headline (London, England), 1994.

Trevallion, Headline (London, England), 1994.

Kilgarthen, Headline (London, England), 1995.

Rosemerryn, Headline (London, England), 1995.

Roscarrock, Headline (London, England), 1996.

Porthellis, Headline (London, England), 1996.

Listening to the Quiet, Severn House (Sutton, England), 2001.

SIDELIGHTS:

Gloria Cook is the author of many novels, including those in a series about the Harvey family. The first, Touch the Silence, sets the stage for this family saga. It is set during World War I. The family that lives in rural England includes three surviving sons. One has been killed. Alec, the eldest brother, is trying to manage the family farm. Tristan is fighting in the war, and Ben, who wants to enlist, is prevented from doing so when he injures his eyes in a farming mishap.

In Moments of Time, Alec's relationships with his brothers and wife, Emilia, are strained. Perry Bosweld, his sister, and his daughter are the new tenants who become closely connected to the Harvey family. In From a Distance, Perry returns to the farm when Emilia's marriage to Alec becomes unstable, hoping to rekindle the romance they had begun. Emilia loves both men, but knows that her loyalties must be to the family and farm.

Never Just a Memory finds Emilia marrying Perry after the death of Alec. Children have been born and grown up. Son Tom and daughter Lottie are running the farm, and Jill, who works on the farm and becomes a friend to Lottie, rejects the young men while she waits for her fiancé to return. Booklist contributor Patty Engelmann described this installment as "a must-read for all fans of this fine series."

Faye Harvey is the dominant character in A Stranger Light, a beautiful and rich young woman who is shunned because she had a son out of wedlock. Other characters include Faye's uncle, Tristan, who is romantically interested in Susan Dowling, her widowed housekeeper. Lottie's husband returns but not with due haste, angering Lottie for his lack of concern for her. In a Booklist review, Lynne Welch wrote that Cook reveals "the entire range of human emotions, from courage and compassion to lust, vengeance, and greed." A Whisper of Life is set in 1948, after World War II. New characters appear, including Kate, a polio victim, and Jonny, Tristan's war-damaged son.

Cook has written stand-alone novels and another popular series about the Pengarrons, a hardworking aristocratic Cornish family. Reviewers have called her books suitable for mature teens, as well as adults.

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Booklist, June 1, 2003, Patty Engelmann, review of Touch the Silence, p. 1739; November 15, 2003, Patty Engelmann, review of Moments in Time, p. 579; November 15, 2004, Patty Engelmann, review of Pengarron Rivalry, p. 560; February 1, 2005, Patty Engelmann, review of From a Distance, p. 940; August 1, 2005, Patty Engelmann, review of Never Just a Memory, p. 1990; February 1, 2006, Patty Engelmann, review of Keeping Echoes, p. 26; August 1, 2006, Lynne Welch, review of A Stranger Light, p. 38; January 1, 2007, Lynne Welch, review of A Whisper of Life, p. 50.