Kept

Wigan, 1880

Jessie yearns for a different life. After her mother passes away, she is forced to leave school to work in a cotton mill. Her father's hostile and abusive lover makes her long to escape. When her aunt marries Sam, an ambitious and intelligent young man, Jessies sees them prosper through the couple's drapery business. An offer to Jessie to work for them behind the shop counter leads to something more. Temptation comes, threatening to destroy not only her own stability but that of the families and their Methodist community. Jessie's secrets get harder to keep. But what will she risk for the sake of happiness?

Set in Lancashire, Kept is a gripping, bittersweet Victorian romance spanning fifteen years with themes of aspirational struggle, religious values and traditional commitments.