Libby Ashworth Books in Order

After their employer loses his fortune, maids Hannah and Mary return to Blackburn without jobs or homes. Mary struggles to find respectable work amid cholera and political unrest, while lodging at a notorious beer house puts her future at risk.

In 1826 Lancashire, Jennet and Titus leave their cottage for work in Blackburn’s cotton mills. When Titus is imprisoned after a reform meeting, Jennet faces poverty and isolation, compounded by a pregnancy that threatens their already precarious family life.

In 1842 Blackburn, sisters Bessie and Peggy pursue different futures in weaving and teaching while resisting their parents’ plans. Romantic temptations and the arrival of a familiar figure threaten the family, forcing difficult choices between loyalty and personal happiness.

Believing her transported husband dead, Hannah remarries but must leave her children in the workhouse. His unexpected return brings hope and a charge of bigamy, forcing her to fight once more against authorities who could separate the family forever.

When Molly’s husband is transported to Australia after a false accusation, she must support their baby and find passage to join him. The former suitor responsible for his conviction continues interfering, threatening her determined effort to reunite the family.

Separated from her family to work in a cotton mill, Lydia flees after a confrontation leaves her fearing she has killed someone. Discovering her mother and siblings have sailed for Australia, she pursues them while evading the authorities.

Agnes helps support her struggling family by selling cheese in a Lancashire market, then falls for the farmer’s son. Her mother’s objections, a prior marriage promise, and religious differences threaten a relationship that could cost Agnes everything she has built.

Fleeing Ireland’s famine, Kitty loses her husband and their American passage tickets during a dangerous crossing. Stranded with her children in England, she collects rags to survive while clinging to hopes of finding Peter and escaping the workhouse.

Widowed Kitty has finally secured a precarious living for her family when she finds a bag of counterfeit coins. A police investigation threatens their survival, while her attraction to the investigating constable complicates questions of trust and a hoped-for future.