The Obsession - Couverture souple

Beatrice Steel, always over-possessive about her family home, Pine Hurst, has become insufferably dominating since the death of her mother, ruling her father, her sisters and the servants with an iron hand.  Of course, she constantly has to remind herself, it is her father who actually owns the house, but it is the thought that he might remarry, thus making another woman mistress of Pine Hurst, that fills her with dread.

Then, unexpectedly, her father dies and, when the family gather for the reading of the will, nothing she hears matches her expectations.  It is then she realises that her security is threatened and that she must begin to lay plans to protect her position and allow her to enjoy her most prized possession.

THE OBSESSION is one of Catherine Cookson's most unusual novels, powerfully portrays a woman so driven by the need to protect her inheritance that she will sacrifice almost anything or anyone to ensure she does not lose it.  It is yet another triumph for this most popular of authors.

Catherine Cookson lived in Northumberland, England, the setting of many of her international bestsellers. Born in Tyne Dock, she was the illegitimate daughter of an impoverished woman, Kate, whom she was raised to believe was her older sister. She began to work in the civil service but eventually moved south to Hastings, where she met and married a local grammar school master.
Although she was originally acclaimed as a regional writer, in 1968 her novel The Round Tower won the Winifred Holtby Award, her readership quickly spread worldwide, and her many bestselling novels established her as one of the most popular contemporary authors. After receiving an OBE in 1985, Catherine Cookson was made a Dame of the British Empire in 1993. She died shortly before her ninety-second birthday, in June 1998, having completed 104 works.