In the Lion’s Den: The House of Falconer
Don’t miss the second book in the unforgettable House of Falconer series, available to pre-order now!From the bestselling author of A Woman of Substance. London 1889: Victorian London is a place of wealth, privilege and poverty, a city of extremes. For James Falconer, who grew up as a barrow boy on a London market, it is a city of opportunity. Working his way up Henry Malvern’s trading company in Piccadilly, James faces fraud and betrayal. A fierce rivalry develops with Henry’s daughter and heir Alexis – but their animosity masks a powerful attraction. Embarking on a love affair with the daughter of Russian émigrés, James’s life begins to transform. But as treachery and danger threaten, a secret comes to light that will change his life forever. James must decide where his future lies – with Henry Malvern or following his own dream…
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IN THE LION’S DEN
Barbara Taylor Bradford
HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd
1 London Bridge Street
London SE1 9GF
First published in Great Britain by HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd 2019
Copyright © Barbara Taylor Bradford 2019
Cover photographs © Lee Avison/Trevillion Images
Cover design by Claire Ward © HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd 2019
Barbara Taylor Bradford asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work.
A catalogue copy of this book is available from the British Library.
This novel is entirely a work of fiction. The names, characters and incidents portrayed in it are the work of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is entirely coincidental.
All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins.
Source ISBN: 9780008242466
Ebook Edition © November 2019 ISBN: 9780008242480
Version: 2019-10-25
For my darling Bob, with my love
Contents
Copyright
Dedication
Characters
PART ONE:
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
PART TWO:
London/Hull/Gloucestershire 1890
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
PART THREE:
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
Chapter Twenty-Five
Chapter Twenty-Six
PART FOUR:
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Chapter Thirty
Chapter Thirty-One
Chapter Thirty-Two
Chapter Thirty-Three
Chapter Thirty-Four
Chapter Thirty-Five
Chapter Thirty-Six
Epilogue
Keep Reading …
About the Author
Books by Barbara Taylor Bradford
About the Publisher
THE FALCONERS
Philip Henry Rosewood Falconer, founder of the dynasty; a head butler.
Esther Marie Falconer, his wife and co-founder of the dynasty; a head housekeeper.
Their sons
Matthew Falconer, his eldest son and heir; a stall owner at the Malvern Market.
George Falconer, a noted journalist on The Chronicle daily newspaper.
Harry Falconer, a chef and owner of a café, the Rendezvous.
Their grandchildren (Matthew’s offspring)
James Lionel, an ambitious young businessman on the rise.
Rosalind, known as Rossi, a seamstress.
Edward Albert, assistant to his father on the stalls.
Their daughter-in-law
Maude Falconer, Matthew’s wife and mother of his children; a seamstress.
THE VENABLES
Clarence Venables, Esther Falconer’s brother-in-law, great-uncle of James Falconer, owner of a shipping company in Hull.
Marina Venables, Clarence’s wife and younger sister of Esther Falconer. Great-aunt of James Falconer. A noted artist.
Their children
William Venables, eldest son and heir, working at the Hull shipping company.
Albert Venables, second son, working at the Hull shipping company.
Their daughter-in-law
Anne Venables, Albert’s wife.
THE MALVERNS
Henry Ashton Malvern, owner of the Malvern Company, a big business enterprise and real-estate company.
Alexis Malvern, his only child and heir; a partner in the business.
Joshua Malvern, his brother and business partner.
Percy Malvern, his cousin who runs the wine business in La Havre.
THE TREVALIANS
Claudia Trevalian, eldest daughter and heir of the late Sebastian Trevalian.
Lavinia Trevalian, sister of Claudia.
Marietta Trevalian, sister of Claudia.
Dorothea Trevalian Rayburn, an art collector and member of the Trevalian private bank’s board. Sister of the late Sebastian; now the head of the family.
Cornelius Glendenning, Claudia’s husband, a banker, now running the Trevalian private bank in London.
THE CARPENTERS
Lord Reginald Carpenter, a publishing tycoon and proprietor of The Chronicle.
Lady Jane Cadwalander Carpenter, his wife.
Their daughters
Jasmine Carpenter, a debutante.
Lilah Carpenter, a debutante.
Their twin sons
Sebastian and Keir Carpenter, born in March 1889.
THE PARKINSONS
Maurice Parkinson, a well-known biographer, journalist and academic.
