The Stationmaster’s Daughter
‘Absolutely broke my heart… I didn’t emerge for breath until I’d tearfully finished the last page. Wonderful. ’ Being Anne, 5 stars Dorset, 1935. Stationmaster Ted has never cared much for romance. Occupied with ensuring England’s most beautiful railway runs on time, love has always felt like a comparatively trivial matter. Yet when he meets Annie Galbraith on the 8. 42 train to Lynford, he can’t help but instantly fall for her. But when the railway is forced to close and a terrible accident occurs within the station grounds, Ted finds his job and any hope of a relationship with Annie hanging in the balance… Present day. Recovering from heartbreak after a disastrous marriage, Tilly decides to escape from the bustling capital and move to Dorset to stay with her dad, Ken. When Ken convinces Tilly to help with the restoration of the old railway, she discovers a diary hidden in the old ticket office. Tilly is soon swept up in Ted’s story, and the fateful accident that changed his life forever. But an encounter with an enigmatic stranger takes Tilly by surprise, and she can’t help but feel a connection with Ted’s story in the past… Don’t miss this haunting and evocative timeslip novel. Readers LOVE The Stationmaster’s Daughter: ‘A MUST READ in my book!!’ NetGalley reviewer, 5 stars ‘Utterly perfect… A timeslip tale that leaves you wanting more… I loved it. ’ Goodreads reviewer, 5 stars ‘I may have shed a tear or two!… A definite emotional rollercoaster of a read that will make you both cry and smile. ’ Debbie’s Book Reviews, 5 stars ‘Oh my goodness… The pages turned increasingly quickly as my desperation to find out what happened steadily grew and grew. ’ Ginger Book Geek, 5 stars ‘Very special… I loved every minute of it. ’ Jessica Belmont, 5 stars ‘Brilliant… Very highly recommended!!’ Donnasbookblog, 5 stars ‘Touched my heart! A real page turner… The perfect read for cosying up. I can’t recommend this gorgeous book enough. ’ Dash Fan Book reviews, 5 stars
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KATHLEEN MCGURL lives near the sea in Bournemouth, UK, with her husband. She has two sons who are now grown-up and have left home. She began her writing career creating short stories, and sold dozens to women’s magazines in the UK and Australia. Then she got side-tracked onto family history research – which led eventually to writing novels with genealogy themes. She has always been fascinated by the past, and the ways in which the past can influence the present, and enjoys exploring these links in her novels.
After a thirty-one-year career in the IT industry she is now a full-time author, and very much enjoying the change of lifestyle.
When not writing she likes to go out running. She also adores mountains and is never happier than when striding across the Lake District fells, following a route from a Wainwright guidebook.
You can find out more at her website: http://kathleenmcgurl.com/, or follow her on Twitter: @KathMcGurl.
‘I adore McGurl’s time-slip novels’
‘Beautifully written, a real page turner, obviously well researched I found it a fabulous read’
‘A real eye-opener, her best yet, & I have read all Kath McGurl’s books. Loved it!’
‘A clever page turner of a book that will whisk you away’
‘Easily the best book I’ve read so far this year’
‘Absolutely compelling, and a wonderful read’
‘An absorbing, dual-timeline story that packs an emotional punch’
The Emerald Comb
The Pearl Locket
The Daughters of Red Hill Hall
The Girl from Ballymor
The Drowned Village
The Forgotten Secret
The Stationmaster’s Daughter
KATHLEEN MCGURL
HQ
An imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd.
1 London Bridge Street
London SE1 9GF
First published in Great Britain by HQ in 2019
Copyright © Kathleen McGurl 2019
Kathleen McGurl asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work.
A catalogue record for 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, downloaded, 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: 9780008331115
E-book Edition © 2019 ISBN: 9780008243906
Version: 2019-07-01
Table of Contents
About the Author
Readers Love Kathleen McGurl
Also by Kathleen McGurl
Prologue
Chapter 1: Tilly – present day
Chapter 2: Ted – 1935
Chapter 3: Tilly
Chapter 4: Ted
Chapter 5: Tilly
Chapter 6: Ted
Chapter 7: Tilly
Chapter 8: Ted
Chapter 9: Tilly
Chapter 10: Ted
Chapter 11: Tilly
Chapter 12: Ted
Chapter 13: Tilly
Chapter 14: Ted
Chapter 15: Tilly
Chapter 16: Ted
Chapter 17: Tilly
Chapter 18: Ted
Chapter 19: Tilly
Chapter 20: Ted
Chapter 21: Tilly
Chapter 22: Ted
Chapter 23: Tilly
Chapter 24: Ted
Chapter 25: Tilly
Chapter 26: Ted
Chapter 27: Tilly
Chapter 28: Annie
Chapter 29: Tilly
Chapter 30: Annie
Chapter 31: Tilly
Epilogue
Author’s Note
Acknowledgements
About the Publisher
For my brother Nigel
who provided much of the inspiration for this novel
For a moment he was frozen, unable to move, unable to react to what had just happened. Time stood still, and he stood with it, not seeing, not hearing, doing nothing.
And then as his senses returned he registered screams of horror, followed by the sight of that broken and twisted body lying at the foot of the stairs. How had it happened? Annie was screaming, lung-bursting screams of pain and terror. His instinct was to rush to her, gather her up and hold her, but would that make things worse? There was no going back now. No returning to how things used to be, before … before today, before all the horrible, life-changing events of the day. It was all over now.
The screams continued, and he knew that the next minutes would alter his life forever. He knew too that even without the broken body, the screams, the fall, his life had already changed irrevocably. The door to a future he had only dared dream of had been slammed shut in his face.
He allowed himself a moment’s grief for what had been and for what might have yet been, and then he shook himself into action, hurrying down the stairs to deal with it all. Not to put it right – that wasn’t possible – but to do his best. For Annie.
