Reading order
| # | Title | Published | Author | Buy on Amazon |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Forget-Me-Not Child | 2017 | Anne Bennett | Buy |
| 2 | Child on the Doorstep | 2018 | Anne Bennett | Buy |
| 3 | As Time Goes By | 2021 | Anne Bennett | Buy |
The McCluskey Saga by Anne Bennett follows Angela McCluskey, an Irish woman who emigrates to Birmingham hoping for a fresh start, only to face decades of hardship set against the backdrop of early twentieth-century England.
In Forget-Me-Not Child (2017), Angela marries her childhood sweetheart, but when he is called up to fight in the Great War, she is left alone to raise their frail daughter. Tragedy forces her into impossible choices about her family’s survival. Child on the Doorstep (2018) picks up in 1926, with Angela working as a cleaner and barmaid, still haunted by a baby she was forced to abandon at the workhouse years earlier. Her teenage daughter Constance grows suspicious of Angela’s new suitor, setting mother and daughter against each other.
As Time Goes By (2021) finds Angela still carrying the weight of her secrets. Stan, the local grocer on Bell Barn Road, is one of the few bright spots in her life, but she believes he could never accept her if he knew the truth. When her daughter Connie is critically injured, Angela is forced to confront the guilt and shame she has buried for years.