Beck Valley Books

Margaret Dickinson was born in Gainsborough, Lincolnshire,  she has spent most of her life in the county, moving to the East Coast from Nottinghamshire at the age of seven.  She began writing at the age of fourteen with the ambition to be in print and her first novel was published in 1968 when she was twenty-six.  Continuing to write she completed ‘The Fleethaven Trilogy' - Plough the Furrow, Sow the Seeds and Reep the Harvest, bringing to life her love of the sea and the Lancashire landscape and people.  She is also one of Beck Valley Books favourite authors.

Celebrating the Millennium, Margaret was invited by the Skegness Playgoers to write a community play.  Embracing Tides, featuring the life of a fictional family throughout the twentieth century in Skegness.  The production won five of the Play Festival's thirteen awards.

Her latest novel is ‘Sons and Daughters' - Charlotte is an only child, reared by a brutal father who cannot forgive her for not being the son he desires. Loved by most that she meets, Charlotte has a gift for friendship, and it is her work as a Sunday School teacher that gives her hope - and an escape from home.   When Charlotte meets Miles Thornton, she is instantly drawn to him. He is new to the area and a widower, with three lovely young sons to look after but the one thing he has longed for is a daughter. As they grow to understand one another, it seems that Miles and Charlotte have more in common that meets the eye...  Sweeping from the early 1920s through to the end of World War II, SONS AND DAUGHTERS is a compelling, traditional saga set against the Lincolnshire landscape that Margaret Dickinson portrays so well.

New for 2011 is her new novel ‘ Forgive and Forget' - Polly Longden's china-doll looks belie a strong and fiery personality. When typhoid strikes her home city of Lincoln, she needs every ounce of that strength in order to cope. With the death of her mother, thirteen-year-old Polly has to give up her ambition of becoming a teacher to care for her family. When their father, too, falls victim to the typhoid, his only hope is to go to hospital, leaving Polly to cope alone. Thankfully she has the support of her neighbours: Bertha Halliday and her son, Leo, a young policeman.  Through all the hardships that follow, Polly is sustained by her dream of becoming Leo's wife. But her father's hot temper leads him to the wrong side of the law during the railway riots of 1911, forcing Leo to take drastic action that Polly will surely never be able to forgive and forget . . .  

Margaret still lives in Lincolnshire.  She has been married to Dennis for over forty four years and has two grown-up daughters.

More information can be found at:  http://www.margaret-dickinson.co.uk/
or alternatively on:   http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page