Star Of The North
Marjorie, the second of the Preston sisters, is both pretty and whimsical. Unsuited to work in the mill or to heavy housework, she finally finds her forte when asked to stand in for an injured performer at the local music hall, the Pride of Lancashire. She soon becomes popular with the crowd, and this leads to her marriage to singer Denby Sinclair. Happiness turns to misery as the pair travel around the country performing their act. Denby turns out to be a brutal man and eventually is exposed as a bigamist. By then Marjorie is pregnant and alone until the comedian Hal Kidd comes to her rescue.
Back home in Hedderby, the Pride of Lancashire is going from strength to strength, much to the displeasure of the malevolent Athol Stott. The local mill owner has been horribly disfigured in a previous accident, but one glimpse of Marjorie and he decides that it is time for him to seek his revenge.
Star of the North continues the story of the Preston sisters, begun in Pride of Lancashire. Like its prequel it takes the embryonic Music Hall as its backdrop and once again provides a spirited story of a young woman’s attempt to find happiness in the harsh conditions of a northern mill town.
Since there are many more Preston sisters in the family this looks set to be a series that will run and run, which gives fans of Anna Jacobs – and I count myself as one of them – plenty to look forward to.
