SPREADING WINGS

By Mary Jane Staples

Synopsis

Sammy Adams is always on the look-out for a new business opportunity. When he hears from his son David about the new-fangled supermarkets that are becoming all the rage in America, he immediately starts looking for a suitable site in South London. Meanwhile, legacies of the last war continue to haunt the Adams family. The mystery of Katje Galicia, the Polish woman who knows something of Sir Edwin Finch's past, becomes a major police enquiry while a beautiful German girl appears, bringing wartime memories back to Tim Adams and his wife Felicity. Meanwhile the younger members of the Adams family are starting to spread their wings.

Sample Player

Narrator	Joy Dansette
Length	9hrs 30mins
Catalogue No.	15093
Publisher	Corgi; 2003

Other audiobooks by Mary Jane Staples

BRIGHT DAY, DARK NIGHT

In the Devon village of Ashleigh, David Adams meets Kate Trimble, an orphan who lives with her aunt. Their friendship develops over the summer, and David is able to help Kate after an incident which shocks everyone and emphasises the darker side of war.

CHURCHILL'S PEOPLE

In 1941, Winston Churchill rallied the United Kingdom to stand alone against Hitler and his troops. The Adams family shared the determination of the Prime Minister, even though the family had their own problems and tragedies to cope with.

DOWN LAMBETH WAY

The Adams family of Walworth were poor, cheerful, and above all respectable. But it was 1914 and everyone was going to be affected by the impending war, and things were going to change. But whatever happened, the Adams family - gutsy, tough and cheeky - would come through.

ESCAPE TO LONDON

Anne von Korvacs flees, with her children, from Vienna to Britain after Hitler’s tanks roll into the capital. Carrying a secret that must be smuggled out of the country, Anne and her family face a journey that will separate loved ones who can only hope for a reunion in London.

FAMILY AT WAR

In 1940 members of the Adams family are caught up in the war in France. Father and son escape to England from Dunkirk but nephew Bobby is injured and trapped. Can he make his escape?

FIRE OVER LONDON

The war is in its second year and London has suffered the Blitz, but the Adams family, all doing their bit for King and Country, refuse to let Hitler get the better of them!

KING OF CAMBERWELL

Sammy has always had an eye for business and is determined to expand the family enterprise. But as his mighty empire grows, his assistant Susie Brown has plans of her own... Susie has always adored Sammy and has decided that he will be the man she marries. But marriage doesn't figure in Sammy's plans. Will he fall into line? Does he stand a chance against a determined woman and the rest of the Adam's family?

THE LODGER

A murder investigation in London in 1908 leads to the suspicion of a new lodger in the district.

ON MOTHER BROWN'S DOORSTEP

Susie Brown is overjoyed when her brother, Will, turns up unexpectedly on leave in time for her wedding to Sammy Adams. But amidst the joyous wedding preparations, a cloud hangs over Walworth - the mystery of three young girls missing from their homes. A mystery that will culminate - along with Will's personal problems - on the night of the wedding.

OUR EMILY

Emily had been a quite horrible child, she had been the bane of Mrs Adams and her children who lived next door. But Emily grown-up was a different matter. She was still a cockney girl, but now she had a certain elegance, a style. The fighting toughness was still there - and she needed it. For Boots, back from the trenches, was blind, and Emily was to prove the mainstay, the breadwinner, and the love of his life..

RISING SUMMER

Tim Parkes was three when his parents were killed in a train crash and he went to live with his Aunt May. They managed splendidly - and then came the war. When Tim enlists and is posted to Suffolk, he isn't too pleased. Minnie Beavers was wildly in love with Tim and determined to marry him the minute she was old enough. Tim was equally determined to escape and find another girl. By the time Tim has gone away to fight and Minnie has joined the WAAF, a great many things had changed in both their lives...

A SISTER'S SECRET

An impetuous decision to marry has left the young Lady Caroline widowed and with two estates in her name. Her younger sister is falling in love with a man who is notoriously unfaithful, but refuses to believe it. And so Caroline hires the charming Captain Burnside to distract her. He seems the perfect man to tear Annabelle away from her infatuation. But things don’t go quite according to plan…

THE SOLDIER'S GIRL

Young Maisie Gibbs is happy to find a position as a housemaid in Kensington after her parents pass away. Then tragedy strikes the Fairfax household and Maisie is thankful for the support of handsome Corporal Daniel Adams.

TOMORROW IS ANOTHER DAY

In autumn 1941 Sammy Adams found Phoebe, a sad, bewildered and homeless child, wandering London's streets. Sammy and Susie took Phoebe into their home and their hearts. Meanwhile other members of the Adams family are suffering in the war.

TWO FOR THREE FARTHINGS

Jim Cooper, back from the trenches, befriends two runaway orphans and decides to take them in. He finds them all lodgings with Miss Rebecca Pilgrim, a very private lady, who gradually thaws out under the influence of her new lodgers.

THE WAY AHEAD

It is 1944, and the Adams family are beginning to weary of the seemingly never-ending war against Hitler's Germany. Bobby Somers and Helene, living dangerously in the French countryside with a group of Resistance fighters, find themselves in great peril. Boots returns from the war in Italy, but he brings with him a German prisoner who has a horrifying story to tell of the concentration camps. And while Sammy and Susie Adams are keeping the family business going as best they can during the privations of wartime London, their son Daniel catches the eye of a lively young American girl who brings a welcome breath of fresh air to the Adams household.