The Breadwinners – a family saga set in South Africa
When an ambitious young immigrant opens a bakery in competition with his vengeful former employer it is the beginning of a bitter rivalry that spans three generations of hatred, jealousy, passion and betrayal as the bakeries grow from small family businesses into large corporations.
It is New Year’s Eve 1924 and the fiery and volatile Charles McGill is devastated when Addy Brody, the woman he loves, announces her engagement to Lucas Connelly, his friend and co-worker. Charles drowns his sorrow in drink and seduces Hilde Richter, the unattractive daughter of a wealthy Durban businessman. When Hilde finds she is pregnant her father offers to set up the penniless Charles with his own bakery if he will marry her. Charles readily agrees and, unknown to Hilde, the two men draw up a contract. It is the beginning of a battle for supremacy between Charles, Lucas, and Miles Davenport, their former employer.
As the bakeries grow and prosper, acrimony begins within the families, pitting brother against brother, and Charles becomes increasingly dissatisfied, realising that success means nothing if he cannot have the woman he loves.
The story covers a period of sixty years and leads us through the fortunes, joys and sorrows, successes and failures of the three families as they survive the great depression, the war years and the isolation of South Africa.
At 118, 000 words, THE BREADWINNERS is an epic family saga that explores the adage, ‘from clogs to clogs in three generations’. It is based on the baking industry where the author worked for several years, and gives revealing insights into the growth of Durban and the baking industry. It will appeal to readers who enjoy historical fiction set in exotic locations, and those who read authors such as Barbara Taylor Bradford, Catherine Gaskin and Belva Plain.
Amazon link http://amzn.to/9JK0zo