The Tide of Life; by Catherine Cookson.

A young woman, barely out of girlhood yet, poor, in need of care and support herself - takes life and responsibility for her fragile younger sister, and works hard to support the two of them, and face life as best as she can. And the world is no fairy land - she has to face much, and overcome it too, irrespective of her ability - since it is a question of survival.

Catherine Cookson at her best, with northern rural England brought alive from a century ago, the poor and the not so poor, the noble and the ignoble, the honest and the cheats.