TEHRAN – English novelist Emma Hornby’s book “A Shilling for a Wife” has recently been published in Persian in Tehran.

The powerful, absorbing book published by Nasle No-Andish has been translated into Persian by Ali-Akbar Qariniyat.

It is about Sally Swann who thought life couldn’t get much worse. Then a single coin changed hands.

A dismal cottage in the heart of Bolton, Lancashire, has been Sally’s prison since Joseph Goden 'bought' her from the workhouse as his wife. A drunkard and bully, Joseph rules her with a rod of iron, using fists and threats to keep her in check.

When Sally gives birth, however, she knows she must do anything to save her child from her husband’s clutches. She manages to escape, and taking her baby, flees for the belching chimneys of Manchester, in search of her only relative.

But with the threat of discovery by Joseph, who will stop at nothing to find her, Sally must fight with every ounce of strength she has to protect herself and her son, and finally be with the man who truly loves her. For a fresh start does not come without a price.

Mother-of-three Hornby was born in Bolton in 1983, on a tight-knit, working-class estate. History has always been her passion, in particular the Victorian era, and she grew up with her nose buried in sagas. 

Before pursuing a career as a novelist, she had a variety of jobs, from care assistant for the elderly, to working in a Blackpool rock factory. She later wrote short stories and non-fiction pieces for the Internet, print and stage, and also worked as a freelance poet.

Emma’s books are gritty historical stories set in the 1800s Bolton and Manchester, which she began writing after researching her family history. The colorful folk she unearthed gave her plenty of inspiration; like the characters in her novels, many generations of her family eked out life amidst the squalor and poverty of Lancashire’s slums.

Photo: Front cover of the Persian version of English novelist Emma Hornby’s book “A Shilling for a Wife”.

MMS/YAW