The Onedin Line by Cyril Abraham

This is both a TV serial and a set of books by Cyril Abraham. He wanted to write a tv series about a shipping line but decided to set his story in Victorian Liverpool. It was a bedroom and boardroom series, which was extremely popular on tv in the 1970s. THe anti hero was James Onedin, son of a shopkeeper, who went off to sea but had an ambition to own his own shipping line. James is a hard unfeeling man... who becomes depressed that he cannot afford to buy even one ship. Then he gets a chance. There is a rundown ship for sale, from an old man with a drink problem. The old man has a plain daughter who wants the security of marriage. James agrees to marry her to get the ship.

story on Amazon

Here's another story on Amazon by Nadine Sutton. Its called Rough Music and is about a country rock band in the US in the 1970s and 80s. The band are just beginning to have some success after being a bar band. Now they have wives and children and are not sure what more they want out of life.

available on Amazon... music world story

Beds and Blue Jeans is a story, novella length about a young bar singer in Nashville in the 2010s.. who has found himself being pursued by a lot of lady fans. He has a girlfriend who has just had his baby, but the relationship with Patty isn't going too well. Sam lets himself be caught by various pretty ladies but can he learn to appreciate Patty and settle down with her and their baby. On Amazon.

Nancy Mitford

Linda settles down in Alconleigh, where Dorothy Fanny's mother has also turned up to seek refuge..with a Spanish boyfriend. Davey and Emily are also there. The Alconleighs are not aware of the break up of Linda's second marriage... or that she has a new lover. but Dorothy who has left several husbands, is, and teases Linda about her French duke. Linda is not very well, and Fanny worries about her since she was not supposed to have another baby. Fanny is also pregnant and so is Louisa Linda's older sister. Spring comes and Linda only has one letter from Fabrice which she cannot read. Then, she has her baby, a boy, and dies in giving birth. Fanny has another son and she and Alfred contact Christian and offer to adopt Linda's child. Fabrice is shot during resistance work and Fanny and Davey tell the parents that Linda was in love with Fabrice, and had his baby. They accept their new grandson.... but they all miss Linda

Nancy Mitford VI

Linda finds him attractive and realises that her feelings for her 2 husbands were not very strong. He offers her a flat and though she protests that she has to go back home, she accepts it. Davey and Lord Merlin visit her to see if she is all right, and promise not to tell her parents that she is living with a French lover. War breaks out and Linda decides to stay in Paris because Fabrice has a job in Military intelligence and is not at the Front. He tells her if it becomes dangerous he will get her out of France. After several months of happiness with him, she has to go home and goes back to London to her own small house. Dunkirk happens and she is desperately worried. Then one day Fabrice turns up and they spend some time together but he has to return to France. After Dunkirk, Fanny and her children, and Louisa both go to Alconleigh, to live with the Radletts. Alfred is in the army, and Fanny goes up to London to get his equipment. She visits Linda who refuses to go home and rarely even leaves her house as she wants to stay close to Fabrice. Her daily help looks after her but Fanny is worried when Linda tells her she's pregnant again. She asks the daily lady to phone her if anything happens. Linda was advised ot have no more children when her first child was born, and shortly after visiting London Fanny gets a call to say that Linda's house had been bombed. She was all right, but agreed to go to Alconleigh.

Kris Kristoffersen Dead

Kris has died at the age of 88 after long career as song writer, singer and actor. RIP. Kris was born in Brownville, Texas and spent time in the military. He was also a Rhodes scholar and became a janitor in Nashville to try to sell his songs.

Nancy Mitford V

The Alconleighs are upset by his running away, though Uncle Matthew is not too angry about it, as he admires him for being active at soemthing, especially for fighting. Linda has become an ardent Communist, and supports her husband's beliefs. Polly's baby is due, and when the child is born it dies almost immediately. Fanny goes to see her and finds that she seems indifferent about the baby's death. Cedric and Lady Montdore come to visit and patch up the quarrel... and Fanny realises that Boy is very pleased to be friendly with Lady Montdore, and that Cedric is taking an interest in this new friend. Lady Montdore seems to be a little in love with Cedric herself but she is not aware of his true sexuality, and does not notice the young men he gives jobs to at Hampton. Lady Montdore makes up with Polly, but Polly has by now moved on, and has become friendly with the DUke of Paddington, whose ancestor is the subject of Boy's latest book.. He is an older man and soon he is in love with Polly... and she leaves Boy to marry him while Cedric takes up with BOy. We learn in another Mitford book that Polly loses her looks but is happy.. and that Lady Montdore dies just before the war, having been persuaded by Cedric to have plastic surgery. He becomes the Earl, but goes abroad when the war breaks out, which annoys the local gentry and he leaves England. Linda's husband Christian decides to go to France, to work with Spanish refugees and Linda joins him. When she gets there, she does her best to do welfare work, and meets Lavender Davis, her old neighbour at home, who is now a welfare worker. Soon she realises that Christian has fallen out of love with her and is now closer to Lavender..... She leaves the South of France, leaving a letter for her husband, and goes back to Paris, but her ticket is out of date and she cannot get back to Engalnd. while she is sitting at the station, crying, she meets a middle aged, well dressed Frenchman who speaks English, and he takes her to lunch. He tells her that his name is Fabrice and that he is a duke, and well off.