The Morning Tide

Howard skillfully chonicles the romantic and familial crises of two working-class sisters in Liverpool from 1921 to 1943. Hardy, resourceful Kate Fowler and her ethereal younger sister Jenny have always been inseparable. After their mother dies, Kate boldly confronts their tyrannical father; then she and Jenny move out of his home and into an apartment. Both become waitresses and find devoted suitors. Kate weds upstanding sailor Charlie Walker, but Jenny's engagement to navigating officer Nils Jorgensen ends after he has a shipboard accident in New York. Jennyunaware of Nils's hospitalization languishes when he doesn't return to her, and economic necessity forces her to marry Bill Robinson, a conceited, belligerent young banker. Such events as Charlie's unemployment, Bill's infidelity and the onset of World War II stun the sisters, but Jenny's severest shock is Nils's unexpected reentry into her life. The author of The Skylark's Song deftly constructs her pathos-filled story with absorbing historical sidelights, powerful characterization and heart-rending dramatic moments. January 28