#emily mackenzie

[oldfilmsflicker]

new-to-me #638 - Carpet Cowboys

[persimmontrees]

17 October, 1889

On the eve of her twenty-first birthday, Adaline Parlow struggled to make a decision she long thought would be simple: which marriage proposal should she accept?

The first belonged to Mr. Ernest Mackenzie, Henford’s sole pharmacist.

Although somewhat acquainted, the two did not become familiar with one another until Adaline began purchasing medicine for her father. Until his proposal, Adaline didn't even realise he more than tolerated her: he had previously seemed uninterested in anyone else since the death of his wife three years prior.

But it was well-known his daughter was in urgent need of a mother figure, despite his seeming reservations. Adaline felt confident in her ability to be a nurturing, maternal support for the young girl, but could she break down the walls around her potential husband?

The second belonged, to, of all people, Lord Simon Longbourne, the newly inherited earl (and rumoured rake) of Henford.

Adaline never even expected that he knew her name, much less wished to marry her. Her family has worked for his since before either were born, granting her more knowledge of their dealings than most. She knew he thrived on scandal, taking joy in the anger and stress it caused his family.

It was almost a guarantee that this proposal was his newest ploy to shame his family. But it was a ploy Adaline could take advantage of. Should the proposal come to fruition, the earl's resources would provide comfort and ease to her and her loved ones, but would she be able to win his heart as well?

The third proposal was one made in secret: that of Naveen Ghoshal.

For eleven years, Adaline has loved Naveen.

But Naveen's financial woes made him an impossible match. Her family would never approve of a marriage between her and a street rat, which meant they would have to elope without the knowledge of her family. Adaline wasn't sure if she could say goodbye to her ailing father and aging mother, but she wasn't sure she was capable of saying goodbye to Naveen either. Would she have to sacrifice love for the sake of her family, or could she risk it all on the boy who's loved her since they met?

This was not a decision to be made lightly, Adaline knew. But which man should she marry?

Start from the Beginning (You're here!) | Next | Latest

Whose proposal should Adaline accept? The quiet and stoic pharmacist Ernest Mackenzie? The clever and sardonic Lord Simon Longbourne? Or the loving and devoted Naveen Ghoshal? The choice is yours!

Click here to vote! Please note that you are only allowed to vote once, and I can see if you have spammed! Vote ends January 4, 2022 at 9PM EST!

[mydarkapron]

CARPET COWBOYS, 2023

Emily Mackenzie + Noah Collier

[bookswelike]

Beaten by her mother and whipped by her stepfather, Emily eventually finds her way into the care system at the age of twelve, and has an abortion after being gang-raped at thirteen. Continuously abused in a sequence of homes, she runs away at sixteen, becomes a prostitute in Soho, and convinces herself she is being punished for killing her baby. But it was never meant to be like that. Adopted at birth in 1956 by a middle-class family, Emily shared a golden childhood with her adopted sister Amy, attending private schools, and enjoying singing and dancing lessons. Things soon changed when Emily's jealous mother came to regard her as a rival. A bored and restless woman, she beat Emily for the first time when she was seven years old and from then on seemed to become addicted to inflicting pain on her daughter. Despite Emily's father's attempts to protect her, the parental rows grew more malicious, until the mother moved out and remarried a narcissistic widower with alcohol problems and a vicious, bullying temper. The abuse intensified until Emily was placed into voluntary care. And so began a toxic spiral of remand homes, psychiatric hospitals, and sleeping rough. It wasn't long before Emily became a teenage 'working girl', where she was paid to engage in bizarre sadomasochistic acts for perverted clients, including a senior judge and a policeman. It was only when she was almost murdered that she turned her life around. Set principally between 1966 and 1972, Runaway captures the sleazy Soho of the period, and the frightening conditions in which many children were kept in care.

Get the book.

[jesserobins]

Love this picture "Dog Rave" by Emily Mackenzie