William Neal's fortunes change following his marriage to the daughter of his employer, a banker. The printing house he builds up brings him wealth. Sadly his young wife dies, but not before giving birth to a son, Robert. By a great stroke of luck, when playing a card game against a tricky Earl, William wins the Brackenholm Estate from which, as a mere ploughboy, he had escaped. His fortune would revive the waning economies of the estate. When William dies, Robert sells his shares in the printing works and becomes a Member of Parliament. Robert's elder son, also named William, inherits the estate, while his younger son Robert decides on a career as a surgeon, marries a servant and is disinherited. In the first volume of the trilogy, The Ploughboy, William Neal, ran away from his wretched life lifting stones from fields along the Scottish Borders. Reaching London with no assets, William became just another hungry urchin among many, until honesty and a happy coincidence gained him the role of assistant coachman on a privately owned carriage. The banker owner recognised William's potential and decided to offer the youngster a job as a teller.
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William Neal, The Ploughboy who ran away from his wretched life in the Scottish Borders, marries the daughter of his employer, a banker, and becomes wealthy printing books. His wife dies young but they have a son Robert. By chance William wins the Brackenholm estate, his birthplace, in a game of cards and sets about reviving its fortunes.
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Produktdetaljer

ISBN
9781912031818
Publisert
2018-11-30
Utgiver
Vendor
GB Publishing Org
Vekt
454 gr
Høyde
210 mm
Bredde
148 mm
Dybde
18 mm
Aldersnivå
G, 01
Språk
Product language
Engelsk
Format
Product format
Innbundet
Antall sider
228

Biographical note

Robert Scott, the author's pseudonym, is the great grandson of a ploughboy who ran away when working at picking up stones for a penny a day on a Scottish Borders estate in the 1830's. So Great a Man is a generational saga based on that family history. Qualified in London in 1968, the author passed his Fellowship examination, was appointed a Consultant in a surgical speciality and also worked as an expert witness. During his career he had over 50 original scientific papers published. Now retired, he continues to contribute occasionally to the literature in his field of expertise. Lucy Skoulding graduated in English Literature from Warwick University in 2016. She is currently working as senior journalist and editor in London, and she is training for the NCTJ journalism qualification with the Press Association.