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Living a Lie

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Living a Lie

By: Josephine Cox
Narrated by: Sherry Baines
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About this listen

In 1975 Lucinda Marsh throws herself in front of a speeding train leaving her 12-year-old daughter Kitty alone, confused and abandoned – save for a selfish aunt, a violent father and her childhood sweetheart Harry Jenkins.

When Kitty is sent to an orphanage after the death of her father, she meets Georgie, a lively cockney girl who, through the following difficult years, becomes her loyal friend. Convinced that her feelings for Harry will ruin the brilliant future that lies ahead of him, Kitty turns her back on his love.

Together with Georgie, she strives to find fulfilment in other places and other relationships, but when fate throws her back together with Harry she begins to wonder if true love can ever die...

©1995 Josephine Cox (P)2023 Bolinda Publishing Coming of Age Fiction Friendship Genre Fiction Historical Fiction

Critic Reviews

'Driven and passionate.' (Sunday Times)
'Hailed quite rightly as a gifted writer in the tradition of Catherine Cookson.' (Manchester Evening News)
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I have been reading Josephine Cox novels since I was 17 years old and discovered an excerpt of Lovers and Liars in a Woman’s Weekly magazine. I own every single book she’s ever written. Now that I’m reading/listening to them in my adulthood, I’ve noticed a very disturbing thread running through her books and I can only imagine how it impacted my own behaviour as a young woman. Unless the heroine is violently raped, then any other form of sexual assault isn’t really considered an assault… and the character blames herself mostly. For instance, I’m this story, one of the male characters creeps into Kitty’s room and rapes her while she’s asleep. But because she was drunk and she was dreaming about Harry, it’s excused and even later on she tells her friend Georgie that the man had “made love” to her… he didn’t make love to her! He had sex with her without her consent! He raped her! Yes she is initially angry at him for sneaking into her room, but eventually she’s considering marrying the bastard! But he raped her! Just because she didn’t fight back didn’t mean she consented! And I’ve noticed this same thing in a lot of her other stories. The man will plead and beg and push the main characters legs apart and she will eventually relented…. And then later on it’s considered that she gave in of her own free will… no she didn’t… that is rape.. So I’m sorry, but anyone who is triggered by stuff like that should really be careful when picking up a Josephine Cox novel…. Just be aware that potential rape scenarios will be excused as the man just being a man who has needs and the woman should have fought harder if she didn’t actually want it… I’m really sad to be writing a review like this about an author I considered to be one of my favourites

I love Josephine Cox books for the most part…. But…

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