Hutchinson Meg Hutchinson 
Bitter Seed 

Isabel Kenton is left to run the family business when her father dies on the eve of the Great War and her twin brother enlists in the Flying Corps.A clairvoyant tells Isabel that ‘yours will be a different war’ and so it proves to be as she faces hostility from the male-dominated steel industry, making both fearsome enemies and loyal friends. Owen Farr is the charming solicitor who befriends Isabel, but is he all that he seems? Hewett Calcott is an industrialist from a neighbouring town. He helps Isabel when others turn against her, but he also has his secrets. James Hawley is the handsome foundry worker injured in battle, who becomes a loyal friend. World War I devastates lives, but it also empowers women more than ever. Not everyone is happy about this. Isabel faces danger and adversity from all sides, so can she prevail and solve the mystery of her origins?