Last Orders At Mulberry Lane – Rosie Clarke

If this was the setting of the hospice, she could understand why Ryan had wanted to spend his last days here. The farmhouse was bleak and uninviting, but this place had its own little touch of quiet magic as it nestled amongst the hills. The descent into the valley was just a gentle slope and as they got nearer, Janet had a sense of peace. At least Ryan had what he wanted here. She was too late. Janet stared at the matron of the hospice in disbelief. Ryan had passed away just hours previously.

If she’d driven straight here last night, she would have been in time to say goodbye, but she hadn’t known he was here. ‘May I see him?’ she asked when she could master her voice. Inside, she was trembling, but outwardly proud as she looked at the woman who had just told her Ryan was dead.

‘I didn’t know he was ill – can you tell me more please?’ ‘You’d better come and have a cup of tea in my office,’ Matron said, her tone softening. ‘I will give instructions for you to be taken to see him in our chapel of rest. Ryan was at peace when he died, Mrs Hendricks. He left a letter for you. It was dictated because he couldn’t manage to write it and something was distressing him. I will give it to you in my room.’

Janet straightened her back. She knew the tears were very close, but she held them back. She would cry when she was alone. There was time enough to grieve. For now, she had to be strong, to see Ryan, beg his forgiveness and say her last goodbye. It was evening when Janet was able to let the tears fall at last.

Even as she’d stood by his cold, still body, she’d not been able to cry.

Peggy and Able Ronoscki and their twins, Freddie and Fay. Peggy’s eldest daughter, Janet, and her brother, Pip, by her first husband, Laurie. Peggy is now in her sixties, Able is a couple of years younger. The twins are now 19. Janet is 39 and Pip is 37; they both have children. Maggie is Janet’s daughter by her first husband and Peggy’s first grandchild and is now 21. Janet and Ryan, her second husband, have a son, Jon. Pip is married to Sheila, they have two children, Chris and Sarah.

Pip works as an aeronautical designer. Peggy has always run the Pig & Whistle pub in Mulberry Lane in the East End of London, apart from a period when she went away to the seaside and Sheila ran the pub. However, in 1958, Maggie and Fay started to take over. Peggy also has a boarding house, which is managed by Pearl.

Pearl’s mother, Mrs Maggs, helps at the Pig & Whistle washing up. Able has a partnership with Tom Barton in the building trade. Maureen’s family: Maureen is in her late forties and Gordon is slightly older. Gordon’s daughter, Shirley, is in her late twenties now and Maureen and Gordon’s son, Gordy, is a teenager. Maureen also had a son, Robin (not Gordon’s), but he died of a childhood illness.

Gordon is suffering from a weakness of a heart muscle but is better than he was in the last book. He still manages the grocery shop that came to them through Maureen’s family, but it is much bigger now, though he only goes in for an hour or two and has a youthful manager. Maureen still helps out in the pub and the restaurant kitchen sometimes. Shirley is a doctor and married to Ray. The Barton family: Tom and Rose Barton have two children, Molly and Jackie or these days, Jack.

Tom and Able are now partners in a building business and doing well. Rose sometimes helps out in the pub kitchens. She and Maureen are Peggy’s best friends and they’ve always done things together. They are several years younger than Peggy and Maureen and in their thirties.

This is a short excerpt from the opening of “” by Unknown, quoted for review and introduction purposes. All rights belong to the copyright holders.

Book Information

• Unique ID: 35f07c74e05a7d90
• File Extension: .pdf
• File Size: 1,605,623 bytes (1.531 MB)
• Title: –
• Author: Unknown
• Pages: 251
• Language: English (en)

Reading & Word Statistics

• Estimated Reading Time: 456.35 minutes
• Total Words: 91,269
• Total Characters: 480,262
• Average Words per Page: 363.62
• Average Characters per Page: 1913.39

Most Frequent Words

said (700), peggy (473), freddie (413), think (358), janet (353), know (312), maureen (281), able (280), like (267), told (261), don’t (255), now (232), time (228), yes (228), get (220), greta (219), one (214), maggie (204), fay (200), i’m (199), looked (197), good (197), much (186), love (186), see (181), want (178), thought (168), well (167), i’ll (161), come (157), didn’t (153), back (152), mum (151), she’d (141), nodded (141), look (141), home (140), got (140), asked (139), little (135), went (134), sure (134), ryan (133), going (132), work (130), take (129), he’d (126), make (126), jon (123), something (123), way (122), it’s (121), need (119), right (119), never (118), things (117), wanted (117), always (114), replied (114), agreed (114), i’ve (113), i’d (106), head (104), gordon (100), made (98), tom (97), says (97), wasn’t (95), smiled (94), though (93), away (92), life (92), that’s (92), still (91), eyes (90), last (87), london (87), let (87), help (86), years (86), shirley (86), you’re (86), tell (86), bit (84), first (83), long (83), laughed (83), friends (82), felt (82), happy (82), wouldn’t (82), perhaps (82), new (81), knew (80), father (80), day (79), greg (78), house (77), isn’t (77), stay (77).

PDF Download