My Beloved Son book by Catherine Cookson

Ellen Jebeau married a man who did little but dream, and who then died leaving her nothing but debt. Whatever else her marriage lacked, however, she had her son Joseph. She resolved he should have all in life she had missed and would stop at nothing to achieve that end. It was Sir Arthur Jebeau, her late husband's brother, who came to her aid, and soon Ellen and Joseph were living at the old family seat at Screehaugh. It was a convenient arrangement, one which Ellen was not slow to recognise could work to her advantage, for Sir Arthur was a widower and Screehaugh had no mistress . . . That was in 1926, but the working out of so many increasingly intertwined destinies would continue for twenty more years and only come to final resolution with Joseph Jebeau's escape from the traumatic heritage of his mother's ruthless ambition.

Catherine Cookson was the original and bestselling saga writer, selling over 100 million copies of her novels. If you like Dilly Court, Katie Flynn or Donna Douglas, you'll love Catherine Cookson.