Mary Walton is the apple of her fathers eye; his only comfort during the dark years of the Depression when he is faced with both unemployment & a nagging ambitious wife. His only hope is that Mary will one day find a way to escape the grinding poverty of the Tyneside slums. But when a secret is revealed these dreams are shattered & the lives of the Walton family change forever... Spanning Marys life from the 1930s to the 1970s Pure as the Lily" is a spellbinding unforgettable tale from one of Britains most cherished novelists."