The Reluctant Sinner - Softcover

June Tate was born in Southampton and spent the early years of her childhood in the Cotswolds. After leaving school she became a hairdresser on cruise ships the Queen Mary and the Mauritania, meeting many Hollywood film stars and VIPs on her travels. After her marriage to an airline pilot, she lived in Sussex and Hampshire before moving to Estoril in Portugal. June now lives in Brighton.

It's the beginning of World War I, and seamstress Daisy Gilbert, although only 18-years-old, finds herself responsible for her family's financial survival. Her father has fallen ill with tuberculosis, and the family lives on Daisy's meager wages from Madam Evans' elite dressmaker shop in Southampton, as well as fees from Daisy's occasional side work. To make matters worse, her father is in desperate need of a convalescent home, where he can receive proper medical care. One of Madam Evan's clients, a woman who runs a house of ill repute for the wealthy, offers Daisy an evening job as a bartender at her establishment. Even though she's not a prostitute, when Madam Evans finds out about Daisy's bartending at the Solent Club, she fires her, forcing Daisy to make a decision that will change her life forever. A good, loyal teen faces the limited options open to the women of her time in this emotional story of family and sacrifice. --Booklist, 1st February 2010