<P><B> THE BRAND NEW SAGA SERIES BY MAGGIE MASON - MEET THE HALFPENNY GIRLS. . . </B><br><br><B>''In the grand tradition of sagas set down by the late and great </B><B></B><B>Catherine Cookson</B><B>'' </B>Jean Fullerton on <I>Blackpool Lass</I><br><br><B></B><B><I>Down on their luck, all the have left is friendship . . .</I></B><br><br>It is 1937 and Alice, Edith and Marg continue to face hardships every day, growing up on one of the poorest streets in Blackpool. Penniless, their friendship has helped them survive this far, but it''ll take more than that to see them through the dark days that lie ahead . . .<br><br><B>Alice </B>is coping with a violent father and the weight of the duty she carries to support her family, <B>Marg</B> is left reeling after a dark secret about her birth comes to light and threatens to destroy the life she knows, and <B>Edith</B> is fighting to protect her alcoholic mother from the shame of their neighbours and keep her brother on the straight and narrow.<