Blackie's Backstory Revealed in 'A Man of Honour'

 

"Shane O' Neill's the name, but the whole world calls me Blackie." 

After 6 sequels of her debut best selling novel, 'A Woman of Substance', English author Barbara Taylor Bradford has penned a prequel to the Emma Harte series.

'A Man of Honour' reveals the full backstory of Emma Harte's best friend, Blackie O' Neill; the book beginning five years before Blackie and Emma's first  meeting at the moors in Fairley. Orphaned at 13 and then losing his sister, Blackie faces an uncertain future in County Kerry, Ireland. He must now set off for England to be under the care of his uncle Patrick, his mother's brother. There he learns his trade as a navvy in the great city of Leeds, which will one day bear his stamp. 'A Man of Honour' follows Blackie's turbulent life, his obstacles and  gradual journey from poverty, motivated by his ambition to reach the pinnacle of success, along with Emma Harte. 

Trivia: In the 1984 British American mini series adaptation of 'A Woman of Substance', and the 1986 sequel 'Hold The Dream', Blackie was played by Irish actor, Liam Neeson.