Hard Facts is a 1944 novel by the British writer Howard Spring.Merriam-Webster's Encyclopedia of Literature p.1059 A young curate is sent to work in Manchester, where he encounters the Dunkerley family who own a struggling printing firm. It was followed by a sequel Dunkerley's in 1946.
References
Bibliography Merriam-Webster's Encyclopedia of Literature. Merriam-Webster, 1995.