Historical Fiction Books

The phenomenal new novel, based on a true story, from the international bestselling author of The Tattooist of Auschwitz. 1942. Singapore is falling to the Japanese Army. English musician Norah Chambers places her eight-year-old daughter Sally on a ship leaving Singapore, desperate to keep her safe. As the island burns, Australian nurse Nesta James joins the terrified cargo of people, including the heartbroken Norah, crammed aboard the HMS Vyner Brooke. After only two days at sea, the ship is bombarded and sunk. Nesta and Norah reach the beaches of Indonesia only to be captured and held in one of the notorious Japanese POW camps, places of starvation and brutality. But even here joy can be found, in music, where Norah's 'voice orchestra' transports the internees from squalor into light. The friendships they build with the dozens of other women in the camps will give them the hope, strength and camaraderie they need in order to stay alive. Product Information:  • ISBN:  9781786582218 • Author: Heather Morris • Publisher:  Zaffre • Format:  Hardback • Pages:  400 • Dimensions: 16.2 x 3.5 x 24 cm

A gripping saga of love, longing and manipulation . . . Kent, 1822 Fearing for his life, Thomas Marsh has fled Castle Bay and found work as a mill hand, deep in the countryside. Here he comes across the unconventional Isabel Cavendish and is captivated by her beauty and wildness. But Isabel's father has ambitions for his daughter, and she is soon sent away to Ramsgate to learn how to be a lady. Struggling to understand society's obsession with dresses and balls, Isabel chafes against the restrictions of her new life. Then she meets Daniel Coates, in town for one night only, and the pair discover a strong mutual attraction. When circumstances force the couple apart, Isabel is heartbroken. But before she can reunite with Daniel, the horrified Isabel is taken to London by her father to be married to a much older widower. Can she find a way to escape the marriage of convenience her father wishes to force her into? What will become of this reluctant bride? Product Information: • ISBN: 9780349433714 • Author: Lynne Francis • Publisher: Piatkus Books • Format: Paperback • Pages: 368 • Dimensions: 19.6 x 12.6 x 2.6cm

The Quality Street girls are gearing up for Christmas, but with the factory now making gas masks, as well as the nation’s favourite chocolate sweets, it’s anything but normal. They’re having to make other adjustments too. Reenie is in the doldrums after being demoted at work, while Mary has got her hands full getting used to married life and a ready-made family. New girl, Ada, isn’t sure she fits into factory life at all. Then, just as the Christmas party season gets into full swing, Toffee town gets a shock, and soon it isn’t just Christmas cheer that’s in short supply. Can the Quality Street girls save Christmas once again? Product Information: • ISBN: 9780008531140 • Author: Penny Thorpe • Publisher: HarperCollins • Format: Paperback • Pages: 352 • Dimensions: 12.8 x 2.2 x 19.8cm

Can the festive cheer warm her heart again? October 1941. Despite the hardships of life during wartime, Bobby Bancroft has never been happier. Engaged to her airman sweetheart Charlie, living in the beautiful Dales village of Silverdale and gainfully employed at The Tyke magazine, her life seems to be going exactly the way she always hoped it would. As the festive season approaches, Bobby is recruited to help produce a Christmas pantomime for the evacuee children billeted in the village. The project introduces her to some new friends, including a handsome Canadian, Flying Officer Ernie King, and her friend Topsy’s upper-crust cousin Archie Sumner. However, fresh troubles arise when Charlie discovers his RAF training is to be cut short and he must prepare to join the fight imminently. What’s more, his upcoming leave has been cancelled, leaving him to spend a lonely Christmas in his barracks. Can a miracle bring Charlie and Bobby together for Christmas? An absolutely captivating, heart warming and uplifting festive saga that fans of All Creatures Great and Small, Gervase Phinn and Maggie Mason will adore. Product Information: • ISBN: 9781804361962 • Author: Betty Firth • Publisher: Canelo Digital Publishing Ltd • Format: Paperback • Pages: 400 • Dimensions: 19.84 x 12.85 x 2.26cm

1940, London When Cordelia accepts the post of head librarian in Silver Town Library, her mother is more than a little disapproving. The East End has high levels of poverty and illiteracy, and her mother says it’s no place for a woman of her status. But Cordelia is determined to make a difference in these times of strife, and along with her colleagues, Jane and Mavis, she begins to help the local community, making sure everyone knows what the library can offer them. And maybe even a romance will blossom, giving Cordelia the strength to make it through the chaos and destruction that constantly threatens their livelihood. Product Information:  • ISBN: 9781836178996 • Author: Patricia McBride • Publisher: Boldwood Books • Format:  Paperback • Pages: 248  • Dimensions: 12.9 x 1.42 x 19.8 cm

It’s Christmas Eve. Flurries of snow fall on the cobbled streets of Whitechapel and an abandoned baby, swaddled in a blanket, is found on a doorstep in Angel Lane... Named after the street on which she was found, Angel Winter was blessed to be taken from the harsh streets into a loving home. But fate deals a cruel blow and she’s torn from the only family she has ever known, and thrown onto the cobbles of Covent Garden to fend for herself. With winter closing in, Angel scratches a living selling mistletoe to the City gentlemen who pass through the market, hoping they will take pity on her as she shivers in the snow. The only way she can survive is to make her own luck. She will never sell the one treasure that could feed her for a month, the gold and ruby ring that was hidden in her swaddling – it could hold the key to the secrets of her past... Product Information: • ISBN: 9780008199555 • Author: Dilly Court • Publisher: HarperCollins • Format: Paperback • Pages: 544 • Dimensions: 12.8 x 3.4 x 19.8cm

Can she help the village survive the war? April 1941. When Bobby Bancroft arrived in Silverdale to take a job as a reporter on The Tyke magazine, the sleepy Yorkshire Dales village felt like a little pocket of a past long gone. While much of the country was suffering nightly bombing raids as the Blitz raged, life in isolated Silverdale carried on just as it had for a hundred years or more. But as the summer of 1941 approaches, war finally seems to have come to Silverdale. The villagers face new hardships when shortages and rationing begin to bite, young men become scarce as more and more are called up, and Bobby finds herself juggling her job on the magazine with a new role as an ARP warden. Even her surly editor Reg and his wife are doing their bit, taking two young evacuees from London into their home. Meanwhile, Bobby has been growing closer to village vet Charlie, who is preparing to leave Silverdale to begin training with the RAF. The villagers are whispering that wedding bells will soon be chiming, but then Bobby is confronted with an impossible choice. Can she bring herself to give up the job she adores to be with the man she loves? Product Information:  • ISBN:  9781804361924 • Author:  Betty Firth • Publisher:  Canelo Hera • Format:  Paperback • Pages:  400 • Dimensions: 12.9 x 2.4 x 19.8 cm

London, 1938. Bookseller Gertie Bingham is facing difficult times, having just lost her beloved husband, Harry, and with a lingering sadness at never having been able to have a child of her own. Struggling to face running the bookshop she and Harry opened together, Gertie is preparing to sell up and move away when she is asked if she would be willing to take in a young Jewish refugee from Germany. Gertie is unsure and when sullen teenager Hedy Fischer arrives, Gertie fears she has nothing left to give the troubled girl. But when the German bombers come and the lights go out over London, Gertie and Hedy realise that joining forces will make them stronger, and that books have the power to bring young and old together and unite a community in need in its darkest hour... Product Information:  • ISBN: 9781035401062 • Author: Annie Lyons • Publisher: Headline Review • Format:  Paperback • Pages: 384  • Dimensions: 12.6 x 2.8 x 19.6 cm

To follow her dream, she’s gone from city to village – but can she ever fit in? October 1940. Twenty-three-year-old Bobby Bancroft is working as a typist for a city newspaper, but she longs to be breaking the news herself. When she successfully applies for a junior reporter role at The Tyke, a magazine serving the Yorkshire Dales, she’s thrilled to be entering the world of journalism – even if she only gets the position because so many men are away fighting in the war. Bobby moves to the sleepy village of Silverdale, but she quickly discovers life in the countryside is a different world. Not only does she need to win over the local animals – from rampaging bulls to belligerent geese – but there are a whole host of eccentric characters to get to know, not least of whom is her editor’s younger brother: charming but infuriating village vet Charlie. As Bobby struggles to be taken seriously by the gruff dalesfolk, she starts to wonder if she’s made a huge mistake. Will the city girl ever find her place in the beautiful but hostile countryside of the Dales?  Product Information:  • ISBN:  9781804361900 • Author:  Betty Firth • Publisher:  Canelo Hera • Format:  Paperback • Pages:  352 • Dimensions:  12.9 x 2.1 x 19.8 cm

The third book in the gripping and heartwarming new Jubilee Lake series, from multi-million-copy bestselling author Anna Jacobs Lancashire, 1895. Lancashire, 1895. Abigail Dawson has lived in fear of her father for thirty years. But when, after uprooting them to a grand new home in Ollerthwaite, he's found murdered in the street, her life is turned upside down. Alone and caught in a web of her father's secrets, Abigail needs someone to rely on - so when hardworking handyman Rufus promises her a new life, she's thrilled at the chance to have a family of her own. But as they grow closer, could it be more than a marriage of convenience? Meanwhile, the rebuilding of the Ollerton estate is bringing new life to the valley - but old grudges, and new threats, are disturbing the peace. With plans for the Diamond Jubilee approaching, can the whole village band together to protect their home? Product Information:  • ISBN: 9781529351446 • Author: Anna Jacobs • Publisher: Hodder Paperbacks  • Format:  Paperback • Pages: 336  • Dimensions: 12.7 x 1.91 x 19.69 cm

The second inspiring novel in the heartwarming and hopeful Bletchley Park Girls series from the queen of saga, Molly Green… When Rosie Frost was jilted on her wedding day, she didn’t think life could get any worse. But six years later in the throes of the Second World War, she is unceremoniously dismissed from her dream job after they discover her illegitimate child. Thankfully, top secret war office Bletchley Park recognises Rosie’s talent and recruits her to decipher their Italian naval signals. Happy to be doing her bit for the war effort, Rosie settles into her new life. But when she spots a familiar face at the Park, Rosie’s world threatens to come crashing down once more. Can she put her heartbreak behind her? And will wedding bells ring out across Bletchley Park before the year is out? Product Information: • ISBN: 9780008479909 • Author: Molly Green • Publisher: Avon • Format: Paperback • Pages: 448 • Dimensions: 19.8 x 13 x 2.8cm

Discover the engaging new trilogy from the author of The Sixpenny Orphan, about three women working in a WWI toffee factory in the North-East! In 1915 three women start work at a toffee factory in the market town of Chester-le-Street, Durham. Anne works for the enigmatic owner Mr Jack. She is highly efficient and whips Mr Jack’s disorganised office – and Mr Jack himself – into shape. However, behind her business-like façade, Anne hides a heart-breaking secret. Elsie is feisty, fun and enjoys a good time. However, her gadabout ways get her into trouble when she falls for the wrong man in the sugar-boiling room. And there’s dependable Hetty, who’s set to marry her boyfriend when he returns from the war. But when Hetty is sent on an errand by the toffee factory boss, her life changes in ways she could never imagine and a whole new world opens up. The toffee factory girls begin as strangers before forging a close bond of friendship and trust. And, as the war rages on, they help each other cope through the difficult times ahead. Product Information: • ISBN: 9781035402489 • Author: Glenda Young • Publisher: Hodder Headline • Format: Paperback • Pages: 352 • Dimensions: 19.05 x 12.7 x 2.54cm

A heartwrenching and evocative wartime novel, perfect for fans of Santa Montefiore, Rachel Hore and Lucinda Riley. Two mothers. Two daughters. Two families torn apart forever. Paris, 1939. Elise and Juliette are certain nothing can come between them. So, when war breaks out and Elise is forced to flee, she entrusts Juliette with her daughter, playmate to Juliette’s own little girl. More than a year later, with the war finally ending, Elise returns to reunite with her daughter, only to find her friend’s bookstore reduced to rubble – and Juliette nowhere to be found. What happened to Mathilde in those last terrible moments? Juliette has seemingly vanished without a trace, taking all the answers with her. Elise’s desperate search leads her to New York – and to Juliette – one final, fateful time. The Paris Daughter is a story about mothers and daughters, the way loss transforms us, and the roads we find to beginning anew in the face of impossible odds. Product Information: • ISBN: 9781802793895 • Author: Kristin Harmel • Publisher: Hodder Headline • Format: Paperback • Pages: 384 • Dimensions: 19.6 x 12.8 x 2.8cm

Genoa, Italy, 1946. Vincenzo and Giovanna fall in love the moment they set eyes on each other. The son of a count and the daughter of a tailor, they belong to opposing worlds - but the undeniable spark between them quickly burns into a deep and passionate relationship, played out against their post-war city, and Vincenzo's family's beautiful vineyard. But when shifts in political power force them each to choose a side and commit what the other believes is a betrayal, the bright future they dreamed of together is shattered. New York, 2017. Cassandra and Luca are in love. Although neither quite fits with the other's family, Cass and Luca have always felt like a perfect match for each other. But when Luca, an artist, convinces his grandfather and Cass's grandmother to pose for a painting, past and present collide to reveal a secret that changes everything... Product Information: • ISBN: 9781399718974 • Author: Jill Santopolo • Publisher: Hodder Paperbacks • Format: Paperback • Pages: 336 • Dimensions: 12.8 x 2.6 x 19.6cm

A vanished star. A haunted film. A mystery only love can unravel . . . 1968 Gemma Turner once dreamed of stardom, now she's on the cusp of obscurity. When a radical new horror film offers her the leading role, her luck looks set to change. Until one dark night, Gemma disappears on set and is never seen again. But this is only the beginning... Gemma has been pulled into the film itself, where the script - and the horrors within it - are more real than she ever imagined, and she must play her role perfectly if she hopes to survive. 2007 Gemma Turner's disappearance is one of Hollywood's greatest mysteries - one that's captivated film student Christopher ever since he saw the infamous L'Étrange Lune for the first time. The film is screened just once a decade, and each time there is new, impossible footage of Gemma that simply shouldn't exist. Compelled by curiosity, Christopher dares to unravel the truth. But answers to the film's mystery may leave him trapped by it forever... Product Information:  • ISBN: 9780349426006 • Author: Constance Sayers • Publisher: Little, Brown • Format:  Paperback • Pages: 471 • Dimensions: 12.8 x 19.7 x 3.7 cm

With the men missing in action, can the Bomber Girls find a way to bring them home? Pearl, Thea and Jenny fling themselves into making Fenthorpe as festive as it can be, looking forward to the Christmas dance. Disaster strikes when Pearl’s husband, Greg, crashes behind enemy lines and is reported missing. Pearl and Thea’s grandmother, Deedee, immediately travels to Lincoln to support her granddaughter. But Deedee has a surprising - and troublesome - connection to Fenthorpe. Can the girls uncover her secrets to help their grandmother find new romance? And can Greg evade capture and survive in enemy-occupied Holland to make it home for Christmas? It’s never too late to fall in love in this heartwarming Second World War saga, perfect for fans of Soraya Lane, Kate Thompson and Lizzie Page. Product Information: • ISBN: 9781804366868 • Author: Vicki Beeby • Publisher: Canelo Digital Publishing Ltd • Pages: 336 • Format: Paperback • Dimensions: 19.8 x 12.9 x 1.9cm

Can she find freedom against the odds? As the Great War ends Serena Fleming is due an inheritance that could free her from a bullying father. But little does she know how far he will go to prevent her leaving home. Or how desperate he is to limit her and keep his secrets hidden. When she turns thirty, Serena must risk everything to escape his iron rule. Meanwhile, Marcus Graye’s life has also been changed by the War. His injuries may heal, but his elderly aunt and a crumbling old house are now in his sole care. When he saves Serena from a kidnapping, his life will take an unexpected turn, one that may bring him love but will put his life in danger. Can they survive a wicked man’s attacks? And can Serena at last fulfil her true potential? Product Information:  • ISBN: 9781804367278 • Author: Anna Jacobs • Publisher: Canelo • Format:  Paperback • Pages: 304 • Dimensions: 12.9 x 1.9 x 19.8 cm

The Little Coffee Shop of Kabul captured the hearts of readers worldwide. Now, the coffee shop doors welcome you home one last time… Kabul, August 2021. Sunny Tedder is back in her beloved coffee shop. After eight years away, she’s thrilled to reunite with her Kabul ‘family’: Yazmina now runs a pair of women’s shelters from the old cafe, and dreams of a bright future for her two young daughters. Her sister Layla has become an outspoken women’s rights activist and, thanks to social media, is quite the celebrity.# Kat, Sunny’s friend from America, is wrapping up her year-long stay in the land of her birth, but is facing some unfinished business. And finally there’s elderly den mother Halajan, whose secret new hobby is itself an act of rebellion. Then the US troops begin to withdraw – and the women watch in horror as the Taliban advance on the capital at ferocious speed… Set against the terrifying fall of Kabul in 2021, Deborah Rodriguez concludes her bestselling Little Coffee Shop trilogy with a heart-stopping story of resilience, courage and, most importantly, hope. Product Information: • ISBN: 9781408728116 • Author: Deborah Rodriguez • Publisher: Little Brown • Format: Paperback • Pages: 336 • Dimensions: 19.6 x 12.6 x 3.8cm

Chrissie Walsh is back with this heart-breaking tale of love against the odds. Against the chaotic backdrop of World War II, Grace Murphy is working as a midwife in Doncaster Royal Infirmary with her two friends, Clodagh and Patsy. In between delivering babies and tending wounded airmen, the girls endure bombing raids, rationing and the hardships and heartbreak that war brings. But in the faces of the new babies she welcomes to the world, Grace always looks for hope, as she dreams of a time when the war will end. When the midwives get the chance to go to a dance at the nearby RAF Finningly, they jump at the offer. The hangar is crowded with happy dancing couples but when the glamourous Spitfire pilots saunter in, looking dashing in their leather flying jackets and brightly coloured silk scarves, Grace can’t resist taking a peek. And the moment Grace meets pilot, Richard Carmichael, she knows he will capture her heart. With every daring flying raid, Grace and Richard risk losing each other forever. All Grace can do is look out for Richard in the patches of blue sky, and hope that fate will bring them their very own wartime happy-ever-after…  Product Information:  • ISBN:  9781835619087 • Author:  Chrissie Walsh • Publisher:  Boldwood Books • Format:  Paperback • Pages:  361 • Dimensions:  12.9 x 1.98 x 19.8 cm

Left on the steps of an orphanage when she was just days old, Nancy Sunday was brought up in hardship – until the kindly Rosalind Carey took her in. Now eighteen years old, Nancy is an adopted member of the Carey family. But she can’t help wondering who her parents really were… When Nancy is sent away to finishing school, she finds herself in the midst of London society. There she meets Freddie Ashton – kind and warm-hearted, he might just be the man of Nancy’s dreams. But she knows his wealthy parents would never let him marry a penniless foundling. And she has also caught the eye of another man – the charming and dangerous Gervase North, who has reasons of his own for discovering Nancy’s parentage. Will Nancy ever find where she truly belongs? Product Information:  • ISBN: 9780008435615 • Author: Dilly Court • Publisher: HarperCollins • Format:  Paperback • Pages: 512 • Dimensions: 12.9 x 3.2 x 19.8 cm