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

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

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

Queenie’s past threatens more than one person’s future Queenie Bedford fled her native Blackburn and the bitter knowledge that she and Rick Marsden, the man she loved, could never marry. But in 1965 she returned north again to stand by her friend Sheila Thorogood, imprisoned for running a brothel with her mother Maisie. Though Rick had vowed to find her, Queenie took care that he should not know of her whereabouts. The magnificent Edwardian house in Blackpool was sadly neglected – but Queenie moved in with the ailing Maisie, and set about transforming it into a sparklingly clean, highly respectable guesthouse. Meanwhile, Queenie was to meet the frail and confused Hannah Jason, locked away years ago for murder, and desperate for news of her long-lost son. As Rick continued his dogged search for Queenie, she set out to find Hannah’s son. But both their enquiries threatened to unlock the cage where crucial secrets had long been held captive. Product Information: • ISBN: 9781035417230 • Author: Josephine Cox • Publisher: Hodder Headline • Format: Paperback • Pages: 304 • Dimensions: 19.6 x 12.8 x 2.2 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

The final book in the bestselling Mulberry Lane Saga series from Rosie Clarke. Sweeping changes are on the horizon and Mulberry Lane is in for a shock… London 1962 At first it was a rumour that Peggy Ronaski and Maureen Hart could hardly believe. If true, it would turn the lives of everyone on Mulberry Lane upside down. Peggy could lose her beloved pub. Maggie her acclaimed restaurant. Maureen her business and her home. Everyone had something to lose. Whilst old friends try to come to terms with the shocking news, the younger generation continue to forge ahead in the swinging sixties. Relationships flourish and new opportunities blossom; the ever changing world becoming their oyster. But family bonds remain strong, after all, it’s people that matter not the buildings. Could this be the end of Mulberry Lane or a new beginning for everyone? Product Information: • ISBN: 9781836564638 • Author: Rosie Clarke • Publisher: Boldwood Books Limited • Format: Paperback • Pages: 296 • Dimensions: 19.8 x 12.9 x 1.7 cm

Rachel Norris wants to forge a new life and career. And she wants to forget her past. When Rachel qualifies as nurse, she does so because she wants to help others and make a difference. But she is also running from a past life that must stay hidden forever. Completing her training, Rachel moves to London but misses home desperately, so when she hears about an opportunity to train as a district nurse in a village near Rochdale, she seizes the opportunity, even though it will take her closer to the trouble she left behind. She knows nothing about Eastby End and she is shocked to find it a little more than a slum. It’s clear she will need to work hard and keep her wits about her to win the trust of the villagers. Joss Townley has been reluctantly working in his father’s factory but is dismayed at the conditions the workers endure. When his father dies, he sells up immediately to begin travelling but is called home by his mother in an emergency – in order to save the family’s fortune he must take on a house in a place called Eastby End. He has no idea what he has bought, and is appalled to see his new neighbours’ misery and anger. A meeting with the mayor, Walter Crossley, gives him direction and focus for the first time in his life, and brings him into contact with Rachel. Can they both survive life in Eastby End? Or will it be the making of them? Product Information: • ISBN: 9781399729932 • Author: Anna Jacobs • Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton • Format: Paperback • Pages: 368 • Dimensions: 19.6 x 12.6 x 3 cm

London, 1918: the world is being torn apart by war, but for the girls of London’s Foyles bookshop, where there is friendship, there is hope… Perfect for fans of Rosie Clarke and Elaine Everest. Ellen Beckford and her sister Mary are living under their father’s shadow. Before their beloved mother died, they had dreamed of bright futures, but torn apart by grief, Harold Beckford barely lets his daughters out of his sight. Then Harold is injured during a break-in at his office at London’s docklands, and can no longer work. And with prices rising and food scarce, Ellen has no choice but to defy her father’s rules and seek employment. She finds a position at London’s renowned Foyles bookshop, and the other shop girls quickly take her under their wing. But there are dark times ahead. Ellen’s father is accused of gathering intelligence from the docklands for the enemy, and the police seem determined to see him shot for spying. With the help of her new friends, can Ellen clear her father’s name and save her family from destitution? Product Information: • ISBN: 9781836564683 • Author: Elaine Roberts • Publisher: Boldwood Books Limited • Format: Paperback • Pages: 288 • Dimensions: 19.8 x 12.9 x 1.65 cm

1191 and the Third Crusade is underway . . . It is 1191 and King Richard the Lionheart is on crusade to pitch battle against Saladin and liberate the city of Jerusalem and her lands. His mother, the formidable Eleanor of Aquitaine and his promised bride, Princess Berengaria of Navarre, make a perilous journey over the Alps in midwinter. They are to rendezvous with Richard in the Sicilian port of Messina. There are hazards along the way – vicious assassins, marauding pirates, violent storms and a shipwreck. Berengaria is as feisty as her foes and, surviving it all, she and Richard marry in Cyprus and continue to the Holy Land. England needs an heir. But first, Richard and his Queen must return home . . . The Lost Queen is a thrilling medieval story of high adventure, survival, friendship and the enduring love of a Queen for her King. Product Information: • ISBN: 9781472297372 • Author: Carol McGrath • Publisher: Hodder Headline • Format: Paperback • Pages: 336 • Dimensions: 19.6 x 12.6 x 2.6 cm

Can she escape her past and start again? Essex 1941 Unhappy with life at home with her privileged family, Hannah Austen-Bagshaw runs away to join the Land Girls Army, carrying with her a dark and terrible secret. Life on the farm is tough, but when Hannah meets handsome working-class flight lieutenant, Jack, they form an immediate friendship. But unbeknownst to Jack, Hannah is sheltering a young German pilot who has crash landed in a nearby field. Torn between her duty and her humanity, Hannah knows she risks being arrested as a traitor, but she cannot see the young pilot suffer. And she knows if Jack finds out her terrible secret, their relationship will unravel. Will Hannah’s secrets be too big for Jack to forgive? Or can they find love in the darkest of times? A gripping and authentic tale of courage during bleak times, perfect for fans of Lizzie Lane, Patricia McBride and Rosie Clarke. Product Information: • ISBN: 9781836179085 • Author: Fenella J. Miller • Publisher: Boldwood Books Limited • Format: Paperback • Pages: 232 • Dimensions: 19.8 x 12.9 x 1.35cm

To return to those she loves, she must also return to the past… In the second instalment of her Emma Grady trilogy, bestselling author Josephine Cox brings us Alley Urchin, a gripping saga of a woman determined to overcome the brutality of life as a convict to return to the man she loves. Perfect for fans of Kitty Neale and Rosie Goodwin. By 1870 Emma Grady has spent seven years of servitude as a convict in Australia. Emma lives for the day when she will return to England, to face those who cheated and betrayed her. And to Marlow Tanner, the man she loves – and whose tragic child she had borne and then lost. Emma struggles to make something of her life in Australia despite the sinister presence of her employer’s evil son, Foster. His determination to ‘have’ Emma leads to dark and terrifying consequences. As Emma battles against adversity, she is unaware that in England the child she has given up for dead is being lovingly raised by Marlow’s sister Old Sal, who teaches Emma’s daughter Molly to be an expert pickpocket. Will Emma ever be reunited with Marlow? Even if she finds him, will he still love her? And what of the child lost to both of them? Emma is plagued with fears but her love for Marlow never weakens – and can never be forgotten… Product Information: • ISBN: 9781035417254 • Author: Josephine Cox • Publisher: Hodder Headline • Format: Paperback • Pages: 320 • Dimensions: 19.6 x 12.8 x 2.8 cm

Once war strikes, life can never be the same again… A close-knit community is devastated by the outbreak of World War I in heart-breaking saga, Mist over the Mersey – a tale of families, friendship and romance from bestselling author Lyn Andrews. Perfect for fans of Katie Flynn and Maureen Lee. The Chatterton family is far too posh for the Liverpool slums where they’ve ended up. Nancy Butterworth and Abbie Kerrigan, lifelong residents of the place, tried to befriend Dee Chatterton, but her mother wants her to have nothing to do with such rough children. The Burgess family looks forward to the arrival of their young cousin Sean from Dublin, and Nancy is not the first to lose her heart to the Irish charmer. In 1914 things are to change dramatically, and the families are to find that money and social position mean nothing when the horrors of the First World War invade their lives and take away their sons… Don’t miss Lyn Andrews’ sequel to the novel, Mersey Blues. Product Information: • ISBN: 9780755341870 • Author: Lyn Andrews • Publisher: Hodder Headline • Format: Paperback • Pages: 384 • Dimensions: 19.6 x 12.6 x 2.8cm

Prodigal son and loyal daughter… The Forsyth Variety Company has been given the opportunity of a lifetime – to entertain Her Majesty at 1962’s Royal Variety Performance. Keen to rehearse, the company heads to the Seagate Theatre under the tutelage of the company’s owner, Ed Forsyth. This is Ed’s last hoorah before retiring and he’s keen to leave on a high. But his son, Cal, has absconded, leaving his twin sister, Evie, to help manage the company after their mother’s death. Hoping to display her best trapeze performance ever, she’s also desperate that the entire troupe should succeed. If only her father hadn’t brought in another old-timer… Billy Rich has come all the way from Hollywood, invited to be their main star. Billy is full of bluster and ego and his much younger wife, the mysterious Magdalene, doesn’t help. Can this troupe of old-time crooners, dancing girls and magicians possibly pull this off? Especially when they must compete with the 1960’s rebellious new bands and revolutionary music? Abandoned by her brother, Evie has no idea if she’ll ever be able to wrestle the troupe into a show fit for a queen. But as the theatrical group heads towards a royal deadline like no other, Cal returns out of the blue to introduce a song that could change the world. Is he here to help, or are his motivations darker? As the company descends into illicit romance, family intrigue and foul crimes, rehearsals begin to unravel. Can they really do this? Cal thinks he has the answer, if only the troupe can believe in him. Because the queen’s show must go on… Product Information: • ISBN: 9781398710177 • Author: Anton Du Beke • Publisher: Orion Publishing • Format: Paperback • Pages: 416 • Dimensions: 19.69 x 12.7 x 2.54 cm

The stunning final book in the classic Emma Grady trilogy by Sunday Times bestselling author Josephine Cox. Twenty-two years ago Emma Grady was wrongfully convicted and sentenced to transportation to Australia. Just before her departure she bore and lost her baby daughter – conceived during a passionate affair with Marlow Tanner. It is now 1885, and Emma has returned to Blackburn. Reunited with Marlow, she has a loving family, yet she is still haunted by the past, unable to forget how her uncle Caleb Crowther ignored her desperate plea to save her and her tragic first-born. Crowther curses his niece’s return and also hounds Molly, Emma’s lost daughter. Molly and her children run away and, contending with hunger, exhaustion and the unwelcome attentions of the men who are drawn to Molly’s dark beauty, their life at times is almost unbearable. But Molly has inherited Emma’s indomitable spirit… Product Information: • ISBN: 9781035417285 • Author: Josephine Cox • Publisher: Hodder Headline • Format: Paperback • Pages: 336 • Dimensions: 19.4 x 12.6 x 2.6 cm

1941. Determined to contribute to the war effort, eighteen-year-old Connie runs away from home to work as a carpenter’s apprentice in Scarborough. Though life on the workshop floor is tough, Connie finds comfort in the friendship of her glamorous flatmate, Valentine. But when Valentine disappears one night, Connie doesn’t know where to turn. With the war raging the police won’t investigate, and so Connie must take matters into her own hands. How far will she go to discover the truth of Valentine’s disappearance? And what terrible secrets will she uncover along the way? Product Information: • ISBN: 9781802793109 • Author: Mollie Walton • Publisher: Hodder Headline • Format: Paperback • Pages: 384 • Dimensions: 19.6 x 12.8 x 3 cm

The beginning of a brand-new trilogy from bestselling author Kay Brelland, featuring the Silvertown Explosion, the rise of women’s football, and East End suffragettes. She is her family’s only hope. 1916. East London. When sixteen-year-old Clover Cooper’s mother, Iris, calls her home from work one day, the last thing Clover expects is to find that her mother has given birth to another baby. After all, Clover’s unpleasant father, Sidney, has been in France for longer than nine months. Banned from questions, and bound to secrecy by her beloved mother, Clover leaves her infant brother at a nunnery for safekeeping, despite her heartbreak at parting with him. But when Sidney unexpectedly returns from the Western Front, life at home suddenly feels more dangerous than a battlefield. Strained by keeping such a secret, Clover turns to her fiercely protective grandmother, Elsie, for advice. But Elsie has her own life-changing decision to make. Then tragedy strikes, and Clover will have to find a way to keep her family together and safeguard all that she holds dear. Product Information: • ISBN: 9780349435534 • Author: Kay Brellend • Publisher: Little Brown • Format: Paperback • Pages: 368 • Dimensions: 19.6 x 12.6 x 2.8 cm

The award-winning author Liz Fenwick returns with a glorious, sweeping novel full of intrigue and passion. As one of the Navy's most skilled mapmakers, Merry knows that lives depend on her work in the War Office. But when a family crisis draws her back to her beloved Cornwall, she finds herself working alongside Jake, an enigmatic American officer, on secret operations spanning the rugged coasts of Cornwall and Brittany which she knows so well. As rumours and suspicion swirl around her family, Merry is increasingly drawn to Jake, despite the defences she's built around her heart. It's a dangerous time to fall in love; the tides of war are rising and there is everything to lose… Product Information: • ISBN: 9780008532307 • Author: Liz Fenwick • Publisher: Harper Collins Publishers • Format: Paperback • Pages: 480 • Dimensions: 19.8 x 2.9 x 3.8 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

Perfect for fans of Kate Quinn, Nancy Revell and Anna Stuart! The third heartwarming novel in the inspiring Bletchley Park Girls series from bestselling saga author Molly Green… Munich. September, 1938. When twenty-one-year-old Madeleine Hamilton is asked to smuggle two young pupils to Berlin, she nervously agrees. But, when they run into trouble on the train, it is Maddie’s turn to be saved by a chance encounter with a handsome man. Bletchley Park. September, 1939. A year later, Maddie is undertaking training in Morse code when a familiar face shows up unexpectedly. The attraction between them is as deep as it is instant, but Maddie knows one person holds the potential to harm her country and her heart – and it is her duty to protect both… The third novel in Molly Green’s moving wartime series set at Bletchley Park, perfect for fans of Nancy Revell and Donna Douglas. Product Information: • ISBN: 9780008562243 • Author: Molly Green • Publisher: Harper Collins Publishers • Format: Paperback • Pages: 480 • Dimensions: 19.8 x 12.9 x 3.6cm

All alone during winter - will she find somewhere to call home . . ? As the year ends, seventeen-year-old runaway Kathleen stumbles through the snow, alone and about to give birth. But when she's carried to safety by a mysterious figure, her life is set on a new path . . . Welcomed by the Mason family at Home Farm, Kathleen believes she may have finally found a safe place to raise her newborn child. But her past cannot be forgotten and no matter how hard her new family tries, she has secrets she refuses to share. Will Home Farm be the safe haven Kathleen has been searching for? And will a chance at love allow her to finally break free of her past? Product Information: • ISBN: 9781804187692 • Author: Sheila Newberry • Publisher: Bonnier Books UK Limited • Format: Paperback     • Pages: 400 • Dimensions: 19.8 x 12.9 x 2.4 cm