Showing results for "Heartbreak" in Historical Fiction

Kitty Wilson, who, after losing her father, rejects the unsuitable suitor her mother has chosen. Abandoned by her mother, Kitty faces the challenges of navigating life alone. Amidst the turmoil, Kitty finds solace and support from friends, securing a promotion at Harpers Emporium. However, tragedy looms, threatening to shatter her newfound stability. Sally and Ben Harper face their own challenges. A decision by Ben regarding the restaurant, made without consulting his partner Jack Burrows, jeopardizes not only their friendship but also the stability of Harpers itself.

Andi quickly discovers that a cattle drive is a dirty, dangerous business with little sleep and the same food day after day. Between late nights, dust, mosquitoes, and an abrasive cowhand trying to win Andi’s attention, it is definitely not a holiday. Andi grimly determines she will stick it out. When a river crossing goes wrong and Chad is shot in a gunfight with suspicious men who have been shadowing the herd, Mitch the trail boss finds himself dangerously shorthanded.

After the death of her beloved mill-owner father, thirteen-year-old Darcy Earnshaw is left in the care of her lascivious uncle Abe. Not only is he determined to steal her inheritance, but as she blossoms into a captivating young woman, he longs to steal her innocence too. Desperate to avoid his advances, Darcy decides to flee. Alone and homeless, she is soon taken under the wing of John Carver, a kind-hearted beloved street performer and his family who is captivated by Darcy’s beautiful voice.

Can their love survive a community at war? When World War Two is declared, Maisie Canavan is working as a newly-qualified midwife in Belfast's Royal Maternity Hospital, helping women and babies across community divides. In a city already torn apart, Maisie now faces the terrifying prospect of...

Brought to you by Penguin. INCLUDES AN EXCLUSIVE AUTHOR INTERVIEW WITH PANDORA SYKES Your ability to change everything - including yourself - starts here Chemist Elizabeth Zott is not your average woman. In fact, Elizabeth Zott would be the first to point out that there is no such thing. But...

'One of the greatest storytellers of our time' Delia Owens, author of Where the Crawdads Sing In this unforgettable portrait of human frailty and resilience, Kristin Hannah reveals the indomitable character of the modern American pioneer and the spirit of a vanishing Alaska-a place of...

When Jenny’s mother abandons her and her younger siblings, Jenny is left at the mercy of her abusive father, Henry. And when Henry beats his eldest daughter so badly that she ends up in the hospital, it seems like there’s nowhere left for them all to go. But factory worker Craig has fallen head over heels for Jenny, and he offers her a place to stay. Happy at last, Jenny begins a new life with him, but when tragedy strikes, she’s left to pick up the pieces of both her broken home – and her broken heart.

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.

From the author of the bestselling Seven Sisters series, Lucinda Riley's Hothouse Flower is a moving story of love, heartbreak and, above all, hope. Read by Stephanie Racine (Daisy Darker) Georgian mansion Wharton Park was a place of childhood solace for Julia Forrester, spending summers in the...

As a small child, Nellie Peace was always dreaming but sensed her mother’s rejection. Abandoned and sent into service at Beaumont House at an early age, Nellie is lost and alone until she meets the unpredictable and reclusive artist Lucas Harrington and falls in love with him. This unlikely association between master and servant is encouraged by Lucas’ gentle-natured Aunt Alice, as Lucas sees something unusual in Nellie and is compelled to paint her. Broken promises lead to inevitable heartbreak, and Nellie flees Beaumont House in disgrace for London.

Brought to you by Penguin. SHORTLISTED FOR THE WATERSTONES DEBUT FICTION PRIZE 2024 The Silence in Between is a historical novel based in Berlin in 1961 and during the Second World War. Lisette lives in East Berlin but brings her new-born baby to a hospital in West Berlin. Under doctor's orders...

The Great War is over, and Kate is ready to welcome back Eliot with open arms. But her husband is a changed man. Kate has become used to her independence, and Eliot's return creates tensions both at work and at home, particularly with Kate's son, Callum. It tears Kate apart to see such strife between the two men she loves most. And her sister-in-law seems determined to stir up the animosity in order to benefit her own son. But when tragedy strikes, Kate cannot imagine just how much trouble Lucy's ambition can cause.

Brought to you by Penguin. Discover a heart-warming and uplifting tale of resilience and friendship among the working women during World War II, from the author of The Bomb Girls January 1942. With female conscription filling the production line, the Bell Works factory is building more Spitfires...

It is 1941, and the world is at war. Young Theresa Compton is left devastated after giving up her illegitimate child and joins the Special Operations Executive, an organisation of undercover agents working behind enemy lines. Her mission is to assist a Resistance group run by the handsome Pierre...

The new novel from the international no. 1 bestselling author. Izzie Silver left the small Irish town of Tamarin behind her for life in New York. She's big, beautiful, and dreams of her own model agency for plus-sized women (what her grandmother would call healthy.) Life is good – but she's...

It’s been five years since Ella Bancroft lost the love of her life, Harper Fortescue, and despite her friends’ encouragement, she’s still not been able to move on. The one thing keeping Ella smiling is the success of her hat shop, Ivella. As her hat shop flourishes, and the possibility of a new love appears when she least expects it, Ella finally dares to hope for a happy future. But storm clouds are gathering over the Black Country, and life might have other plans for the hat girl from Silver Street.

A queer retelling of the legend of Sir Lancelot, following the famous knight as he grows up orphaned, falls in love, and attempts to fulfill his destiny at the Round Table—from the bestselling author of Out East. "Richly detailed and evocative.” —Mary Beth Keane, New York Times bestselling...

The stunning first instalment in The Breckton Novels, To Catch a Dream by Mary Wood tells the tragic tale of Bridie O'Hara, as she struggles to overcome her misfortune. Can she follow her dreams when she has lost everything? Young Bridie O'Hara is torn away from her native Ireland by her father...

Widowed Lessie Hamilton lives with her young son and her brother Davie. To make ends meet, Lessie works in the local grocery shop supporting Davie as he works on the docks and attends night school, hoping to become an engineer, much to the scorn of their reformed alcoholic father. With her mother's drinking spiralling, putting their vulnerable younger sister Thomasina at risk, brother Joseph frequently in trouble with the police and sister Edith thinking herself above them all – Lessie has much to contend with.

A 2025 Audie Award winner for Best Fiction Narrator! "Kristin Hannah’s potent storytelling skills are brilliantly served by narrator Julia Whelan, whose limber, low-pitched voice moves nimbly from person to person, capturing personality and mood, her empathy palpable." —The Washington Post...