Showing titles in 20th Century

East London, 1943: As air raid sirens wail, can the East End Girls join forces to protect their city and the people they love? Nell Reilly’s blonde curls and piercing blue eyes might look angelic, but she is ready to fight with everything she has for a better future. Brought up in London’s tough East End, she is fiercely determined to keep the promise she made to her little sister Jo to build a new life for them one day. Until a chance meeting changes everything…

Brought to you by Penguin. “You give a girl a taste of fresh air and then you take it away—she’ll grow fierce and wild to get it back.” Oxford, Mississippi, 1933. Eleven-year-old Meg Lefleur has learned the hard way to rely on no one. Ever since her beloved mother failed to come home...

Brought to you by Penguin. ON THE EVE OF WAR, A ROYAL GUEST IS LURED INTO HITLER'S DEADLY WEB . . . Munich, 1937. The Duke and Duchess of Windsor have arrived in Germany for a historic meeting at Hitler's mountain retreat. But recent attacks by ruthless Communist band, Red Freedom, has brought...

Meredith and Nina Whitson are as different as sisters can be. One stayed at home to raise her children and manage the family apple orchard; the other followed a dream and traveled the world to become a famous photojournalist. But when their beloved father falls ill, Meredith and Nina find themselves together again, standing alongside their cold, disapproving mother, Anya, who even now, offers no comfort to her daughters.

The multimillion-copy bestselling phenomenon and Reese Witherspoon Book Club pick. 'One of the greatest storytellers of our time' – Delia Owens, author of Where the Crawdads Sing Soon to be a major motion picture, Kristin Hannah's The Nightingale has captured the hearts of millions of readers...

The story of the Gunbus. First Lieutenant Bill Harsker and his squadron come up against the deadly Fokker monoplane. While many other squadrons are decimated, the Gunbuses give the fledgling RFC hope. When a new commanding officer takes over the squadron and imposes impossible rules, lives are lost and Bill has to face a court martial. All of the gains they have made are threatened by a martinet. The novel spans the end of 1915 and the start of 1916. It shows the harsh realities of life on the Western Front, in the air and the problems of the civilians back home.

In 1944, British bomber pilot Hugo Langley parachuted from his stricken plane into the verdant fields of German-occupied Tuscany. Badly wounded, he found refuge in a ruined monastery and in the arms of Sofia Bartoli. But the love that kindled between them was shaken by an irreversible betrayal. Nearly 30 years later, Hugo's estranged daughter, Joanna, has returned home to the English countryside to arrange her father's funeral. Among his personal effects is an unopened letter addressed to Sofia. In it is a startling revelation.

London: 1968. Liz Houghton is languishing as an obituary writer at a London newspaper when a young girl’s disappearance captivates the city. If Liz can break the story, it’s her way into the newsroom. She already has a scoop: Her best friend Marisa is a police officer who is assigned to the case. Liz follows Marisa to Dorset, where they make another disturbing discovery. Over two decades earlier, three girls disappeared while evacuating from London. One was found murdered in the woods near a train line. The other two were never seen again.

Zeppelins overhead, shadows in the streets, and a sinister secret threatening Christmas—Becky and Flynn must race to solve a deadly mystery before the clock runs out! Narrated by the brilliant Iona Campbell. London, 1915. While the city braces for Zeppelin raids, Becky is recovering from a bullet wound, and Flynn is tangled in the dangerous world of espionage. But their holiday respite is shattered when a chilling discovery at a military clinic hints at a terrifying new weapon that could change the course of the war—and cost countless lives.

As the bombs fall, three women are forced to remake their lives… When the uniform factory is reduced to rubble in a devastating air raid, Amanda, Maisie and Bethan are left without work, and without the sense of safety they once clung to. Shocked by the devastation she sees around her, Amanda signs up as an ambulance driver, putting her life on the line to save those in the poorest areas of the East End. Meanwhile, Maisie and Bethan find work in the heart of Petticoat Lane, trying to scrape pennies together to put dinner on the table.

SHORTLISTED FOR THE WOMEN'S PRIZE FOR FICTION 2026 SHORTLISTED FOR THE BOOKER PRIZE 2025 A moment is all it takes to shatter a family. The echoes last a lifetime... One evening, ten-year-old Louisa and her father, Serk, take a walk out on the breakwater. They are spending the summer in a coastal...

Eye of the Needle, Ken Follett's historical thriller, is a heart-racingly exciting tale about the fate of the war resting in the hands of a master spy, his opponent and one brave woman. Victory Hangs in the Balance 1944. In the weeks leading up to D-Day the Allies are disguising their invasion...

From the Locus and Hugo Award-winning author Ray Nayler, this haunting novel blends history and speculative wonder into a story of survival, loyalty and the fragile beauty of life in the darkest of times. 'an extraordinary science fiction novel' SFX MAGAZINE 'constantly surprising, moving and...

Sweeping and evocative, The Hidden Girl is a lost treasure from the author of The Seven Sisters series, Lucinda Riley. Discover this reimagined novel from an author loved by millions of readers worldwide. You can’t alter destiny . . . Born and raised in a small village on the Yorkshire moors...

A family secret. A century of heartache . . . The Girl on the Cliff is an evocative, moving story of family, loss and hope, from Lucinda Riley, the international bestselling author of The Seven Sisters series. After a devastating loss, Grania Ryan flees her life as an artist in New York and...

Series 6-10 of the epic BBC Radio 4 drama charting life on the home front during the First World War – plus special episode Home Front: A Lightening First heard on radio between 4 August 2014 and 9 November 2018, each episode of Home Front is set exactly one hundred years before the broadcast...

Between 1947 and 1957, Ealing Studios produced a series of immensely popular, darkly funny film comedies that made the West London borough famous throughout the world. Almost 50 years later, four of these timeless films were recreated for BBC Radio 4, and are now collected together for the first time.

Adapted from the major television series created by Mark Gatiss - new season coming soon! London, 1946. Much of the capital, and indeed the country, remains beset by rationing and bomb damage. But for some there are other, more immediate concerns: crimes of a serious and sometimes deadly nature...

Brought to you by Penguin. FROM THE NUMBER ONE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF THE LIST OF SUSPICIOUS THINGS . . . Narrated by Josh Dylan (The Buccaneers), Stephen Mangan (The Split), Gemma Whelan (Gentleman Jack) and Raffey Cassidy (The Brutalist). It's the summer of 1985 and the residents...

Series 1-5 of the groundbreaking BBC Radio 4 drama charting life on the home front during World War One First heard on radio between 4 August 2014 and 9 November 2018, each episode of Home Front is set exactly one hundred years before the broadcast date, and each follows one character’s day...