Showing titles in World War II & Holocaust

It’s autumn 1940 and the Blitz has cast its shadow over London. Everyone is doing their bit to help, including the three Harrison sisters of the East End’s Victory Walk. Nurse Rose is snowed under in the hospital tending to victims of the bombings. Her sister Clover is on active duty on the south coast, while the baby of the family, Daisy, is growing up quickly working on the London Underground, now that thousands of people are taking shelter down below. Even in wartime, the sisters find time for a wedding, but the bride is keeping a secret, which threatens to come to light.

"A remarkable novel: chilling, compelling, contained..." The Times "...warrants a permanent place in the growing canon of World War Two literature." Clare McHugh, BBC Culture It is Christmas Eve 1932, and the Kluger family are celebrating at home. Their only daughter Lexa is excited about her...

D-Day. June 6th, 1944. The trajectory of the Second World War – and with it the course of modern history – is changed forever. For three young former schoolmates from South Wales, their war is only just beginning. These young men, and thousands of others, will soon be a part of one of the bloodiest and most brutal parts of the Normandy campaign: the battle for Hill 112. The horror, the fear, the filth; the savage fighting; the sheer exhilaration and moments of farce and laughter: those who come through the carnage will never be the same again.

Pam Talbot dedicates her life to keeping those who live and work at Blackberry Farm fed, safe and sound as Artie holds the fort whilst brothers Tom and John are away on national service. Still reeling from the death of her beloved husband Arthur, Pam makes a rash decision in Arties’s favour which backfires causing him to neglect his duty on the Farm. Now Artie is struggling to run two farms and to add to his woes a new land girl sets her sights on him and won’t take no for an answer.

Mary Dumont is a third officer in the Women’s Royal Naval Service working at the Admiralty Communications Centre in London in 1942 where she is recruited by the Special Operations Executive (SOE) to become a wireless operator-saboteur. Parachuted into France, Mary joins a small band of resistance fighters where she leads a double life, a schoolteacher by day, a wireless operator by night; all goes horribly wrong, Mary is captured and tortured by an SS major who is determined to obtain both her codes and the names of her companions.

The second heartwarming book in the Cornish Girls saga series perfect for fans of Ginny Bell and Elaine Everest 1941. The bombs still fall, but in St. Ives Christmas is finally approaching for the Cornish Girls… It’s 1941, and Christmas is approaching in St. Ives… Shy Lily wishes she could...

Based on the harrowing life of Eleonore Hodys, The Mistress of Auschwitz follows the true story of a political prisoner detained in the notorious concentration camp. While experiencing all the horrors of the holocaust, Eleonore turns to friendship for survival. Through companionship with another female prisoner, Eleonore must decide if she has the courage to join the resistance movement which is planning the overthrow of their wicked oppressors.

Violet Ellis is living in the shadows of her father’s ruined reputation. So, when wealthy widower James Atherton offers her employment, she immediately begins the treacherous journey to his home on the remote Cornish island of Aoife’s Bay – despite the bone-chilling allegations surrounding his late wife Elizabeth’s death. In James’s company, Violet begins to feel the love that has been missing all her life. But when anonymous letters start to plague the bay’s residents, threatening to expose what really happened to Elizabeth, Violet feels the hostility towards her grow.

January 1945, Dachau, Germany. As the train rattles through the bright, snowy Bavarian countryside, the still beauty outside the window hides the terrible scenes inside the train, where men and women are packed together, cold and terrified. Jewish watchmaker Isaac Schüller can’t understand how he came to be here, and is certain he won’t be leaving alive.

February, 1942: Singapore lies burning and shattered, defenceless before the conquering hordes of the Japanese Army. The last boat escapes out of the harbour into the South China Sea, and on board are a desperate group of strangers, each with a secret to guard, each willing to kill to keep that secret safe. Dawn sees them far out to sea but with the first murderous dive bombers already aimed at their ship. Thus begins a nightmare succession of disasters wrought by the hell-bent Japanese, the unrelenting tropical sun and, ultimately, by the survivors themselves, as they head south by Java Head.

Frances is finally about to see her dreams realized as Marcus finally returns from the war. But the threat of her father-in-law and a much-changed Marcus, leave Frances in a perilous situation. Emily’s lie has trapped her in a new future. She lives in a big house and has a job she loves. But it could all come tumbling down around her if her shocking secret is ever revealed? Alice believes Daniel will return home to her, but if he does, will he be the same man he was if he does survive?

Clova, Scotland, 1942. The midst of the Second World War. Sisters Nell and Effie Anderson live together in the Old Schoolhouse. Effie is a teacher, while Nell works as a postwoman, delivering news – often of the worst – from the frontline to her neighbours. Though they love and care for one another, there are unspoken tensions and mysteries that put distance between them.

Spring 1944, the south coast of England. The Fifth Battalion, Wessex Regiment, wait patiently and nervously for the order to embark. There is boredom and fear, comedy and pathos as the men all drawn from different walks of life await the order to move. With an economy of language that belies its emotional impact, From the City, from the Plough is a vivid and moving account of the fate of these men as they embark for the beaches of Normandy and advance into France, where the battalion suffers devastating casualties.

1945, Auschwitz: I stumble out of the gates, tightly grasping the hands of two smaller children. Hunger swirls in my stomach and the barren landscape swims before my eyes. I can barely believe it. We’re free. We survived. But what happens now… Sixteen-year-old Tasha Ancel turns to take one last look at the imposing place that stole her freedom and her childhood. She has no idea how she continued to live when so many others did not. For the first time in months, her heart beats with hope for her future and that of the smaller children who cling to her now.

1939. When the man Georgie has always loved is sent to France on a secret mission, every knock of the door fills her with dread. Beth is determined to do her bit for the war effort. Caught up in a whirlwind romance, she marries only to become a war widow. Desperately trying to make her way back from Paris to her family in England, a fateful and tragic encounter brings Hetty to Chateau de Faubourg, where she joins the resistance.

Britain is in the throes of war, but Katharina Valentine feels sidelined. Employed as a shorthand-typist in the War Office, she is transferred to the basement below – having had no idea that this dark, airless, underground maze, home of the top-secret Cabinet War Rooms, even existed, let alone what her work will entail. Unexpected staff shortages present an opportunity to work directly for Winston Churchill himself, and Katie jumps at the chance. And as she grows closer to Wing Commander Baxter Edwards, things start to look up…

Snowflakes in the Wind is a heartwarming story of triumph over adversity by Rita Bradshaw, author of the number one bestselling Dancing in the Moonlight. It's Christmas Eve 1920 when nine-year-old Abby Kirby's family is ripped apart by a terrible tragedy. Leaving everything she's ever known...

The war in Europe is over, but for Peggy Reilly and the residents of Beach View Boarding House the effects of the conflict are still far-reaching. Cockney evacuee Ivy and her sweetheart, Andy, are saving to get married and fulfil their dream of returning to the East End. But when tragedy strikes, Ivy is faced with a life-changing dilemma that only she can resolve. Rita also faces an impossible choice when her sweetheart, Peter, proposes and asks her to live with him in Australia - just as her widowed father returns from the fighting in Europe.

From the top-ten bestselling author of One Snowy Night, Rita Bradshaw, comes The Storm Child, a sweeping family saga set during the run up to WW2 in the north-east of England. It’s mid-winter, and in the throes of a fierce blizzard Elsie Redfern and her husband discover an unknown girl in...

A heartbreakingly beautiful novel, The Memory Box unlocks an unforgettable epic story of love and war, from the million-copy-selling author of The Letter, Kathryn Hughes. If you adored The Nightingale, The Tuscan Contessa or My Name is Eva, this is the book for you. Some love stories can't be...