Showing titles in 20th Century

April 1942. Enemy gunfire on Penzance beach brings the Cornish Girls rushing to the rescue. But even as the war rages around them, the biggest challenge facing each woman turns out to be one of the heart. Can the Cornish Girls help one another to open themselves up to love?

Brought to you by Penguin. A country at war with itself, a family divided and betrayed. . . Malaya, 1955. Lydia Cartwright returns from visiting a sick friend to an empty house. The servants are gone. The phone is dead. Where is her husband Alec? Her young daughters, Emma and Fleur? Fearful and...

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.

Auschwitz, 1942: This unforgettable novel, based on a true story, brings to life history’s most powerful tale of forbidden love. Set within the barbed wire of Auschwitz, a man and a woman fall in love against unimaginable odds. What happens next will restore your faith in humanity and make you believe in hope even where hope should not exist.

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...

Anna Craven grew up captivated by stories of her mother's childhood in Birmingham and of Kate's friend, Olivia. Theirs was a magical friendship and Anna always regretted that, with Olivia's tragic death during the war, she would never meet the woman her mother loved so deeply. But when Kate dies, she leaves her daughter one final story: the whole truth of her life with Olivia Kemp. Anna is shocked to discover how little she really knew about the mother with whom she once felt so close.

Heartbroken and hoping for a new start, Abi Howes takes a summer job in rural France at the Château Bellevue. The old château echoes with voices from the past, and soon Abi finds herself drawn to one remarkable woman’s story, a story that could change the course of her summer - and her life. In 1938, Eliane Martin tends beehives in the garden of the beautiful Château Bellevue. In its shadow she meets Mathieu Dubosq and falls in love for the first time, daring to hope that a happy future awaits.

A shooting party at the Earl of Witton’s remote country house is a high treat for champion shot Patricia Merton - until unexpected guests turn the social atmosphere dangerously sour. That’s not Pat’s biggest problem. She’s visiting her old friend, the Earl’s heir Jimmy Yoxall - but she wants to spend a lot more time with Jimmy’s fiancée. The irrepressible Miss Fenella Carruth, with her laughing eyes and lush curves, is the most glorious woman Pat’s ever met, and it quickly becomes impossible to remember why she needs to stay at arm’s length.

Queenie Brogan wasn't always an East End matriarch. Many years ago, before she married Fergus, she was Philomena Dooley, a daughter of Irish Travellers, planning to wed her childhood sweetheart, Patrick. But when tragedy struck and his narrow-minded sister, Nora, intervened, the lovers were torn apart. Fate can be cruel, and when Queenie arrives in London she finds that Patrick Mahon is her parish priest, and that the love she had tried to suppress flares again in her heart. But now in the final months of WW2, Queenie discovers Father Mahon is dying and must face losing him forever.

I've known Death a long time but now Death knows me. When their idyllic childhood is shattered by the sudden death of their parents, siblings Marty, Liz and Jules are sent to a bleak state boarding school. Once there, the orphans' lives change tracks: Marty throws himself into academic life; Liz is drawn to dark forms of escapism; and Jules transforms from a vivacious child to a withdrawn teenager.

The war continues to rage, but for now, Harbour House continues to keep the Roby family safe from harm. Not so for new lodger Richard Stoneleigh. As one of the few men who can captain a ship, Richard is called to help with the dangerous evacuation of troops from Dunkirk – it’s a perilous voyage that almost costs Richard his life…

The brand-new prequel to the Cornish Girls series from bestselling historical saga author and Romantic Saga of the year nominee Betty Walker Meet the Cornish Girls before the war! War looms on the horizon. Their lives are about to change forever… Dagenham, 1939. Sheila Hopkins has always put...

The 13th heartwarming novel in the Beach View Boarding House series, from Sunday Times best-selling author Ellie Dean. As the war continues to keep her family far away, Peggy Reilly must continue to look after her girls at the Beach View Boarding House and maintain hope that this dreadful war will soon be over.

'Compelling, intriguing, romantic… deeply satisfying and emotional' Santa Montefiore 'A sweeping story of love, loss and finding the courage to be your true self' Phillipa Ashley ***** When Kerensa is sent by her father’s auction house to catalogue a neglected house overlooking the sea in...

Jessie Warner has married Tom Smith and their baby is almost due. Settling down into their new home in Bethnal Green, Jessie looks forward to her new life – even though Tom is continually getting into mischief that borders on the downright criminal. When war begins and Tom is called up almost at once, Jessie is left to cope with the baby alone. Meanwhile Jessie’s twin, Hannah, has been recruited to help at Bletchley Park. Immersed in her work decoding German messages, she has no idea of Jessie’s increasing desperation.

The first book in Anna Jacobs' wonderful Backshaw Moss series. 1935. At thirty-six, Bella Porter is dependent on her abusive cousin, acting as an unpaid servant. When a kind relative leaves her a house in the village of Backshaw Moss, Thomas tries to take it from her, but she defies him and...

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...

Brought to you by Penguin. The first in a brand-new nostalgic and heart-warming WWII series, perfect for fans of Donna Douglas and Elaine Everest. Alice is nursing an injured hand and a broken heart when she moves to the village of Churchwood at the start of WWII. She is desperate to be...

Bristol 1939. At forty years of age, Mary Anne Randall still turns heads. With an abusive husband spending most of his wages on beer, she has resigned herself to be the sole breadwinner to protect her family and keep the wolves from the door. In order to make ends meet, Mary Anne runs a pawnbroking business from the wash house at the end of the garden. Following the outbreak of war an opportunity presents itself to escape her loveless marriage and find true love. Will she take that chance, or carry on living just for her children and not for herself?

The second book in the brand new Backshaw Moss series from million-copy bestseller Anna Jacobs Lancashire, 1930s. When her mother dies, leaving her an old sewing box and a clue to her father's identity, 22-year-old Maisie Bassett is determined to make a fresh start. Changing her name and moving...