Showing titles in 20th Century

Detective Sergeant Aaron Fowler of the Metropolitan Police doesn’t count himself a gullible man. When he encounters a graphologist who deduces people’s lives and personalities from their handwriting with impossible accuracy, he needs to find out how the trick is done. Even if that involves spending more time with the intriguing, flirtatious Joel Wildsmith than feels quite safe. Joel’s not an admirer of the police, but DS Fowler has the most irresistible handwriting he’s ever seen. If the policeman’s tests let him spend time unnerving the handsome copper, why not play along?

The sequel to the stunning novel The Illusionists, from the best-selling author of The Kashmir Shawl. Born into a theatrical background, Nancy Wix is not a woman to be held back by family or class. At a young age she discovers clairvoyant abilities that will change her whole life - from a boating accident that leaves three strangers dead to visions of the Great War to come, Nancy strives to change her fate.

1941. The Blitz rages over London. And even in Cornwall, the war is being fought. When Violet loses her sister in the Blitz, she must take her nieces to safety in Cornwall. On the coast, she meets carefree chorus girl Eva, who is also running from the dangers of London. But Porthcurno hides a secret military base, and soon Violet and Eva realise there’s a battle to fight in Cornwall, too. Together with local Hazel, who works on the base, they must come together to help the war effort. But will their friendship be enough to keep them safe? 

Featuring some of the characters from Sons and Daughters, Jenny's War is an epic story of loss and heartbreak from Margaret Dickinson. Is it possible for a ten-year-old girl to fall in love? Jenny Mercer thought so. Evacuated to Lincolnshire from the East End of London at the outbreak of war...

For the district nurses of Victory Walk, there's been little time to bask in the triumph of D-day as London is facing a new threat - the buzz bombs. Everyone is terrified, never knowing where the next one will strike. Into this tense atmosphere, new nurse Iris must make her mark. She’s had more experience of nursing than many, but since arriving in East London from the countryside, she has struggled to fit in with the other staff. Meanwhile, Alice is facing an agonising wait to hear if her boyfriend, Joe, has survived D-day.

The story of two brilliant women and the men to whom they ransomed their hearts.With her beauty, talent and allure, Katherine Tempest has the world at her feet. Her rise from unknown actress to Hollywood legend is one marked by dazzling performances and a carefully concealed yet undeniably ruthless determination to succeed. But Katherine irrevocably changes the lives of her closest friends: two men who love her and the woman who trusts her implicitly. She never looks back until she needs the one thing they alone can give her - forgiveness.

Even with peace on the horizon, Met WAAF Jenny Hazleton is as busy as ever. Her keen weather-forecasting allows the pilots to continue their missions, including food drops to starving allies and the repatriation of prisoners of war. Navigating many of these missions is Flying Officer Edwin Holland, whose rejection of her advances at Christmas still stings. Edwin is increasingly haunted by his role in the war, including the bombing of Dresden, and Jenny yearns to comfort him. But when he reveals the shocking reason he turned her down, she must decide if their friendship is well and truly over.

Sunderland, 1941. With a brief break in air raids providing some much-needed respite from the war, things are looking up for head welder Rosie, who has fallen head over heels for Detective Sergeant Miller. But how long can their romance last in such uncertain times? Life remains full of challenges for Gloria, who must face her abusive ex-husband and confront her own guilty conscience about baby Hope’s real father. The secret is tearing her apart but if she admits the truth, she will risk losing everything. 

Random House presents the audiobook edition of Workhouse Orphans by Holly Green, read by Julie Maisey. All they have left is each other... Life has always been tough for May and Gus Lavender. Their father went away to sea never to return, and then their mother falls victim to the typhus sweeping...

Liverpool, 1925. Fourteen-year-old Lillian Taylor has spent her childhood in a loveless orphanage after the death of her mother. When a well-dressed young woman claiming to be her aunt arrives and whisks her away to her large townhouse, Lillian hopes it signals a change in her fortunes. However there's more to Aunt Joan than meets the eye and when Joan discovers Lillian's budding romance with one of her coworkers she swiftly threatens his family. Events take a tragic turn when Joan becomes ill and reveals the secrets she's been keeping that will change Lillian's life forever....

Brought to you by Penguin. The heartwarming and joyful Wartime Midwives story of three fascinating mothers. Perfect for fans of Katie Flynn, Nancy Revell and Call the Midwife Three mothers. Three very different backgrounds, and a bond they will never forget The Lake District, 1944, and spring is...

Thea welcomes her best friend, Violet Steele, to Rookery House. Violet has been in charge of an ambulance station in London's East End during the Blitz, and is in need of a holiday. Will a week in the countryside give her the rest she deserves? VAD nurse Evie Jones receives unwelcome news that stirs up her past and forces her to make an uncomfortable decision. Though she has a surprise when her friend Ned Blythe returns to start a new job in the hospital gardens. Can Evie let go of the past and give her future happiness a chance?

In 1938, English spy Harry Taverner and Jewish photographer Anna Cantrell spend the night dancing at Berlin's most elegant hotel. Anna is married to another man, the Nazi shadow is rising over Europe and neither expects to ever meet again. But once peace is declared, they reunite in the ruins of Berlin, where Anna is searching for her missing children. With the blockade tightening and the Soviets set on conquest, Harry and Anna walk a treacherous line between love and duty, integrity and survival, loyalty and betrayal.

Germany, 1944. Taken from the camps to serve the Fuhrer himself, Anke Hoff has been assigned as midwife to one of Hitler’s inner circle. If she refuses, her family will die. Torn between her duty as a caregiver and her hatred for the regime she’s now a part of, Anke is quickly swept into a life unlike anything she’s ever known - and she discovers that many of those at the Berghof are just as trapped as she is. Soon, she’s falling for a man who will make her world more complicated still.

The Tulip Girl is Margaret Dickinson's captivating Lincolnshire saga about the endurance of true love in the face of adversity. Abandoned outside an orphanage as a newborn baby, spirited Maddie March has had to fight her way through life. So when she finds a home at Few Farm with Frank...

From the internationally best-selling author of A Woman of Substance. Three generations of beautiful women and their journeys from rags to riches. Audra is an impoverished children's nanny from Leeds who sacrificed everything for her daughter. Christina is a talented art student who won world renown as a fashion designer - yet who has known heartache. Kyle is a rebellious young woman who chafes against her mother's success - and in whom her grandmother's spirit of duty and sacrifice is reborn.

‘The Silk Code had me absolutely hooked… A great storyline full of bravery, trust, love, survival, betrayal and determination.’ NetGalley reviewer, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Based on the true story of ‘Englandspiel’, one woman must race against the clock to uncover a traitor, even if it means...

1942. Three years into the war, Pam turns down her hard-won place at Oxford University to become a codebreaker at Bletchley Park. There, she meets two young men, both keen to impress her, and Pam finds herself falling hard for one of them. But as the country’s future becomes more uncertain by the day, a tragic turn of events casts doubt on her choice. Present day. Julia is struggling to juggle her career, two children and a husband jealous of her success. Her brother presents her with the perfect distraction: forgotten photos of their grandmother as a young woman at Bletchley Park.

Brought to you by Penguin. Summer 1942. Britain is in the depths of war and the Women’s Land Army is hard at work looking after the farms while the men are away fighting. While patriotism, duty and a wonderful spirit of camaraderie sustain the Land Girls through tough times, it’s no surprise...

'Brilliantly written . . . I loved it.' Rosie Goodwin The first book in a brand-new World War II saga series. Perfect for readers of Ellie Dean and Annie Groves. Dover, 1939 At the heart of Market Square lies Castle's Café, run by the formidable Nellie Castle and her six children. Since the...