Showing titles in 20th Century

Philadelphia, 1948: Fifteen-year-old Ruby's dreams are almost within reach. She's going to be the first in her family to attend college, despite having a mother more interested in keeping a man than raising her only daughter. Washington, DC, 1948: Eleanor arrives in the city with ambition, hope and a past she's trying her hardest to run from. When she meets William at Howard University, with his inky black eyes and broad shoulders, it's love at first sight. In the dawn of the 1950s, Ruby and Eleanor are complete strangers - until their paths unexpectedly collide.

Step into the formidable world of The Stolen Marriage, an absorbing novel by Diane Chamberlain, painting a vivid portrait of love, betrayal, and uncertainty in a small town. In 1944, Tess DeMello abruptly trades a promised future with the love of her life for a marriage shrouded in mystery with...

Liverpool, 1943. For Bella Rogers, life is looking up. She loves performing with The Bryant Sisters, the trio of singers who have become the country’s sweethearts, putting a smile on the faces of the brave boys fighting the Nazis. But then tragedy strikes when a telegram arrives: Bella’s beloved father has been killed in France.

Rose Barlow has loved and lost. She has done her fair share during the war and seen her dreams shattered. As the British class system crumbles Rose is determined not to return to service at Trenwith Estate instead, she’s keen to pursue new opportunities and her own happiness now the war is over. Luke Trenwith survived the war and has returned home as the next Trenwith Baronet. But the life he once accepted as his fate feels cold and empty. He is left wanting more. But has the world changed enough to allow him to live his dream?

Sons and Lovers, Lawrence's third published novel, was written by the author at the height of his literary powers. The story of class differences (the relationship between a middle-class woman and a miner) in the tough world of coal mining brought a refreshing realism to literature. It remains a challenging text and is studied widely. It is particularly effective on audiobook in the hands of Nottinghamshire reader Paul Slack.

Get swept away by an unforgettable, breathtaking story of love, courage and dangerous secrets by Sunday Times bestselling author Anita Frank ‘Tender and evocative… ultimately humane and affirming’ Sean Lusk 'Vividly captures a time of tested loyalties, courageous defiance and the...

Paris, Christmas 1933. The Strasbourg express crashes into a local train outside Paris, leaving wreckage and broken bodies strewn on the tracks. On board is Gilles Malroux. In the chaos and confusion, he swaps his identity papers with a stranger, steals a suitcase and vanishes. Gilles' sister...

Inspired by true stories of WWII, don't miss this emotional and poignant historical novel debut of courage against all odds, perfect for fans of Anna Stuart and Soraya M Lane. Poland, 1942. After witnessing the destruction of her hometown in Warsaw, Anna Kowalski joins the Polish Resistance. She...

Un periodista recibe la propuesta de investigar la vida de su bisabuela, Amelia Garayoa, una mujer de la que sólo sabe que huyó abandonando a su marido y a su hijo poco antes de que estallara la guerra civil española. Para rescatarla del olvido deberá reconstruir su historia desde los cimientos encajando, una a una, todas las piezas del inmenso y extraordinario puzle de su vida.

The fifth heartwarming instalment in the Cornish Girls saga series perfect for fans of Ginny Bell and Elaine Everest Can love still thrive in the uncertainty of war? Cornwall, Summer 1943 Eighteen-year-old Alice receives a mysterious work summons for a special unit in Bude. Nervous but excited...

When 18-year-old Dot meets Sol, she feels that love has arrived at last. Soloman Arbuthnott is a man who can bring colour and warmth to her drab life in 60s London - and what's more, he is a young, handsome soldier with excellent prospects. They stroll hand-in-hand by the Serpentine, dance cheek-to-cheek in Soho's smoky bars, and begin to plan their idyllic future, growing old together in Sol's ancestral home on the island of St Lucia. But this is 1961. East End girls don't date West Indian boys, let alone fall in love with them and leave the country.

Brought to you by Penguin. The village of Alvesdon has been home to the Castells for generations. But the year is 1939 and the peace and tranquillity there is about to be shattered once more by the stormclouds of war in Europe. As three generations of the family gather, they must all face the...

From Annie Murray, the bestselling author of Chocolate Girls, The Bells of Bournville Green and Secrets of the Chocolate Girls, Wartime for the Chocolate Girls is a gritty family saga about love, war and chocolate . . . April 1941. Almost losing her life in a bomb blast while serving in the...

Throughout the 1940s, forgers helped thousands of children escape Nazi France. In this instant New York Times bestseller, Kristin Harmel reimagines their story... Perfect for readers of The Tattooist of Auschwitz, The Librarian of Auschwitz and The Book Thief. In 1942, Eva is forced to flee...

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.

New York, 1942: Avery is engaged to be married. Longing for adventure instead, she jumps at an unexpected offer to trade her library job for undercover intelligence-gathering in Portugal. But her new life in Lisbon, known as the Capital of Espionage, challenges everything she thought she knew about herself.

Winter 1906. Nearing bankruptcy after surviving drought, storms, and the rustling of her cattle, Sarah remains a stalwart pillar to her extended family. Then a stagecoach accident puts in her path three strangers who will change her life. In sickness and in health, neighbor Udell Hanna remains a trusted friend, pressing for Sarah to marry. When he reveals a plan to grant Sarah her dearest wish, she is overwhelmed with passion and excitement.

The second installment in the breathtaking Kershaw Sisters series. There is no love like a mother's for her child . . . Little Billy, Polly's son, is the light of her life. It's for his sake that she puts up with an unkind mother-in-law and life on an isolated farm. When Billy is knocked down by...

Daphne, a young Jewish Greek artist, finds her life under threat during the Nazi occupation of Athens. In love with her Austrian art teacher, together they must risk it all to escape his dangerous brother, an SS officer. Pursued across Greece, their journey ends on the island of Corfu. In 2023 Liverpool, fine art restorer Flora is planning her Granny Daphne's 100th birthday. Nearing the end of her life, Daphne tells Flora of a valuable piece of art from her youth. A masterpiece which bought her freedom but cost her everything she held dear.

Brought to you by Penguin. THE EMOTIONAL CONCLUSION TO THE ROWNTREES GIRL SERIES! January 1945. The end of the war at last feels within reach, and the Rowntrees workers dream of returning to work on chocolate rather than munitions. Within the Freeman household, there are also dreams of a...