Showing titles in 20th Century

Brought to you by Penguin. The mesmerising new novel from Ian McEwan, the bestselling author of Atonement. The world is forever changing. But for so many of us, old wounds run deep. Lessons is an intimate yet universal story of love, regret and a restless search for answers. While the world is...

The first in Ken Follett's breathtaking Century Trilogy, Fall of Giants is a captivating tale that follows five families through the world-shaking dramas of the First World War, the Russian Revolution, and the struggle for votes for women. A World in Chaos 1911, a thirteen-year-old boy, Billy...

Adventure can be a deadly business. 'A marvelous, rollicking tale of derring-do' Peter James 'A beautifully written masterclass' Janice Hallett ‘007 meets Tintin meets Sharpe' Damien Lewis 'A delight!' Fern Britton 'A superb read' Simon Scarrow 'Brilliantly gripping' Susan Lewis 'An...

A young man died, consumed by fire. There was no evidence of crime, but suspicions persist. Julian Courtauld had raised hackles, not that he cared. Rich, confident and handsome, he saw a glittering future for himself. He was a budding playwright, he had girls swooning at his feet despite just becoming engaged to a dazzling heiress. And then the fire ended it all. Five years later a parcel arrives on Miss Busby's doorstep. The anonymous letter begs for her help.

Series 11-15 of the major BBC Radio 4 drama charting life on the home front during the First World War – plus special extended episode Home Front: A Fragile Peace First heard on radio between 4 August 2014 and 9 November 2018, each episode of Home Front is set exactly one hundred years before...

In A Presumption of Death, Jill Paton Walsh tells how World War II changed the lives of Peter, Harriet and their growing family. The story opens in 1940. Harriet Vane - now Lady Peter Wimsey - has taken her children to safety in the country. But the war has followed them: glamorous RAF pilots and even more glamorous land-girls scandalise the villagers; the blackout makes the nighttime lanes as sinister as the back alleys of London.

A BBC RADIO 2 BOOK CLUB PICK 'As heart-wrenching as it is achingly beautiful' Sadeqa Johnson, author of The House of Eve 'Heartbreaking and life affirming' Adrienne Brodeur, author of Little Monsters 'Courage, friendship, loyalty, hardship, love – this novel has everything' Mary Beth Keane...

London, 1923. Cyril Black is finally out of prison. Rather than going home to his wife and son, he visits his mistress only to find that she's given birth to his daughter - and wants nothing to do with her. His wife, Florrie, reluctantly agrees to take them in. But there's no love in her heart...

The Key to Rebecca is a gripping espionage thriller set during the Second World War, from master storyteller and author of The Pillars of the Earth, Ken Follett. A Ruthless Spy 1942. Alex Wolff’s goal is Cairo. Following a relentless trek across the scorching Sahara, he arrives in the city...

Brought to you by Penguin. THE TOP RICHARD AND JUDY BOOK CLUB PICK FOR SUMMER 2021 ___________________________ 'Immersive' Guardian 'Stunning' Daily Express 'Riveting' Telegraph ___________________________ Victory is close. Vengeance is closer. Rudi Graf used to dream of sending a rocket to the...

THE INSTANTLY ICONIC NO.1 BESTSELLER: NOW A MAJOR TV SERIES BOOK 1 IN THE CANON CLEMENT MYSTERY SERIES 'Cosy crime with a cutting edge' Sunday Telegraph 'Whodunnit fans can give praise and rejoice' Ian Rankin Canon Daniel Clement is Rector of Champton, where he lives alongside his widowed mother...

Brought to you by Penguin. Cold War Moscow is a place smouldering with secrets. Gabriel Dax has been tasked with delivering a mysterious Blanco drawing to celebrated defector Kit Caldwell. But Caldwell is convinced the KGB suspects him of treachery, and he wants out now. When Gabriel is ordered...

When desperate choices mean the difference between life and death. Inspired by true events, Bright One tells the story of Jetti Finkelthal, Lisajoy Sachs' great-grandmother. In Czernowitz, Romania, this young Jewish mother is forced to face impossible choices as the world begins to collapse around her.

Brought to you by Penguin. It's the summer of 1951 and everyone is looking to put the dark days of the war behind them. The government’s solution: The Festival of Britain, a celebration of the country’s creativity, grit and ingenuity. For foreign correspondent-turned-war reporter, Harry...

At the outbreak of the Second World War, a mismatched group of passengers flee across the Atlantic to escape Britain and – thousands of feet in the air – find themselves facing grave danger. Night Over Water is a masterful historical thriller from Ken Follett. The Eve of War Britain has just...

The New York Times bestseller—for fans of All the Light We Cannot See and The Tattooist of Auschwitz! “An irresistible tale which showcases the transformative power of literacy, reminding us of the hope and sanctuary our neighborhood bookstores offer during the perilous trials of war and...

Read by Richard Armitage (The Hobbit, Missing You) The Man From St Petersburg is a dark tale of family secrets and political consequences. Ken Follett's masterful storytelling brings to life the danger of a world on the brink of war. A Secret Negotiation 1914. Tensions are rising as Europe finds...

Nuneaton, 1911 When Holly Farthing's overbearing grandfather tries to force her to marry a dowdy widower twice her age she finally says no. Refusing to support her any longer, Holly flees to London, bringing her best friend and maid, Ivy, with her. In the big smoke, Holly searches for the father...

Bristol 1938. A shadowy presence overshadows Coronation Close, watching and waiting. Jenny Crawford is the first to notice the stranger and wonders why his attention is fixed on Thelma Dawson’s house. When challenged he makes a hasty retreat. Meanwhile Thelma is having trouble with her precocious daughter Mary who is about to leave school and start work. Mary considers herself an adult but to Thelma she’s still a little girl; an attitude resented by her daughter.

Elise, an artist grieving the loss of her son and a fracturing marriage, is in North Norfolk to restore Marsh House to its former glory, its walls adorned with the fading murals and paintings of its long-ago owner, Lilias Carter-Brown. Elise makes an immediate connection to the house, to Sam—a carpenter and a comfort—and to history itself when an old photograph draws Elise into Lilias’s heartbreaking past. In 1939, with war threatening, Lilias and her sister turn Marsh House into a sanctuary for London evacuees—a young boy and his mother.