Showing titles in 20th Century

After her fiancé dies in the sinking of the Royal Oak, Mary finds herself stationed in Orkney, still battling her grief. With Iris and Sally by her side, she is gradually overcoming her loss and is surprised to be helped by the irascible Joe. Joe is a signalman aboard the Kelpie and his cheeky Morse code messages to Mary while she's on shift bring her cheer and exasperation in equal measure. With Christmas round the corner, Mary is opening herself back up to the festive spirit—and to love.

As Christmas approaches, Alice, Edith and Marg continue to face hardships growing up on one of the poorest streets in Blackpool. Penniless, their friendship has helped them survive this far, but it'll take more than that to see them through the dark days that lie ahead.... Newly married Alice receives shocking news about her pregnancy that threatens the future she's always dreamed of. Marg is struggling to care for her ailing mother and ensure her little sister receives the education she deserves. Edith is grieving the loss of her family while preparing to marry her sweetheart.

In 1944, British bomber pilot Hugo Langley parachuted from his stricken plane into the verdant fields of German-occupied Tuscany. Badly wounded, he found refuge in a ruined monastery and in the arms of Sofia Bartoli. But the love that kindled between them was shaken by an irreversible betrayal. Nearly 30 years later, Hugo's estranged daughter, Joanna, has returned home to the English countryside to arrange her father's funeral. Among his personal effects is an unopened letter addressed to Sofia. In it is a startling revelation.

1937. Katya Komarovsky is studying medicine in Glasgow, living among friends and eager to begin her career as a doctor. But when her spendthrift parents announce that they’ve run out of money and are facing ruin—and that she’ll now have to support them by working as a governess in Vienna—the life she’s dreamed of goes up in smoke. Furiously resentful, Katya rages at her wealthy employer, Thor, for stealing her future—and saddling her with twelve-year-old Gretchen, a deeply troubled child who has only a blazing musical talent to redeem her.

Sally Hartley is a hopeless romantic. Her father died when she was a baby, but she has lived on stories from her mother of what a wonderful man he was. Now, all she wants is a love like theirs. And she thinks she’s found it in Adam, the brother of a friend from home. When Adam is posted to Orkney, it’s like Sally’s dreams have all come true. After Italy changes sides in the war, the Italian POWs are granted more freedom on the islands, meaning Sally can spend more time with her friend, Aldo, and the two grow ever closer.

May 1941. The Royal Navy’s Eastern Mediterranean fleet has its back to the wall. Hearts of Steel traces a history of the Royal Navy from a fresh perspective beginning in 1918 to World War 2 and its darkest hour. During peacetime we sail with the crews of HMS Effingham and Hawkins, Flagships to the East Indies Station, cruising the Indian Ocean to protect and support the British Empire. As WW2 looms we join the hand picked crew of Tribal Destroyer HMS Nubian.

It's September 1940, and British intelligence is desperately worried: the Nazi invasion of Britain is imminent. A sinister organisation called The Group, a collection of British and Irish Nazi collaborators, is at work trying to support Hitler's plans. But that is not the only concern for the spy chiefs: the search for double agent 'Archie'–the Soviet spy and British traitor–is proving fruitless, and now they know there’s a second traitor, Bertie, also in play.

As the new housekeeper at Harbour House, Lily Turner and her teenage daughter Daphne have forged a resilient life since Lily’s husband Patrick abandoned them. But as war rages, Patrick, now vital to the war effort, is dispatched to Wivenhoe shipyard, forcing him to confront his past—and Lily—once more. He's no longer the reckless boy who deserted his family; hardened by the years, he’s determined to make amends.

Elsie Barker is desperate for a new start after her husband leaves her. When her friend Izzy, herself planning an escape from her abusive boyfriend, tells her about the jobs going for women as narrowboat crew on the canals between London and Coventry, she jumps at the chance. Their new boss, Dorothy, is kind and fair, but it's clear she has a secret of her own. Their crew is completed by Tolly, searching for a new vocation now that her dream job has been snatched away. The work is hard, but the girls forge close friendships that will see them through the darkest times.

Brought to you by Penguin. Louis de Bernières is the master of historical fiction which makes you both laugh and cry. This book follows an unforgettable family after the Second World War. Daniel Pitt was an RAF fighter in the First World War and an espionage agent for the SOE in the Second. Now...

Kitty learned early on in her marriage that her husband, Bill Dunbar, isn’t reliable with money. So when they inherit the Dunbar family hotel at the start of the war, she's hopeful that their financial worries are over… until the bailiffs turn up! With Bill away fighting, it’s up to Kitty to turn things around for her family, or risk ruin. Lily worked as a chambermaid at Dunbar’s before the war. She met Daniel there, but their relationship was complicated by class differences and the disapproval of Daniel’s mother.

1940, Jersey. When Nazi forces occupy Jersey in the English Channel Islands, Céline Huber, who is married to a German, must decide where her loyalty lies. Love for her island and fear for her Jewish friend Rachel soon propel her into a dangerous double life. Meanwhile, Céline’s husband Fred is conscripted into the Wehrmacht in occupied France. Horrified by Nazi acts of atrocity and torture, he soon becomes a double agent for the French Resistance.

A diverse selection of dramas by award-winning writer RC Sherriff Playwright and screenwriter RC Sherriff was best known for his anti-war classic Journey’s End, based on his own experiences of serving on the Western Front. He was a co-writer on several successful screenplays, including The...

Seventeen-year-old Elise Bouchard has always called Northern France home. But when her English father, Sidney Cooper, is captured by the Nazis, her world is shattered. Fearing for her safety, Elise is forced to abandon the only life she has ever known - her beloved grandmother, her brother fighting in the Resistance, and the comfort of her maternal homeland. With the help of Nathan Hawkes, a British soldier, she escapes from Dunkirk on a small boat, seeking sanctuary across the Channel where unknown family ties are her only hope.

A poacher's daughter meets the heir to a country estate – as their destinies intertwine, their lives will never be the same. The Poacher's Daughter is a story of love and fate from bestselling historical saga author Margaret Dickinson. It is 1910 in the Lincolnshire Wolds. Young Rosie...

With the war showing no sign of abating, Helen is thriving in her role as shipyard manager. But at home the return of her father brings a shocking discovery that tears her family apart. Gloria is shouldering the burden of a terrible secret. If the truth comes out there could be dire consequences, and it will take all her resolve to resist the pressure around her. Meanwhile Rosie is throwing herself into her work, taking on as many shifts as she can. Anything to keep her mind off the fact that she hasn’t heard from her sweetheart in months.

Recently widowed, Sheila is determined to run the Porthcurno shop on her own, despite family opposition. Seeing villagers facing hard times, she’s desperate to help but not sure where to even start. When her soldier beau breaks off their engagement to marry someone else, Land Girl Selina is devastated. Will going to the aid of her struggling sister restore her faith in human nature?

Her beauty almost certainly saved her from the rising Nazi party and led to marriage with an Austrian arms dealer. Underestimated in everything else, she overheard the Third Reich's plans while at her husband's side, understanding more than anyone would guess. She devised a plan to flee in disguise from their castle, and the whirlwind escape landed her in Hollywood. She became Hedy Lamarr, screen star.

BARRY AWARD WINNER Heralding the arrival of a brilliant new heroine, Mr. Churchill’s Secretary captures the drama of an era of unprecedented challenge—and the greatness that rose to meet it. “With any luck, the adventures of red-haired super-sleuth Maggie Hope will go on forever...

It's 1941, and the war rumbles on. Nowhere is immune to the effects of war, not even Ambridge. But in England's favourite village, something else is occupying the residents. When a prominent villager dies, the main beneficiary's name is a mystery, and no one knows who is set to inherit the estate, cottage and all. The name is hidden within a locked box, and the villagers much uncover the password to find out the name of the beneficiary.