Showing titles in 20th Century

Brought to you by Penguin. 'One of the best books I've ever read' Richard Osman A damaged survivor of the First World War, Tom Birkin finds refuge in the quiet village church of Oxgodby where he is to spend the summer uncovering a huge medieval wall-painting. Immersed in the peace and beauty of...

In 1943, Philly Delaney would do anything to help win the war. As one of the brave "Attagirls" ferrying military aircraft across Britain, she never expected to fall in love with Ben, a dashing Spitfire pilot. But their whirlwind romance is interrupted when her talent for solving cryptic crosswords leads her to Bletchley Park's legendary codebreakers. Soon, Philly's skills make her the perfect candidate for a perilous mission into Nazi-occupied France. But when Ben's plane vanishes during a similar covert flight, her world shatters.

London: 1968. Liz Houghton is languishing as an obituary writer at a London newspaper when a young girl’s disappearance captivates the city. If Liz can break the story, it’s her way into the newsroom. She already has a scoop: Her best friend Marisa is a police officer who is assigned to the case. Liz follows Marisa to Dorset, where they make another disturbing discovery. Over two decades earlier, three girls disappeared while evacuating from London. One was found murdered in the woods near a train line. The other two were never seen again.

A SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER 'Cussler is hard to beat' Daily Mail The amazing second Dirk Pitt classic from multi-million-copy king of the adventure novel, Clive Cussler. ---------------------------------------- Major Dirk Pitt picked up the frantic distress call as he cruised his lumbering...

June, 1943. In Lyon, the capital of the French resistance, a secret meeting is held under orders from General de Gaulle. The objective is to unite all resistance factions. The future of France is on the line. But when the meeting is raided by the Gestapo under Klaus Barbie, the 'Butcher of Lyon', the plan disintegrates and the leaders are captured. The movement has been betrayed. There is a traitor in Lyon.

‘A tour de force’ – S.A. Cosby ‘An instant classic’ – Alex Michaelides Set in the tumultuous year of 1968 in southern Virginia, a murder case sets a duo of Black and white lawyers against a deeply unfair system as they work to defend their wrongfully-accused Black defendants. Jack...

Will Christmas bring them happiness or heartache? Don't miss the heartwarming new novel from the author of Secrets for the Three Sisters and The Three Sisters of Victory Walk. ___________________________________ It’s 1942 on Victory Walk in East London, and the Harrison sisters are wishing for...

An unforgettable wartime novel about loyalty, honour and the unbearable cost of choosing a side, perfect for readers of The Rose Code, All the Light We Cannot See, and The Nightingale Munich, 1938. Europe is on the brink of war when Julia 'Missie' Ormesby, a young Englishwoman, meets Conrad von...

Bristol, 1939. School leaver Maisie Miles suspects her father, a small-time crook, has an ulterior motive for insisting she gets a job at the W. D. & H. O. Wills tobacco factory but keeps it to herself. She's befriended by effervescent Phyllis Mason and kind-hearted Bridget Milligan who take pity on her and take Maisie under their wing. But beneath their happy-go-lucky exteriors, they all harbour dreams and worries about what the future holds.

Brought to you by Penguin. Bletchley Park: the top-secret landmark of World War Two, where a group of young people were fighting to defeat Hitler, and win the war. March 1943, the Second World War hangs in the balance, and at Bletchley Park a brilliant young codebreaker is facing a double...

From the Sunday Times Bestselling author. In a time of war, what's holding them together could tear them all apart... London, 1940. Winnie Berry is at the heart of the community in her pub, The Battersea Tavern. Her door is always open to those in need of a cup of tea and sympathy. Winnie's...

Three very different women are recruited to the mysterious Bletchley Park, where the best minds in Britain train to break German military codes. Vivacious debutante Osla has the dashing Prince Philip of Greece sending her roses - but she burns to prove herself as more than a society girl, working to translate decoded enemy secrets. Self-made Mab masters the legendary codebreaking machines as she conceals old wounds and the poverty of her East-End London upbringing. And shy local girl Beth is the outsider who trains as one of the Park’s few female cryptanalysts.

Following the breakdown of her marriage, Theo has bought a tumbledown cottage on the banks of the river Tamar which divides Cornwall and Devon. The peace and tranquillity of Boatman’s Cottage, nestled by the water, is just what she needs to heal. Yet soon after her arrival, Theo discovers a stash of hidden letters tied with a ribbon, untouched for more than a century. The letters—sent from the battlefields of France during WWI—tell of a young servant from the nearby manor house, Abbotswood, and his love for a woman he was destined to lose.

Against the backdrop of impending war, experience the trials, triumphs and camaraderie behind the Woolworths counter, in Elaine Everest’s historical romance The Woolworths Girls. It's 1938 and as the threat of war hangs over the country, Sarah Caselton is preparing for her new job at...

'an extraordinary science fiction novel' SFX MAGAZINE 'constantly surprising, moving and thought-provoking' GUARDIAN 'a must-read author' SFF WORLD 'perhaps the only writer today cooking up Le Guin's special sauce of liberation frustration and revolutionary blues' LOCUS June 1941, Eastern Europe...

The unputdownable new rollercoaster read from the Sunday Times bestseller Jeffrey Archer – a must read book of 2024! ‘An absolute page-turner’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ reader review ‘Impossible to put down’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ reader review ‘So many turns and twists’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ reader...

1918. The Great War is over, and Clara Carter has boarded a train bound for Cornwall - to meet a family that would once have been hers. But they must never discover her secret... 2020. Caroline has spent years trying to uncover the lies buried in her family history. And once she arrives in Cornwall, the truth finally seems to be in reach. Except with storm clouds gathering on the horizon, Caroline soon learns that some secrets are best left hidden....

'A marvel… funny, thought-provoking and comforting all at once' Clare Leslie Hall, author of Broken Country 'A life-affirming novel of friendship, community and kindness' AJ Pearce, author of Dear Mrs Bird Can one note change everything? To be or not to be… Six little words, printed on...

A dangerous mission is underway in Occupied Rome, right under the noses of the Gestapo. The acclaimed wartime thriller from the award-winning and internationally bestselling author of My Father's House. May 1944. Rome is still ruled by the Gestapo, but the Allies are closing in. As tensions rise...

When nine-year-old Liesel arrives outside the boxlike house of her new foster parents at 33 Himmel Street, she refuses to get out of the car. Liesel has been separated from her parents, "Kommunists", forever, and at the burial of her little brother, she steals a gravedigger's instruction manual, which she can't read. It is the beginning of her illustrious career.