Showing titles in 20th Century

Ian McEwan’s mastery dazzles us in this superbly deft and witty audiobook of betrayal and intrigue, love, and the invented self. Serena Frome, the beautiful daughter of an Anglican bishop, has a brief affair with an older man during her final year at Cambridge, and finds herself being groomed...

Random House presents the audiobook edition of Christmas at Liberty's, written by Fiona Ford. The first novel in the Liberty Girls series will be loved by fans of Elaine Everest, Nancy Revell and Mr Selfridge. ‘A wonderful, uplifting story of friendship and courage. Characters that you can't...

It is the heady 60s in Liverpool, and the Flowers, the Baileys, and the McDowds are three very different families bound together by music. The children are determined to be part of the glamour that surrounds the city, so when Sean, Lachlan, and Max form The Merseysiders and Jeannie and Rita become part of The Flower Girls, they put their hearts and souls into achieving success.

1901. When the Earl of Stainton dies in a tragic hunting accident, Giles, the eldest son of the noble Tallant family, must step forward to replace him as the head of the family. But Giles has avoided the Castle and his stifling relatives for years, deciding instead to forge his own path away from the spotlight. Now, he must put aside his ambitions and honour his duty to the family.

Auschwitz, 1942: This unforgettable novel, based on a true story, brings to life history’s most powerful tale of forbidden love. Set within the barbed wire of Auschwitz, a man and a woman fall in love against unimaginable odds. What happens next will restore your faith in humanity and make you believe in hope even where hope should not exist.

1968 New York City News about the war might be keeping Patrick up at night—news in general might be keeping Patrick up at night—but he's doing fine. He's sure of it. He gets to spend his days selling books in the gayest neighborhood on the East Coast and his nights merrily sleeping his way...

*Pre-order THE FIGURINE, the brand-new novel from Victoria Hislop. Coming September 2023.* 'A return to Hislop's thyme-scented, Aegean-lapped fictional Greece' The Sunday Times Beloved author Victoria Hislop returns to Crete in this long-anticipated sequel to her multi-million-copy Number One...

London, Present day: Mia clutches the last remaining box found at Hope’s House in her hands. For months she has been determined to reunite every box with its rightful owner. But now it’s time for her to discover Hope’s own heartbreaking story. France 1938: When Hope meets Gus in the lively streets of Paris, she finally feels that she has met her kindred spirit. But as they plan their dream future together, it is clear that Gus’s father will never allow their romance to develop. Defying his wishes, Gus promises Hope that they will be together after his army training.

Welcome back to MILLION COPY BESTSELLER Rosie Clarke's next instalment of her bestselling Blackberry Farm series. The war continues to touch everyone’s lives and loves on Blackberry Farm. Cambridgeshire – 1943 As Spring blossoms, it seems love is in the air. 21-year-old, John Talbot dreams...

Manchester, 1942. A new year brings new hope for the railway girls. Alison's romance with the charming Dr Maitland is blossoming, but then she is posted away from Manchester. Working in a canteen isn't part of her plan, nor is meeting her beau's old girlfriend. Margaret is supportive of her friend's new relationship, until she realises exactly who he is. Torn between keeping her secret and warning Alison, she turns to Joan for help. Working in Lost Property wouldn't be Joan's first choice of job, but with a baby on the way she knows she can't continue being a station porter.

The follow-up to Tangled Threads, Margaret Dickinson's Twisted Strands follows the dramatic highs and lows of the Hardcastle family as they endure the upheaval caused by war. It is 1914, and Eveleen Hardcastle, now in in her early thirties, has married Richard. As the First World War breaks out...

June, 1941. When Bobby Bancroft arrived in Silverdale to take a job as a reporter on The Tyke magazine, the sleepy Yorkshire Dales village felt like a little pocket of a past long gone. But war finally seems to have come to Silverdale. The villagers face new hardships when shortages and rationing begin to bite, young men become scarce as more are called up, and Bobby finds herself juggling her job on the magazine with a new role as an ARP warden. Even her surly editor Reg and his wife are doing their bit, agreeing to take two evacuees from London into their home.

The Woolworths girls have come a long way together . . . Fun loving Maisie, is devoted to her young family and her work at Woolworths. But her happy life with her RAF officer husband, their baby daughter leads her to think of the family she left behind . . . With the war now into its fourth year...

Alice Lee, middle-aged and unmarried, is the only volunteer when the minister asks his congregation to help young Zebediah Bailey. Zeb is in prison for a ghastly crime, and the townspeople would rather forget than forgive this local lad who lost his way. But Alice dutifully writes to him every week, sending him sweets from the little shop that is her livelihood: Alice Lee's Confectionary. She won't admit she's lonely, but since her parents' deaths, making and selling sweets has become her whole world.

The Poppy Girls is the first title in The Maitland Trilogy, by bestselling author Margaret Dickinson. Even amidst the horror of the trenches, friendship will survive . . . Thwarted in her desire to become a doctor like her brother Robert, Pips Maitland rebels against her mother’s wishes that...

Brought to you by Penguin. The fifth brilliantly heart-warming novel in the Wartime Bookshop series, perfect for fans of Maisie Thomas and Elaine Everest. Victoria is astonished when she discovers an abandoned newborn baby on her doorstep, along with a note begging her to 'take care of little...

From Annie Murray, the bestselling author of The Bells of Bournville Green, comes Secrets of the Chocolate Girls, another gritty family saga about love, war and chocolate . . . September 1940, Birmingham. While her husband and daughter work at Cadbury's Bournville factory, Ann Gilby has her...

Pearl Street, Liverpool, Christmas 1942. Despite the drama and tragedy of the War, the street’s spirit and friendship in adversity binds them together. Since her husband was injured, Eileen has worried about the growing distance between them. Lena Newton longs for a baby but with her husband posted in the Navy, it's looking unlikely. And Kitty has hidden away since she discovered her lover was married, too ashamed to return in disgrace with her baby.

When the Berlin Wall goes up, Karin is on the wrong side of the city. Overnight, she’s trapped under Soviet rule in unforgiving East Berlin and separated from her twin sister, Jutta. Karin and Jutta lead parallel lives for years, cut off by the Wall. But Karin finds one reason to keep going: Otto, the man who gives her hope, even amidst the brutal East German regime. 

‘A compelling saga that will hold you fast from the first page to the last. Loved it’ VAL WOOD, author of The Lonely Wife Perfect for fans of Dilly Court and Gracie Hart, The Dressmaker’s Secret is a moving and heartfelt family saga from the talented author of The Shop Girl’s Soldier...