Showing titles in Victorian

Under the plain gray skirts of Miss Beatrice Lockwood's gown, a pistol waits at the ready. For Beatrice is a paid companion on a secret mission—and with a secret past—and she must be prepared to fight for her life at any moment.

Orphan Gillie Muir makes ends meet by holding genteel card parties for friends and visitors to the newly fashionable spa town of Blackhaven. But when Lord Wickenden, known as the wicked baron, makes her a shocking proposal, her world is turned upside down.   

An acclaimed novelist, short story writer and critic, Leslie Poles Hartley is best known for his 1953 novel The Go-Between, which won the W. H. Heinemann Award and was adapted as a BAFTA-winning film starring Julie Christie and Alan Bates. Included here is a radio dramatisation of that classic tale, alongside adaptations of three further novels and five short stories.

Birmingham, 1858. Dora, a spirited young maid with a vivid imagination, finds solace in the library of the esteemed family she works for. But when a forbidden love leads to a secret that could ruin her, Dora has no choice but to leave the only place that has ever offered her security and...

In the seaside town of Paignton, England, 1891, 22-year-old Alexandra Shackleford faces an uncertain future when her father, Chief Inspector Henry Shackleford, is forced into early retirement from the police force. Living with her five sisters and their outspoken Aunt Charlotte at Cliff House, Alex has resigned herself to spinsterhood—until fate brings the enigmatic Baron Tavistock back into her life.

Gavin St. James, Earl of Thorne, is a notorious Highlander and an unrelenting Lothario who uses his slightly menacing charm to get what he wants-including too many women married to other men. But now, Gavin wants to put his shady past behind him...more or less. When a fiery lass who is the heiress to the land he wishes to possess drops into his lap, he sees a perfectly delicious opportunity.

Miss Amelia Fleming has a very good reason to hate the Earl of Langley. A year ago, her father drowned in the Thames after losing a fortune to Langley at cards. Now her family is broke, her fiance has broken their engagement, and the debt still hasn't been paid. Someone has to deal with the earl, but Amelia's brother doesn't have the nerve and her mother has fled to France. It's no business for a gently bred young lady, but the Earl of Langley is about to learn that Amelia Fleming is not your typical young lady . . .

'Haunting, thrilling, wonderful. I loved it' Stacey Halls 'Your next obsession. . . Unique and captivating' Cosmopolitan 'A boldly feminist novel that lingers long after the last page' Susan Stokes Chapman, Sunday Times bestselling author of Pandora The luminous debut adult novel from the...

Marrying her beloved friend, Kyle Grayson, will allow Evelyn Tucker to care for her ailing father and resurrect their failing business. But when Kyle’s older brother, Radford, returns home with his young daughter, Evelyn’s life is turned upside down. She is drawn to the deeply wounded man and withdrawn little girl, and can't help reaching into Radford's darkness with her healing love.

Bloomsbury presents The Shape of Darkness by Laura Purcell, read by Sophie Aldred. *LAURA PURCELL'S THRILLING NEW NOVEL THE WHISPERING MUSE IS AVAILABLE TO PREORDER NOW* Winner of the Historical Crime Book of the Year 2021 Award at the 2022 Fingerprint Crime Awards ‘Dripping with atmosphere...

The Bridgertons are by far the most prolific family in the upper echelons of society, both in deed and word, and now, for the first time, their most indelible quips and barbs have been gathered here for your pleasure. From Anthony’s arrogance to Hyacinth’s hijinks, the family has long been fodder for society gossips … and indeed even for This Author, who has come out of retirement to pen thirteen new columns, each more delicious than the last.

The new novel from Sunday Times best seller Dilly Court. She turned the picture of the Christmas card over with her frozen hands. The scene showed a family at Yuletide as they gathered around the magnificent tree. Standing stiff with cold on the icy cobbles, Alice could only dream.... With the snow falling steadily, Alice and her ailing mother have found themselves on the cold streets of London with only debts to their name - forced to rely on the begrudging charity of cruel Aunt Jane.

The most audacious launch of 2023, a historical heist blockbuster . UPSTAIRS, MADAM IS PLANNING THE PARTY OF THE SEASON. DOWNSTAIRS, THE SERVANTS ARE PLOTTING THE HEIST OF THE CENTURY. When Mrs King, housekeeper to the most illustrious home in Mayfair, is suddenly dismissed after years of loyal...

Brought to you by Penguin. From the mastermind behind The Dangerous Damsels series, India Holton delivers another fantastical and whimsical story that's perfect to read with a cup of tea . . . Rival ornithologists hunt through Europe for dangerous magical birds in this historical fantasy romance...

To the miserable atmosphere of the country house of Studham, home to the Fighting Fox family, Miss Ianthe Eames, a whirlwind, arrives. Known in London as the Fighting Foxes, Lord Edward Fox is at odds with his stepmother, Lady Fox, and her spoiled son Curtis. Studham is hardly a joyful place to live. As the Fighting Fox family await the arrival of a poor relation from France, Lady Fox is ready to berate her late arrival, Lord Edward Fox is resigned to ignoring her, Curtis is ready to patronise her - while the resident visitors are ready to sympathise.

When 12 year-old Jared Johnson’s little sister dies, just hours after his mother breathes her last after wasting away so her children could eat, he knows he is on own. Desperate to avoid the workhouse, he does everything he can to survive the inhospitable streets of Birmingham. Jared is blessed with the gift of the gab and soon attracts the attention of the King of the Tatters, Toby McGuire. Recognising a kindred spirit, Toby soon has Jared out on a cart hustling for rags.

Standing on London’s Victoria docks with the wind biting through her shawl, Rose Munday realises she’s been abandoned by her sweetheart. She had risked everything to get to London, but, stumbling through the pea-soup fog, she has nowhere to go and no one to turn to. Scared and alone, Rose steps straight into danger, only to be rescued by two women with even less to their names - a woman of the night and her young sidekick, Sparrow. 

It's been three years since Laura Hayes' father died, leaving her and her invalid brother to subsist on the income from the family's failing perfume business. But time is swiftly running out. What she needs is a husband, and fast. A noble gentleman who can rescue them all from penury. When a mysterious stranger arrives in the village, he seems a perfect candidate. But Alex Archer is no hero. In fact, he just might be the opposite.

'I genuinely could not put this down' – Stacey Halls, author of Mrs England 'A tour de force of a gothic thriller. I devoured it' – Gillian McAllister, author of Wrong Place, Wrong Time 'Taut, propulsive, beautifully done' – Susan Stokes-Chapman, author of Pandora From Elizabeth Macneal...

Victoria and Albert have been destined for one another since birth. However, the passive Albert is well aware that marriage to a quick-tempered, demonstrative woman like Victoria could result in unnecessary scenes and stormy court feuds. And he is right. The young queen, as well as having to endure her constant pregnancies, is in perpetual revolt against anyone encroaching on her position – and Albert is doing just that. Despite attempts on her life and political crises