Showing titles in 20th Century

Discover the Workhouse to War trilogy by Kay Brellend: a new saga series set in the Whitechapel Union workhouse in East London, between 1904 and 1916. . . Christmas Eve, 1909. Eleven-year-old Lily Larkin is left to fend for herself in an East London workhouse after her dying mother is taken to...

The first in a nostalgic and heart-warming WWII saga series by bestselling author Maisie Thomas. Perfect for fans of Ellie Dean and Lesley Eames will love. ❤️ Manchester, 1941 Kitty learned early on in her marriage that her husband, Bill Dunbar, isn’t reliable with money. So when they...

"An expansive, breathtaking tale . . ." —Fiona Davis, New York Times bestselling author of The Stolen Queen "Readers will race to the end, not wanting to put this book down . . . Highly recommended." —The Historical Novel Society, Marlie Wasserman "Hope Tarr's Irish Eyes is romantic, lyrical...

Amidst the chaos of war, this spitfire girl will soar. As Europe edges closer to war, Bella’s world is focused on avoiding a future like her mother’s. She doesn’t want to go to secretarial school to become another proper young lady; standing by prettily waiting to be chosen as a wife by...

1950. In the wake of the war, Audrey Clarkson leaves her manor house in England for a fresh start in America with her young son. As a widowed war bride, Audrey needs the support of her American in-laws, whom she has never met. But she arrives to find that her longtime friend Eve Dawson has been impersonating her for the past four years. Unraveling this deception will force Audrey and Eve’s secrets - and the complicated history of their friendship - to the surface.

From the author of the Kindle Number One bestseller The Letter comes a heartbreaking novel of tragedy, hope and second chances, set in England in 1976 and the present day, and in Australia. Readers who treasure the novels of Lesley Pearse and Susan Lewis will adore this author. It's the long hot...

Bloomsbury presents Afterlives by Abdulrazak Gurnah, read by Damian Lynch. BY THE WINNER OF THE NOBEL PRIZE IN LITERATURE 2021 'One of Africa's greatest living writers' Giles Foden 'Exquisite' Telegraph ‘A remarkable novel, by a wondrous writer’ Philippe Sands 'To read Afterlives is to be...

Brought to you by Penguin. From the Sunday Times bestselling author Nancy Revell. When Lucy’s estranged mother dies unexpectedly, her grief is overwhelming. Lucy was disowned when she married penniless horse-trainer Danny for love, leaving her blue-blooded family’s fortune in tatters. But...

A gripping and beautiful tale of love, loss and secrets. Perfect for fans of Rachel Hore, Lorna Cook and Kathryn Hughes. 'One of those rare books that opened an escape door for me away from the worries of the present into a glorious story' – Louise Douglas, bestselling author of The House by...

London, 1942. A killer going by the name of "Crimson Jack" is stalking the wartime streets of London, murdering women on the exact dates of the infamous Jack the Ripper killings of 1888. Has the Ripper returned from the grave? Is the self-styled Crimson Jack a descendant of the original Jack—or merely a madman obsessed with those killings? In desperation Scotland Yard turns to Sherlock Holmes. Surely he is the one man who can sift fact from legend to track down Crimson Jack. As Holmes and Watson tread the blacked-out streets of London, death waits just around the corner.

Small Island by bestselling author Andrea Levy won the Orange Prize for Fiction, as well as many other awards, including the Commonwealth Writers' Prize and the Whitbread. Now a major BBC drama starring Benedict Cumberbatch and Naomie Harris, its enduring appeal will captivate fans of Maya...

The Secret Sewing Society is a sweeping, heartbreaking tale about a devastating family mystery, a doomed love affair, and generations of women coming together against the odds. Fans of Evie Woods, Fiona Valpy and The Keeper of Happy Endings will be utterly swept away.

A heart-pounding military adventure in the air! For fans of Derek Robinson, James Holland, Frank Barnard and Jack Higgins. Can the female pilots stop an attack on London…? Autumn, 1943Sisters Anna and Jennifer Nightingale have been flying in top missions with the Secret Sirens all-female RAF unit for nearly a year. Their squadron of twelve Mosquitos stages a raid on Rouen to divert the enemy’s attention from the Lancasters that are coming in to bomb the marshalling yards and port.

Plymouth, 1941. As sirens blare all around, the Shawbrook family take refuge in a packed shelter. Bombs have already begun to fall through the night sky when they realise their infant son, Freddie, has been forgotten in the rush, left to sleep in his crib. Terrified, Vera, his young mother, races to find him and bring him to safety. The next morning, air raid warden David Shawbrook returns from his watch to find the shelter pulverised, and his family seemingly all dead. Dirty footprints inside their home betray the looters who have rifled through the house.

Surrey, England, 1938. After 30 devoted years of marriage, Ellie Endicott is blindsided by her husband’s appeal for divorce. It’s Ellie’s opportunity for change too. The unfaithful cad can have the house. She’s taking the Bentley. Ellie, her housekeeper Mavis, and her elderly friend Dora—each needing escape—impulsively head for parts unknown in the South of France.

July 1947. Britain is still gripped by rationing, even as the excitement of Princess Elizabeth’s engagement sweeps the nation. In the Woolworths’ canteen, Freda is still dreaming of meeting her own Prince Charming. So far she’s been unlucky in love. When she has an accident on her...

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...

Violet Ellis is living in the shadows of her father’s ruined reputation. So, when wealthy widower James Atherton offers her employment, she immediately begins the treacherous journey to his home on the remote Cornish island of Aoife’s Bay – despite the bone-chilling allegations surrounding his late wife Elizabeth’s death. In James’s company, Violet begins to feel the love that has been missing all her life. But when anonymous letters start to plague the bay’s residents, threatening to expose what really happened to Elizabeth, Violet feels the hostility towards her grow.

The New York Times bestselling author of The Diamond Eye and The Rose Code returns with a haunting and powerful story of female friendships and secrets in a Washington, DC, boardinghouse during the McCarthy era. Washington, D.C., 1950 Everyone keeps to themselves at Briarwood House, an...

From Giller Prize-winning author Linden MacIntyre comes a powerful and moving novel about idealism, faith, family and the incredible reach that the past can have in shaping our present and future lives. It's October 1962, and Professor James O'Donoghue—otherwise known as "The Deacon" on the...