Historical Fiction Books

The phenomenal new novel, based on a true story, from the international bestselling author of The Tattooist of Auschwitz. 1942. Singapore is falling to the Japanese Army. English musician Norah Chambers places her eight-year-old daughter Sally on a ship leaving Singapore, desperate to keep her safe. As the island burns, Australian nurse Nesta James joins the terrified cargo of people, including the heartbroken Norah, crammed aboard the HMS Vyner Brooke. After only two days at sea, the ship is bombarded and sunk. Nesta and Norah reach the beaches of Indonesia only to be captured and held in one of the notorious Japanese POW camps, places of starvation and brutality. But even here joy can be found, in music, where Norah's 'voice orchestra' transports the internees from squalor into light. The friendships they build with the dozens of other women in the camps will give them the hope, strength and camaraderie they need in order to stay alive. Product Information:  • ISBN:  9781786582218 • Author: Heather Morris • Publisher:  Zaffre • Format:  Hardback • Pages:  400 • Dimensions: 16.2 x 3.5 x 24 cm

Laugh-out-loud funny, shrewdly observant, and studded with a dazzling cast of supporting characters, Lessons in Chemistry is as original and vibrant as its protagonist. Meet chemist Elizabeth Zott, she is not your average woman. In fact, Elizabeth Zott would be the first to point out that there is no such thing. Follow Zott's story as she tackles inequality in the workplace, adopts a dog called Six-Thirty, has a daughter named Mad and becomes a famous TV chef. Your ability to change everything - including yourself - starts here! Chemist Elizabeth Zott is not your average woman. In fact, Elizabeth Zott would be the first to point out that there is no such thing. But it's the early 1960s and her all-male team at Hastings Research Institute takes a very unscientific view of equality. Forced to resign, she reluctantly signs on as the host of a cooking show, Supper at Six. But her revolutionary approach to cooking, fuelled by scientific and rational commentary, grabs the attention of a nation. Soon, a legion of overlooked housewives finds themselves daring to change the status quo. One molecule at a time.  Product Information:  • ISBN:  9781804990926 • Author:  Bonnie Garmus • Publisher:  Penguin • Format:  Paperback • Pages:  400 • Dimensions:  12.8 x 2.4 x 19.8 cm

Wales, 1883. Young Ruth Owen, a talented musician with a scholarship to a prestigious music school, has a sparkling career ahead of her. But after a run-in with her mysterious tutor she flees to London, leaving everything and everyone behind. London, 1897. Fourteen years later, Ruth, now married with two children, finds herself struggling for money and a place to live. Left with no other option, they decide to return to Wales and live on a canal boat. Life on the canals may seem idyllic, but what troubles await her return? And can the past ever truly be forgotten? Product Information: •    ISBN: 9781838775636 •    Author: Sheila Newberry •    Publisher: Zaffre •    Format: Paperback •    Pages: 400 •    Dimensions: 19.69 x 12.7 cm

When they are little girls, Cibi, Magda and Livia make a promise to their father - that they will stay together, no matter what. Years later, at just 15, Livia is ordered to Auschwitz by the Nazis. Cibi, only 19 herself, remembers their promise and follows Livia, determined to protect her sister, or die with her. Together, they fight to survive through unimaginable cruelty and hardship. Magda, only 17, stays with her mother and grandfather, hiding out in a neighbour's attic or in the forest when the Nazi militia come to round up friends, neighbours and family. She escapes for a time, but eventually she too is captured and transported to the death camp. In Auschwitz-Birkenau the three sisters are reunited and, remembering their father, they make a new promise, this time to each other: That they will survive. Product Information: • ISBN: 9781838774592 • Author: Heather Morris • Publisher: Zaffre • Format: Paperback • Pages: 400 • Dimensions: 19.8 x 12.8 x 2.54 cm

Chrissie Walsh is back with this heart-breaking tale of love against the odds. Against the chaotic backdrop of World War II, Grace Murphy is working as a midwife in Doncaster Royal Infirmary with her two friends, Clodagh and Patsy. In between delivering babies and tending wounded airmen, the girls endure bombing raids, rationing and the hardships and heartbreak that war brings. But in the faces of the new babies she welcomes to the world, Grace always looks for hope, as she dreams of a time when the war will end. When the midwives get the chance to go to a dance at the nearby RAF Finningly, they jump at the offer. The hangar is crowded with happy dancing couples but when the glamourous Spitfire pilots saunter in, looking dashing in their leather flying jackets and brightly coloured silk scarves, Grace can’t resist taking a peek. And the moment Grace meets pilot, Richard Carmichael, she knows he will capture her heart. With every daring flying raid, Grace and Richard risk losing each other forever. All Grace can do is look out for Richard in the patches of blue sky, and hope that fate will bring them their very own wartime happy-ever-after…  Product Information:  • ISBN:  9781835619087 • Author:  Chrissie Walsh • Publisher:  Boldwood Books • Format:  Paperback • Pages:  361 • Dimensions:  12.9 x 1.98 x 19.8 cm

Aging and reclusive Hollywood movie icon Evelyn Hugo is finally ready to tell the truth about her glamorous and scandalous life. But when she chooses unknown magazine reporter Monique Grant for the job, no one is more astounded than Monique herself. Why her? Why now? Summoned to Evelyn's luxurious apartment, Monique listens in fascination as the actress tells her story. From making her way to Los Angeles in the 1950s to her decision to leave show business in the '80s, and, of course, the seven husbands along the way, Evelyn unspools a tale of ruthless ambition, unexpected friendship, and a great forbidden love. Monique begins to feel a very real connection to the legendary star, but as Evelyn's story near its conclusion, it becomes clear that her life intersects with Monique's own in tragic and irreversible ways. Product Information: • ISBN: 9781398515697 • Author: Taylor Jenkins Reid • Publisher: Washington Square Press • Format: Paperback • Pages: 400 • Dimensions: 19.9 x 12.9 x 2.4 cm

There are no secrets that time does not reveal… Bristol 1937: The year is 1937 and the country is still reeling from the abdication of King Edward the Eighth the year before. His brother, the Duke of York has become King George the Sixth and will be crowned in May. The country is on a high. Union Jacks are being dusted off and bunting is being made. Thelma, Jenny and residents of Coronation Close are all a buzz with planning the street parties and celebrations for the great day. But behind every door shameful secrets and sins linger on Coronation Close, just bubbling to expose themselves…  Product Information:  • ISBN:  9781835619001 • Author:  Lizzie Lane • Publisher:  Boldwood Books Ltd • Format:  Paperback • Pages:  338 • Dimensions:  15.6 x 2.92 x 23.39 cm

I tattooed a number on her arm. She tattooed her name on my heart. In 1942, Lale Sokolov arrived in Auschwitz-Birkenau. He was given the job of tattooing the prisoners marked for survival - scratching numbers into his fellow victims' arms in indelible ink to create what would become one of the most potent symbols of the Holocaust. Waiting in line to be tattooed, terrified and shaking, was a young girl. For Lale - a dandy, a jack-the-lad, a bit of a chancer - it was love at first sight. And he was determined not only to survive himself, but to ensure this woman, Gita, did, too. So begins one of the most life-affirming, courageous, unforgettable and human stories of the Holocaust: the love story of the tattooist of Auschwitz. Product Information:• ISBN: 9781785763649• Author: Heather Morris• Publisher: Bonnier Zaffre• Format: Paperback• Pages: 275• Dimensions: 24 x 16 x 2.5cm

Auschwitz, 1942. Stumbling through the terrifying wrought iron gates of Auschwitz, Jewish author Etty Weil longs for her apartment overlooking the Seine, where she used to laugh with friends, her shelves full of records and her beloved typewriter by the wide window. Trapped inside the maze of barbed wire, she takes fourteen-year-old Danielle under her wing. Every evening, Etty tells Danielle stories, building a beautiful world of imagination and hope for Danielle to escape into. Soon, Etty realises that the other women in their cramped hut are listening too. But the more hope Etty gives Danielle, the more chances the young girl begins to take with her life, rebelling against the brutal SS guards and forcing Etty to protect her. And one day, Danielle goes too far... Product Information:  • ISBN:  9781408731390 • Author:  Siobhan Curham  • Publisher:  Sphere • Format:  Paperback • Pages:  368 • Dimensions: 12.6 x 2.8 x 19.6 cm

The next heartwarming instalment of the Timber Girls Series. Perfect for fans of Elaine Everest and Pam Howes. Trixie and her fellow lumberjills are back in Scotland, newly stationed at the MacKay estate. When they arrive, they are shocked to find the place dilapidated and neglected and the taciturn and secretive Noah MacKay not at all happy to be meeting them. It quickly becomes apparent that MacKay was expecting men from the forestry commission to take charge, rather than four young women. Trixie, Jo, Hen and Vi decide he needs to be proven wrong - after all, don't they have stamina, skill and strength? But as the girls work to prove their worth, secrets from their own pasts threaten to follow them to Sutherland. Product Information:  • ISBN: 9781529419344 • Author: Rosie Archer • Publisher: Quercus • Format:  Paperback • Pages: 384 • Dimensions: 12.7 x 2.54 x 19.69cm

As the new year dawns the show at the Empire comes to an end and it’s time for the girls to move on. Years of struggle are over for Frances O’Leary when Johnny Randolph returns to make things right for her and their daughter.  Do they have a chance of happiness? Of being a family after so long? But their good fortune is fraught with complications when sister Ruby Randolph decides to have her last hurrah, leaving a trail of devastation in her wake. Jessie Delaney is afraid to follow her dreams and leave those she loves behind – can she really have it all? All the seaside girls have their own battles to fight. And while they figure things out it’s time for them to do their bit for the war and keep Britain smiling. Product Information:  • ISBN: 9781785130250 • Author: Tracy Baines • Publisher: Boldwood Books • Format: Paperback • Pages: 304 • Dimensions: 12.9 x 1.75 x 19.8cm

She is determined to live the life she wants… Cassandra Trent does not like being told what to do. So when she is forced to leave behind her beloved Bardsley and join her aunt in London, she is furious. She wants nothing to do with polite society and useless noblemen. But Cassandra finds some comfort in the friendship she forms with her kind and gentle cousin, Susannah Berrinden. Despite being destined to marry Simeon Giffard, a charming and – more importantly – wealthy young man, Susannah has other ideas… And it seems Simeon does too. He has eyes only for Cassandra – but winning her over might prove to be a near impossible task.  Product Information:  • ISBN:  9781804367216 • Author:  Anna Jacobs • Publisher:  Canelo  • Format:  Paperback • Pages:  304 • Dimensions: 12.9 x 1.8 x 19.8 cm

Suffolk, 1924. After the death of her fiancé in the field hospitals of France, Angel becomes nurse to the MacDonald family in the small village of Uffasham.  Taking residence at the appropriately named Angel Inn, she is met by many new faces - and old ones, too. Edith, a fellow nurse from the war, while taking great interest in Angel's new life, refuses to let her forget her old one. As Angel grows closer to her employer, Robert, Edith threatens to expose a secret that could ruin everything...  Can Angel ever be free to move on with her new life and her new family, or will the secrets of her past finally be revealed? Product Information:  • ISBN:  9781804180969 • Author:  Sheila Newberry • Publisher:  Bonnier Publishing Fiction • Format:  Paperback • Pages:  334 • Dimensions: 12.8 x 19.8 x 2.2 cm

Based on the heartbreaking true story of Cilka Klein, Cilka's Journey is the phenomenonal sequel to the No.1 bestseller, The Tattooist of Auschwitz. In 1942 Cilka Klein is just sixteen years old when she is taken to Auschwitz-Birkenau Concentration Camp. The Commandant at Birkenau, Schwarzhuber, notices her long beautiful hair, and forces her separation from the other women prisoners. Cilka learns quickly that power, even unwillingly given, equals survival. After liberation, Cilka is charged as a collaborator by the Russians and sent to a brutal prison camp in Siberia. Innocent, imprisoned once again, Cilka faces challenges both new and horribly familiar. After learning to nurse those who are ill in the camp, Cilka tends to a man called Alexandr and finds that despite everything, there is room in her heart for love. Cilka's Journey is a powerful testament to the triumph of the human will. It will move you to tears, but it will also leave you astonished and uplifted by one woman's fierce determination to survive, against all odds. Product Information: • ISBN: 9781785769054 • Author: Heather Morris • Publisher: Zaffre • Format: Paperback • Pages: 432 • Dimensions: 19.8 x 12.9 x 3.1 cm

One woman must sacrifice everything to uncover the truth in this enthralling historical novel, inspired by the true World War Two campaign Radio Aspidistra… England, 1942: Having fled Germany after her father was captured by the Nazis, Lilli Bergen is desperate to do something pro-active for the Allies. So when she’s approached by the Political Warfare Executive, Lilli jumps at the chance. She’s recruited as a singer for a radio station broadcasting propaganda to German soldiers – a shadow network. But Lilli’s world is flipped upside down when her ex-boyfriend, Bren Murphy, appears at her workplace; the very man she thinks betrayed her father to the Nazis. Lilli always thought Bren was a Nazi sympathiser – so what is he doing in England supposedly working against the Germans? Lilli knows Bren is up to something, and must put aside a blossoming new relationship in order to discover the truth. Can Lilli expose him, before it’s too late? Set in the fascinating world of wartime radio, don’t miss Book 2 in the WW2 Secret Agent Series, a heart-stopping novel of betrayal, treachery, and courage against the odds. Product Information:  • ISBN:  9780008586898 • Author:  Deborah Swift • Publisher:  HQ • Format:  Paperback • Pages:  352 • Dimensions: 12.9 x 2.5 x 19.8 cm 

A heartbreaking World War 2 novel that tells the story of two women’s fight for love, family and hope, as the world crumbles around them. Berlin, 1936. The Landau family are at the heart of their community, running a music shop in Berlin and just trying to survive. But their lives are unravelling as Hitler's power increases and the treatment of Jewish families deteriorates. Eldest daughter, Rachel, fears for her sisters' future and will do anything she can to keep them safe. Will she find hope in the darkness? Paris, 1936. As whispers of war travel over from Europe, American debutante Kay escapes her mother's grasp and travels as a reluctant spy from Paris to Berlin. But a chance meeting with the Landau family will change her life forever. Kay is determined to give Rachel and her sisters a fighting chance in a society where the youngest are paying the ultimate price, even if it means making dangerous enemies along the way… As the world marches toward war, these brave women will find strength in joining forces to save the ones they love. But they will need the support of one another more than they will ever realise in order to survive… Product Information: • ISBN: 9781835339404 • Author: Jina Bacarr • Publisher: Boldwood Books • Format: Paperback • Pages: 380 • Dimensions: 12.9 x 2.18 x 19.8cm

Will she lose everything she’s worked so hard for? The Second World War may be over, but the war in Polly Pride’s home is only just beginning, and it will test her like never before. Her son, Benny, never seems to be far from trouble, spending all his time with shady characters and winding up in the wrong places at the wrong times. Her daughter, Lucy, is seeing another man behind her husband’s back and leaving her children to run riot. And Charlie, Polly’s beloved husband, is battling ill health and doesn’t want her interfering. Polly refuses to go back to a life of poverty – but managing a business, a family, and the trials of living in post-war Manchester might prove to be too much, even for her… Product Information:  • ISBN:  9781804365564 • Author:  Freda Lightfoot  • Publisher:  Canelo • Format:  Paperback • Pages:  352 • Dimensions: 12.9 x 2.1 x 19.8 cm

Ambition will fuel him. Competition will drive him. But power has its price. It is the morning of the reaping that will kick off the tenth annual Hunger Games. In the Capitol, eighteen-year-old Coriolanus Snow is preparing for his one shot at glory as a mentor in the Games. The once-mighty house of Snow has fallen on hard times, its fate hanging on the slender chance that Coriolanus will be able to outcharm, outwit, and outmaneuvre his fellow students to mentor the winning tribute. The odds are against him. He's been given the humiliating assignment of mentoring the female tribute from District 12, the lowest of the low. Their fates are now completely intertwined - ; every choice Coriolanus makes could lead to favour or failure, triumph or ruin. Inside the arena, it will be a fight to the death. Outside the arena, Coriolanus starts to feel for his doomed tribute... and must weigh his need to follow the rules against his desire to survive no matter what it takes. Product Information: • ISBN: 9780702309519 • Author: Suzanne Collins • Publisher: Scholastic • Format: Paperback • Pages: 528 • Dimensions: 19.8 x 14.3 x 3.4 cm

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. Jared loves driving his horse Bess, shouting ‘any old rags’ as loud as he can, and it’s not long before he’s thriving. But being successful can bring you enemies as well as friends. Toby knows that Jared is destined for bigger things – provided his big mouth doesn’t get him hurt first… Product Information:  • ISBN:  9781835339459 • Author:  Lindsey Hutchinson  • Publisher:  Boldwood Books • Format:  Paperback • Pages:  294 • Dimensions:  12.9 x 1.65 x 19.8 cm

The war is drawing to a close, but life for the Caldwell sisters is far from peaceful… Still waiting for her fiancé, James, to return from fighting in North Africa, Imogen focuses her attention on driving for the Auxiliary Territorial Service General. Between work and looking out for her sisters, she soon finds she has very little time left over to worry. Meanwhile, Elsie continues to nurse her husband back to health, finally content with her quiet family life in Yorkshire. But she is nostalgic for happier times, before the war, and longs to be reunited with her sisters again. Daisy is also desperate for an end to the war – she fears for her love, Glenn, and longs to see him return home safely. In these uncertain times, she needs all the support Imogen and Elsie can give to her. When yet another tragedy befalls the Caldwell family, will the sisters be able to lift each other up to carry on? Product Information: • ISBN:  9781804365755 • Author:  Rowena Summers • Publisher:  Canelo Saga • Format:  Paperback • Pages:  304 • Dimensions: 12.9 x 1.8 x 19.8 cm