Historical Fiction Books

From rags to riches... but will happiness follow? Orphaned as a child, Fliss Atkins has spent her life working at her uncle’s pub, The Bay Horse Inn, nestled along the banks of the River Calder. Life has been anything but easy for Fliss. Her aunt is unloving, and her older cousin Gerald is cruel. Then she meets Oscar Nolan, whose adventurous spirit makes her wonder if there might be more to life beyond the only home she’s known. Could Oscar and his dreams of travel be her chance at a fresh start? The thought is tempting, but leaving her best friends, Lorrie and Meg, and their beloved families behind seems unimaginable. When tragedy strikes, Fliss is presented with an unexpected opportunity to shape a new life for herself. But will new riches bring her the happiness she longs for, or will it lead to even greater troubles for this riverside maid? A compelling and emotional read set in Victorian Yorkshire, perfect for fans of Dilly Court and Rosie Godwin. ​​​​​​​Product Information: • ISBN: 9781807950118 • Author: AnneMarie Brear • Publisher: Boldwood Books Limited • Format: Paperback • Pages: 280 • Dimensions: 19.81 x 12.9 x 1.68 cm

Livia Blake has lost her husband far too soon and faces a crossroads. It’s her friend Pearl Grayson, head of Bristol’s nursing school, who suggests she would make an excellent district nurse. With training completed and no ties left, a job offer to join the team in rural Eastby End feels just like the fresh start she needs. But just before she leaves she is called out to attend a woman named Jane, left terrified and beaten by her abusive husband and desperate to escape. On the spur of the moment, both women board the train to Eastby End. Ellis Quinn has buried his beloved wife and mother to his son, Gil, and doesn’t know how to carry on in London. A chance meeting with carpenter Logan brings a glimpse of life in the Ollindale countryside, a place Logan loves, and soon Ellis and Gil are on their way to a new life away from the city. Life in Eastby End is improving, but not nearly as fast as councillor Walter Crossley would like. He is on a mission to end the poverty and danger that blights too many lives, and bring better healthcare and opportunities to as many residents as he can. With Livia in place and swiftly making a difference, and Ellis looking to set up a new business, things look brighter. But change isn’t welcome everywhere; and there are some in the town who will fight for things to remain exactly as they are … Product Information: • ISBN: 9781399730013 • Author: Anna Jacobs • Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton • Format: Paperback  • Pages: 352 • Dimensions: 19.99 x 13 x 2.16 cm

When war breaks out, friendship will see them through. With war declared, these brave women will step up and do their bit for their country Housewife Nancy never dreamed that she’d end up in Vickers steelworks factory but when husband Bert is called up to serve, she needs to put food on the table for her two young children. Betty’s sweetheart William has joined the RAF Reserves so she can’t sit around and do nothing – even if it means giving up her ambitions to study law at night school. Young Patty is relishing the excitement the war brings. But this shop-girl is going to have to grow up quickly, especially now she’s undertaking such back-breaking and dangerous work in the factory. The Steel Girls start off as strangers but quickly forge an unbreakable bond of friendship as these feisty factory sisters vow to keep the foundry fires burning during wartime.  ​​​​​​​Product Information: • ISBN: 9780008427290 • Author: Michelle Rawlins  • Publisher: Harper Collins Publishers • Format: Paperback

THE SIXTH BOOK IN THE MUCH-LOVED DOVER CAFE WWII SAGA SERIES Dover, January 1942 The war is closing in on every shore, and when Marge Atkinson is assigned to an elite group of Wrens, chosen to teach war games to naval officers, it seems like the perfect distraction from her heartbreak over Rodney Castle. Until she discovers who her new commanding officer is. Years ago, Captain Thomas Bennett destroyed her family, and now she vows to get her revenge - no matter the consequences. Meanwhile, at Castle's Café, Nellie is trapped in a dangerous bargain. Allowing Lou Carter to stash black-market contraband in her café basement seemed harmless enough at the time. But when a sinister man arrives, threatening her family and demanding she store some mysterious boxes, she has no choice but to agree. Because if she doesn't, her grandchildren could pay the price . . . ​​​​​​​Product Information: • ISBN: 9781785129100 • Author: Ginny Bell • Publisher: Bonnier Books UK • Format: Paperback

One overheard conversation. One fateful evening. A lifetime of consequences. The Devil You Know is a turbulent and emotional saga of a woman who must outface danger to find the happiness she craves, from bestselling author Josephine Cox. Perfect for fans of Lyn Andrews and Dilly Court. Sonny Fareham’s lover – and also her boss – is the charismatic Tony Bridgeman, a successful and ruthless man who usually gets what he wants. But for Sonny, the affair that has promised a future of hope and happiness must end in desperate fear. Late one evening, Sonny overhears a private conversation between Tony Bridgeman and his wife. Only then does she realise she is in great danger. Pregnant and afraid, Sonny flees her home to make a new life in the north of England, where she meets a gregarious and motherly new friend, Ellie Kenny. When the mysterious and handsome David Langham seems drawn to her, Sonny almost dares to believe that she could be happy again. But never far away is the one person who wants to destroy everything that she now holds dear . . . Product Information: • ISBN: 9781472245533 • Author: Josephine Cox • Publisher: Hachette UK • Format: Paperback • Pages: 368 • Dimensions: 19.6 x 12.8 x 2.8 cm

Two families. Three secrets. Millions of stitches. It is 1911, and Jean is about to join the mass strike at the Singer factory. For her, nothing will be the same again. Decades later, in Edinburgh, Connie sews coded moments of her life into a notebook, as her mother did before her. More than 100 years after his grandmother's sewing machine was made, Fred discovers a treasure trove of documents. His family history is laid out before him in a patchwork of unfamiliar handwriting and colourful seams. He'll start unpicking the secrets of four generations, one stitch at a time... ​​​​​​​Product Information: • ISBN: 9781471419454 • Author: Natalie Fergie • Publisher: Bonnier Books UK Limited • Format: Paperback

Set in the Yorkshire Dales during the 19th century, The Miner's Wife by Diane Allen is a sweeping historical saga novel. Nineteen-year-old Meg Oversby often dreams of a more exciting life than the dull existence she faces at her family’s farm deep in the Yorkshire Dales. Growing up, she’s always sensed her father’s disappointment at not having a son to help with the farm work. So when Meg dances all night at the local market hall with Sam Alderson, a lead miner from Swaledale, a new light enters her life. Sam and his brother Jack show Meg a side to life she didn’t know existed. But when her parents find out, she’s forbidden from ever seeing them again. Although where there is love, there is often a way. When Meg’s uncle offers her the chance of helping to run the small village shop, she leaps at the opportunity, seeing it as a way to escape the oppressive family farm and see more of her beloved Sam. But as love blossoms, a darker truth emerges and Meg realizes that Sam may not be the man she thought he was . . . ​​​​​​​Product Information: • ISBN: 9781509895212 • Author: Diane Allen • Publisher: Macmillan Distribution Limited • Format: Paperback

As winter comes to Crow Castle, what secrets will Eliza Brown uncover? Born into a travelling circus, she knows that fate can turn on a sixpence — but nothing prepares her for the day her father casts Eliza and twin sister Angelica out. Forced into service for the Wildblood family, Eliza endures cruelty as their scullery maid. She finds a friend in Captain Luke Wildblood, and when disaster falls, he turns to her for help. As snow falls on the clifftop walls of Crow Castle on the wild Dorset coast, the Wildblood mysteries pull Eliza ever closer — or is it the man who holds the key to them all? ​​​​​​​Product Information: • ISBN: 9780008796075 • Author: Dilly Court • Publisher: Harper Collins Publishers • Format: Paperback

York, 1940 World War Two has arrived for the girls of the Rowntrees factory, and with rationing crippling the country, chocolate production has been driven to a bare minimum. It's all change for the Freeman sisters when the Rowntrees factory is turned over to making munitions. Molly is put on the fuse and detonator line, soon becoming skilled at her work despite the dangers. Rose copes with husband Ned’s absence with the RAF by relishing her position on the Board. And Annie joins the Land Army, billeted to a pig farm in Lancashire. Despite the heartache and worry, nothing will stop the Freeman sisters from doing all they can for their men and country. ​​​​​​​Product Information: • ISBN: 9781405997836 • Author: Gracie Hart • Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd • Format: Paperback

A CLASSIC FAMILY SAGA FROM BESTSELLING AUTHOR DILLY COURT. East London, 1880. Lily Larkin is the youngest and least important member of her family. When tragedy strikes, she is left at home to look after the house whilst her older siblings go out to work. As she goes about her daily chores, her head is full of dreams, and she longs for the day she might have a life of her own. When a fire threatens to destroy the nearby docks, Lily's act of kindness towards a handsome foreigner has disastrous consequences for the whole family. Losing their home, the family struggle to make ends meet. And just when things might finally be looking up for them, Lily makes a terrible error of judgement. Forced onto the streets, Lily wonders if she'll ever see her family again . . . Product Information: • ISBN: 9781529992175 • Author: Dilly Court • Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd • Format: Paperback • Pages: 480 • Dimensions: 19.7 x 12.8 x 3 cm

To give them hope she must tell their story It's 1946. The war is over, and Juliet Ashton has writer's block. But when she receives a letter from Dawsey Adams of Guernsey – a total stranger living halfway across the Channel, who has come across her name written in a second hand book – she enters into a correspondence with him, and in time with all the members of the extraordinary Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. Through their letters, the society tell Juliet about life on the island, their love of books – and the long shadow cast by their time living under German occupation. Drawn into their irresistible world, Juliet sets sail for the island, changing her life forever. ​​​​​​​Product Information: • ISBN: 9781526610898 • Author: Mary Ann Shaffer & Annie Barrows • Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing Plc • Format: Paperback

Can they survive the war and all that it brings? 1940, Stretton Village, Cambridgeshire The start of the war and the tragic loss of their beloved father marks the end of an era for the Searles family as their children embark on their adult lives Eldest sister Frances is about to marry her childhood sweetheart. But with Marcus Danby now a fighter pilot, his fate hanging in the balance. Will he return from war for their happy ever after? Meanwhile youngest daughter Emily is swept off her feet by a dashing young officer, but does she really know him? Brother Daniel has joined up, but not before falling in love with a local kitchen girl Alice. Against the backdrop of war is there hope of a future for them? And then there are those siblings left behind. Clay and Henry working the land in trying times, and Connor too young to serve, but suddenly abandoned by the family he counted on. With only a gold-digging mother-in-law to advise them, these siblings are all in danger of making rash decisions that don't bode well for their futures... ​​​​​​​Product Information: • ISBN: 9781807950095 • Author: Rosie Clarke • Publisher: Boldwood Books Limited • Format: Paperback

A secret buried for decades… A story that will change everything. 1940: When twenty-one-year-old Nita Bineham is offered the chance of independence, away from the high walls of her family’s Surrey estate, she grasps it with both hands. But her new role at a local newspaper coincides with the emergence of a sinister rumour in their quiet village: that there is a traitor in their midst. Nita is determined to prove herself by uncovering the truth, but is she prepared for revelations that could change her life forever? 2008: Following the death of her great aunt, Beth flees London for the privacy of rural Surrey. Within the confines of her family’s dilapidated manor house, she hides from the dual wreckage of her career and her marriage. But when her aunt’s dying words lead her to a stack of old newspaper articles, Beth finds herself drawn into a decades old mystery: about a long-buried secret, and an enemy dangerously close to home. ​​​​​​​Product Information: • ISBN: 9781807950057 • Author: Victoria Scott • Publisher: Boldwood Books Limited • Format: Paperback • Pages: 376 • Dimensions: 19.81 x 12.9 x 2.26 cm

Soon to be a major motion picture, Kristin Hannah's The Nightingale has captured the hearts of millions of readers becoming a number one bestseller across the world. It is a heart-breakingly beautiful novel that celebrates the resilience of the human spirit and the endurance of women. 'I always thought it was what I wanted: to be loved and admired. Now I think perhaps I’d like to be known' This story is about what it was like to be a woman during World War II, when women’s stories were all too often forgotten or overlooked . . . Vianne and Isabelle Mauriac are two sisters, separated by years and experience, by ideals and passion and circumstance, each embarking on her own dangerous path towards survival, love and freedom in war-torn France. It is a novel for everyone, a novel for a lifetime. Product Information: • ISBN: 9781509898411 • Author: Kristin Hannah • Publisher: Macmillan Distribution Limited • Format: Paperback • Pages: 480 • Dimensions: 19.7 x 13 x 2.8 cm

The third book in the gripping and heartwarming new Jubilee Lake series, from multi-million-copy bestselling author Anna Jacobs Lancashire, 1895. Lancashire, 1895. Abigail Dawson has lived in fear of her father for thirty years. But when, after uprooting them to a grand new home in Ollerthwaite, he's found murdered in the street, her life is turned upside down. Alone and caught in a web of her father's secrets, Abigail needs someone to rely on - so when hardworking handyman Rufus promises her a new life, she's thrilled at the chance to have a family of her own. But as they grow closer, could it be more than a marriage of convenience? Meanwhile, the rebuilding of the Ollerton estate is bringing new life to the valley - but old grudges, and new threats, are disturbing the peace. With plans for the Diamond Jubilee approaching, can the whole village band together to protect their home? Product Information:  • ISBN: 9781529351446 • Author: Anna Jacobs • Publisher: Hodder Paperbacks  • Format:  Paperback • Pages: 336  • Dimensions: 12.7 x 1.91 x 19.69 cm

Eleven-year-old Stella Barry is forced into service when her family find themselves living hand-to-mouth. Leaving her mother and younger brother and sister behind, Stella goes to a big country house outside London. When she returns home one Sunday, she discovers they have disappeared. Thrown out of their lodgings, no one knows where they have gone. Seven years later it looks likely Stella will soon become Cook. But circumstances compel her to flee with no references and only a few personal possessions to her name. ​​​​​​​Product Information: • ISBN: 9781807842482 • Author: Dilly Court • Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd • Format: Paperback

She'll need the support of her friends to overcome her fears A nursing orderly in the WAAF, Ruby Morris is keen to stick with her friends, Holly and Meg, when they volunteer for the air ambulance, and soon all three are moved to RAF Starsden on the outskirts of London. Nervous not only at flying during wartime but also being responsible for life-or-death decisions, Ruby works hard to overcome her fears, helped by her new friendship with pilot Flight Sergeant Laurie Foster. When it seems like Laurie and Ruby could become more than friends, he starts to blow hot and cold, and she worries her feelings aren't returned. With all the dangers surrounding them, it's only a matter of time before a routine flight goes horribly wrong. In peril, can Ruby keep her patient safe and find the courage to confront Laurie, who has his own secrets to conquer? ​​​​​​​Product Information: • ISBN: 9781835983201 • Author: Vicki Beeby • Publisher: Canelo Digital Publishing Ltd • Format: Paperback

Liverpool, 1942 As the threat of war draws closer, Isla Donahue seeks solace in her sweetheart, Rory. Their love for one another has never been stronger, but Isla struggles to ignore doubts surrounding her beau’s tainted past. So when Rory unexpectedly comes face-to-face with his first love, her world is shaken. Can Isla draw on her own grit and determination to build a brighter future? And can she make her dreams of a perfect white wedding come true this Christmas? ​​​​​​​Product Information: • ISBN: 9781804966280 • Author: Katie Flynn • Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd • Format: Paperback

After a lifetime of sadness, will she find all her dreams coming true? After spending her childhood in Haddon House Children's Hostel, Alice Tucker is selected to go into service at Holmorton Lodge. Left behind in the workhouse after the death of her father and the disappearance of her mother, the only clues to Alice's past lie in hazy childhood memories. Now, ten years later, she longs to uncover the truth about her family and who she really is. When a chance discovery leads her from a Welsh nursing home to a solicitor's office in Manchester, Alice begins to unravel a story far more tangled than she imagined. It seems that finding her mother's identity might just expose a shocking family scandal kept quiet for decades. With the help of her friends from the Potteries Tramway Company, can Alice discover the truth of who she really is? And as winter chills the Stoke Potteries, can the women find joy to warm their hearts? ​​​​​​​Product Information: • ISBN: 9781835981160 • Author: Lynn Johnson • Publisher: Canelo Digital Publishing Ltd • Format: Paperback

Alaska, 1974. Untamed. Unforgiving. Unpredictable. For thirteen-year-old Leni Allbright, Alaska is supposed to be a fresh start. Her father, a former POW, is desperate to leave the world behind. Her mother, Cora, will follow the man she loves anywhere, even to the edge of the earth. But as winter descends and darkness blankets the land, the Allbrights realize they are woefully unprepared. The danger doesn't just lurk in the wilderness outside; it lives within the walls of their own cabin. In the shadow of a volatile marriage and a landscape that wants to kill them, Leni must decide: how far will she go to survive? Product Information: • ISBN: 9781035030972 • Author: Kristin Hannah • Publisher: Macmillan Distribution Limited • Format: Paperback • Pages: 464 • Dimensions: 19.7 x 13 x 2.8 cm