Historical Fiction Books
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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
Inspired by the true events of her family history, Millie Bobby Brown’s dazzling debut novel is a moving tale of longing, loss and secrets, and the lengths that we will go to fight for love. Love blooms in the darkest days in London, 1942. Despite the raging war, spirited 18-year-old Nellie Morris lives a quiet life in the tight-knit East End community of Bethnal Green. Her family and friends all tease that she will marry air raid warden Billy, the boy next door who’s always been sweet on her. The arrival of Ray, a handsome American airman stationed nearby, causes Nellie to question everything she thought she knew about her future. Nellie’s newfound happiness is short-lived when a tragic accident occurs during an air raid. Even the closest family can’t escape the devastation of war, and as the secrets and truth about that fateful night become clear, they threaten to tear Nellie – and those dearest to her – apart. Product Information: • ISBN: 9780008530266 • Author: Millie Bobby Brown • Publisher: HQ • Format: Hardcover • Pages: 384 • Dimensions: 15.9 x 3.6 x 24 cm
On a quiet street in Dublin, a lost bookshop is waiting to be found… For too long, Opaline, Martha and Henry have been the side characters in their own lives. But when a vanishing bookshop casts its spell, these three unsuspecting strangers will discover that their own stories are every bit as extraordinary as the ones found in the pages of their beloved books. And by unlocking the secrets of the shelves, they find themselves transported to a world of wonder… where nothing is as it seems. Product Information: • ISBN: 9780008609214 • Author: Evie Woods • Publisher: One More Chapter • Format: Paperback • Pages: 448 • Dimensions: 12.9 x 3.2 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
Introducing our Book of the Week! Each week we personally recommend a trending title that we're super excited about. Want to find a bestselling book worthy of a spot on your bookshelf? Then look no further… She survived her first year at Basgiath War College... but the danger is only beginning. Everyone expected Violet Sorrengail to die during her first year at Basgiath War College, Violet included. But Threshing was only the first impossible test meant to weed out the weak-willed, the unworthy, and the unlucky. Now the real training begins, and Violet's already wondering how she'll get through. It's not just that it's gruelling and maliciously brutal, or even that it's designed to stretch the riders' capacity for pain beyond endurance. It's the new vice commandant, who's made it his personal mission to teach Violet exactly how powerless she is - unless she betrays the man she loves. Although Violet's body might be weaker and frailer than everyone else's, she still has her wits and a will of iron. And leadership is forgetting the most important lesson Basgiath has taught her: Dragon riders make their own rules. But a determination to survive won't be enough this year. Because Violet knows the real secret hidden for centuries at Basgiath War College - and nothing, not even dragon fire, may be enough to save them in the end. Product Information: • ISBN: 9780349437026 • Author: Rebecca Yarros • Publisher: Little, Brown • Format: Hardback • Pages: 640 • Dimensions: 24 x 15.6 x 2.2 cm
Cumbria, 1944: as Christmas comes to Mary Vale, mothers and midwives alike seek a miracle... Newly trained midwife Libby is forced to work in the neighbouring villages as well as at the Mother and Baby Home, trying her best to help the many desperate new mums. Meanwhile, Margaret arrives at Mary Vale heartbroken after losing her man and facing having a child alone. Yet it isn't long before Libby and Margaret discover someone with bigger problems. Beth, along with her young children and desperately ill husband, face eviction from their home just before Christmas. As time starts to run out, so does her hope. But can Libby and Margaret save Beth and her family with a quick-witted plan and some festive magic? After all, it's Christmas... and a time for miracles. Product Information: • ISBN: 9781405961042 • Author: Daisy Styles • Publisher: Penguin • Format: Paperback • Pages: 400 • Dimensions: 12.85 x 2.54 x 19.84 cm
London, 1944. With bombs raining over London, keeping the Battersea Tavern open is no easy feat for owner Winnie Berry - but the community need the warmth and familiarity of the pub more than ever. After marriage, Maureen Fanning had moved out to Wandsworth with her bad-tempered husband Brancher. But when he loses both his job and their lodgings, the only people who will take them in are her kindly grandparents, Len and Renee. Getting a cleaning job at the Battersea Tavern is the least she can do to pay them back. It would all be fine... if it weren't for Brancher. Winnie is determined to take timid Maureen under her wing. But when tragedy strikes, it will be up to Maureen to find the strength she didn't know she possessed... Product Information: • ISBN: 9781409197676 • Author: Kitty Neale • Publisher: Orion • Format: Paperback • Pages: 416 • Dimensions: 19.6 x 12.8 x 3.4cm
After the death of their parents, sisters Poppy and Rose are taken in by widow Nellie Harper. But whilst they have a roof over their heads, the young orphans are unloved, unwanted, and always hungry, with only one pair of boots between them. Keen to make money, Nellie hatches a plan to sell the girls to the mysterious Mr Scurrfield. But when the day comes for them to leave, Scurrfield reveals he will take only one of the sisters - and he will decide which it will be on the turn of a sixpence. Ten years later, Poppy is married with three children. Not a day goes by when she doesn't think about Rose, but after many years of searching, Poppy has accepted that her sister is lost to her. That is until a letter suddenly arrives, revealing Rose's fate and breaking Poppy's heart. Determined to be reunited with her beloved sister, Poppy sets out to bring Rose home. Product Information: • ISBN: 9781472283283 • Author: Glenda Young • Publisher: Headline • Format: Paperback • Pages: 368 • Dimensions: 12.8 x 2.8 x 19.6 cm
The Lake District, 1944. Spring is in the air for the women at Mary Vale Mother and Baby Home. Beautiful Stella, the head-turning cook of a munitions factory, has been swept off her feet by a handsome GI. He proposes when she falls pregnant, but soon his letters stop arriving . . . Then there is Lillian, who is deeply unimpressed when she is conscripted as a Land Girl miles from her home, but then she meets a charming, married vet . . . Meanwhile, midwife Ada is getting used to being back at work after the birth of her own beautiful baby girl. But she faces the biggest challenge of her life when the home is engulfed in an outbreak of whooping cough. Though each woman is from a different walk of life, only together can they help Mary Vale come through this crisis . . . Product Information: • ISBN: 9781405965057 • Author: Daisy Styles • Publisher: Penguin • Format: Paperback • Pages: 416 • Dimensions: 19.05 x 12.7 x 2.54cm
Liverpool, 1941: After German bombs shatter the life Cadi has built for herself in Liverpool, she is more determined than ever to sign up and do her bit. Joining the WAAF also means she is closer to her beau - until Jez is sent thousands of miles from home. While Jez is in Africa, someone from the past starts spreading vicious rumours that could threaten their relationship, and Cadi finds herself torn between keeping secrets and telling the truth to protect those she holds dear. Cadi has always believed that their love can weather any storm but as the snow sweeps in, she faces an impossible choice. Will her decision leave her broken-hearted or will Cadi and Jez be reunited in time for Christmas? Product Information: • ISBN: 9781804948200 • Author: Katie Flynn • Publisher: Penguin • Format: Paperback • Pages: 448 • Dimensions: 12.85 x 2.79 x 19.84 cm
A classic family historical saga from bestselling author, Dilly Court... East London, 1880: Lily Larkin is her family's youngest and least important member. 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 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: 9781787469655 • Author: Dilly Court • Publisher: Arrow • Format: Paperback • Pages: 480 • Dimensions: 13.18 x 3.18 x 19.84 cm
There will be more than one storm for the railway girls to weather but with the friendship and support of one another, there's hope that all will be well by Christmas... Manchester, 1942. There are surprises in store for the railway girls this festive season... When Cordelia's daughter Emily falls for a young chap who doesn't meet the approval of her father, Cordelia is reminded of her own first love - a love that she has never forgotten. Mabel is determined to get to the bottom of a spate of local burglaries. Her heart is in the right place as she sets out on a quest to clear her friend's name, but there will be unforeseen consequences. It's nothing short of a miracle when Colette returns to Manchester. But it's not going to be easy for her to keep living the life she once knew, and an impossible situation lies ahead. Product Information: • ISBN: 9781804948194 • Author: Maisie Thomas • Publisher: Penguin • Format: Paperback • Pages: 389 • Dimensions: 12.85 x 2.54 x 19.84 cm
In their darkest days, they'll find the courage to carry on… Summer 1940: The war is raging on but the Steel Girls are fighting their own battles closer to home. After patching things up with Archie, Patty is miffed when he appears to have forgotten all about her 18th birthday. New girl Hattie has a lot to deal with as she trades the counter at Woolworths for the Vickers factory floor. But is she keeping a secret and are things tougher at home than she's been letting on? Meanwhile, Nancy is besides herself when she receives word that Bert is missing in action and is struggling to keep it together. As the Steel Girls come together to be there in Nancy's hour of need, will life ever be the same again? Product Information: • ISBN: 9780008598518 • Author: Michelle Rawlins • Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers • Format: Paperback • Pages: 372 • Dimensions: 19.8 x 12.9 x 2.5 cm
In 1761, on a sunny day in September, a King and Queen met for the very first time. They were married within hours. Born a German Princess, Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz was beautiful, headstrong, and fiercely intelligent, not precisely the attributes the British Court had been seeking in a spouse for the young King George III. But her fire and independence were exactly what she needed because George had secrets... secrets with the potential to shake the very foundations of the monarchy. Thrust into her new role as a royal, Charlotte must learn to navigate the intricate politics of the court, all the while guarding her heart, because she is falling in love with the King, even as he pushes her away. Above all, she must learn to rule and to understand that she has been given the power to remake society. She must fight - for herself, for her husband, and for all her new subjects who look to her for guidance and grace. For she will never be just Charlotte again. She must instead fulfil her destiny... as Queen. Product Information: • ISBN: 9780349436678 • Author: Julia Quinn & Shonda Rhimes • Publisher: Little, Brown • Format: Hardback • Pages: 352 • Dimensions: 23.6 x 15.6 x 3.4 cm
Read F Scott Fitzgerald’s classic novel about love, money, revenge and betrayal set in Jazz Age America. Jay Gatsby is a self-made man, famed for his decadent champagne-drenched parties. Despite being surrounded by Long Island's bright and beautiful, he longs only for Daisy Buchanan. Product Information: • ISBN: 9780099541530 • Author: F Scott Fitzgerald • Publisher: Vintage Classics • Format: Paperback • Pages: 160 • Dimensions: 12.7 x 0.99 x 19.69 cm
Clarissa Dalloway is preoccupied with the last-minute details of party she is to give that evening. As she readies her house she is flooded with memories and re-examines the choices she has made over the course of her life. In another part of London, Septimus Warren Smith is suffering from shell-shock and on the brink of madness. Smith's day interweaves with that of Clarissa, their lives converging as the party reaches its glittering climax. This groundbreaking twentieth-century novel brings the past, present and future together on one momentous day in June 1923. ‘One of the most moving, revolutionary artworks of the twentieth century’ – Michael Cunningham Product Information: • ISBN: 9780099470458 • Author: Virginia Woolf • Publisher: Vintage Classics • Format: Paperback • Pages: 208 • Dimensions: 19.8 x 12.9 x 1.3 cm
Online Only! Get more for less with The Work’s expertly hand-picked Book Bundles. These are a collection of great quality products, grouped together to give you amazing value. Continue Bernard Cornwell’s action-packed Sharpe series with this 6-10 Book Bundle. This collection of historical fiction stories centre on the character of Richard Sharpe and chronicle his career as a soldier in the British Army.
Before the Steven Spielberg film, before the National Theatre production, there was the classic children's novel… In the deadly chaos of the First World War, one horse witnesses the reality of battle from both sides of the trenches. Bombarded by artillery, with bullets knocking riders from his back, Joey tells a powerful story of the truest friendships surviving in terrible times. One horse has seen the best and the worst of humanity. The power of war and the beauty of peace. This is his story. War Horse was adapted by Steven Spielberg as a major motion picture with Jeremy Irvine, Emily Watson, and Benedict Cumberbatch. The National Theatre production opened in 2007 and has enjoyed successful runs in the West End and on Broadway. Product Information: • ISBN: 9781405226660 • Author: Michael Morpurgo • Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers • Format: Paperback • Pages: 181 • Dimensions: 19.8 x 13.2 x 1.3 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
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