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

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

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

Like half of all the young women living in the Scottish town Clydebank in early 1911, Ellen works at the sewing machine factory. So does her big sister, Bridget, Bridget's fiancé Malcolm, and her new friend Sadie, who has come to work at the factory after the death of her father... For Sadie, the factory is a way to make ends meet, but Ellen has sewing in her veins. She is even making Bridget's wedding dress on her beloved sewing machine. But after the excitement of the wedding dies down, everything changes. Ellen discovers that the work of the cabinet polishers - her job - is to be reorganised, and they will be doing more work for less pay. Ellen feels betrayed - the sewing factory is her family and they've let her down. Sadie is more pragmatic. But the women aren't going to give in without a fight. They've been reading about strikes and they've got an idea - much to the disgust of manager Malcolm. Meanwhile, Bridget, forced to choose between her husband and her sister, has made a new friend and is fighting her own battle, alongside the suffragettes. The events of the strike will throw Ellen, Bridget and Sadie's lives into turmoil but also bring these women closer to each other than they could ever have imagined. Product Information:  • ISBN:  9781398718777 • Author:  Posy Lovell • Publisher:  Orion • Format:  Paperback • Pages:  352 • Dimensions: 12.8 x 2.4 x 19.6 cm

Scotland, 1943. It’s a long hot summer in Scotland but the Women’s Timber Corps have more than forest fires to worry about. Upper class Seffy has spent months proving herself to the other young women, but when new recruits arrive, she quickly feels lost again. She distracts herself by helping set up a Women’s Home Defence Corps, but the idea soon meets resistance from the locals. Dependable Joey had turned her back on love since she ran away from heartbreak to join the Corps, but when she crosses paths with a soldier deployed nearby, she feels a connection with him she’s never felt before – but will she be burned by love again? And young Tattie is desperate to impress the other women and make a new life for herself, far away from her troubled home. But her willingness to impress leaves her at risk of being used… As the summer beats on, can the Lumberjills pull together and protect the forest – and each other? Product Information:  • ISBN:  9780008603298 • Author:  Helen Yendall • Publisher:  HQ Digital • Format:  Paperback • Pages:  384 • Dimensions: 12.9 x 2.8 x 19.8 cm

Can she save the hotel... and her reputation? Helen Bygrove is managing the hotel, now that her husband has been conscripted. Against all expectations, Helen and her team are doing marvellously, despite the shortages brought by war. Even the exacting Lady Blackmore agrees. But then the calm is shattered when poison pen letters are sent to prominent townsfolk and Helen finds herself the target of a police investigation.  Is someone trying to ruin Helen, and the Beach Hotel?  And can she rely on the handsome but taciturn Inspector Toshack to help her?  When her husband, Douglas, is invalided out of the war he is determined to take back control of the hotel and things go from bad to worse. How can she ever escape his bullying? Is she a fool to hope that she may have a second chance at love? Product information: • ISBN: 9781804361375 • Author: Francesca Capaldi  • Publisher: Canelo Hera • Format: Paperback • Pages: 352 • Dimensions: 12.9 x 2.1 x 19.8cm

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

From No. 1 New York Times bestselling author Julia Quinn and television pioneer Shonda Rhimes comes a powerful and romantic novel of Bridgerton's Queen Charlotte and King George III's great love story and how it sparked a societal shift, inspired by the original series Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story, created by Shondaland for Netflix. We are one crown. His weight is mine, and mine is his... 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:  9780349436708 • Author:  Julia Quinn & Shonda Rhimes • Publisher:  Little, Brown Book Group • Format:  Paperback • Pages:  352 • Dimensions:  19.6 x 12.4 x 2.6 cm

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

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

Blackpool, 1922: Martha and Trisha may have escaped poverty, but their fortunes have yet to turn. Blissfully happy on her wedding day, Trisha's new fairy-tale romance soon darkens as her husband, Walter, keeps her at arms length. Between his secrecy, and her mother-in-law's coldness , Trisha feels a stranger in her own home, and lonelier than ever... Meanwhile a spectre from Martha's past threatens the happiness she has found with Joshua and Bonnie. When she is called to help in her past love's hour of need, she must decide whether to risk exposing a secret that could cost her the trust of her daughter... With winter fast approaching, Martha and Trisha take warmth and comfort in the strength of their friendship. But will Martha's gift of foresight be enough to see them through? Product Information:  • ISBN:  9781408728161 • Author:  Maggie Mason  • Publisher:  Sphere • Format:  Paperback • Pages:  400 • Dimensions: 12.4 x 3.2 x 19.6 cm

Her country needs her. But her heart is elsewhere. After fleeing German-occupied Paris, Alix is back in her home in Belgrade, hoping to finally reunite with her parents. But while Alix has been fighting her own battles with the Resistance, her parents have too fled with King Peter to ensure his safety. As Alix decides to find her parents with her father's deputy steward, Drago, they are derailed and forced to reside in the Serbian country home. But all is not lost when Alix finds Nikola in the city - the man her father said she was to marry before war broke out. She finds she has more in common with him than ever expected, and together with Drago they join a new Resistance. But Alix hasn't forgotten about Steve, the handsome American pilot she fell in love with back in France, whom she last heard was harmed in battle. When a chance meeting brings Alix and Steve face to face once again, she must decide where her heart truly is… Product Information:  • ISBN:  9781804363904 • Author:  Holly Green • Publisher:  Hera • Format:  Paperback • Pages:  400 • Dimensions: 19.8 x 12.9 x 2.4 cm

For generations, every Frankenstein has found their true love and equal, unlocking lifetimes of blissful wedded adventure. Clever, pretty (and odd) Angelika Frankenstein has run out of suitors and fears she may become the exception to this family rule.  When assisting in her brother Victor's ground-breaking experiment to bring a reassembled man back to life, she realizes that having an agreeable gentleman convalescing in the guest suite might be a chance to let a man get to know the real her. For the first time, Angelika embarks upon a project that is all her own. When her handsome scientific miracle sits up on the lab table, her hopes for an instant romantic connection are thrown into disarray. Her resurrected beau (named Will for the moment) has total amnesia and is solely focused on uncovering his true identity. Trying to ignore their heart-pounding chemistry, Angelika reluctantly joins the investigation into his past, hoping it will bring them closer.  But when a second suitor emerges to aid their quest, Angelika wonders if she was too hasty inventing a solution. Perhaps fate is not something that can be influenced in a laboratory? Or is Will (or whatever his name is!) her dream man, tailored for her in every way? And can he survive what was done to him in the name of science, and love?  Product Information:  • ISBN:  9780349435060 • Author:  Sally Thorne • Publisher:  Piatkus • Format:  Paperback • Pages:  384 • Dimensions:  14.8 x 3 x 19.4 cm

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

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

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

She will keep her head held high, no matter what… Polly Pride's life is falling apart. Her husband has lost his job, there's no money coming in, and she has two young mouths to feed. With the prospect of poverty looming over her, and her husband wallowing in apathy, Polly takes control. She sells everything they own and buys a rickety old handcart. Polly piles it high with second-hand rugs and spends hours hawking her wares around Manchester's cobbled streets. But her determination to persevere will be tested to its limits, as she juggles her work, the pressures of her young family, and her husband's wounded pride. Will her life fall apart completely - especially when tragedy strikes - or can she keep it together? Product Information:  • ISBN:  9781804365526 • Author:  Freda Lightfoot • Publisher:  Canelo Saga • Format:  Paperback • Pages:  334 • Dimensions: 12.8 x 19.8 x 2.5 cm

From the author of An Orphan's Wish comes a tale of love and destiny... When Thomas Grant - one of the most eligible young men in London - proposes to Annabel Seaton, she can't say she's surprised, but she is delighted. He's been her best friend since she was a child, and she can't imagine life without him. What shocks her, however, is the reaction of her mother and father. Annabel knows that her parents disapprove of her forthright opinions, but their displeasure is both unexpected and unaccountable. As they permit the engagement, however, she decides to put it out of her mind. But before she can be married, tragedy strikes, and only then does Annabel learn of the shocking secret that her parents have kept from her. Determined to learn more, she travels to Durham on a personal search that will change everything.... Product Information:  • ISBN:  9781529428025 • Author:  Elizabeth Gill • Publisher:  Quercus • Format:  Paperback • Pages:  304 • Dimensions: 12.7 x 1.91 x 19.69 cm