Showing titles in 20th Century

Snowflakes in the Wind is a heartwarming story of triumph over adversity by Rita Bradshaw, author of the number one bestselling Dancing in the Moonlight. It's Christmas Eve 1920 when nine-year-old Abby Kirby's family is ripped apart by a terrible tragedy. Leaving everything she's ever known...

Norway, 1940. Liv has lived a quiet life on her family farm, dreaming of a happy life after the war is finally over. But all of her dreams vanish when the Nazi soldiers arrive in her village and a senior officer see something special in her... something that Hitler and the high command in Berlin is desperate to have at any cost. England, 1968. Agnes, although made orphan from the war, has grown up happy in the quiet wealth of the English countryside, raised by her adoring grandfather to be a perfect lady.

Honor Guinness is rich, aristocratic, shy and awkward—nothing like her glamorous cousins Aileen, Maureen and Oonagh. But when she marries the charming and ambitious American Henry 'Chips' Channon, together, they make the perfect couple. Determined to conquer London society, they are soon are at the heart of the best social circles—including a close friendship with the Prince of Wales and Mrs Wallis Simpson. But within the marriage, all is less than perfect.

The second heartwarming book in the Cornish Girls saga series perfect for fans of Ginny Bell and Elaine Everest 1941. The bombs still fall, but in St. Ives Christmas is finally approaching for the Cornish Girls… It’s 1941, and Christmas is approaching in St. Ives… Shy Lily wishes she could...

1915. Margaret and Philip Tallis are happily married, have a thriving business and three children, Daisy, John and Lily. At 20, Daisy is an impassioned, headstrong girl, determined to follow her parents’ footsteps in Birmingham’s jewellery trade. While studying at the college for...

1942: the biggest raid in military history is launched across the English Channel. On the other side, the enemy is sitting in relative peace and comfort in occupied France, while the land war is being fought in distant Africa and Russia. But the Allies are about to change that with a massive raid into Normandy, to be mounted by the Canadians and British Commandos.

Paris, 1940. Shops are being boarded up, Jewish children are loaded onto buses and eighteen-year-old Elise’s heart beats hard as she runs down the cobbled streets under the shadow of swastikas. She hates her father with all her heart: he is working with the Nazis and has forbidden her to be friends with Myriam and Salomé, the Goldman sisters who are closer to her than her own family. Elise will do anything to help the girls she loves as sisters, including sharing her father’s secret business. Every day she creeps out to their apartment, avoiding the cold-eyed soldiers who stalk the streets.

Sally Harper is busy juggling running London’s Oxford Street Store Harpers and looking after her beautiful new-born daughter, whilst husband Ben is overseas on another dangerous mission; this time to rescue a friend in need. Young Becky Stockbridge finds herself in a difficult situation, which could bring shame to her and her family. Will Becky, with the help of her friends, find her happy ever after and keep her secret? Marion Jackson is blessed with a son as she eagerly awaits the return of her husband, Reggie. But all is not right when Reggie returns.

Brought to you by Penguin. ***Longlisted for the National Book Award for Fiction*** What do we choose to remember and what do we allow ourselves to forget? Visit the Antidote of Uz – a prairie witch who can keep your memories safe. Speak into her emerald-green earhorn, and your secrets, your...

Since the death of her parents, orphan Ann Felton has had to struggle to survive. The grimy and gruelling Black Country is no place for a girl all alone, and Ann is relieved when she gets work at The Bell public house. Victoria Beckett and Viscount Richard Wyndham grew up with silver spoons firmly in their mouths, and neither can understand Ann's struggles. But before long Ann will change both their lives forever.

Brought to you by Penguin. This is the story of three women - one an orphan and refugee who finds a place in the studio of a famous French artist, the other a wife and mother who has stood by her husband for nearly forty years. The third is his daughter, caught in the crossfire between her...

The story is told by a young 'unknown soldier' in the trenches of Flanders during the First World War. Through his eyes we see all the realities of war: under fire, on patrol, waiting in the trenches, at home on leave, and in hospitals and dressing stations. Although there are vividly described incidents which remain in the mind, there is no sense of adventure here, only the feeling of youth betrayed and a deceptively simple indictment of war—of any war—told for a whole generation of victims.

On the day of the historic 1945 Jewel Voice Broadcast - in which Emperor Hirohito announced Japan’s surrender to the Allied forces, bringing an end to World War II - three men, flush with jubilation, made a pact. After their deaths, each year on the anniversary of the broadcast, their souls would return to the Chinese village of their younger days. Now, seventy years later, the pledge is being fulfilled by American missionary Pastor Billy, brash gunner’s mate Ian Ferguson, and local soldier Liu Zhaohu. All that’s missing is Ah Yan - also known as Swallow.

Brought to you by Penguin. Betty Wellows is running for her life . . . Young Betty dreams of settling down to an ordinary life in Hallsands with her fisherman husband. But when he returns broken and haunted from the Great War, she finds herself persecuted by his distraught mother - and yearns to...

As war looms in Europe, 18-year-old Jane Shaw runs the household as an unpaid servant on a meagre budget. When tragedy strikes and she loses her beloved younger brother in suspicious circumstances, Jane takes a position in service looking after Ned, a troubled young boy. Here she meets dashing David Heron, Ned's Uncle and they form an immediate attachment until she is dismissed after being accused of stealing a piece of jewellery. Returning home, Jane and her sister, Melia, are soon orphaned and left at the mercy of their Aunt Alice.

Paris, 1940. As the city adjusts to life under Nazi occupation, Detective Eddie Giral struggles to reconcile his job as a policeman with his new role enforcing a regime he cannot believe in but must work under. He's sacrificed so much in order to survive in this new world, but the past is not so easily forgotten. When an old friend and an old flame reappear, begging for his help, Eddie must decide how far he will go to help those he loves.

Italy, 1943. With war raging across the rugged cliffs and turquoise waters of his beloved Sicily, Savio’s pen scrawls desperately across the page. His letter must be sent in secret–or his life will be in terrible danger… England, present day. Paige is devastated when her reclusive but beloved Aunt Florence dies–the only family she’s ever known. Inheriting her crumbling cottage, Paige finds an unfinished note. ‘I am sorry, Paige. It’s time to tell you everything. It all began in Sicily…’

Brought to you by Penguin. The heartwarming and joyful Wartime Midwives story of three fascinating mothers. Perfect for fans of Katie Flynn, Nancy Revell and Call the Midwife Three mothers. Three very different backgrounds, and a bond they will never forget The Lake District, 1944, and spring is...

When Oxford geology graduate Harry Brigandshaw arrives at Purbeck Manor in 1907, he brings with him the sun-scorched memories of Africa and dreams of mineral exploration. The ancient estate of the St Clair family—once lords of all they surveyed, now reduced to "genteel poverty"—becomes the backdrop for Harry’s journey into the heart of a fading aristocracy.

Suffolk, 1944. American pilot Charlie’s second tour is about to draw to a close, but his heart is forever changed when he meets Kitty, a local girl. As love blooms, the pair are all too aware that every perilous mission Charlie flies may well be his last. Suffolk, 2011. When Kitty’s granddaughter and ambitious tearoom owner Amy meets American tourist and photographer Jack, she agrees to show him around in exchange for his photographic talents. The deal quickly grows into an unexpected bond – but when long-buried secrets emerge, neither of their worlds will ever be the same again.