Showing titles in 20th Century

Brought to you by Penguin. The modern classic of contemporary war fiction from Women's Prize-shortlisted author of The Silence of the Girls Recommended by Richard Osman Regeneration is the first novel in Pat Barker's Booker Prize-winning Regeneration trilogy - a powerfully moving portrait of the...

A superbly controlled emotional thriller of passion, betrayal and conscience, set in post-War Germany, soon to be made into a major film. Hamburg, 1946. Thousands remain displaced in what is now the British Occupied Zone. Charged with overseeing the rebuilding of this devastated city and the...

In the ghetto, the last 50,000 Jews await their fate, but, unlike those who preceded them to the death camps, these Jews are prepared to fight. Jan Kalisz, Kripo investigator and Resistance double-agent, has promised to supply them with weapons. But how will he fulfil his vow? The murder of a German officer appears to provide an opportunity.

Brought to you by Penguin. THE ELEVENTH NOVEL IN THE BESTSELLING SHIPYARD GIRLS SERIES Sunderland, 1944 As the promise of victory draws closer, this Christmas will surely be one to remember. It should be a magical time for Dorothy, who has just been proposed to by her sweetheart Toby. But with...

Brought to you by Penguin. The uplifting and escapist new romcom and perfect holiday read for summer from the Sunday Times bestselling author of Island in the Sun and One Enchanted Evening. In a city full of dreams, will she find her own…? It’s 1968 and it’s cold when Felicity arrives in...

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.

When Adelaide Anson-Gravetty finds out her father is not the man who raised her, she is both shocked and intrigued. Determined to find out more about her new family, she travels to the convent of Our Lady of Mercy in France to meet her aunt, the Reverend Mother. But when France falls to the German army, Adelaide and the nuns are soon in the thick of a war that threatens both their beliefs and their lives. Collaborating with the Resistance, sheltering Jewish orphans, defying the rulings of Vichy France: these are dangerous activities in dangerous times.

Filled with breathtaking images and historical detail, Danielle Steel's novel introduces one of her most unique and fascinating characters: Annabelle Worthington, a remarkable woman - a good woman - who triumphs against overwhelming odds. More than compelling fiction, her story is a powerful celebration of life, dignity, and courage - and a testament to the human will to survive.

Brought to you by Penguin. From the Sunday Times bestselling author Nancy Revell. When Lucy’s estranged mother dies unexpectedly, her grief is overwhelming. Lucy was disowned when she married penniless horse-trainer Danny for love, leaving her blue-blooded family’s fortune in tatters. But...

1940, Nazi-occupied Paris. A powerful story of love, tragedy and incredible courage, about one woman whose life is ripped apart by war and risks everything to seek justice. Paris, 2003. When the opportunity arises for aspiring journalist Emma Keane to interview world-renowned perfumer Madame De Cadieux about her life during World War Two, she is determined to take it. There are secrets from her own family history that she hopes Angéline may be able to help unlock. But nothing can prepare Emma for Angéline's story and one thing is for certain - it will change her own life forever.

Even with peace on the horizon, Met WAAF Jenny Hazleton is as busy as ever. Her keen weather-forecasting allows the pilots to continue their missions, including food drops to starving allies and the repatriation of prisoners of war. Navigating many of these missions is Flying Officer Edwin Holland, whose rejection of her advances at Christmas still stings. Edwin is increasingly haunted by his role in the war, including the bombing of Dresden, and Jenny yearns to comfort him. But when he reveals the shocking reason he turned her down, she must decide if their friendship is well and truly over.

In the snowbound city of Kiev, aspiring historian Mila Pavlichenko’s life revolves around her young son—until Hitler’s invasion of Russia changes everything. Suddenly, she and her friends must take up arms to save their country from the Führer’s destruction. Handed a rifle, Mila discovers a gift—and months of blood, sweat and tears turn the young woman into a deadly sniper: the most lethal hunter of Nazis. Yet success is bittersweet. Mila is torn from the battlefields of the Eastern Front and sent to America while the war still rages. There, she finds an unexpected ally.

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.

Lady Joanna Harcourt and her daughter, Sarah, discover their life of luxury at Goodwill House is over. Because with Lord Harcourt away fighting, the Harcourt girls are facing financial ruin. Lady Joanna is terrified of losing their home, but for Sarah, this means her dreams of becoming a doctor are over. Headstrong Sarah isn’t one to quit! War or not, she’s determined to find a way to save her home and follow her dreams - whatever it takes.

When Stefania Carmichael steps into the mysterious world of Bletchley Park, she immediately finds herself signing the Official Secrets Act. In whispers, she is told that she’s been recruited because of her talent for languages. Before the war ripped Europe apart, Stefania was living in Rome, charming everyone she met, and engaged to the man of her dreams, handsome and brave Matteo. And now everything has changed. With secrets swirling around the building, Stefania finds it hard to know who to trust, until she forms a close bond with two other new recruits.

It's 1940, and for newlywed Daisy Turner, Kew Gardens is a haven away from the bombs that are falling nightly on her East End home. She grew up around plants - her parents met when they were gardeners at Kew in the last war. And her work on the Dig for Victory campaign at Kew keeps her occupied while her husband, Rex, is away in the RAF. Beth Sanderson works with Daisy at the gardens, but she dreams of being a doctor while juggling her gardening job with nursing shifts. And there's the added complication of her forbidden romance with her colleague, Gus Campbell.

With the country in the grips of conscription, the pacifism at the heart of Street village comes under scrutiny, and when Kate befriends Gerald, a young Quaker arrested for refusing to fight, she starts to understand the true dilemma the community finds itself in. Still grieving the loss of her sweetheart Mattie, Louisa finds herself at odds with her parents, who refused them the chance to marry. As her mother’s attempts to find Louisa a husband show no signs of abating, Louisa takes solace in her friendship with Jeannie’s brother Lucas.

As the Nazi regime crumbles, Hanni hides from her father on the fringes of Berlin. She develops the photographs she took to record the brutality of the camp - the empty food bowls and hungry eyes - and vows to get justice for the innocent people she couldn’t help. But, on the day she plans to deliver these damning photographs to the Allies, Hanni comes face to face with her father again. Reiner Foss is now working with the British forces, his past safely hidden behind a new identity. He will go to deadly lengths to protect his secrets, but Hanni knows she can’t give up her fight.

1940: In south-west Ireland, the young and beautiful Lady Charlotte Rathmore is pronounced dead after she disappears by the lake of Blackwater Hall. In London, on the brink of the Blitz, Nancy Rathmore is grieving Charlotte's death when a letter arrives containing a secret that she is sworn to keep. 2019: Ellie Fitzgerald is forced to leave Dublin disgraced and heartbroken. Abandoning journalism, she returns to rural Kerry to weather out the storm. But, when she discovers a faded letter, tucked inside the pages of an old book, she finds herself drawn in by a long-buried secret.

Paris, 1943. The scent of fresh baguettes hangs in the air as Coralie unbolts the door to her bakery with trembling fingers. She must get out of the city. Hiding her precious leather recipe book inside her coat, she promises never to let the secret locations of the people she worked tirelessly to save fall into German hands… Present day. Raven is unhappy about being shipped off to the other side of the country for the summer to stay with the mysterious French grandmother she barely knows.