Showing titles in Historical Fiction

Beautifully read by Kristin Atherton. A spellbinding, muligenerational story set between the 1950s and the present, The Butterfly Room is an enchanting tale of heartbreaking secrets from Lucinda Riley, international bestselling author of the Seven Sisters series. 'Captivating . . . poignant yet...

Cambridge University is in dire financial straits: the town's landlords are demanding an extortionate rent rise for the students' hostels, and the plague years have left the colleges with scant resources. Tension between town and gown is at boiling point and soon explodes into violence and death. Into this maelstrom comes a charismatic physician whose healing methods owe more to magic than medicine, but his success threatens Matthew Bartholomew's professional reputation - and his life....

Lady Tabitha Hampton has the memory of an elephant. But this talent fails to help the twenty-seven-year-old bluestocking attract the attention of a single wealthy suitor. With three sisters of marriageable age, a sickly father, and a series of bad investments that left them impoverished, Tabitha's marriage could save or ruin her entire family. Arthur, the Duke of Collingford, needs a wife but not just any lady will do. Arthur's future duchess must be perfect in every way-fair of face, impeccable manners, with enough social influence to impact his parliamentary projects.

Between 1947 and 1957, Ealing Studios produced a series of immensely popular, darkly funny film comedies that made the West London borough famous throughout the world. Almost 50 years later, four of these timeless films were recreated for BBC Radio 4, and are now collected together for the first time.

‘Sharpe and his creator are national treasures.' Sunday Telegraph Spain, July 1809 Lieutenant Richard Sharpe faces not only great danger on the battlefield but also, even more dangerous, treachery within his own ranks. But as the enemy approaches, he must pick up his rifle and prepare to lead...

When the dangerous men who killed her husband in a political assassination threaten Ara, Duchess of Burghly, the Crown assigns her a bodyguard. But the man charged with protecting her is no stranger. He’s Clayton Ludlow, the bastard son of a duke and the first man she ever loved. Eight years after he took her innocence and ruthlessly abandoned her, he’s back in her drawing room and her life. This time, she’s older, wiser, and stronger. She will resist him at any cost and make him pay for the past.

Three more dastardly deeds lead Holmes and Lucy into a lurid game of cat-and-mouse. The game won’t end until a climactic showdown between the Baker Street team and a ruthless and deadly ring of rogue cops who believe they’re above the law. Two wealthy, influential women have gone missing, both associated with a fashionable enlightenment group run by a charismatic guru. As the Baker Street team investigates, they are taken down dark twists and turns, and forced to confront an old enemy anew.

Katherine of Aragon: The True Queen by bestselling historian Alison Weir, author of The Lost Tudor Princess, is the first in a spellbinding six novel series about Henry VIII's Queens. Alison takes you on an engrossing journey at Katherine's side and shows her extraordinary strength of character...

55 BC and Caesar's army gathers in the north of Gaul, preparing to drive away invading Germanic peoples and to traverse the dangerous northern ocean bringing punishment to the tribes of Britannia for their assistance of Gaulish rebels. But Fronto's troubles don't stop there. As his burgeoning relationship with Lucilia steps to a new level, so do his responsibilities at home, a situation exacerbated by the disruptive influence of the villainous Clodius in the city, causing trouble and endangering those about whom Fronto cares most.

1950 - Seven year old Carol Martin lies encased in an iron lung, struck down by the killer disease, polio. Distraught at her side, her mother, Violet, wonders if this is her punishment - for Carol is the love child who should not have been born . . . Family of Women is the story of three...

WHEN THE EAGLE HUNTS is the compelling third novel in Simon Scarrow's bestselling Eagles of the Empire series. For fans of Bernard Cornwell and Conn Iggulden. After a series of bloody battles, Camulodunum (modern-day Colchester) has fallen to the invading Roman army. The Emperor has returned to...

*SHARPE’S COMMAND, the brand new novel in the global bestselling series, is available to pre-order now* Lieutenant Richard Sharpe and a detachment of riflemen join the assault of a strong French force holding the Holy City of Santiago de Compostela. Lieutenant Richard Sharpe and a detachment...

When Nicole visits Stiles Castle, the stately home of Lady Caroline Seaton, she doesn’t expect to stumble upon a centuries-old mystery hidden in the noble family’s genealogical tree. Once she finds that some vital details have been removed from the ancestral records, Nicole can’t refuse her friend’s plea to discover the truth and help her save the floundering family business.

By 1535 Thomas Cromwell, the blacksmith's son, is far from his humble origins. Chief Minister to Henry VIII, his fortunes have risen with those of Anne Boleyn, Henry’s second wife, for whose sake Henry has broken with Rome and created his own church. In Bring Up the Bodies, Hilary Mantel explores one of the most mystifying and frightening episodes in English history: the destruction of Anne Boleyn.

Centaine de Thiry Courtney has not only survived but thrived. A successful woman with two sons of her own: Shasa Courtney, the Courtney heir, and Manfred de la Rey, Shasa's half brother, her secret child raised solely by his father. At the time of the Great Depression, Centaine must make difficult decisions to ensure the security of her family - decisions that will affect Manfred and his father, Lothar de la Rey, a man Centaine once loved. But the world is changing, and conflicts greater than any the world has seen before are looming.

Captain William Hawksmoor of the Royal Navy never expected to inherit Kingscastle and is none too pleased when he does so. Especially when he learns that he must marry within a year or be forever dealing with trustees. As the new marquis of Athelney, the captain takes command of Kingscastle and discovers much to be done to set it in order. He must also contend with his aunt Lady Willoughby Hawksmoor, who is determined that her daughter will be his wife.

The unapologetic intensity with which Emily Brontë wrote this story ensures that it will forever be considered one of the greatest works of English literature. A passionate tale of a chaotic and often violent love, Wuthering Heights transcends your average romance and, with its Gothic undertones, takes the listener on a journey through one man's lustful hunt for revenge.

Marriage is not for Margaret Dashwood. Where others see duty, Margaret sees entrapment. And rage.But when an invitation from family friend Mrs Jennings hurls her into the chaotic heart of Covent Garden, Margaret discovers an intoxicating world beyond afternoon tea and polite society. Here she meets three women who live unapologetically: Nelly, an impulsive actress; Hester, a witch who works in the textile factory; and Inge, a sex worker who loves money and knows exactly how to get it.

This hugely engaging story of murder, superstition, religious politics and drama in a medieval monastery was one of the most striking novels to appear in the 1980s. The Name of the Rose is a thrilling story enriched with period detail and laced with tongue-in-cheek allusions to fictional characters, the most striking of which is the Franciscan friar William of Baskerville, who displays many characteristics of Sherlock Holmes.

1899, South Africa: As the Boer War rages, Captain Ingo Finch of the Royal Army Medical Corps pieces together casualties at the front. Later, recovering in Cape Town, he is woken by local police. A British officer has been murdered, and an RAMC signature is required for the post-mortem. Shocked by the identity of the victim, the bizarre nature of the crime and what appears a too-convenient resolution, Finch turns detective. He is soon thrust into a perilous maze of espionage and murder.