Showing titles in 20th Century

Paris, Christmas 1933. The Strasbourg express crashes into a local train outside Paris, leaving wreckage and broken bodies strewn on the tracks. On board is Gilles Malroux. In the chaos and confusion, he swaps his identity papers with a stranger, steals a suitcase and vanishes. Gilles' sister...

The compelling new bestseller from the author of The Mersey Daughter and Winter on the Mersey. Alice Lake and her friend Edith have had everything thrown at them in their first year as district nurses in London’s East End. From babies born out of wedlock to battered wives, they’ve had plenty...

As the First World War shatters families, destroys friendships and kills lovers, a young Palestinian dreamer sets out to find himself. Midhat Kamal picks his way across a fractured world, from the shifting politics of the Middle East to the dinner tables of Montpelier and a newly tumultuous Paris. He discovers that everything is fragile: love turns to loss, friends become enemies and everyone is looking for a place to belong.

1923. Among the ancient honey-coloured walls of the tiny island of Malta, strangers slip into the shadows and anyone can buy a new name. Rosalie Delacroix flees Paris for a dancer’s job in the bohemian clubs deep in its winding streets. A sister with a secret 1944. Running from the brutality of war in France, Florence Baudin faces a new life. But her estranged mother makes a desperate request: to find her vanished sister, who went missing years before.

Three days in a maternity ward at the height of the Great Flu. The Pull of the Stars is the Sunday Times Bestseller from the acclaimed author of The Wonder and Room. 'An immersive, unforgettable fever-dream of a novel' – The Times The old world dying on its feet, a new one struggling to be...

Brought to you by Penguin. The heartwarming and moving story of three fascinating women finding their strength in World War II, perfect for fans of Katie Flynn, Call the Midwife and Downton Abbey It is June 1940, and as the bombs fall, the women at home must dig deep . . . Tucked on the edge of...

Grace Fitzgerald, a fiery-haired dreamer, longs to escape the confines of her windswept Dingle fishing village. Across the Atlantic, Richard Lewis, heir to a Savannah banking fortune, suffocates under the weight of societal expectations he can't quite understand. When their worlds collide through a twist of fate, Grace and Richard uncover a bond so profound it shakes the very foundations of their existence. As Europe inches towards chaos, they find themselves caught in a whirlwind of discovery, challenging everything they thought they knew about themselves and each other.

As the Allied troops draw closer to victory, life at Beach View Boarding House is still full of uncertainty. Rosie’s plans for her wedding to Ron Reilly are plagued with misunderstandings. And when Ron takes on a secret assignment just days before they are due to say their vows, it seems their plans for a future together may be doomed. Meanwhile, Peggy Reilly embraces her new managerial role at the uniform factory. It’s a welcome distraction while her husband, Jim, is still away fighting in the Far East.

Brought to you by Penguin. The fifth brilliantly heart-warming novel in the Wartime Bookshop series, perfect for fans of Maisie Thomas and Elaine Everest. Victoria is astonished when she discovers an abandoned newborn baby on her doorstep, along with a note begging her to 'take care of little...

Liverpool, 1951: Dora Rodgers is settling into a new life with her daughters Carol and Jackie, moving on from the betrayal of her husband. But then an unexpected knock at the door rips her family in two. Carol is taken away by a welfare officer to live with Dora's estranged husband, Joe. Dora is determined to fight for her child, but she struggles to cope when shocking news from Joe breaks her heart once more.

An unforgettable story, tying together past and present, from the bestselling author of The Forgotten Bookshop in Paris and The Royal Librarian Berlin, 1933. The night skies are burning bright with huge bonfires of banned books. The Nazi party is swelling in number and Berlin is no longer a safe...

For fans of The Nightingale and All the Light We Cannot See, a spellbinding story of impossible love set against the backdrop of the Nazi regime. She must choose between loyalty to her country or a love that could be her destruction… As the dutiful daughter of a high-ranking Nazi officer...

Everyone liked Sergeant Joe. From the huge jolly Beavis family with whom he had lodgings in Newington Butts, to Mr George Singleton, Charing Cross Road bookseller, who employed Joe in a little lucrative and harmless forgery, Sergeant Joe was a univeral favourite. Quite a few people wondered why he didn't get married. But it wasn't until he bumped into Dolly Smith - quite literally in a London pea-souper - that he met a girl who made an impression on him.

'Think One Day written by (and starring) Virginia Woolf . . . lyrical and captivating' -The Observer 'Radiant, absorbing, sensual' - Joanna Quinn, author of The Whalebone Theatre 'Beautiful' - Sophie Elmhirst, author of Maurice and Maralyn From the author of The End We Start From, now a major...

Charity has always lived a charmed life beneath the open skies. Growing up as part of the Gypsy community, she has reveled in the freedom of swimming in the rivers, caring for the horses and embracing the ever-changing road. But on the cusp of her sixteenth birthday, that freedom begins to slip...

Spain, 1939: Following the wishes of her parents to keep her safe during the war, a young girl, Julia, enters a convent in Barcelona. Looking for a way to maintain her links to the outside world, she volunteers to help in a maternity clinic. But worrying adoption practices in the clinic force Sister Julia to decide how far she will go to help those placed in her care. England, 2011: Six months after her parents' shocking death, 34-year-old journalist and jazz enthusiast Ruby Rae has finally found the strength to pack away their possessions and sell the family home. But as she does so, she unearths a devastating secret....

Readers will be captivated by this story of love, sacrifice, and destiny, where the past and present collide to rewrite the future. “The Lost Memories gathered me up and swept me away. A beautiful, uplifting tale of life’s many types of love, and how the truest are never forgotten.” Amanda...

Spring, 1941. The families of Jubilee Row are still reeling from the loss of one of their own, and as the Blitz on Hull intensifies, it seems as if there will be more tragedies to come. As the street braces itself, capable mum Ruby Maguire takes charge as usual, bolstering spirits and lending a hand, as well as keeping her flighty sister Pearl on the straight and narrow. But the unexpected appearance of a face from her past threatens Ruby's future far more than Hitler's bombs. Meanwhile, the other inhabitants of Jubilee Row are finding love - and hope - in the most unexpected places.

Venice, 1943: The world is at war, and Stella Jilani is leading a double life. By day, she works in the lion’s den as a typist for the Reich; by night, she risks her life as a messenger for the Italian resistance. Against all odds, Stella must impart Nazi secrets, smuggle essential supplies and produce an underground newspaper on her beloved typewriter. But when German commander General Breugal becomes suspicious, it seems he will stop at nothing to find the mole and Stella knows her future could be in jeopardy.

Christmas with the Teashop Girls is a heartwarming and moving story of wartime love, bravery and hope, by the bestselling author of the Woolworths series, Elaine Everest. It is late 1940 and the war feels closer to home than ever for Rose Neville and her staff at the Lyon’s Teashop in Margate...