Auckland Council Libraries: Historical fiction audiobooks new titles

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Historical fiction audiobooks

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Return to Satterthwaite Court by Mimi Matthews

Return to Satterthwaite Court

Mimi Matthews

"Lieutenant Charles Heywood has had his fill of adventure. Battle-weary and disillusioned, he returns to England, resolved to settle down to a quiet, uneventful life on an estate of his own. But arranging to purchase the property he desires is more difficult...

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The teacher of Auschwitz by Wendy Holden

The teacher of Auschwitz

Wendy Holden

"Fredy built a wall against suffering in their hearts. At the dark heart of the Holocaust, there was a wooden hut whose walls were painted with cartoons; a place where children sang, staged plays and wrote poetry. Safely inside, but still in the shadow of the...

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My Lady Jane by Cynthia Hand

My Lady Jane

Cynthia Hand

A comical, fantastical and witty re-imagining of the Tudor world, perfect for fans of The Princess Bride. Lady Jane Grey, 16, is about to be married to a total stranger - and caught up in an insidious plot to rob her cousin, King Edward, of his throne. But...

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The bookshop of secrets by Kerry Barrett

The bookshop of secrets

Kerry Barrett

"Looking for a new start after her father's death, Lara Hope arrives in Lisbon in search of a family she's never met. As war storms across Europe, Lara finds solace and belonging in her landlady's tranquil bookshop in one of the most beautiful corners of the...

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Poppy's choice by Dilly Court

Poppy's choice

Dilly Court

Desperate to protect her family, can Poppy put her trust in a stranger? When Poppy Robbins is targeted by a blackmailer threatening to reveal secrets from her family's past, she turns to the mysterious Edward Taverner for help. Taverner proposes an escape to...

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A matter of persuasion by Theresa Howes

A matter of persuasion

Theresa Howes

New York, 1882. Amy Eaton is a bestselling authoress, much to the embarrassment of her family. Proudly 'old money', they see her professionalism as an impropriety. Despite their undisguised disdain for her, Amy is bound by a promise she made to her dying...

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The Guernsey girls find peace by Mary Wood

The Guernsey girls find peace

Mary Wood

Their dreams are worth fighting for ... Winter, 1941. Olivia's life in Guernsey is uprooted by the Nazi occupation. Forced to flee in the dead of night, she escapes to London's East End. As she steps foot in Bethnal Green, Olivia's former life is there to...

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Seven shades of evil by Robert R. McCammon

Seven shades of evil

Robert R. McCammon

"From his first appearance in Speaks the Nightbird to his latest adventure in The King of Shadows, Matthew Corbett has faced enemies of all kinds, from serial killers to sorcerers. Now author Robert McCammon presents eight gripping stories featuring the...

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Free by Meg Keneally

Free

Meg Keneally

"Born into poverty in eighteenth-century England, her future was predetermined. But throughout her life Molly Thistle refused to follow the path laid out before her. Her headstrong nature, disdain for convention and desire for freedom were always destined to...

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The governor, his wife and his mistress  by Sue Williams

The governor, his wife and his mistress

Sue Williams

When future governor Philip Gidley King sailed with the First Fleet to the new colony, he had his pick of the convict women to look after him. Two years, and two sons later, he set out back to England to provide a report on Sydney and its newly tamed Norfolk...

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The empire trilogy by J. G. (James Gordon) Farrell

The empire trilogy

J. G. (James Gordon) Farrell

BBC Radio 4 productions of JG Farrell's celebrated historical novels-plus bonus material. Acclaimed author JG Farrell came to fame with his Empire Trilogy, exploring the collapse of British colonialism and its repercussions in three different countries. The...

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The songbirds of Florence by Olivia Spooner

The songbirds of Florence

Olivia Spooner

In 1942, a group of young women arrive in Cairo, Egypt. The Tuis, named after the beautiful New Zealand songbird, are the first women from their country to serve overseas. They are to provide respite and a touch of home to weary soldiers returning from the...

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Blood of the bear by Angus Donald

Blood of the bear

Angus Donald

AD 781. Pagan Saxony groans under the Christian yoke. The invincible armies of Karolus, King of the Franks, occupy all this freedom-loving land and every Saxon must submit to baptism and pay tithes to the Church, or face death by beheading. Duke Widukind,...

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Heatherley by Flora Thompson

Heatherley

Flora Thompson

Flora Thompson was born in 1876 at Juniper Hill on the Oxfordshire/Northamptonshire border. She is best known as the author of Lark Rise to Candleford, that classic and evocative observation of her rural childhood which has been a best-seller since its...

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The granddaughter by Bernhard Schlink

The granddaughter

Bernhard Schlink

May, 1964. At a youth festival in East Berlin, an unlikely young couple fall in love. In the bright spring days, anything seems possible for them - it is only many years later, after her death, that Kaspar discovers the price his wife paid to get to him to...

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A Christmas miracle on Sanctuary Lane by Kirsty Dougal

A Christmas miracle on Sanctuary Lane

Kirsty Dougal

East London, 1916. The Sanctuary Lane Animal Hospital is proving a huge success. For its founder Ruby Archer, this is a dream come true - and her blossoming romance with a local boy is the icing on the cake. But in wartime things change in the blink of an eye....

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Wartime wishes for the Land Girls by Ellie Curzon

Wartime wishes for the Land Girls

Ellie Curzon

England, 1943. With Christmas days away, the land girls of Gosling Farm are full of merriment. Only Lottie feels far from festive cheer after her sister's death. But with the help of handsome vicar and injured veteran Matthew, she begins to feel hopeful once...

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A wartime Christmas at Rookery House by Rosie Hendry

A wartime Christmas at Rookery House

Rosie Hendry

In A Wartime Christmas at Rookery House, former cook Hettie Brown hears some shocking news, making her question her new life at Rookery House. Expectant mother, Gloria Jessop, is having doubts about her new evacuated life in the village. She's missing her...

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Nurses on call by Donna Douglas

Nurses on call

Donna Douglas

Tearaway Viv's fragile truce with her grandmother is threatened when her flighty mother suddenly shows up from America and expects to pick up where she left off. It's what Viv's always dreamed of - but is she ready for the drama Pauline brings with her? Helen...

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Warrior king by Wilbur A.  author. Smith

Warrior king

Wilbur A. author. Smith

South Africa, 1820. When Ann Waite discovers a shipwreck in Algoa Bay she is stunned to find survivors - a scarred sailor and a little boy. As the man walks away into the distance alone, Ann is left to raise the young child, Harry, in place of the baby she...

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An orphan's story by Cathy (Domestic fiction writer) Sharp

An orphan's story

Cathy (Domestic fiction writer) Sha...

"In a time of war, an orphaned boy must embark on an epic journey ... After the death of his beloved father, Arthur and a group of other young evacuees are sent far away to Canada for their own safety on the eve of the Second World War. Alone and afraid, with...

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The Mitford affair by Marie Benedict

The Mitford affair

Marie Benedict

"Between the World Wars, the six Mitford sisters - each more beautiful, brilliant and eccentric than the next - dominate the English political, literary and social scenes. Though they've weathered scandals before, the family falls into disarray when Diana...

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Wishing water by Freda Lightfoot

Wishing water

Freda Lightfoot

Her desire for love will have disastrous consequences ... Lissa Turner has everything a girl could wish for. She's beautiful, intelligent and has a wonderful family in the picturesque Lake District. But despite her good fortune, Lissa is unhappy. Her mother...

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The map of bones by Kate Mosse

The map of bones

Kate Mosse

Olifantshoek, Southern Africa, 1688. When the violent Cape wind blows from the south-east, they say the voices of the unquiet dead can be heard whispering through the deserted valley. Suzanne Joubert, a Huguenot refugee from war-torn France, arrives in search...

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The fallen woman by Fiona McIntosh

The fallen woman

Fiona McIntosh

"Botanical artist Jane Saville is devastated when her manipulative mother banishes her to the countryside to protect someone else's honour. Isolated far from home, she is forced to live an impoverished, secretive life to save the family from public shame. Guy...

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Alvesdon by James Holland

Alvesdon

James Holland

The village of Alvesdon has been home to the Castells for generations. But the year is 1939 and the peace and tranquillity there is about to be shattered once more by the stormclouds of war in Europe. As three generations of the family gather, they must all...

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Tales from the Mausoleum Club by Ian (Television producer) author. Brown

Tales from the Mausoleum Club

Ian (Television producer) author. B...

An all-star cast attend a mysterious private club in this hilarious parody of classic horror tales. Membership of the exclusive Mausoleum Club isn't for the faint of heart. The Honorable Clarence Green wants in, but to join he must first hear the...

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Rose's fight by Rosie Clarke

Rose's fight

Rosie Clarke

The war has changed everything, but has it changed society enough? London, 1917. Rose Barlow has loved and lost. She has done her fair share during the war and seen her dreams shattered. As the British class system crumbles Rose is determined not to return to...

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Trouble at Pemberley by Fenella-Jane Miller

Trouble at Pemberley

Fenella-Jane Miller

Miss Kitty Bennet is travelling to Pemberley in order to become a companion and friend to Miss Georgiana Darcy when the coach she is travelling in crashes. Bingley is hurt in the accident and help arrives in the form of Adam Denney, the Rector of Bakewell who...

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Rochester's wife by D. E. (Dorothy Emily) Stevenson

Rochester's wife

D. E. (Dorothy Emily) Stevenson

When young doctor Kit Stone returns to Britain, a female associate of his brother Henry secures him a post in a country practice. He meets a selection of charming - and not-so-charming - characters and quickly settles in. But then he falls in love with Mrs...

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The Ravenswood witch by Jenni Keer

The Ravenswood witch

Jenni Keer

The year is 1885 and a young woman is on the run, knowing if she's caught, she'll be hanged for murder. Moments from a safe haven, she collides with a gruff stranger, falling and breaking her ankle. To her surprise, the man - Marcus Greybourne - convinces the...

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A backstage betrayal by Michael Ball

A backstage betrayal

Michael Ball

1926. Running a theatre may appear to be all about the showbiz, but times are hard at The Empire. Following a turbulent period Jack Treadwell, erstwhile proprietor, his mother Lillian and his playwright wife Grace, know they need to get things back on track -...

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The unbaited trap by Catherine Cookson

The unbaited trap

Catherine Cookson

John Emmerson was a lonely man. He had a wife, a son, friends, but he was isolated from all the people and events around him by the tragedy of his past. Then he met Cissie, and for the first time his loneliness eased a little. Cissie was everything that his...

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A wartime Christmas in the Dales by Betty Firth

A wartime Christmas in the Dales

Betty Firth

October 1941. Despite the hardships of life during wartime, Bobby Bancroft has never been happier. Engaged to her airman sweetheart Charlie, living in the beautiful Dales village of Silverdale and gainfully employed at The Tyke magazine, her life seems to be...

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Rosie's dilemma by Jennie Felton

Rosie's dilemma

Jennie Felton

When war is declared, Rosie Mitchell reluctantly returns from London to the Somerset mining town of Hillsbridge to be with her widowed mother. She had fled to the city some years earlier to escape the heartache and shame of a disastrous end to her relationship...

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An orphan's hope by Kitty Neale

An orphan's hope

Kitty Neale

1952. With smog blanketing London, little Grace is in trouble. Her grandmother is dangerously ill but she doesn't want Grace to tell anyone as she's worried they will take her away. But with no money and their food supplies dwindling, what's a little girl to...

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A daughter's promise by Judy Summers

A daughter's promise

Judy Summers

Liverpool, 1861. Annie Shaw longs to be taken seriously. At 14, she's fed up of being babied by her big sister Delilah. When Annie's old friend Clara visits with tales of the good money that can be made at the cotton mill outside Ormskirk, she sees her chance...

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The lost daughter by Rupert Colley

The lost daughter

Rupert Colley

England, 2001. Elizabeth has always suspected her mother harbours a secret from her time as a young woman in Nazi Germany. But her mother, suffering from dementia, is lost to her now. When Elizabeth stumbles across a Nazi certificate amongst her parent's...

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Christmas for the home front girls by Susanna Bavin

Christmas for the home front girls

Susanna Bavin

Manchester, December 1940. This winter, the girls boarding at Star House - Betty, Sally and Lorna - are determined to keep a stiff upper lip. But for Lorna - who is dedicated to caring for the wounded with the Women's Voluntary Service - the past is about to...

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The orphan's secret library by Glynis Peters

The orphan's secret library

Glynis Peters

For as long as Alice Carmichael can remember, the only thing she's been able to count on is the written word. The war may have taken everything from her, but the stories she cherishes provide solace and escape into a world that is more hopeful than 1942...

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The golden thread by Tea Cooper

The golden thread

Tea Cooper

Maitland, 1889. When 19-year-old Constance Montague wakes one Wednesday she expects the day to unfold like any other. Breakfast with her grandmother Nell and her mother Faith, a meeting in Maitland with the ladies of the Benevolent Society, perhaps a gentle...

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Over Bethnal Green by Sally Worboyes

Over Bethnal Green

Sally Worboyes

"If they survive the war, will their marriage? Jessie Warner has married Tom Smith and their baby is almost due. Settling down into their new home in Bethnal Green, Jessie looks forward to her new life - even though Tom is continually getting into mischief...

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The ghosts of August by Peter Watt

The ghosts of August

Peter Watt

"It is 1914, and the storm clouds of war are building on the horizon. In Sydney, Josiah Steele is the new head of the family and grappling with his two very different sons - David, upstanding, decent and heir to the family enterprises; and Benjamin, wayward,...

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Saffron skies and new beginnings by Rita Bradshaw

Saffron skies and new beginnings

Rita Bradshaw

"Bella McFadyen has led a privileged life but, from a young age, she has not been afraid to kick against the restrictive, narrow-minded upper-class society. Particularly where the female sex is concerned. When a terrible family secret is revealed, tragedy...

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Take this woman by Josephine Cox

Take this woman

Josephine Cox

"Blackburn, 1947. In the tiny front parlour 14-year-old Laura Blake watches her beloved father die. But not before he tells her she will make something of her life. Laura never forgets his words. Yet her path to success proves to be a rocky one. Forced to...

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Molly by Rosalie Ham

Molly

Rosalie Ham

It's 1914 and Molly Dunnage wants to see change - at home, at work and in underwear. Her burgeoning corsetry business is starting to take off, thanks to some high-profile supporters. She's marching with Melbourne's suffragists for better conditions for women...

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Precipice by Robert Harris

Precipice

Robert Harris

"London, 1914. Twenty-six-year-old Venetia Stanley is engaged in a love affair with the Prime Minister, H. H. Asquith, a man more than twice her age. He writes to her obsessively, sharing the most sensitive matters of state. As Asquith reluctantly leads the...

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Storm clouds over Broombank by Freda Lightfoot

Storm clouds over Broombank

Freda Lightfoot

"As she struggles to find her feet with her work, new problems emerge ... Meg Turner is finally doing the job she loves, but life as a sheep farmer proves tougher than she anticipated. She is a woman trying to prove herself in a man's world against the...

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An undeniable voice by Tania Blanchard

An undeniable voice

Tania Blanchard

"1907, London. As the winds of change sweep across the world in the new century, Hannah Rainforth and her friends take to the streets to fight for the vote for women. Now is not the time for quiet argument - the country will only listen when it's forced to,...

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House of shades by Lianne Dillsworth

House of shades

Lianne Dillsworth

London, 1833. Doctress Hester Reeves has been offered a life-changing commission. But it comes at a price. She must leave behind her husband and their canal-side home in Kings Cross and move to Tall Trees - a dark and foreboding house in Fitzrovia. If Hester...

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Shy creatures by Clare Chambers

Shy creatures

Clare Chambers

In all failed relationships there is a point that passes unnoticed at the time, which can later be identified as the beginning of the decline. For Helen it was the weekend that the Hidden Man came to Westbury Park. Croydon, 1964. Helen Hansford is in her...

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The chocolate box girls by Gracie Hart

The chocolate box girls

Gracie Hart

Rowntrees Factory, York 1936. The aroma of chocolate was as familiar to Molly Freeman as the nose on her face. Living and schooling on Haxby Road alongside the Rowntrees Chocolate Factory, Molly watched the daily trudge of women employed there in their white...

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Dare to dream by Gemma Jackson

Dare to dream

Gemma Jackson

Georgina Corrigan is worried. The first women sent to her Percy Place home by the BOBs - an organisation which supports women escaping difficult home lives - are ready to step out into the world again. Some have found opportunities in Dublin, others in New...

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A Christmas baby at Rookery House by Rosie Hendry

A Christmas baby at Rookery House

Rosie Hendry

October 1941. Marianne Fordham has a lot to cope with. As well as taking care of her young daughter Emily and working on dressmaking commissions, she is desperately worried about her pilot husband Alex, flying over enemy territory. And her baby is almost...

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The house of hope by Joanne Clague

The house of hope

Joanne Clague

In the dead of night, a young woman is found on the doorstep of the House of Help for Friendless Girls... Winter 1887. Matron Hetty Barlow suspects Hope is lying when she claims to be suffering from amnesia. The girl is taken in, but it isn't long before her...

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The shadow key by Susan Stokes-Chapman

The shadow key

Susan Stokes-Chapman

Meirionydd, 1783. Henry Talbot has been dismissed from his post at a prestigious London hospital. The only job he can find is as a physician in the backwaters of Wales where he can't speak the language, belief in myth and magic is rife, and the villagers treat...

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Burma sahib by Paul Theroux

Burma sahib

Paul Theroux

From renowned author Paul Theroux comes the fascinating, atmospheric tale of George Orwell's years in Burma. 'There is a short period in everyone's life when his character is fixed forever...' George Orwell. Before George Orwell was Orwell - the pen name he...

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The forgotten daughter by Elsie Mason

The forgotten daughter

Elsie Mason

London, 1930s. Years after she first fled to South Shields, Cathy is known by everyone as the landlady of the Robin Hood pub. But Cathy has a secret from her life before - a daughter, June, whom she had to leave behind. After all these years, can June accept...

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The girl in the sky by Suzanne Fortin

The girl in the sky

Suzanne Fortin

"England, 1939. Geraldine Fitz-Herbert, stifled by her aristocratic upbringing, has always found solace in the sky, the one place she can be truly free and push all limits. As war breaks out, Fitz seizes an opportunity to put her flying skills to good use when...

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Christmas for the bomber girls by Vicki Beeby

Christmas for the bomber girls

Vicki Beeby

"Pearl, Thea and Jenny fling themselves into making Fenthorpe as festive as it can be, hoping they will be able to celebrate the end of C-Charlie's tour. Disaster strikes when the squadron has to make a forced landing behind enemy lines and all the crewmen are...

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Imperial harvest by Bruce Pascoe

Imperial harvest

Bruce Pascoe

"Yen Se has lost everything to the Khan's brutality. Left with one eye and one arm, he is forced out of his home village to work in the city as a horse handler. Witness to the Khan's violent crusade, their raids sweeping across Eurasia, he travels with the...

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Sarah Evans by Bernice Barry

Sarah Evans

Bernice Barry

"London, 1798. Born into poverty, illiterate, 18-year-old Sarah Evans has been raised to believe she has no rights at all. She and her childhood friend, Lucy Burnes, struggle daily to find food and shelter, drawing strength and comfort from their friendship....

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The lost lover by Karen (Writer) Swan

The lost lover

Karen (Writer) Swan

Young Flora MacQueen has always dreamt of more than life on the small Scottish island of St Kilda. So, when she catches the eye of visiting adventurer and wealthy businessman James Callaghan, her future seems brighter. Winter seas separate the lovers but the...

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The home front nurses by Rachel Brimble

The home front nurses

Rachel Brimble

September 1941, Bath - three friends are about to find that some of the biggest battles are to be found on the home front... As war rages and brave soldiers returning home from the frontline need nurses more than ever, fiercely proud redhead Sylvia Roberts is...

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A Christmas gift for the East End library girls by Patricia McBride

A Christmas gift for the East End library girls

Patricia McBride

With the echoes of war reverberating around London, Cordelia, Mavis, and Jane are delighted to be blessed with some good news: the King and his Queen will be making a visit to the East End. As excitement builds, so does their apprehension. With each passing...

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A lady's fortune by Jane Dunn

A lady's fortune

Jane Dunn

In Regency England, twenty-seven-year-old Leonora Appleby is considered by many - herself included - to be beyond her most eligible marrying years. With her childhood home, Hasterleigh Manor, soon to be taken over by the heir to the land, George Lockwood,...

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