Moments later a baby girl is born. But by dawn, the mother has vanished, leaving behind the helpless child wrapped only in a silk peacock shawl.When news spreads that Lady Eliza Hartley, sister to wealthy estate owner, John Hartley, has been found dead, Annabelle realises the terrible secret she has stumbled on. Terrified she’ll be blamed for Eliza’s death, Annabelle flees to the filthy slums of York, where she plans to raise the precious orphan as her own.The cobbled streets of York’s slums are no place for a young woman like Annabelle or a Hartley babe and John Hartley is determined to bring them both home. But Annabelle proves impossible to find.Annabelle can’t hide forever from the wealthy Hartley family, but can she ever give up the baby she loves?

    Among his effects: a bloodstained business card bearing the name of a master wizard and a curious pocket watch that doesn’t seem to tell time. To retrieve his lost memories, Ian demands answers from Edwina and Mary Blackwood, sister witches with a murky past. But as their secret is slowly unveiled, a dangerous mystery emerges on the darkened streets of London.To help piece together Ian’s lost time, he and Edwina embark on a journey that will take them from the river foreshore to an East End music hall, and on to a safe house for witches in need of sanctuary from angry mortals. The clues they find suggest a link between a series of gruesome murders, a missing person’s case, and a dreadful suspicion that threatens to tear apart the bonds of sisterhood. As the investigation deepens, could Ian and Edwina be the next to die?

    

    As an incurable bluestocking from a family tumbling swiftly toward ruin, she knows she’ll never make a match in a ballroom. Her only hope is to distinguish herself by making the biggest splash in the one sphere she excels: on horseback. In haute couture. But to truly capture London’s attention she’ll need a habit-maker who’s not afraid to take risks with his designs—and with his heart.Half-Indian tailor Ahmad Malik has always had a talent for making women beautiful, inching his way toward recognition by designing riding habits for Rotten Row’s infamous Pretty Horsebreakers—but no one compares to Evelyn. Her unbridled spirit enchants him, awakening a depth of feeling he never thought possible.But pushing boundaries comes at a cost and not everyone is pleased to welcome Evelyn and Ahmad into fashionable society. With obstacles spanning between them, the indomitable pair must decide which hurdles they can jump and what matters most: making their mark or following their hearts?

    Looking after her brood of wayward siblings like a mother hen, she has disregarded any and all advances from handsome gentlemen. Who has time for courtships when she’s busy pulling her sisters out of trees? Until she meets a duke whose smoldering stare is impossible to ignore...A renowned scoundrel, Perth never takes anything seriously. Until he meets the infuriatingly stubborn Lady Lenora Rosewood. Completely impervious to his charms, she presents a unique challenge. And even though stern schoolmarms are decidedly not his type, Perth vows to loosen those too-tight corset strings one way or another…Equal parts romantic, humorous, and tantalizingly passionate, The Rose and the Duke is the first book in a brand new series from best-selling author Jillian Eaton!

    

    After a violent storm, a woman is found alone, naked, near death on the Northumberland moors. She has no memory of who she is or how she got there. But she can remember how to help a woman in labour, how to expertly dress a wound and can speak fluent French. With the odds against her - a penniless single woman - she starts to build her life from scratch, using her skills to help other woman around her. She finds a happy place in the world. Until tragedy strikes, and she must run for her life.In London, Dr Borthwick lives a solitary life working as an accoucheur together with his midwife, Mrs Bates, dealing with mothers and babies in both the elegant homes of high society, and alongside a young widow, Eleanor Johnson, volunteering in the slums of the Devil's Acre. His professional reputation is spotless and he keeps his private life just as clean, isolating himself from any new acquaintances. He is harbouring a dark secret from his past, one that threatens to spill over everything.A haunting and moving debut, The Midwife by Tricia Cresswell is perfect for fans of The Familiars and The Binding.

    Instead, she’s now stuck in London, penniless and without the husband she’d pinned her hopes on. Desperate to return home, she seeks employment at a hotel—as a scullery maid—a far cry from the social status she has otherwise been accustomed to. But when a chance encounter with the hotel’s owner, Mr. Donahue, leads to a change in fortune, and her acquaintance with him deepens, a new problem arises. For Calista knows she must return home and marry a man she hates in order to save her family’s reputation. But how can she leave behind the man she's falling in love with? How can she marry anyone else?

    But life at the mill is hard and cruel– a far cry from the fresh start Bess hoped for. The only way to survive is to escape, but the mill is like a prison, with no way out. Meanwhile, rumours are spreading about a vicious creature that lurks in the millpond. Bess is sure it’s all nonsense, until one night she sees something stir in the murky water. But is it really a monster that lives in the depths of the pond? Or a creature trapped and alone, just like Bess, desperate to escape?

    Everyone thinks she’s destined to wed Kit Mathison...except neither of them is interested in a romance with the other. When Kit and his family come to visit the Haywards for Christmas, the whole village expects a proposal—but Maddie has other plans. Can she convince everyone that her friendship with Kit will never be a courtship? Or will she have to choose between her closest friend and the chance at family of her own?Thomas Mathison has loved Maddie since the day they were first introduced, but can’t ask for her hand until he can afford to support a family. When she suggests a sham courtship between them he agrees, despite his misgivings. Being seen with someone other than Kit would shatter the illusion of an arrangement between them and give Maddie a chance at a happy life. But while she would be feigning affection, Thomas would not. Can he conceal his true feelings from her while executing her plan? Will he have the strength to let her go when he returns home?Previously published in the anthology Christmas Ever After.

    Justine’s also in the market for a proper husband—one fit to marry the future queen of Wesloria. Because he knows simply everyone, William, Lord Douglas (the notoriously rakish heir to the Duke of Hamilton seat in Scotland, and decidedly not husband material), is on hand as an escort of sorts. William has been recruited to keep an eye on the royal matchmaker for the Weslorian prime minister, tasked to ensure the princess is matched with a man of quality…and one who will be sympathetic to the prime minister’s views. As William and Justine are forced to scrutinize an endless parade of England’s best bachelors, they become friends. But when the crowd of potential grooms is steadily culled, what if William is the last bachelor standing?A Royal Match

    Em helped create it. Now she must craft its defeat.In a city owned by industrialists, Em sells her magic to make ends meet. The extraction procedure is brutal and potentially deadly. Desperate for change, she joins an underground resistance movement to weaponize her magic and stop the abuse of workers.Meanwhile, a mysterious voice wakes Ruk from a decades long slumber and compels him to become human. He wants to break free but is torn between his shapeshifter instincts and the needs of the soul that sustains him.On streets haunted by outcasts and predatory automatons, a new danger emerges – an ever-growing corruption of magic and science. Em and Ruk must put aside their differences and pursue it – each for their own reasons.What they discover will forever change their lives… Or end them."Victoriana comes to Sydney in an alternative 19th Century, bringing dark Dickensian factories and even darker souls. Mages too, practising heart magic and skin magic, along with shapeshifters, demons and automata. Mix in a mad scientist, a touch of romance and a plot to keep you guessing—wild! What’s not to love? Highly recommended."—Richard Harland.Edited by Amanda J Spedding & Pete Kempshall.

    A city at the cutting edge of style and fashion, rising from every fire, every attack, every setback.The Architecture Lover’s Guide to London takes a journey through history, looking at some of the most significant buildings, as well as the people who have shaped this city.

    Inside he’s haunted by nightmares. Seeking sanctuary at his Scottish estate, his peace is disturbed by a new tenant, widow Genevieve de l’Omont. Her beauty and spirit lead to a growing desire that distracts him from his troubles, but as he unravels a mystery from his past, he discovers Genevieve has secrets of her own… From Harlequin Historical: Your romantic escape to the past.Gentlemen of Mystery

    James will be available Feb 22, 2022.

    But women played a much bigger role in the movement than that, as Pre-Raphaelite Girl Gang shows.Telling the stories of fifty women—duchesses to laundresses—who were involved with the Pre-Raphaelites, this book brings together stunning illustrations and little known stories to rewrite the history of an artistic movement that has held its popularity for more than a century. From models to artists, these women all contributed something personal and incredible towards the most beautiful and imaginative art movement in the world. Redefining what it meant to be attractive and influential in a male-dominated world, they broke new ground in art, business, and women’s rights. In these pages we learn more about faces long familiar from classic paintings, but we also meet women who worked behind the scenes. Together, these portraits recast our understanding of the Pre-Raphaelites and reveal an enchanting, revolutionary band of women who remain unlikely and compelling role models today.

    The last thing Clara Morehouse wants as she takes over her family’s general store is to uproot and move out West. And her family won’t go without her. But after a rejected suitor tarnishes Clara’s reputation, a fake engagement for her protection brings Clara and John closer. Can John show her that a new beginning is just what she needs…starting with making their pretend betrothal real?

    What if Sherlock Holmes were given the chance to write his own story? That is the premise behind A Case of Royal Blackmail. In this entertaining novel, we meet a twenty-four-year-old detective named Sherlock Holmes who regales us with an account of a significant case in his detective life. Here he tells how he untangled the web of blackmail and deceit surrounding the complex romantic endeavors of the Prince of Wales, later King Edward VII. We learn of the entanglements of actress Lillie Langtry and her various suitors, the morass of scandal and libel cases surrounding the Prince’s court of 1879, and we accompany Holmes as he solves the mystery of Oscar Wilde’s missing amethyst tie pin.