Book picks similar to
The Silver Wolf by J.C. Harvey
historical-fiction
pigeonhole
readers-first
historical
Frontline
Hilary Jones - 2021
From wars to a pandemic, the discovery of penicillin to the birth of the NHS, successive generations of the Burnett family are at the vanguard of life-saving developments in medicine.Frontline is the story of an aristocrat's daughter who joins the war effort as a nurse. In a field hospital in rural France she meets Will, a dockworker's son serving as a stretcher-bearer. As rumours of an armistice begin to circulate, so too does a mysterious respiratory illness that soldiers are referring to as the 'Spanish flu'.
Black Drop
Leonora Nattrass - 2021
Clerk. Gentleman. Reluctant spy.July 1794, and the streets of London are filled with rumours of revolution. Political radical Thomas Hardy is to go on trial for treason, the war against the French is not going in Britain's favour, and negotiations with the independent American colonies are on a knife edge.Laurence Jago - clerk to the Foreign Office - is ever more reliant on the Black Drop to ease his nightmares. A highly sensitive letter has been leaked to the press, which may lead to the destruction of the British Army, and Laurence is a suspect. Then he discovers the body of a fellow clerk, supposedly a suicide.Blame for the leak is shifted to the dead man, but even as the body is taken to the anatomists, Laurence is certain both of his friend's innocence, and that he was murdered. But after years of hiding his own secrets from his powerful employers, and at a time when even the slightest hint of treason can lead to the gallows, how can Laurence find the true culprit without incriminating himself?A thrilling historical mystery, perfect for readers of C.J. Sansom, Andrew Taylor, Antonia Hodgson and Laura Shepherd-Robinson.________________________________________'A sparkling evocation of a distant time which is remarkably similar to the current one. I loved it' - TREVOR WOOD'Well written and well constructed, Jago is a character that readers will want to follow' - ALIX NATHAN'This opium-fuelled gem is a murderous romp through the tangled roots of British democracy' - JANICE HALLETT'Superb. Vivid and fast-paced, it's an impressive achievement and hugely enjoyable' - GUY MORPUSS'An astounding debut novel, written with style and confidence' - A.J. WEST'Black Drop is a joy from start to finish... Jago is a very sympathetic hero, with all his flaws, virtues and secrets' - ANDREW TAYLOR'A thrilling slice of pitch-dark historical fiction, led by a hugely engaging narrator' - EMMA STONEX'A gripping, intricate story of Georgian high politics and low life' - W.C. RYAN
The Post Office Girls
Poppy Cooper - 2021
On Beth Healey's eighteenth birthday, she hopes that she will be able to forget the ghastly war and celebrate. But that evening, her twin brother Ned announces that he has signed up to fight. No longer able to stand working in her parents' village shop while others are doing their bit, Beth applies to join the Army Post Office's new Home Depot on the Regent's Park, and is astounded to be accepted. She will be responsible for making sure that letters and parcels get through to the troops on the front line. Beth is thrilled to be a crucial part of the war effort and soon makes friends with fellow post girls Milly and Nora, and meets the handsome James. But just as she begins to feel that her life has finally begun, everything starts falling apart, with devastating consequences for Beth and perhaps even the outcome of the war itself. Can Beth and her new friends keep it all together and find happiness at last?The Post Office Girls is perfect for fans of Johanna Bell, Daisy Styles and Nancy Revell.
EADERS LOVE THE POST OFFICE GIRLS!
'A superb debut novel' - 5 STARS'Entertaining, enlightening and thoroughly enjoyable' - 5 STARS'I absolutely loved this book and I am already eagerly awaiting book two in the series' - 5 STARS'The book gave a wonderful in sight into postal-service life during the war. Well done, Poppy' - 5 STARS'An excellent WW1 book' - 5 STARS
Weaponsmith
Mike Crawshaw - 2013
Seven years of the worst war in history – so far – have turned the region into a wasteland where only the sword rules, and only the rats and the bankers grow fat. Roger Hawken, seventeen-year-old Englishman, black sheep of a family of minor landed gentry, leaves his Wiltshire home to take service with a free company of mercenary soldiers based in the Netherlands. Roger’s indiscretions have resulted in his being apprenticed as blacksmith in place of a more gentlemanly occupation, and as a smith he joins the company. Pitchforked into the bloody conflict of the siege of Breda, he finds there is more to his job than shoeing horses and forging short-swords, and starts to make his name as a fighting soldier…
The Visitors
Caroline Scott - 2021
Esme Nicholls is to spend the summer in Cornwall. Her late husband Alec, who died fighting in the war, grew up in Penzance, and she’s hoping to learn more about the man she loved and lost. While there, she will stay with Gilbert, in his rambling seaside house, where he lives with his former brothers in arms. Esme is fascinated by this community of eccentric artists and former soldiers, and as she gets to know the men and their stories, she begins to feel this summer might be exactly what she needs. But everything is not as idyllic as it seems – a mysterious new arrival later in the summer will turn Esme’s world upside down, and make her question everything she thought she knew about her life, and the people in it.Full of light, laughter and larger-than-life characters, The Visitors is a novel of one woman finally finding her voice and choosing her own path forwards.
Those I Have Lost : A heart-wrenching and unforgettable World War 2 historical novel
Sharon Maas - 2021
Seas crawling with Japanese spies. A terrible war creeping ever closer…India, 1940. and Rosie is devastated by the sudden death of her beloved mother. The parties, smiles and games disappear, and although Rosie is desperate to stay in her home, her father cannot look after her. All alone in the world, she is sent to Sri Lanka, to live with her mother’s friend Silvia and her three sons.Time passes and Rosie flourishes in her new home amongst the mango trees and canna lilies. And one day, under the heat of the Sri Lankan sun, she falls in love for the first time. But her happiness is short lived, for the brutal war that has devastated families and torn Europe apart is creeping closer to their island. One by one the men depart Sri Lanka leaving Rosie with just memories and a broken heart she must hide.As Rosie waits for letters that never come, tortured by stories of torpedoed ships and massacres of innocent families, she realises that she cannot just sit and wait for news. She volunteers to help the army, working in military intelligence to protect her island paradise. But then her work brings shocking news that makes her blood run cold. The man she loved is missing, feared dead. Yet Rosie cannot lose hope – even as more women are left widows, more children left without fathers. But when the much longed-for news comes that the war is ended, and a limping wasted figure returns home, will one final devastating revelation tear Rosie’s world apart?An emotional and heartbreaking read with rich historical detail set against the backdrop of Sri Lanka during World War Two. Fans of Hazel Gaynor, Fiona Valpy and Kristin Hannah will be swept away by Those I Have Lost.
Blood On The Stone
Jake Lynch - 2019
Oxford is hosting the English Parliament under the ‘merry monarch’, King Charles II. As politicians and their hangers-on converge on the divided city, an MP is found murdered, triggering tensions that threaten mayhem on the streets. Luke Sandys, Chief Officer of the Oxford Bailiffs, must solve the crime and thwart the plot. On his side is the respect for evidence and logic he absorbed in his student days, as a follower of the new science. On the other, a group of political conspirators are stirring up sectarian hatreds in their scheme to overthrow the Crown.Struggling to protect all he holds dear, Luke leans heavily on his cavalry officer brother, his friends, and his faithful deputy, Robshaw. But he has a secret, which may be clouding his judgement. At the moment of truth, will he choose love or duty?
The Wrecking Storm (Thomas Tallant, #2)
Michael Ward - 2021
Where Fortune Lies
Mary-Anne O'Connor - 2020
For fans of Nicole Alexander, Colleen McCullough, and Fiona McIntosh.1879: 'Invisible' Anne Brown fears she'll never escape the harshness and poverty of her life in County Donegal, Ireland. Until, one heartbreaking Beltane night, her life is changed forever and she leaves to seek her fortune in far-flung Australia.Upon the death of their father, charismatic Will Worthington and his beloved sister Mari are stunned to find he has left all their money and a ticket to the far shores of Australia to an enigmatic painted woman. It seems their only hope for a brighter future also lies in Australia, where together with Will's best friend, the artist Charlie Turner, they seek their fortunes.Charlie finds love with a mysterious exotic dancer, yet there is trouble on the horizon. His new friends up in the Victorian Alps might be teaching him to run with the wild horses and find his talent with a brush at last, but life in a bushranger gang is a dangerous game.As Charlie struggles to break free from his fate, all four are left with impossible choices as fortunes waver between life and death, loyalty and the heart.
Conrad Monk and the Great Heathen Army
Edoardo Albert - 2018
So, it is fair to say that his heart isn't really in it. Conrad is also clever, charming, entirely self-serving, self-absorbed and almost completely without scruple — but in Anglo-Saxon England, when the Danish invaders come calling, those are very helpful attributes to have. And so it comes to pass that Conrad finds himself constantly dodging death by various means, some reasonable, some... less so. His tricks include selling his brother monks into slavery, witnessing the death of a king, juggling his loyalties between his own people and the Danes, robbing corpses and impersonating a bishop. By his side throughout is the gentle and honourable Brother Odo, a man so naturally and completely good that even animals sense it. He is no match of wits for the cunning Conrad but can he, perhaps, at least encourage the wayward monk to behave a little better? Conrad Monk and the Great Heathen Army takes the reader on a hugely entertaining and highly informative trip through the Anglo-Saxon world, in the company of a persuasive and likeable — if frequently despicable — tour guide. It is a story that combines painstakingly accurate depictions of history with a fast-moving and often hilarious plot, and as such is bound to appeal to lovers of history, historical fiction and character-driven fiction alike. Edoardo Albert is a writer of Sri Lankan and Italian descent based in London. He has written a number of full length novels, as well as shorter stories for publications ranging from Daily Science Fiction to Ancient Paths. He has written features for papers and magazines including Time Out, Sunday Times and History Today. 'I loved this book as a total immersion historical adventure. Conrad – the hero - is selfish, opportunistic, amoral, and he made me laugh over and over again.' - John Drake, bestselling author of the Fletcher series 'The pagans are coming...but Conrad is one shameless con man who will keep one step ahead of them, and charm you while he does it. He lies—he cheats—and I loved every minute of it.' - Wendy Bertsch, author of Once More, from the Beginning
The Girls in Blue
Fenella J. Miller - 2020
Whatever faces her in war-torn London can't be any worse than staying at home with her abusive father...The city is nothing like she could have imagined, but she's soon on the move, travelling from base to base for her top-secret training. Making plenty of new friends along the way, it doesn't take long for Jane to embrace her growing confidence – especially under the attentive eye of dashing Officer Oscar Stanton.Life as an independent woman is as rewarding as it is exciting, until Jane's father tracks her down and it crashes to a halt. Jane will need all her new-found strength to find her way back to the frontline – and to the man she's fallen for...
Fortune's Soldier
Alex Rutherford - 2018
On board, he meets the spirited and mercurial Robert Clive, determined – at whatever cost – to make a fortune in a land of opportunity.Over the years that follow, their friendship sees many twists and turns as Clive’s restless hunger for wealth and power takes him from being a clerk to a commander in the Company’s forces, masterminding plans to snuff out rival French interests in Hindustan and eventually leading the company forces to victory at Plassey, the prelude to nearly two centuries of foreign rule in Hindustan.Brilliantly crafted, and bringing to life the momentous events that shook India in the mid-eighteenth century, Fortune’s Soldier is an epic tale of a fascinating era by a master storyteller.
The Sheriff's Catch
James Vella-Bardon - 2021
Once a famous sniper, Abel finds himself a survivor of the Spanish Armada shipwrecks in 16th C Ireland. Following his capture by a brutal sheriff, Abel flees torture and death with a priceless emerald ring. Dozens of English troopers hunt the Spaniard across the Irish wilds, beating every last bush in a desperate attempt to find him.Muireann is a revered Irish poetess enjoying the hospitality of a neighbouring tribe. Tragedy strikes when the sheriff’s men kill her husband during a violent night raid, with her life barely saved by the fugitive Abel. Newly widowed and shocked by her loss, Muireann must somehow reach the distant lands of her tribe, where she can be reunited with her only son.Both runaways form an unlikely bond as they flee across a strange and stunning land, pushed to the edge of their wits and endurance. Yet unknown to Muireann, the ring Abel carries bears far-reaching consequences beyond Irish shores. Can the unlikely, desperate pair escape a ruthless sheriff who will never give up the chase?Accolades for 'The Sheriff's Catch'Winner in the 'Best Novel' category - The Royal Dragonfly Book Awards, 2019Winner in the 'Best Historical Fiction' category - The Royal Dragonfly Book Awards, 2019Winner in the 'Best Cover Design' category - The Royal Dragonfly Book Awards, 2019Finalist in the 'Book Trailer' category - The Royal Dragonfly Book Awards 2019Finalist - The Wishing Shelf Independent Book Awards, 2019Finalist - The Eric Hoffer Awards, 2019Finalist in the 'Outstanding Historical' category - The Independent Author Network Book of the Year Awards, 2019Winner in the 'Best Cover Design' category - The e-book Cover Design Awards, November 2018Nominee in the 'Best Trailer for a Book or Novel' category - Golden Trailer Awards, 2018
Murder at the Ritz
Jim Eldridge - 2021
On the streets of London, locals watch with growing concern as German fighter planes plague the city's skyline. But inside the famous Ritz Hotel, the cream of society continues to enjoy all the glamour and comfort that money can buy during wartime - until an anonymous man is discovered with his throat slashed open.Detective Chief Inspector Coburg is called in to investigate, no stranger himself to the haunts of the upper echelons of society, ably assisted by his trusty colleague, Sergeant Lampson. Yet they soon face a number of obstacles. With the crime committed in rooms in use by an exiled king and his retinue, there are those who fear diplomatic repercussions and would rather the case be forgotten. With mounting pressure from various Intelligence agencies, rival political factions and gang warfare brewing either side of the Thames, Coburg and Lampson must untangle a web of deception if they are to solve the case - and survive.
Women at War
Jan Casey - 2021
One war.For Viola Baxter, 1939 was supposed to be a wonderful year. After meeting and falling in love with dashing Fred Scholz at Cambridge University, they planned to marry and start their new lives together. She never imagined her father would say no to the marriage. Fred is half-German and, with war fast approaching, he must travel to Germany to bring his sister home. But that journey is enough for others to suspect him... and Viola.When Annie Scholz heard her beloved grandmother was seriously ill, she wasted no time rushing to Germany to be by her side. She didn't realise it meant she would not be able to return home to the UK, or that her decision would endanger her brother, Fred, as well. Even reuniting with her childhood beau is bittersweet – how can she love someone who stands for everything she opposes? With everyone watching Annie and Fred so closely, there is no room for error... or dangerous resistance.With war the only certainty, there's just one thing in question: where do Viola and Annie's loyalties lie? Women at War is the thrilling and heart-wrenching new WW2 story from Jan Casey, author of The Women of Waterloo Bridge.