After all, it's 1825 and this is the land of opportunity!

    

    Oaklayne Plantation is in ruins, a stark reflection of the condition of a once prosperous country and her families who have been torn apart by war. Was anything gained by the deaths of so many Americans? Is all hope for restoration gone?The Reconstruction Era is an often overlooked, but politically charged time in American history. Oaklayne, The Reconstruction presents an engaging mix of heart rending tragedy, sabotage, murder, corruption and intrigue, together with humor, romance, joy, faith, hope and love. Come along with General Adam Layne as he walks the tumultuous road toward rebuilding his live, his family, his childhood home and his country in this historically accurate portrayal of a man who refuses to accept meaningless loss.

    But Florence is nursing a broken heart and a terrible secret, which might destroy her one chance of happiness...Meanwhile, a new plane is being developed that could turn the tide of the war, but Florence fears there is traitor is in their midst, putting Siegfried - and the whole country - in terrible danger. Can Florence save her Spitfire boys, and her own heart?

     “I climbed into this book and lived its plot. I read it at every spare moment.” Margaret “Beautifully written and engaging.” Ratana 1895, SCOTLAND Emma Greig is almost fourteen when her father announces she will be sent to be a maid at Bonnybrae Farm. She has never left her village so she is terrified of the change, especially when she realises she must learn to milk cows. PERFECT FOR FANS OF NADINE DORRIES, GLENDA YOUNG, DILLY COURT OR SHEILA NEWBERRY. Emma goes to work for the Sinclair family. Maggie Sinclair, the oldest of the Sinclair children, is kind and gentle. Her brothers, Jim and William, are friendly and tease Emma, but their mother offers no welcome. Mrs Sinclair is a proud woman with a secret in her past which has left her bitter and without compassion. She is angry when friendship blossoms between a mere maid and her own family. As the bond between Emma and her son strengthens, she dismisses Emma without notice or a reference. And William is banished from the farm he loves and sent away to Yorkshire to make his own way in the world. WILL THIS DESTROY THEIR LIVES AND BURGEONING ROMANCE? DISCOVER A ROMANTIC AND HEART-WARMING TALE ALSO BY GWEN KIRKWOOD SINCLAIR FAMILY SAGA SERIES Book 1: Moorland Mist Book 2: Moorend Farm

    Her husband and elder son rode off to save slavery in the Confederate Cavalry. Their plantation would now be controlled by a brutish slave master and sadistic slave overseers. Would their slaves revolt? Would Yankee armies attack and destroy their way of life? The slave master already had designs on Clare Ellen Fairchild and couldn’t wait until her husband rode off to war and hopefully die for his Cause. It was April, planting season. The very long and very hot summer awaited them. Clare Ellen was told that this war would be over by September and to ‘not worry her pretty little head’ about it. Clare Ellen was told wrong. She and her children should have worried their pretty little heads.

    It is the story of the struggles, simple joys and wisdom surrounding a young girl growing up in the 1940's in Appalachia.

    When Amy visits her husband Hugh at Beckett's Park Hospital, he doesn't recognise her. Broken after serving four devastating years in the First World War, Hugh is a shadow of the man he once was. Can he ever again be the man Amy knew and loved?Barnsborough, 1912. The first time Hugh and Amy meet, the connection between them is instant and electric. While a librarian's assistant and a collier might not be the most conventional pair, the two come together over a love of books that quickly turns into more. Neither suspects their families have secrets that threaten to tear them apart...True love's path is rarely simple... but can Hugh and Amy find their way back to each other?

    Life for the Rowe family is good, but Florence can’t help yearning for more…When Jesse Boot, the successful owner of Boots the chemist, arrives on the island, Florence is immediately captivated by his tales of life in a busy, bustling city on the mainland. For the first time ever, Florence imagines a life away from the constraints of Jersey society, of being someone more than just a shopgirl.Until her parents reveal the shocking news they will refuse any marriage proposal from Mr Boot. Can Florence find a way to be with the man she loves and make a new life for herself?

    Historically accurate and genealogically significant, this first novel by eminent genealogist Elizabeth Shown Mills is a gripping tale of racial bias, human conflict, and economic ruin told against the backdrop of colonial Louisiana. This novel is the result of more than thirty years of research. To fuel the story, as well as to maintain historical accuracy, the author found and referenced actual family history documents such as baptism records, manumission papers, probate records, land records, book extracts, and more to reconstruct the lives and times of Francois, Fanny, Coincoin, Augustin, and countless other unforgettable characters. But it takes more than documents on paper and microfilm to bring such an epic story to life. Mills' engaging prose puts flesh on the bones and pulls you into the lives and lifestyle of long-ago Louisiana.""

    The ensuing scandal caused Houston to resign his office in disgrace, leave Tennessee to live with the Cherokees in Arkansas, and eventually to go to Texas and mold its history.

    His name is Captain Adam Bradley.She is the harbour master’s daughter.He is smouldering and sophisticated — the most eligible captain ever to sail into the quay.Anyone can see it’s meant to be. But Rebecca is anything but charmed. Her heart belongs to Tom Mason, a lowly cooper she’s known forever.Her father doubts Tom's ability to provide securely for her. But Tom has a plan to prove him wrong. And until then, passionate Rebecca refuses to wait to be with him.But fate has other plans.Tragedy strikes, shattering the couple’s dreams of a life together. Vulnerable and alone, how will Rebecca survive without her soulmate?With the threat of bringing shame on herself and her family nipping at her heels, Rebecca can see only one way out. Is she strong enough to take it?Fans of Nadine Dorries, Rosie Goodwin, Dilly Court, Freda Lightfoot and Catherine Cookson will adore this emotional coming-of-age story.ALSO BY TANIA CROSSEDEVONSHIRE SAGASBook 1: THE HARBOUR MASTER'S DAUGHTERBook 2: THE RIVER GIRLBook 3: THE GUNPOWDER GIRLBook 4: THE QUARRY GIRLBook 5: THE RAILWAY GIRLBook 6: THE WHEELWRIGHT GIRLBook 7: THE AMBULANCE GIRL

     'There are few things better in life than ... the latest novel by Penny Vincenzi' Daily Express1950s London. Tom Knelston is charismatic, working class and an active member of the Labour party, with a passion for the newly formed NHS. He is a man to watch. His wife Alice had a career as a nurse, and shares his ideals. It seems they are the perfect match.Then out of the blue, Tom meets beautiful and unhappily married Diana Southcott, a fashion model. An exciting but dangerous affair is inevitable and potentially damaging to their careers. And when a child becomes ill, Tom is forced to make decisions about his principles, his career, his marriage, and most of all, his love for his child.

    Partita has invited her friend, Kitty to stay at her ancestral home, Borders Castle. The grandeur of Partita’s family seat is in stark contrast to Kitty’s home in London where she and her mother, Violet, struggle to maintain appearances despite Kitty’s father gambling away the family money. Kitty is introduced to the aristocracy — a world she finds fascinatingly decorative and theatrical. She is enthralled by it, and desperately wants to be part of this way of life that is so far removed from the genteel poverty in which she and her mother are forced to exist.But war breaks out, not only irrevocably changing society, but also the lives of these two beautiful young women. The headstrong Partita and down-to-earth Kitty become nurses, caring selflessly for men who have been horrifically injured in the trenches.In Distant Fields is about the mothers and daughters, sisters and wives who are left holding things together on the home front and caring for their men. But, more importantly, it’s about the nature of female friendship.

    The first book followed a few of the black converts who knew Joseph Smith personally, including Elijah Abel, who received the priesthood with Smith's knowledge and approval, and Jane Manning James, who lived as a family member in the Smith home. The second novel picks up their story for the Mormon trek west to the Salt Lake Valley under Brigham Young's leadership, and also chronicles the Civil War and the growing emigrations to California. The novel succeeds not only in opening a door on the early black Mormon experience; it also places that experience within the larger context of national race relations. Readers will get refresher courses on Dred Scott, Civil War politics, slave auctions, lynch mobs, blackface minstrelsy and more. One of the Mormon authors (Gray) is African-American, and his own ancestors figure in the novels. The story seems driven more by the historical record than by the need for a smooth plot, as evidenced by the detailed historical notes at the end of every chapter. Although these may distract readers seeking easy escapist fiction, they lend the novel weight and credibility. Given how little is known of early black converts to Mormonism and of their experiences living in Utah, this trilogy is a treasure. It is a badly needed history lesson coated with a layer of imagination a combination that has proved enormously popular in the works of Gerald Lund.