Book picks similar to
Lancashire Lass by Anna Jacobs


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Lily's War: An uplifting WWII saga of women on the home front


Shirley Mann - 2019
    1942, Manchester World War Two is in full swing and Lily Mullins is determined to do her bit for the war effort. Her friends and sweetheart have all joined up and Lily's sure there must be a role for her that goes further than knitting socks for the troops! When she decides to volunteer for the Women's Auxiliary Air Force, Lily soon discovers that she has a talent as a wireless operator. Helped along the way by a special gang of girls, she finds strengths she didn't know she had and realises that the safety of the country might just be in her hands . . . Meanwhile, Danny is determined to marry Lily, but his letters home become more and more distant. Will a long separation mean the end of their love story?An uplifting and inspiring novel of women on the home front. '[The story] read so true to me and I really didn't want to put it down . . . It may be fiction but those things could, and did, happen.' Vera Morgan, wartime WAAF 'An impeccably researched and uplifting story of love, loss and courage: a heartwarming read that will captivate all those who love a good war story.' Clare Harvey, author of The Gunner Girl'A wonderful, inspiring story. I can't wait to read more from Shirley Mann.' Sheila Newberry

Dream Sellers


Ruth Hamilton - 1998
    Edward Shawcross absented himself as much as possible and kept a red-haired mistress in Tintern Avenue. Alice, his wife, sought solace in chocolate and continually carped at Connie, her beautiful daughter. And Connie and Gilbert, their children, formed an uneasy alliance in the face of their parents' antipathy.Twenty years before, Edward Shawcross had been an impoverished millhand, born in a slum to feckless parents. Overnight his fortunes had changed. To everyone's surprise he had married the plain and awkward daughter of the wealthy Fishwick family. Almost at once the Fishwicks, owners of a lucrative mill and a grand house, went to live abroad leaving Edward in charge of all their business interests. No-one could understand why Edward had suddenly made this leap of fortune.But as the new generation began to grow up, so the truth behind old scandals began to emerge. Then, after many years, the Fishwicks returned and violence swiftly followed. Before Connie and Gilbert could throw off the legacies of the past and build their own lives, there were to be many shocking revelations.

Leah's Children


Gloria Goldreich - 1985
    From the courageous struggle of the Hungarian revolution, to the dramatic strife of the civil rights movement in Mississippi…from Israel’s heroic fight for freedom, to the eve of the Six-Day War…Leah’s children confronted their own convictions and desires in an ever-changing world fraught with danger, idealism, and betrayal. Their uncompromising search for love and fulfillment carried them into dangerous emotional territory—where only the strength, courage, and imagination inherited from their mother could lead them to their own triumphant destinies.

Catrina's Return: Victorian saga


AnneMarie Brear - 2012
    A life altering event led Catrina Davies to hide from her family and society. Alone in The Highlands she exists in a lonely world cared for only by her savior, a kind old gentleman. When she receives a surprise visitor, Travis Millard, the man she used to love, her head and heart are thrown into turmoil. Travis is determined to save her from this poor life and return her to her family where she belongs. No one is more surprised than he when she agrees to marry him. When Catrina arrives back at her family estate, Davmoor Court in Yorkshire, she is stunned to see the changes. While her father clings to life, Davmoor is nearly ruined by her brother's gambling obsession, and there is something strange about his new wife. As Catrina adjusts to her regained position in society and being with Travis, her marriage comes under attack from Travis's grandmother, who has her own secrets and reason for loathing the Davies family. When one of her brother's adversaries comes to stake his claim on the estate, the resulting chaos threatens not only Catrina's home, but the very lives of those she loves the most. Can she find the strength to fight once more for the right to be happy?​

Blackpool Evacuee


Maggie Mason - 2018
    Clara is worked like a dog, but the warmth of her Blackpool friendships will go far to save her. Julia just wants to find her beloved daughter - but the trials of war will keep them far apart. They will meet again - but the war will change everything for mother and daughter...

Two Silver Crosses


Beryl Kingston - 1993
    . . and the power of love to change lives. In 1926 the Holborn twins, Ginny and her blind sister Emily, disappear from their comfortable home in Wolverhampton. Why? No one knew. Ten years later, aspiring solicitor Charlie Commoner is dispatched to France to track them down. What he finds instead is a mystery, a tragedy and a love affair. But as the Second World War darkens over Europe, so, too, does the legacy from a terrifying disease that holds the family in its grip . . . As warmhearted as Maeve Binchy, as compulsive as The Shell Seekers, Two Silver Crosses is unputdownable. Beryl Kingston was born and brought up in Tooting. After taking her degree at London University, she taught English and Drama at various London schools as well as bringing up her three children. She and her husband now live in Sussex. Her other titles include Hearts and Farthings, Kisses and Ha’pennies, A Time to Love, Tuppenny Times, Fourpenny Flyer, Sixpenny Stalls, London Pride, and War Baby.

The Factory Girl


Elizabeth Lord - 2002
    A machinist at Rubins clothing factory in the East End, she dreams of a more glamorous life. When she meets Tony Hanford, the young and handsome proprietor of a small jeweller's shop in Bond Street, Geraldine is propelled into a new world – but it comes at a heavy price...

Angels at War


Freda Lightfoot - 2010
    After a tumultuous past, the future is finally looking rosy for the Angel sisters. Livia is set to marry handsome Jack Flint to while her sisters are contentedly living at Todd Farm. Yet Livia still dreams of resurrecting the neglected drapery business which was left to her when her father died. Racked with guilt over the tragic death of her sister Maggie, she promises never to let anyone down again and to do something worthwhile with her life. But is she prepared to jeopardise the love she shares with Jack to achieve her wish? With the wealthy and determined Matthew Grayson standing in the way of her ambitions, Livia must stay true to her heart, or risk losing everything ...

Nobody's Girl


Tania Crosse - 2017
    Perfect for the fans of Jo Cox and Rosie Goodwin. The boom years immediately after the Great War bring nothing but happiness for wealthy industrialist Wigmore Stratfield-Whyte and his wife Clarissa – until tragedy robs them of their greatest treasure. Many years later, an horrific fatal accident brings young Meg Chandler, a spirited farmer's daughter, into their lives. Meg wants nothing to do with them, but Clarissa is drawn irresistibly towards the bereaved girl and will move heaven and earth to help her. Will Meg allow Clarissa into her own shattered life, and can the two share a future happiness together? And will Meg's new acquaintances bring her the contentment she craves – or seek to destroy her? Set in the Kent countryside in the years leading up to the Second World War, this compelling saga tingles with drama, tension and an overwhelming sense of love.

The Granville Sisters


Una-Mary Parker - 2005
    When war is declared, the love lives of the Granville girls suffer. Rosie's husband is killed during the Blitz. Then Lousie falls in love with Jack, a sixteen-year-old evacuee from the slums of London. When she falls pregnant, she is sent to Wales in disgrace. The girls? mother, Liza, can only pin her hopes on Charlotte now . . .

A Sister's Struggle


Mary Gibson - 2018
    Ruby is always hungry, but she will go without if it means her young brothers can eat. 1930s Bermondsey might be called the larder of London, with its pie, pickle and jam factories, but for the poor working classes, starvation is often only a heartbeat away. When Ruby's neighbour suggests she ought to go to the Methodist Mission for free food, Ruby knows her father will be furious, but that she has no other option. It is a decision that will change the course of her life forever, split her family and in the end lead her to face a terrible choice between duty and a great love.

Hopes And Dreams


Dee Williams - 2002
    Growing up in Rotherhithe, they now work in a factory making shell cases to be sent to the frontline. As they Second World War rages on, Dolly dreams of escaping of far-off lands--in particular, America. Excitement at home, however, comes in the from of the American GIs, who break the monotony of factory life and nightly air-raids with music and dancing. Despite her loyalty to her Tony, who is fighting overseas, Dolly feels increasingly attracted to the sophisticated and handsome Joe. And then he proposes...

The Miner's Girl


Maggie Hope - 2016
    Is a marriage of convenience the only thing that can save her?From the author of Orphan Girl and Workhouse Child

The Docklands Girls


June Tate - 2016
    Working as a supervisor on a production line for planes, Hildy believes she is doing her part to help with the war effort. But troubles at home, with her dependent and overly-protective mother, make it harder for her to findhappiness as she hides her relationship with an American GI.Meanwhile, Cora has lost both her parents in the Blitz and is still reeling from the devastating loss. Along with her friend, Belle, the two young women turn to the dark streets of Southampton to work on the game, wishing to raise enough money for a new beginning elsewhere and put their pasts behind them.For all three women, the war provides challenges and hardships that they will only emerge from by maintaining courage, strength and, above all, hope.

Rising Summer


Mary Jane Staples - 1991
    They managed splendidly - and then came the war. Tim Parkes became Gunner Parkes and Aunt May spent most of her nights in the Walworth air raid shelters with Tim keeping an eye on her whenever he was able.When he got posted to Suffolk he wasn't too pleased - Suffolk was Country, not like London at all. But in fact there were a lot of things about Sheldham that reminded him of home - the Walworth evacuees for a start. Those of them that weren't creating havoc in the Suffolk village were creating havoc in Tim's life. Minnie Beavers - ex-Camberwell - was fifteen, pert, pretty, and wildly in love with Tim. She was determined to inveigle him into marriage the minute she was old enough. Tim was equally determined to escape and choose his own girl.By the time Tim had gone away to fight the war, and Minnie had joined the WAAF, a great many things had changed in both their lives.