Everybody's Somebody (The Jackson Family Saga, #1)


Beryl Kingston - 2017
    Whether it’s finding work or challenging injustice, Rosie squares her shoulders, sets her chin high and faces it full on. Born at the end of the nineteenth century, in the rural south of England and sent into service aged just twelve, Rosie quickly discovers that many good people spend their lives toiling for very little reward, whilst others ‘have it all’. She decides it won’t be like that for her. Why can’t she ride in a car? Why can’t she work when she’s pregnant? Why can’t she live in a nice flat? Why can’t she be an artist’s model? Whilst working as a housekeeper for two upper-class boys, Rosie starts to learn more and more about the world, gleaned from overheard conversations and newspapers left lying around. This triggers an ongoing thirst for knowledge, which shapes her views, informs her decisions and influences her future. Rosie aspires to have a better life than that of her parents: better living conditions, better working conditions and pay, better education for her children, to be able to vote, to be able to control how many children she has… Without realising it, this young woman is blazing a trail for all those who are to come after. Whilst working in London, Rosie meets her sweetheart Jim, but the The Great War puts paid to their plans for the future, and matters worsen afterwards, as she, along with the rest of society, tries to deal with the horrors and losses. This heart-warming story follows the events of the early twentieth century – the impact and horrors of WW1, the financial crisis and the rapid social and political changes that took place. All that remains of Rosie now is a quartet of paintings in an art gallery. The artist, now famous but the model, unnamed and forgotten; nobody of consequence. But everybody has a life story. Everybody leaves some kind of mark on this world. Everybody’s somebody. Praise for Everybody's Somebody ‘…see history unfold through the fierce and caring eyes of a woman in love' - Emily Murdoch 'In Everybody’s Somebody, Rosie’s colourful life is captured in a series of paintings, with Beryl Kingston applying the masterly brush strokes with her usual artistry and heart-warming style.' Danielle Shaw, author of Love and Sacrifice 'An interesting and informative historical novel with a fabulously feisty heroine. War, love, loss, class struggles, this great read has so much to offer!' Faith Bleasdale, author of Pinstripes Praise for Beryl Kingston “Beryl Kingston understands how to weave dialogue, character, theme and a thumping love affair into unity” – The Sunday Times ‘A new novel by the warm and observant Beryl Kingston is not to be missed. Each one is special’ - Elizabeth Buchan, bestselling author of The New Mrs Clifton Beryl Kingston was born in Tooting in 1931 and was evacuated during the war. She studied at King’s College London, qualified as a teacher and headed an English department. She was been a published author since 1980 and is a self-confessed ‘political animal’, taking part in street demonstrations and protests. She was also a beauty queen in 1947!

The Girl with the Scarlet Ribbon: An emotional and gripping World War 2 historical novel


Suzanne Goldring - 2022
    

The Promise


Kathleen Harryman - 2019
    As she begins work at The Turnstone Convalescent Home, Rosie finds something she thought she had lost. Friendship. But friendship soon turns to love. Can this new love replace Will?This is not an ordinary love story.It's a story of love, loss, courage, and honour. Of promises that must be kept or risk losing everything you've ever held dear. An excerpt from POPPY FIELDS by Kathleen Harryman: I pray upon the fields of red, Where the poppies grow, That one day, we learn to live, In a world of love, Where weapons are replaced, With kindness, and understanding, That we learn to accept our differences, To truly remember, each and every life lost, Given for peace, given in hope, given for all of us, Given, so we could be free.

We'll Meet Again


Lily Baxter - 2011
    Here Meg meets charismatic German undergraduate Rayner Weiss and the couple fall passionately in love. But all too soon, Britain is at war with German y, Guernsey has been occupied and Meg's family home requisitioned by the German army.Meg insists on remaining with her father, determined to help save her beloved island from the ravages of war. And then she finds herself face to face with Rayner - now a German officer - once more and her life is thrown into turmoil as they risk their lives to meet in secret . As the conflict in Europe intensifies, basic provisions become scarce and soon the people Meg loves come under threat. Torn between her love for Rayner and her duty to her family and the island she grew up on, a heartbroken Meg has a terrible choice to make...

The Polish Woman


Eva Mekler - 2006
    An attractive 29-year-old Polish woman suddenly appears before a New York Jewish family in 1967, claiming to be a long-lost child who was hidden in Poland during World War II."Told without artifice or irony, Mekler's story of inter generational immigration is a cooly composed novel. By the time ending veers... Mekler has already transcended plot in favor of uncompromising examination." -The New York Times Book Review "Stunning... well crafted... adding depth and resonance to a gripping read. Not to be missed by anyone who loves a tale well told."-Library Journal"Vividly drawn character,both major and minor... The tale itself is compelling, combining romance and mystery and reminding us of the difficulty of unearthing personal truths when one of history's great cataclysms has buried them."-The Wall Street Journal"Takes a less-traveled road [from other Holocaust literature] and explores the loss of identity... Strongly evoked... the understated and moving story of a woman whose memories open so many old wounds."-Philadelphia Inquirer

In a League of Their Own


Millie Gray - 2010
    

An Orphan’s War


Molly Green - 2018
    An Orphan’s War is a gripping saga about love and loss on the Home Front. LIVERPOOL, 1940When her childhood sweetheart Johnny is killed in action, Maxine Grey loses more than her husband – she loses her best friend. Desperate to make a difference in this awful war, Maxine takes a nursing job at London’s St Thomas’s hospital.A BROKEN HEARTShe takes comfort in the attentions of a handsome surgeon, but Edwin Blake isn’t all he seems. And as the Blitz descends on the capital, Maxine faces more heartache. When she returns to Liverpool, she harbours a secret.A BRAVE SPIRITWhen Maxine is offered a job at a Dr Barnardo’s orphanage, she hopes this is the second chance she has been looking for. Do the orphans know that she needs them as much as they need her? A gripping story of love, friendship and hope in the darkest of places. Molly Green is an exciting new voice in saga fiction, perfect for fans of Nadine Dorries and Katie Flynn.

There Was a Time


Frank White - 2017
    A Lincolnshire village on a glorious summer's morning in 1940, the countryside as still as a painting. In the blue sky above, the fate of the whole war will soon rest with the RAF and their desperate effort to win the Battle of Britain. If they fail, Hitler's next step will be invasion. And as the scene comes to life before us over the next six months, this shadow of war will not disappear - the conflict will take husbands and sons away, bring in evacuees from the city and soldiers to defend the coast. There will be more money from war work, but less to spend it on - legitimately at least. Everywhere, the feeling of change is in the air. From the pub to the church, the humblest cottage to the biggest farm, from a struggling single mother to the lady of the manor, the paper boy to a traumatised bomb disposal volunteer, this superb jewel of a novel portrays a community of people and weaves together their stories with passion, betrayal, intrigue and suspense.

Leeway Cottage


Beth Gutcheon - 2005
    They believe they are well matched, as young lovers do, but Laurus's beloved family is in Copenhagen, hostage to what the fortunes of Hitler's war will bring. By the time the war is over, Laurus's family has played an active role in Denmark's grassroots rescue of virtually all seven thousand of the country's Jews. Meanwhile, in America, Sydney has led a group knitting for the war effort, and had a baby.Combining the story of one long American twentieth-century marriage with one of the most stirring stories of World War II, Leeway Cottage is a beautifully written tour de force of a novel.

Mad Joy


Jane Bailey - 2006
    Two years later she walks out again and into the nearest house. The girl, known as Joy in the Cotswold village which adopts her, grows into a young woman at the advent of war and at last the mystery of her past begins to unravel.

The Name On The List: A WW2 Historical Novel, Based on a True Story of a Jewish Holocaust Survivor (World War II Brave Women Fiction)


Orly Krauss-Winer - 2020
    

The Diamond Eye


Kate Quinn
    Based on a true story.In 1937 in the snowbound city of Kiev (now known as Kyiv), wry and bookish history student Mila Pavlichenko organizes her life around her library job and her young son--but Hitler's invasion of Ukraine and Russia sends her on a different path. Given a rifle and sent to join the fight, Mila must forge herself from studious girl to deadly sniper--a lethal hunter of Nazis known as Lady Death. When news of her three hundredth kill makes her a national heroine, Mila finds herself torn from the bloody battlefields of the eastern front and sent to America on a goodwill tour.Still reeling from war wounds and devastated by loss, Mila finds herself isolated and lonely in the glittering world of Washington, DC--until an unexpected friendship with First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt and an even more unexpected connection with a silent fellow sniper offer the possibility of happiness. But when an old enemy from Mila's past joins forces with a deadly new foe lurking in the shadows, Lady Death finds herself battling her own demons and enemy bullets in the deadliest duel of her life.Based on a true story, The Diamond Eye is a haunting novel of heroism born of desperation, of a mother who became a soldier, of a woman who found her place in the world and changed the course of history forever.

The Women of Paragon Springs: The Complete Series


Irene Bennett Brown - 2019
    How they find their way through the struggles are what pull you into these heartwarming stories.Women of Paragon Springs includes: Long Road Turning, Blue Horizons, No Other Place and Reap The South Wind. “If you enjoy western novels, such as Little House on the Prairie and Lonesome Dove, you will enjoy this series by Irene Bennett Brown.”

The Straits of Tsushima: An action-packed historical military adventure (Marcus Baxter Naval Thrillers Book 1)


Tim Chant - 2021
    

The Unexpected Bride


Stella Clark - 2019
    Out of desperation, she posts an ad and begins a correspondence with a widowed farmer, Thomas. Desperate to escape her grim situation, she accepts his marriage of convenience proposal, looking forward to a fresh start in Nebraska. As her heart fills with hope, she journeys to Nebraska, looking forward to a fresh start and new life. But when she arrives, it is not Thomas who meets her but his brother, Jay. And when Emma learns a terrible secret, she realizes that her life in Nebraska will be just as grim as it was in Chicago. Too late, she realizes that she has made the biggest mistake of her life; a mistake that will cost her dearly.