Book picks similar to
The Ragged Urchin (Rags to Riches Book 1) by Lynette Rees


historical-fiction
general-fiction
victoriana
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Besieged (The First Crusade Book 2)


Richard Foreman - 2020
    But they may have found one in the shape of the Holy Lance.Bohemond of Taranto realises that the pilgrims must fight or die.But to fight they must know their enemy. Bohemond instructs Edward Kemp, an English knight, to gather intelligence on Kerbogha and the Muslim army. But in attempting to save the crusaders, Edward may damn himself.Triumph and tragedy await on the plains of Antioch, where the course of the crusade - and history - will be altered forever.Recommended for fans of Bernard Cornwell, Ben Kane & Conn Iggulden.Richard Foreman's new bestselling series on the First Crusade provides an entertaining insight into history - and the significant players in the armed pilgrimage, including Bohemond of Taranto and Bishop Adhemar of Le Puy. Foreman shines a light on the epochal moment, with humour and humanity, which still shapes the story of Europe and the Middle East today.

Come Into My Cave


Linda Hardy - 2011
    Instead they live out of doors, only minimally protected from the elements, and must travel long and difficult distances each year to protect themselves against the vagaries of weather. As a consequence of the long treks each year these people fail to accumulate tools and treasurers to make their lives easier. Two young friends wish to change the migratory pattern of their people's lives by living through the winter which they call The Dark Times, instead of making the annual, long and hazardous journey southward.

The Urchin of Walton Hall (The Victorian Village Sagas)


Emma Hardwick - 2020
    She was promptly sent away by her philandering father, the colliery owner Robert Harvey, to become an educated and accomplished young woman - and to escape the beatings at the cruel hand of her vengeful stepmother, Hannah. As Bess finishes boarding school, a tragic accident strikes Robert Harvey, almost killing him, and the decline of the family's fortunes means Bess and her siblings must find spouses to provide for them. After a series of doomed arranged encounters with potential suitors, Bess's stepmother is forced to take drastic action against her to protect herself and her family. Who is the mystery fiancé Hannah Harvey has in mind? And how will Bess feel knowing the decision means she will never be free to marry her childhood sweetheart?

Chase Family Collection: Limited Christmas Edition (Chase Family Series)


Lauren Royal - 2020
    

Viking Tales: Saga of the Lost Ship


Jason Vail - 2018
     Ari Thorgilsson builds a cargo ship, the Uxi, in a desperate attempt to save the family from poverty and ruin. Ari sails it out of his home in the fjords of Norway to the Orkney Islands and then into the Irish Sea, where a chance encounter makes an enemy of Ivar the Younger, a son of the Danish Viking Ivar the Boneless. While pursued by Ivar the Younger, a storm drives the ship onto the rocky coast of a hostile land, where the ship is wrecked he and the crew are captured by native Britons. Execution or enslavement seem to be their fate. But there is yet hope, for Artgal, king of the British kingdom of Alt Clut, is in need of warriors. He promises Ari a new ship if he and his companions garrison a fortress on the border with the Picts to the north, while he takes an army to fight the Angles in the east. Ari and his friends accept the offer, and plunge into a year of intrigue and battle in the depths of the land that one day will be known as Scotland, testing their mettle and their commitment to their honor. A Pictish invasion seems to spell the end of Ari’s dream of a new ship. And then a fleet of Danish Vikings sails into the River Clut to lay siege to Artgal’s fortress, thrusting that dream well beyond his grasp. Or does it?

Men of Bone


David Penny - 2021
    Reacting instinctively to protect a stranger, Thomas becomes their target. When the bonemen come to inflict punishment he is forced kill one of their number.As he leaves London in the company of Arthur, Prince of Wales, heir to the English throne, Thomas expects no grave consequences for his actions. It’s a mistake that might get both him and his companions killed.Sent to England by the Spanish Queen to watch over Catherine of Aragon on her marriage to Arthur, Thomas intends the duty to be short-lived. But he hasn’t reckoned on the bonemen, who are spreading their influence ever wider. As danger mounts, Thomas is no longer sure he is the man for the task but has no option but to fight, as he always has. For the innocent, for justice, and for his life.Politics and crime collide in Tudor England in a new series of adventures for Thomas Berrington. Join Thomas on his latest journey. Order The Bone Men now.

Wish Upon a Star


Margaret Thornton - 1998
    One of them, in particular, stands out as the grubbiest, most ill-spoken child they have ever met, but with her warmth and friendliness, Gloria Mulligan soon wins a special place in Sally???s heart. Sally hasn???t been lucky enough to have children of her own and she sees in Gloria the daughter she???s always wished for. Meanwhile Gloria, who has been starved of genuine affection from her own large family, secretly wishes that she will never have to go home again. But life seldom works out as we would wish and when the horror of war begins to take its toll, Sally, Gloria and the entire Blackpool community must face the consequences???

Finding Forgiveness in the West: A Christian Historical Romance Book


Chloe Carley - 2021
    

Between Moons: A gripping WW2 historical novel


Claire Anders - 2021
    

Days of the Dead (SAS Operation)


David Monnery - 1997
    Ultimate mission. But can the SAS break in to a Colombian island prison and snatch an Argentine killer?1996: a terminally ill father desperately seeks answers to what happened to his son, missing for twenty years. He has the names of two Argentine men – one in Mexico City, the other imprisoned on the Colombian island of Providencia – but no one to ask the questions.A missing girl’s family have given her up for dead when they stumble upon a Miami newspaper story mentioning two of her friends. One has just died; the other, half-deranged, tells a garbled story of sexual slavery on a Caribbean island which sounds suspiciously like Providencia.MI6 and the British government are certain that a huge drug-trafficking empire is being run from the prison, and know that some of the profits are being funnelled by its Argentine ‘guest’ into financing a mercenary invasion of the Falklands. Ignored by the Colombian authorities and mysteriously obstructed by their American allies, the British have no choice but to send in their own elite force – the SAS.

The Train Part 1: Escape From Hell's Kitchen


Keith Schafer - 2013
    Over the years it was visited by a diverse hodge-podge of notables, including Davey Crockett and Charles Dickens, all who left aghast at the horrible living conditions, the poverty and the decadence of the people they found there. At their zenith, these vulgar, diseased and murderous streets housed 30,000 homeless children of all ages--the street urchins--who played, scavenged for food, fought the elements and each other, and tried to avoid the perpetual violence that routinely threatened their survival. Death was their constant competitor, and death often won. They were the discarded refuse of the great 19th century immigrant migrations to America, and they were an undesirable nuisance to the good citizens of New York. This is the story of two such children, Anna Murphy and Ben McDonald, abandoned to the streets and thrown together in a desperate attempt to achieve the impossible: to escape from Hell’s Kitchen in search of new beginnings in far and distant lands.

Raeford's MVP: A Vietnam Veteran's Story (The Vietnam War Series Book 4)


Rick DeStefanis - 2016
    Award-winning author Rick DeStefanis introduces readers to the world of the 1970s through the eyes of Billy Coker, a nineteen-year old boy who realizes his blind obsession with the other sex has led to his tour of duty in Vietnam. With his carefree and innocent time at Raeford High still fresh in his memory, Coker attempts to make sense of the horrors of war, the guilt of surviving the violent conflict, and a future where no one seems to understand his terrible experience. Billy has escaped death in battle, but faces the futureless void of post-traumatic stress syndrome and a psychological impotence that plagues him at the worst possible times. His only hope for finding himself is to find someone special he lost along the way. From the jungles of Vietnam, Billy returns home as he embarks on another adventurous journey to find healing and reconnect with himself, his country, and a little fat girl from his past named Bonnie Jo.

The Tall Captains (The Crosbie Saga Book 1)


Bart Spicer - 2020
    

A Race for the Duke's Heart


Aria Norton - 2021
    She has never wished to become a lady, but rather enjoys being different... In fact, what keeps her happy is being outdoors and caring for her father, as well as spending most of her time with Patience, her horse. Little did she know her serenity would be disturbed for good when a runaway horse would appear at the bottom of the cliffside along the ocean. Her heart skips a beat though, when she sees its charming owner, Duke Owen Ellis of Blackmoor Manor. In her experience, all dukes are callous and deplorable examples of human beings, but upon first impressions of him, Laura is left feeling rather enchanted and therefore confused. Will Laura overcome her fascination caused by his enigmatic but warm presence, or will she allow her overwhelming feelings to blossom?Lord Owen is the only heir of the Ellis name and Blackmore Manor following his father's death. As for his mother, it was expected that her wish for him to marry Lady Marjorie Fielding, a spoiled London heiress, would be fulfilled. Life has other plans for Owen's heart though, as when Laura is brought on as an equestrian trainer and tamer, he encounters warmth and affection for the first time. However, how could he betray his family's expectation of marrying Lady Marjorie, who despite appearing pretty on the outside, is rather cruel on the inside? A dilemma awaits him, as the journey of becoming the man his father always wanted, would inevitably involve hurting the first woman he ever loved... In the end, which path will he choose?Forced to choose between love and duty, the future is foreshadowed uninviting, unless Laura and Owen can find a way to overpower whoever tries to keep them apart. Will their love and devotion prove that their romance is unassailable? Most importantly, how could they both find the courage to ignore tradition, and not dismiss their hearts' one true calling?

SORROW - The Sighted Sister (The Revenge Series)


Ann Robbins-Phillips - 2013
    Enticed by promises of work with good pay, people flock to textile mills in the South. Many leave their beloved mountains for what they hope is a step up from their grinding poverty. It’s guaranteed pay and housing. Being the sighted sister of the Hooper/Watson family, Lottie is grieved by a dream that sorrow will come to her home. Yet, she leaves Cocke County, Tennessee, with Beck Radford, her new husband, and her four children from a previous, abusive marriage, and goes to Clifton, South Carolina. Lottie is a stranger to village life and close neighbors. Life is harder than any of them imagined. In spite of hard work, widespread poverty remains a fact of life for everyone in the mill town. Lottie’s “gift” of second sight into the future is not an ability she would’ve chosen. One event she didn't see coming, yet someone else did, rips apart their life, as well as everyone’s around them.