Book picks similar to
The Wax Fruit Trilogy by Guy McCrone


historical
scotland
historical-fiction
ibooks

A Last Goodbye


Dee Yates - 2018
    In time they're joined by rugged farmhand Tom, come to lend some muscle to Ellen's ageing father, who has begun to find sheep farming hard to manage alone. Almost inevitably romance grows between Ellen and the new arrival but once married however, Ellen discovers that Tom has a brutish side to his character. As war in Europe spreads, she begins to dream of him leaving for the trenches as a way for her to escape.Even with Tom fighting abroad however, the family can not hide from the realities of war as a group of POWs are brought to their valley to build a reservoir. And amongst the men, sworn enemies and shunned by all the locals, Ellen finds a gentler heart that she finds difficult to resist...

The Calgary Chessman


Yvonne Marjot - 2011
    To Cas, torn between Scotland and her New Zealand home, the object seems as odd and out-of-place as herself. Intrigued, she begins to search for its origins, thinking it will bring a brief respite from isolation. Instead, the Calgary chess piece opens the door to friendships and new hope. Her son, meanwhile, brings home his own revelation to shake her world.

Merry Christmas Rabbi


Paul O'Neill - 2013
    In this novella, Trans-Siberian Orchestra creator Paul O'Neill spans generations, from WWII Germany to the modern inner-city, and fearlessly dives into the darkest places of the human condition to spin a modern parable about how, even in the grip of great evil, redemption is possible and the spark of hope can burn brightly.

The Merrow of Lake Michigan


Claire Fahey - 2015
    The mayor of Chicago will be assassinated at the end of the week, and she is stuck in the year 1893. What she doesn’t know is how she landed 100 years back in time, or why Peter Hastings, the man trying to help her, shares some eerie similarities to her dead husband.When Joey, perhaps unwisely, revealed the year of her origins it didn’t sit well with her host. Her effort to convince him by predicting the mayor’s murder only made matters worse. Now her sanity is in question, and everything she does puts it further into doubt. One of the few bright spots in the whole situation is William, Peter’s five year-old son, but he is a stark reminder that she left a son of her own back in 1993. Stuck in the past and desperate to return to her own Chicago, Joey stumbles her way through a time when women had a barely-audible voice, and very few options. Armed with nothing but her wits, Joey must navigate the rigid waters of the Victorian era while she tries to prevent a murder and find her way home.

Promise of Dreams


Cecelia M. Chittenden - 2017
    Her father has gone to bring home a son missing because of the war. Loyal servants give her support and comfort and are at her side when she learns of her father’s death. She promises to fulfill her father’s dream but someone doesn’t want her to, the one person she should be able to trust. He sets out to defeat her until another man, a Northern stranger, comes to her aid.

The Forsaken Maid's Secret


Faye Godwin - 2019
    Discovered by the police, Bincy is taken to an orphanage, where she learns that Mama is not the only person who doesn't want her. In truth, nobody wants her, and Bincy is forced to cling to the orphanage bully Mae for comfort. As the years pass, Mae forces Bincy to do everything she demands, from picking on the younger girls to giving up her meager allotment of food. When Bincy is betrayed by Mae, she's sent to work in a manor house as a scullery maid. That's where Bincy meets two young men: Judd, the street urchin who comes into the cellar to scavenge for food, and Henry, the charismatic young master of the house. Despite Judd's warnings, Bincy finds herself falling for Henry. But when Henry demands more from her than she's willing to give, Bincy has to make a choice: give herself to him or face her greatest fear of being alone and discarded once more.

The Young Widow: An Ambition & Destiny Novel (The Ambition & Destiny Series Book 6)


V.L. McBeath - 2020
    When an enigmatic stranger steals her heart, can she know he wants her for the right reasons?London 1808: Widowed at the age of twenty, Ann has no optimism for the future. At the beck and call of her domineering mother she longs to make a new life for herself with the legacy left by her late husband. But it's not that easy. Not when it means leaving her sisters behind. Her world is turned upside down when a curious gentleman stops to speak to her. Chas is new to the area, but he seems to know a lot about her … and he certainly looks well-to-do. Could he be her saviour? With newfound hope Ann dares to dream again, but Chas has a secret. Something he refuses to share. As their friendship grows, there are those who want to keep them apart … but when Ann stumbles upon Chas’s past, she realises that only she can decide what their future holds. Inspired by the compelling family history of author V L McBeath, The Young Widow is a standalone story in The Ambition & Destiny Series. Set in Georgian-era London, forty years before the start of this historical family saga, The Young Widow adds another dimension to this epic series. Get your copy today. Please Note: The Young Widow is written in UK English. Other books in The Ambition & Destiny Series: Prequel: Condemned by Fate Part 1: Hooks & Eyes Part 2: Less Than Equals Part 3: When Time Runs Out Part 4: Only One Winner Part 5: Different World

Scrivener of Rome: A tale of the Ancient Republic


Ken Farmer - 2015
    A young man is given a new start in life as a result of an impulsive action, beginning a journey that will take him to the far reaches of the known world to watch - and sometimes to partake in - the rise and fall of mighty empires.

Swimming to Ithaca


Simon Mawer - 2007
    Shortly before Dee dies, she tells her son, Thomas, that she thinks her death is a punishment. Thomas, whose own emotional life is complicated, tries to piece together his parents' lives in order to make sense of his mother's words.

Pregnant Mail Order Bride And Her Troubled Rancher (A Western Historical Romance Book) (Evergreen Frontier)


Florence Linnington - 2020
    

The Seasons Will Pass


Audrey Howard - 2001
    Her family is gone and her own life hangs by a thread after a desperate season seeking work. By the time Lew and his kindly neighbors have nursed Clare back to health, he is hopelessly in love with the frail Irish girl. But though she will always care for Lew, another man comes between them. Martin Heywood, a rich, young farmer sweeps Clare off her feet; however, he cannot marry a mere servant girl, even if it breaks both their hearts.

Into the Fire


Alexander Fullerton - 1995
    Their average life expectancy is six weeks.But Rosie is brighter than most, well-aware of the consequences of a second’s carelessness, or bad luck, or treachery. Or a fellow agent crumbling under torture, naming names.Her brief is to set up a new network in Rouen, where the old one has been blown and an agent is suspected of betrayal. If she gets there, that is. Landing from a gunboat on the Brittany coast, she must to travel to Paris – carrying forged papers, a radio transceiver and more than a million francs in cash… Frighteningly realistic, unbearably exciting, the Rosie Ewing Spy Thrillers are perfect for fans of Philip Kerr, Ian Fleming and John Le Carré. ‘You don’t read a novel by Alexander Fullerton. You live it.’ South Wales Echo

The Inn On The Marsh


Lena Kennedy - 1989
    Talk of Dumb Lukey's crazed acts and the romance between Lucinda and Joe Lee, the Thames bargee. Talk of the Crimea and the terror of Napoleon.At the tavern, hard-headed Beatrice and her sister Dot care for their invalid father and for Lucinda, their pretty orphaned niece. The inn is their livelihood but village business is ever Beat's business too. And now some dark cloud has descended on them all . . .

Plantation Restored (Azalea Plantation #3)


B.J. Robinson - 2017
    The war ends, and Lexie awaits his return. Other soldiers are making it home, but Reese is missing. She leaves New Orleans and travels back to Azalea Plantation in Vicksburg, Mississippi, to await his return, busying herself with restoring the plantation after the war. Lexie clings to faith and hope and refuses to give up on Reese even though she's heard the stories about prisoners-of-war and the explosion of the Sultana. The family decides to visit Azalea Plantation. Will it be for a funeral or a wedding? Reese has still not shown when they are all gathered together. Is it possible for a country to be restored like a plantation home?

Fear


Clare Dundas - 2019
    It is a dark and cruel place for the workers on this farm. The master, Archie McLachlan, causes fear to run through the hearts of the slaves, except for one woman who speaks up deliberately and without fear whenever she wishes. Her name is Soola, and she fast becomes leader of the slaves and friend to the master's wife Gertrude. The friendship forms a triangle of competition, love, and hatred as "Massa Archie" becomes more and more dangerous, even towards his own son Robert and Soola's son John, even to a point where Soola begins to understand the meaning of fear. But, together, the leaders of the second generation can look for a future where hope might overcome fear.Thus, this story, Part One of a four-part series, not only recounts the family's beginnings at the Inveraray/Dogwood Plantation, but also introduces the second generation, who will appear again in the ensuing volumes. Slavery, the corruption caused by slavery, its close companions, race bigotry and injustice, and the laws and bitter politics that result from them, are featured and discussed throughout. While, in the foreground, the unique relationship between mistress and slave and their respective descendants triggers a wide-sweeping story of love, conflict, heartbreak, and forgiveness.