The Ashleigh family gather at Knightshill, their Wiltshire Mansion, to welcome home the black sheep of the family after his twelve year absence. Vere, the head of the family, awaits the return of his younger brother Val anxiously anticipating the moment when the family can be complete again, bound under the honourable Ashleigh tradition of military valour. But Val’s intentions are to settle his accounts and return to the outback. Yet fate is against him ad he must struggle with his own demons as memories thought to be long forgotten come back to haunt him. When the news of imminent war breaks, the attitudes of the household differ violently threatening to rip apart their bonds before the tragedy has even begun. Tim, Vere’s nephew, handsome, arrogant and immensely proud of his ancestry, looks forward to following the heroic precedent set by previous generations on the battlefields. Kate exerts all her efforts in pursuing her nursing career, eager to break male dominance by abandoning the traditionally domestic role of Ashleigh women. Whilst Val is forced back into the very world he vowed he would never return to… In this tragic tale of adventure, love and war, the Ashleigh family’s attitudes and values are certain to change forever. The third volume in the three-part Knightshill saga, this is a sweeping historical epic from Elizabeth Darrell, which was originally published under the name of Emma Drummond. Filled with Darrell’s usual compelling mix of danger, passion and heroism set against authentic historical events, ‘Act of Valour’ continues the story of the colourful Ashleighs of Knightshill which was begun in ‘A Question of Honour’. Praise for Elizabeth Darrell: ‘A wonderful story, compellingly told...the authenticity - both emotional and historical - really shines through’ - Sarah Harrison Elizabeth Darrell is the penname of Emma Drummond, born in 1931. Her father was a member of the British Army stationed in Hong Kong, where Drummond spent the early years of her life. As well as writing books, she worked in the Women’s Royal Army Corps. Her books include ‘Concerto’, ‘The Savage Sky’ and ‘At the Going Down of the Sun’. Endeavour Press is the UK's leading independent publisher of digital books.

    He bargained with the dark gods for his immortality-and now he and his kingdom will have to pay the price.

    For this is the eve of the Battle of Waterloo, and many of the handsome young men attending the ball will find themselves, the very next day, on the battlefield.For Sophia Trenchard, the young and beautiful daughter of Wellington's chief supplier, this night will change everything. But it is only twenty-five years later, when the upwardly mobile Trenchards move into the fashionable new area of Belgravia, that the true repercussions of that moment will be felt. For in this new world, where the aristocracy rub shoulders with the emerging nouveau riche, there are those who would prefer the secrets of the past to remain buried...

    When his older brother, Henry dies in a freak racing accident, William inherits a legacy and title he has not been groomed for nor wants. TWO LIVES… Bullied by his domineering mother and rejected by love, William falls into a deep depression. His saviour is his sister, Lottie, who helps him to create a second identity as Reuben Chambers, a London business man. SHADOWS FROM THE PAST. As Reuben, he finds true happiness which helps him to fulfil his duties as William, heir to the Dukedom. But a secret from the past threatens his family and the delicate balance he has created for his double identity. Can he continue to keep his two lives separate?

    Assigned to the task is his attorney’s daughter, prim Belle Oakhurst. As they travel to England together on a luxurious ocean liner, their tempestuous relationship encounters more than rough seas. Although Wesley is increasingly attracted to Belle, she is already engaged. While Belle begins to regret her hasty promise to marry, she is bound by honor and duty to keep her pledge. Furthermore, a thoughtless fabrication on her part threatens to expose her as a liar. Neither Wesley nor Belle can foresee that their voyage across the Atlantic will be fraught with peril, and will cost more than one man his life.(Same book as ASIN: B00DO5DAPK, but with new cover)

    But she couldn’t. She’d stay there stuck fast in paint forever. A chimney sweep in Victorian London’s poverty-stricken East End, Tom Wasp is highly flattered to be asked to model for Valentine Drake, a painter in fashionable Chelsea, especially since his co-model is the beautiful and warm-hearted Bessie Barton, a red-headed stunner who becomes his friend. Grief-stricken when her body is found by mudlarks on the muddy banks of the river Thames, Tom vows to find her murderer. Tracking her pitiful past through London’s seamiest quarters, he discovers the monstrous shadow that hangs over her life, Moonman, from whose clutches Bessie had fled, only to fall into his murderous hands at last. But who is Moonman? Is he one of the Angels, the high-minded group of artists to which Valentine belongs? Or is the truth more terrifying still? Step by step Tom hunts down his quarry through the darkness, guided by his faith that there is goodness in this world as well as evil, and assisted by his chummy, the eleven-year-old Ned. Narrated by Tom himself, this unusual historical thriller whirls the reader from the squalor of London’s Victorian slums to the heady pleasures of its high-life, revealing both the evil and the goodness in both. Tom and Ned make a formidable team as they clean the filthy chimneys of life in this first book of the Tom Wasp series. Praise for Amy Myers ‘Victorian England hides a dark underbelly of misery and degradation along with a vicious murderer.’— Kirkus Reviews ‘Tom Wasp is one of the most engaging characters I’ve encountered in yeats’ – Ellen Keith, Historical Novels Review AMY MYERS has been a full-time writer since 1988, and has written a wide range of novels from historical sagas and contemporary romance to crime. She is married to an American and lives in Kent. Many of her novels have been published under the name of Harriet Hudson.

    Expected to marry an up-and-coming banker from a respected family, Lucy fears she will be forced to abandon her charity work--and the classes she is secretly taking at the newly opened University of Chicago. When she meets an unconventional young architect who is working on plans for the upcoming 1893 World's Fair, Lucy imagines a life lived on her own terms. Can she break away from her family's expectations? And will she ever be loved for who she truly is? Readers will love being swept away into a world of mansions, secrets, and romance as they follow Lucy through the streets of the Windy City during one of the most exciting times in the city's history. From opulent upper-class homes to the well-worn rooms of an orphanage, Olivia Newport breathes life and romance into the pages of history--and everyone is invited.

    Brilliantly etched and dramatically portrayed, three generations of remarkable families struggle with divided loyalties, ambition, adultery, love, and intrigue as they search for the strength to survive. It is a story bursting with the destiny of unforgettable people, an epic novel that will haunt you long after you've turned the last page.

    With the help of their former, outspoken, Irish maid, Maura, and a new, equally Irish friend, Shannon, the wives become even closer than before.The couples' rocky path leads to more turmoil, however, when a business rival, Victor Drayton, creates one disaster after another. From petty tricks to outright violence, Victor's nefarious mind will stop at nothing to beat down Jonathan's last glimmer of hope.Despite everything, Jonathan and his friends are fixated on surviving.Emotional and financial destruction nip at their heels, until finally, with a lucky twist of fate, they escape city life and begin anew in their hometown of Rockport, Massachusetts.A story set in the past, 1929 is full of romance, drama, and humor. Vivid, expertly crafted characters make this novel more than memorable–1929 is unforgettable.

    Britain and France are once again at war. The conflict has spilled over into the North America of 1744.With the threat of war looming on the horizon, Marie struggles to find her place. As a young woman, her life is just beginning. Her friendship with Pierre promises of something more. But the British promise not only to defeat them but annihilate their very way of life.As empires collide, Marie and Pierre are catapulted into a world they do not understand – a world of spies, treason, and revenge.Not only must they fight to survive the war, but they must also fight to stay together despite the forces that threaten to tear them apart forever.

    Celia's two sons march under opposing banners, whilst her twin daughters take different paths; one to the Catholic Church and the other to the battlefields. And in the shadow of war, a sinister villain from the past resurfaces with the sole purpose of destroying the entire family. "Four generations struggle in a suspenseful family saga, which begins in 1912, in Kent, England, and ends in 1939 in Spain, during the Civil War."

    He is posted to India and this, for her, is a dream come true. After seven years of heartache and joy, and a lifestyle which is leisurely and luxurious, they return to Ireland and James is demobbed. They settle with their three young children in Dublin, a city rife with political and civil unrest, and beset with terrible poverty. When World War I is declared, James re-enlists. Ellen is left to bring up her children alone, in a city which views the wives of British soldiers with suspicion. If James survives and returns, it will be to a different Ireland, one which has lived through the 1916 Rising and its aftermath, where anti- British sentiment grows stronger every day. Ellen longs for James but worries. Will there be a place for them in this new Ireland?

    It is the end of England's brief Edwardian summer, and everyone agrees that the weather has never been so beautiful. Hugh Grange, down from his medical studies, is visiting his Aunt Agatha, who lives with her husband in the small, idyllic coastal town of Rye. Agatha's husband works in the Foreign Office, and she is certain he will ensure that the recent saber rattling over the Balkans won't come to anything. And Agatha has more immediate concerns; she has just risked her carefully built reputation by pushing for the appointment of a woman to replace the Latin master. When Beatrice Nash arrives with one trunk and several large crates of books, it is clear she is significantly more freethinking—and attractive—than anyone believes a Latin teacher should be. For her part, mourning the death of her beloved father, who has left her penniless, Beatrice simply wants to be left alone to pursue her teaching and writing. But just as Beatrice comes alive to the beauty of the Sussex landscape and the colorful characters who populate Rye, the perfect summer is about to end. For despite Agatha's reassurances, the unimaginable is coming. Soon the limits of progress, and the old ways, will be tested as this small Sussex town and its inhabitants go to war.

    Jem Phipps has always loved Katy. His proposal of marriage rescues her from scandal but after tragedy strikes, Jem becomes a reluctant soldier on the battlefields of The First World War, leaving Katy behind, restless and alone. Lionel White, the local curate, has just returned from India bringing a dash of colour to the small village and offers Katy a window on the wider world. Only when Katy joins up as a WAAC girl does she finally break free from the stifling class-ridden hierarchies that bind her but the brutality of 20th-century global war brings home the price she has paid for her search. Through the horrors of WW1, she discovers only love brings freedom. In essence, Daffodils is a love story, whose tender heart is almost torn apart through this tumultuous time. COMPLETELY REVISED EDITION

    Perfect for fans of "Downton Abbey," it's the story of an aristocratic family, a house, a mysterious death, and a way of life that vanished forever, told in flashback by a woman who witnessed it all.The novel is full of secrets - some revealed, others hidden forever, reminiscent of the romantic suspense of Daphne du Maurier. It's also a meditation on memory and the devastation of war and a beautifully rendered window into a fascinating time in history.