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

     It is 219 BC and Carthage has a new General who is intent on expanding their colonies in Iberia, but resistance is growing. Violent raids up and down the east coast of Iberia are occurring. Caros is the son of a wealthy trader and discovers his family murdered after a raid on their village. Honour bound to avenge their murders Caros turns from trader to warrior to hunt his family's killers. In doing so he befriends a gifted tracker, gains prestige among strange, foreign horsemen and falls in love with a beautiful woman. For Caros, peace and happiness are elusive though as resistance to Carthage finally ignites a conflagration that will change the course of history. He finds himself riding to battle in the army a young Carthaginian General and while doing so becomes a hero of his people. Even heroes can be broken though... A portion of the net proceeds of the sale of this book goes to FFI (Registered Charity Number 1011100) for the preservation of our natural world and wildlife. This is inspired by their work to save the critically endangered Iberian Lynx which is referred to numerous times in the novel.

    Barder does not return alone: with him is his new wife, Rachel, a beautiful blonde woman whom he met in Warsaw shortly after the war - a Jewish survivor who lost her entire family and remained alone in the world. Jacob fell in love with her and brought her to the states. Now he will defend her in the biggest battle of her life. A Jewish lawyer’s wife is accused of committing Nazi war crimes One evening, in a Broadway theater, Rachel is attacked by a woman who accuses her of being Matilda Krause - a German SS officer who served at the Nazi concentration camps. Rachel’s arrest and police investigation open the way to a sensational trial that will be written in the pages of history. With no one willing to protect a Nazi officer, Barder decides to defend his wife himself. Why would a Jewish survivor speak for a Nazi in the court of law? Barder is called to make an impossible case in the name of his beloved wife, and that of humanity altogether. The jury, the judge, and the readers will be astounded by what he has to say.

    Two men, aided by her father, hustle her mother away without a word, leaving a stunned Sarah staring after them. Thus begins Sarah’s journey into a world of secrets, a world of great responsibility and little guidance. Along the way, “The Blue Car,” set in western North Carolina in 1952, explores when to keep a promise and when to break it, and whether people can really change. Book club discussion questions included.

    As her unnamed mother breathes her last, Sarah is taken in at the grand Meadow Hall in South Riding, Yorkshire. As soon as she can hold a scrubbing brush, her working life begins. Feisty and headstrong, Sarah's temper often leads her into trouble. At just 14 she decides to escape the life of a servant and run away. Dressed as a boy, she meets good-hearted Aidan and impulsive Danby, forming an unlikely but happy trio. Sarah's true identity eventually comes to the surface after nearly a year, along with new feelings for Aidan. However, knowing that the place for a teenage girl is definitely not with two young men, Aidan reluctantly takes Sarah to the workhouse. He plans to rescue her from this miserable place just as soon as he can, but something keeps Aidan from his promise—and nearly takes his life. Reunited as adults, and now strangers to each other, Sarah holds a secret about Danby, Aidan, and her unborn child. But can she do what is right for her baby, even if it means losing the love of her life?

     Meet retired cop, Sam Prichard. Sam Prichard was a cop, and a good one, until the bullets took out the joint of his right hip. Now he's trying to learn to live without being a cop, and getting to know his neighbors, learning to walk again and even ride a motorcycle. Life is bearable, barely, but then he gets asked to find a missing child, and the lure of getting back into some kind of police work is too much for him to resist. When he teams up with computer whiz Indiana Perkins, he suddenly becomes one of the best investigators he's ever even known. Now, he's found the missing child, but it's thrown him right into the middle of something that may be a drug war--or could be a chance to stop the next 911! There's no way out for Sam, so he's in for the ride of his life, but when the girl he's becoming fond of is suddenly drawn into the line of fire with her own little daughter, Sam is ready to forget all the rules and do whatever is necessary to win the day.

    At last she will be free from him, even though she and Nuala, the sister who depends on her for everything, must now leave his miners cottage. Then Kate discovers they have an aunt in the Midlands whom their father had kept secret, and who now offers them a home. Despite leaving her heart in Durham with Matthew, a young artist, Kate feels loved and safe with Aunt Beth. But her peace is shattered by an astonishing revelation from Nuala, and a series of brutal attacks on the women of Nuneaton. Kate turns to a handsome widower, Martin Denby, but is his kindness too good to be true?

    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 British government called the famine an act of God. The Irish called it genocide. By any name the famine caused the death of over one million men, women, and children by starvation and disease. Another two million were forced to flee the country. With the famine as a backdrop, this is a story about two families as different as coarse wool and fine silk. Michael Ranahan, the son of a tenant farmer, dreams of breaking his bondage to the land and going to America. The passage money has been saved. He’s made up his mind to go. And then—the blight strikes and Michael must put his dream on hold. The landlord, Lord Somerville, is a compassionate man who struggles to preserve a way of life without compromising his ideals. To add to his troubles, he has to deal with a recalcitrant daughter who chafes at being forced to live in a country of “bog runners.”In The Time Of Famine is a story of survival. It’s a story of duplicity. But most of all, it’s a story of love and sacrifice.

     Adam and Polly Fitch face a bleak future after being sold for just five shillings to Miss Reed's orphanage by their bullying father. Missing their mother Minnie, and their three brothers still at home, they know they must stick together to survive. But the orphanage does have one advantage – a merry band of children who soon form their own kind of family – and they're all determined to escape the clutches of the wicked Miss Reed. Adam decides to survive he'll need to fight, so he sneaks out to have boxing lessons with the famous pugilist Billy Marshall. Lessons he needs sooner than he expects when his beloved sister Polly is sold to the rich Bellamy family, and Adam decides to go to her rescue. Can Adam, Polly and their band of friends survive life with only each other to rely on, and will they ever have the happily ever after they so long for...

    Heartbroken and humiliated, she leaps at a chance to make a fresh start away from her native Tullamore. Within a week she has crossed the Irish Sea, and is lodging with other young women in a house off Newcastle city centre, just a short walk from Harrison’s – the rundown knitting and sewing shop where she will work for reserved and troubled spinster, Lucy Harrison. Sarah now finds herself amongst people of different classes, religion and race, and when her Irish nationality is attacked she must discover the skills to survive. Putting the past behind her, she channels her energies into rebuilding the old-fashioned, neglected Harrison’s into a thriving business and her wonderful sewing and design skills soon lead her down a new and exciting path in life. A path without love though, as she is too raw to consider romance again. Or so she thinks …

    For young housemaid, Anwen Rhys, life is hard in the Welsh mining village of Dorcalon, deep in the Rhymney Valley. She cares for her ill mother and beloved younger sister Sara, all while shielding them from her father’s drunken, violent temper. Anwen comforts herself with her love for childhood sweetheart, Idris Hughes, away fighting in the Great War.Yet when Idris returns, he is a changed man; no longer the innocent boy she loved, he is harder, more distant, quickly breaking off their engagement. And when tragedy once again strikes her family, Anwen’s heart is completely broken.But when an explosion at the pit brings unimaginable heartache to Dorcalon, Anwen and Idris put their feelings aside to unite their mining community.In the midst of despair, can Anwen find hope again? And will she ever find the happiness she deserves?

     A new Tudor monarch has just been crowned: a handsome, energetic king. His court, so different from his father’s, is a glamorous, seductive magnet to ambitious young noblemen from across the country. One such man is Julian Allard who has fled a monastic life in Northumberland to seek love, fame and fortune at the court of Henry VIII. But when his beloved marries another and the King proves to be a temperamental master, Julian’s idyllic life at court begins to fall apart. Dismissing the advice of friends and the wise heads around him, he finds himself on a path to self-destruction, believing only in the dark prophesy of a fortune teller. Cloisterman is powerful Tudor chronicle from a master storyteller. Juliet Dymoke’s portrayal of life at the court of Henry VIII at an exciting time of intellectual and artistic promise, is compelling, moving and utterly convincing.

    William Marshal is portrayed as being brave, intelligent - but flawed and human too.” Michael Arnold William Marshal was born in a time of civil war. In a time of bloodshed and honour. As a boy he is used as a pawn, during the conflict between Stephen and Matilda. But as a young man he trains as a knight. Marshal learns his trade in England and Normandy, fighting in tournaments and war-games, gaining friends and enemies alike. But the boy must become a man - and the squire must become a knight. Marshal soon finds himself embroiled in the campaigns of Henry II and the rivalry between French Kings. Where once he fought for fame and riches, the young knight finds himself fighting for his life. The Knight Banneret is the first book in an epic series chronicling the story of William Marshal, “the Greatest Knight”. For fans of Bernard Cornwell, Conn Iggulden and Michael Jecks. Praise for Richard Woodman: “This series could develop into something very special. Richard Woodman knows how to tell a story, but has a healthy respect for history... Compulsive reading.” Saul David “Brings medieval Europe to life. The well-crafted action and historical insights enthral and entertain.” Richard Foreman, author of Band of Brothers. ‘Richard Woodman reminds us of the importance of merchant ships and our debts to the seafarers – men and women – who manned.’ HRH Princess Anne ‘If Neptune’s Trident sets the standard for what is to follow - we can at least rest assured that there is a series that truly does justice to our proud merchant maritime past.’ Nautilus UK Telegraph ‘Richard Woodman tells many a good tale in this first volume and it is fascinating to read. I highly recommend this first volume in the Neptune s Trident for anyone with an interest in the early modern period. If the rest of the series is as good as this one, they should all be on the bookshelves of those studying the history of Britain, from the sixteenth to the twentieth centuries.’ Open History Captain Richard Martin Woodman LVO is an English novelist and naval historian. He is the author of the series ‘A History of the British Merchant Navy’ and the Sword of State trilogy, which recreates the true story of George Monck, a giant of the 17th Century.

    Her life seems mapped out for her by the time she is twelve. Amy dreams of an exciting life in the world beyond her narrow boundaries. But it is the two people who come to the farm from outside the valley who change her life forever, and Amy learns the high cost of making the wrong choice.