Book picks similar to
The Running Years by Claire Rayner


historical-fiction
eras--early-20th-century
war--world-war-1
war--world-war-2

Mountain High


Daniel Friebe - 2011
    This work features Europe's 50 greatest cycling climbs specially selected as scenes of sporting heroism, marvels of nature, spiritual places of pilgrimage that every bike rider or fan wishes to one day visit and conquer.

The Indu Sundaresan Collection: The Twentieth Wife, Feast of Roses, and Shadow Princess


Indu Sundaresan - 2013
    Ghias Beg isn’t traveling light; he has with him a pregnant wife and three small children. When his family stops at Qandahar—which is today in modern-day Afghanistan, at that time was on the outer fringe of the Mughal Empire—his wife gives birth to a baby girl named Mehrunnisa. Thirty-four years later, this winter child will become an Emperor’s wife and the most powerful woman in that Mughal dynasty. Mehrunnisa is The Twentieth Wife of Emperor Jahangir, Akbar’s son, a woman so beloved of her husband that he grants her most of the powers of sovereignty. She signs on imperial documents called farmans and mints coins in her name and truly comes into power during the sixteen years of her marriage to Jahangir in The Feast of Roses . Mehrunnisa’s niece (her brother’s daughter and Ghias’ granddaughter) marries one of Jahangir’s sons, Prince Khurram who becomes Emperor Shah Jahan after his father’s death. When this niece dies in childbirth in June of 1631, Shah Jahan builds the Taj Mahal in her memory. But it is Mehrunnisa’s grand-niece (and Ghias’ great-granddaughter) Princess Jahanara who takes center stage in the third novel of the trilogy, Shadow Princess . She’s seventeen years old when her mother dies and her father, in his grief, leans upon her to the extent that she’s never allowed to marry. Throughout her life, Jahanara has to pacify warring brothers who each want the throne after their father, and engages in a rivalry with a sister, Roshanara—in supporting differing brothers politically, and in falling in love with the same noble at court, Najabat Khan. Powerful in her father’s harem, immensely rich with half her mother’s estate bestowed upon her and all of her mother’s yearly income, Jahanara still fails to turn the course of India’s history and has to find love with Najabat Khan in unconventional ways.

Claws of Steel (S.S. Wotan Dogs of War Series)


Leo Kessler - 1974
    They had taken the most impregnable fortress in Europe, faced Stalin's cadets in the screaming inferno of the Russian front, and returned with only a handful of survivors. They were Hitler's elite, dedicated, relentless men, for whom death held no fear, Assault Regiment Wotan. Their next mission was a lightening blow at Kursk in the very heart of Soviet Russia. As they advanced across the burning steppes after the fall of Stalingrad, the men of Wotan found the bodies of German soldiers, hanged, tortured, and mutilated, and they swore they would not leave Russian soil until they had taken their revenge.

The Dandelion Years


Erica James - 2014
    A rambling pink cottage on the edge of the Suffolk village of Melbury Green, its enchanting garden provided a fairy-tale playground of seclusion, a perfect sanctuary to hide from the tragedy which shattered her childhood.Now an adult, Saskia is still living at Ashcombe and as a book restorer devotes her days tending to the broken, battered books that find their way to her, daydreaming about the people who had once turned their pages. When she discovers a notebook carefully concealed in an old Bible - and realising someone has gone to a great deal of trouble to hide a story of their own - Saskia finds herself drawn into a heart-rending tale of wartime love...

How to Buy Your First Home (And How to Sell it Too)


Phil Spencer - 2011
    Breaking everything down into simple and achievable steps, he makes this daunting process easy. Learn how to:- Find your perfect pad- Choose which mortgage is right for you- Negotiate with estate agents and sellers- Organise exchange and completion Including indispensable advice, money-saving tips and an essential trouble-shooting section, this guide covers everything a first-time buyer needs to know. And when it's time to move on again, this book will show you how to sell your home too.Phil Spencer is one the best-known faces on British television, co-presenting the hit Channel 4 series Location, Location, Location and Relocation, Relocation. Phil has written regularly columns in The Sunday Times and Country Life, and is contracted to Archant publishing to write columns that are syndicated in the group's numerous local glossy magazines which are distributed nationwide. Recent TV appearances include on The One Show, Children in Need and The Friday Night Project, and Phil also regularly appears on the radio to discuss property issues.

Those Above


Daniel Polansky - 2015
    Tall, strong, perfect, superhuman and near immortal they rule from their glittering palaces in the eternal city in the centre of the world. They are called Those Above by their subjects. They enforce their will with fire and sword. Twenty five years ago mankind mustered an army and rose up against them, only to be slaughtered in a terrible battle. Hope died that day, but hatred survived. Whispers of another revolt are beginning to stir in the hearts of the oppressed: a woman, widowed in the war, who has dedicated her life to revenge; the general, the only man to ever defeat one of Those Above in single combat, summoned forth to raise a new legion; and a boy killer who rises from the gutter to lead an uprising in the capital.

Sherlock Holmes: The Last Act


David Stuart Davies - 1999
    Watson. Holmes reflects on the old days and comes to realise that not only was there so much that he had shared with Watson in his lifetime but also there was so much that he had not revealed to him: things he had kept hidden, including his deep affection for his friend. Imagining that Watson is present, Holmes addresses this failing and touches on aspects of past cases and the various characters he encountered during his investigations, including ‘The Woman’ Irene Adler and of course Professor Moriarty.Holmes delves deeper into the darker aspects of his own history, revealing at last a shocking secret. Realising now how lonely and isolated he is without his old comrade, adrift in a new modern and war-ravaged age, he comes to wonder whether, like Watson, he too has come to the end of his time…

Valentines: A Trio of Regency Love Stories for Sweethearts' Day


Barbara Metzger - 1995
    However, Max's head is beset by larger worries than matrimony--though he is curiously diverted by the antics of the flame-haired matchmaking minx. . . . THE LAST VALENTINEExiled into obscurity by her odious father, Martine can only assume the romantic love notes on her doorstep are a mistake--intended for another. Who could it be? Only Cupid knows--as mischief and merriment mark the countdown to Valentine's Day. . . .LOVE AND TENDERNESSFew blushing brides have their wedding night ruined by a ghost only they can see, but Senta's hysterics send her groom running. Reconciling these stubborn newlyweds is no easy task--even for a handsome, oddly dressed apparition who calls himself the King . . . .

Under the Skin


James Carlos Blake - 2003
    Raised on an isolated West Texas ranch that he was forced to flee at age eighteen following the violent breakup of his foster family, Jimmy has found a home and a profession in Galveston -- and a mentor in Rose Maceo.Looming over Jimmy's story like an ancient curse is the specter of his fearsome father. Their ties of blood, evident since Jimmy's boyhood, have been drawn tighter over time. Then a strange and beautiful girl enters his life and a swift and terrifying sequence of events is set in motion. Jimmy must cross the border and go deep into the brutal and merciless country of his ancestors -- where the story's harrowing climax closes a circle of destiny many years in the making.

Follow Your Heart


Rosanne Bittner - 2005
    But Ingrid gradually sees that Jude shares her commitment to seeing justice served, and when personal tragedy strikes at everything she holds most dear, this strong, independent woman must reconsider her previous assumptions and open her heart to forgiveness…and love.

Free to Be Tegan


Mary Grand - 2015
    She is vulnerable and naïve but she also has courage and the will to survive. She travels to Wales, to previously unknown relations in the wild Cambrian Mountains.This is the uplifting story of her journey from life in a cult to find herself and flourish in a world she has been taught to fear and abhor.Guilt and shadows from her past haunt her in flashbacks, panic attacks and a fear of the dark. However she also finds a world full of colour, love and happiness she has never known before. The wild beauty of the hills, the people she meets and the secrets slowly revealed by the cottage all provide an intriguing backdrop to Tegan’s drama.The novel is set in spring, a story of hope, new growth, of the discovery of self and the joy of living.

Run to Him


Nadine Dorries - 2014
    For nurse Fionnuala Kennedy, it is work as usual. As she trudges through the cold streets to catch her bus, Fionnuala thinks of the secret which she has been keeping from her beloved mother and father - and of how on earth she is going to break it to them. She promises herself that she will do it that very evening, when she gets back home. None of the hospital staff are expecting very much to disturb their routine - it is Christmas Day, after all. And indeed, Fionnuala's morning at the hospital begins quietly enough, but then all hell breaks loose, and she is faced with an emergency to rock her world to its foundations.Join the characters from THE FOUR STREETS in this heartwarming short story from bestselling author Nadine Dorries.

Ninepins


Rosy Thornton - 2012
    Deep in the Cambridgeshire fens, Laura is living alone with her 12-year old daughter Beth, in the old tollhouse known as Ninepins.

Congratulations


Darrin Lowery - 2007
    That's why no one is more surprised than her when she starts dating Thomas Anthony Young, the fit and handsome office heartthrob. After eight months together, Tiffany is sure that he's about to propose at any minute.Instead, she's taken off guard when they have a senseless argument. Thomas abruptly departs for a business trip, leaving Tiffany hurt and confused. In an effort to cheer herself up, she calls her friend Alicia for some company. Alicia already has plans to attend the wedding of a cousin she's not too fond of. She suggests that Tiffany go with her. They'll make a brief appearance and then spend the rest of the day together, shopping and catching up. Neither one of them is prepared for the pandemonium that breaks loose when they get to the wedding and Tiffany discovers that Thomas is the groom!

Empire of Silver; Bones of the Hills; Lords of the Bow; Wolf of the Plains


Conn Iggulden
    Conn Iggulden Conqueror Series 4 Books Collection Pack incorporates very interesting titles like Empire of Silver, Bones of the Hills, Lords of the Bow, Wolf of the Plains.know more - http://www.snazal.com/conn-iggulden-c...