Book picks similar to
The Girl From Poor House Lane by Freda Lightfoot


fiction
historical-fiction
a-box-of-stories
old-books-are-sometimes-the-best

Ashoka: Satrap of Taxila


Ashok K. Banker - 2017
    But when he sees the brutality and disrespect to Mauryavansh by the Pashtun rebels, he cannot stay silent. His sword is as quick as his temper, and the result is swift and bloody justice. Taxila is saved—but the Emperor is furious. Emperor Bindusara, egged on by his favorite queen, Noor Khorasan, becomes convinced that Ashoka’s show of initiative is an act of treason. Even the wise words of nonagenarian Kautilya, emerging from retirement, fall on deaf ears. Queen Khorasan’s well-mounted plot to control the empire sweeps up everyone who opposes her. Suddenly, Ashoka is forced to choose between his mother’s life and his own. What will the young prince do?India’s epic storyteller brings alive the battles, brutality, lust and politics of ancient India in vivid detail with thrilling action, and no-holds-barred storytelling. Relive the extraordinary life story of India’s greatest emperor as a young man in Ashoka: Satrap of Taxila.

Doctor Rose and the Outlaw


R.O. Lane - 2020
    She sets up her medical practice there. One night she's called out to help a gang of outlaws that have been shot to pieces while trying to rustle cattle. One of the outlaws is a young man that she develops feelings for, but he's in and out of her life for months on end. The outlaw attempts to change his life and go straight. It's a challenge that Rose encourages. It's the tale of two people who grow to care deeply for each other, and when Rose is kidnapped, the outlaw, now her husband, rides out to save her. Another novel of the Old West from the pen of R. O. Lane.

Rainbow's End


Katie Flynn - 1997
    Tracing the stories of two quite diffrent girls: Ellen Docherty, in Liverpool, bringing up her younger sister and brother single-handedly, and Maggie McVeigh, in the Dublin tenements, finding a better life working for the Nolan family, and falling in love with Liam, the eldest son, RAINBOW'S END follows two girls on their struggle for happiness. But the First World War changes everything -and unearths a long-buried link between the families.

Worth Their Colours


Martin McDowell - 2010
    The year is 1805 and Nelson has robbed the French of their way across The Channel, but Napoleon’s Grande Armee’ remains a potent threat. Faced with this, the Secretary of State for War gathered all possible forces to resist invasion. This included sweeping up into Detachment Battalions the surviving soldiers of various minor disasters and combining them together with a very much less than re-assuring mixture of recruits. This is the story of one such Battalion, a collection of veterans, social outcasts, untried Militia, volunteers, criminals and poachers who march and train together until the desperate British military deem them fit to be part of General Stuart’s army that invades Calabria to support one the few allies Britain has, the King of Naples. There they confront a veteran French army on the plains of Maida for the first set piece confrontation between the armies of Great Britain and Napoleon’s all-conquering forces. At the campaign’s end, as a Detachment Battalion, usually considered as inherently inferior, they could be broken up and sent to reinforce under strength, well established, Regiments. Or, perhaps, by their own deeds and prowess, they deserve to be recognised as a numbered Regiment, and be““Worth Their Colours.”

The Berlin Affair


David Boyle - 2017
     American Xanthe Schneider finds herself catapulted into the world of British espionage, and is sent into the heart of Nazi Germany: Berlin. Her task? To find out whether Ralph Lancing-Price – a former government minister she had known briefly in London – is a patriot or traitor. And what of the code he talked about so abstrusely? Using her guise as an American correspondent, Xanthe sets out to find him. But not all is what it seems. Xanthe soon becomes drawn into a web of intrigue involving a project entitled "Enigma" - and she also unexpectedly falls in love. As the weeks go by, and Germany begins to mobilise its armies, Xanthe has to question who she can trust - and how she can survive? The Berlin Affair is a page-turning thriller, full of historical insight and dramatic reversals of fortune. A must read for fans of Robert Harris, David Downing and Alan Furst. Praise for David Boyle ‘Authentic and compelling... Boyle captures the paranoia and peril of the era.’ Roger Moorhouse, author of Berlin at War ‘The Berlin Affair is the first book in what I'm sure will prove to be a gripping series... For fans of Alan Furst and Robert Harris.’ - Richard Foreman, author of A Hero of our Time ‘Exhilarating’ - Daily Mail ‘A book that is engagingly sensitive’ Dominic Lawson, Sunday Times David Boyle is a British author and journalist who writes mainly about history and new ideas in economics, money, business and culture. He lives in Crystal Palace, London. His books include Alan Turing: Unlocking the Enigma, Before Enigma, Operation Primrose,Rupert Brooke: England’s Last Patriot, Peace on Earth: The Christmas Truce of 1914, Jerusalem: England’s National Anthem, Unheard Unseen: Warfare in the Dardanelles, Towards the Setting Sun: The Race for America and The Age to Come.

Nobody's Darling


Josephine Cox - 1993
    She stifles her love for handsome Johnny, and works as a maid for Jeffrey Banks and his daughter, Cicely. When evil Luke Arnold woos Cicely, she starts making hats. But greedy Luke steals from his father's business, prioposes to Cicely for her father's foundry, orders the Miller father killed, and continues to threaten the lives and livelihood of all the Miller family.

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.

One of Us Buried


Johanna Craven - 2021
    She is put to work at the female factory of Parramatta; a place where the women’s only hope of food and lodgings is to offer their bodies to the settlement’s men. Nell is given shelter by Lieutenant Blackwell, a brooding soldier to whom she is inexplicably drawn. Despite warnings from the other women, Blackwell’s motives seem decent, and beneath the roof of a military officer, Nell sees a chance to become more than just a convict woman sent to the factory to be forgotten. But tensions are high in New South Wales, with the young colony teetering on the edge of a convict rebellion. And as Nell treads a dangerous line between obedience and power, she learns the role of a factory lass is to remain silent – or face a walk to the gallows.

The Girl Now Leaving


Betty Burton - 1997
    Stricken by diphtheria, she is sent to the Hampshire countryside where she discovers a robust fighting spirit and the first stirrings of attraction...But then must she follow her mother into the city’s grim corset-making trade. Lu realizes that things must change. And she can make it happen.  Her journey from shy child to energetic woman encompasses love, deep friendship, and a growing political awareness. Above all, Lu is a survivor – and one to be reckoned with.The Girl Now Leaving is a powerful and unputdownable saga perfect for fans of Diney Costeloe, Nadine Dorries and Mary Gibson.

Flashman At The Charge ;Flashman In The Great Game


George MacDonald Fraser - 1983
    

Forgive and Forget


Dee Williams - 2001
    She's lost her home in a bomb attack, and with her husband in the army, her daughters evacuated to Wales, and her mother killed and father injured in the attack, Ruth is left to face the devastation alone. But she finds comfort in the camaraderie of the Civil Defence office where she works and in her friendship with Lucy, a clippie on the buses. Lucy's husband is at sea, and the two women dream of the day when they'll be reunited with their loved ones. But as victory approaches, Ruth finds that the legacy of war is more powerful than even she had imagined...

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 Cromwell Deception


John Paul Davis - 2014
    For over four hundred years the Crown jewels of England have been held safely in the Tower of London, yet in the coming days they are removed, never to be seen in public again. Government receipts confirm the jewels have been sold and melted down for mint value.Only one man knows the truth...Present day: In the heart of London, a famous art gallery is robbed in the dead of night. Two paintings are taken: a newly purchased £10million self-portrait of a famous 17th-century artist and a portrait of a Roundhead soldier of moderate fame. For gallery director Gillian McKevitt, news of the theft is an absolute nightmare. Aside from the theft occurring less than two days before the self-portrait's unveiling, CCTV footage suggests the theft was an inside job.As the news sinks in, a surprise revelation from Gillian's predecessor confirms she is dealing with no ordinary theft. One of the portraits contains an unimaginable secret, one with the potential to reveal the whereabouts of a long-lost treasure. With time running out before the grand unveiling, Gillian realises she has no choice but to take matters into her own hands. Following the clues revealed by earlier x-ray and infrared examination of the painting, Gillian finds herself in a frantic, and dangerous, race across England and through history as she attempts to track down the thieves before they reach their goal. To succeed, she must not only uncover their identity, but also unearth one of England's best-kept secrets...

Sing for Your Supper


Rosie Harris - 2007
    Tudor longs to be a star entertainer and so Karen gets a job, leaving her husband to look after their young daughter Delia, doing stints at clubs in the evening, whenever he can get them. Until one day Tudor is arrested for begging and Karen is horrified to learn that he has been busking during the day and taking three-year-old Delia with him to collect the money. When Tudor comes out of prison he gets an honest job but soon he is back to his old ways. And when his life of petty crime quickly turns into something far more sinister, it is all Karen can do to ensure she and her daughter survive ...

Powder Monkey (Fox Book 1)


Adam Hardy - 2016
    If anyone did manage to escape his imagined attack long enough to attempt to swim ashore, Fox would push him under. His attitude was understandable, for he was still angered and aching from a whipping. He was only eleven years old and a powder monkey, one of the lowest forms of life afloat. Such was the beginning of Fox's career in the Royal Navy.In a short time, however, he would rise through the ranks. He would survive the brutality of bigger men and demanding officers. He would acquit himself bravely amidst the crashing chaos of cannonfire and hand-to-hand combat. He would battle the French, the Spanish, the Americans ... any enemy who dared to risk his wake.He would become the toughest bastard who ever walked the rolling deck of a fighting ship!Adam Hardy was a pen name used by Kenneth Bulmer (1921-2005). A prolific writer, Bulmer wrote over 160 novels and innumerable short stories, both under his real name and various pen names. He is best known for science fiction, including his long-running Dray Prescot series of planetary romances, but he wrote in many genres.