Louisa, the spirited eldest daughter of Herzig and Clara Steinbacher, has her whole life ahead of her. She is seventeen, and dreams of the "outside world" beyond her doorstep. But when Clara dies in childbirth, Louisa is suddenly thrust into adulthood-with the burden of her mother's responsibilities...and the care of her younger siblings. The only world she has ever known closes around her.Then Herzig, an elder in their strict Mennonite community, hires young, handsome Thomas to help on the farm. Thomas is hardworking, honest...and not of the Faith. But Louisa can't hide her growing feelings for him. Her choices set in motion a transformation she never expected. But at what cost?

    . .1924The First World War is over and eleven-year-old Alexa is growing up on the idyllic Cornish coast with her best friend Harvey. But she soon discovers there are secrets at the heart of her family that have been hidden for years. And when her mother dies suddenly, she finds her whole life thrown into turmoil.1931Still reeling from the past and desperate for adventure, Alexa flees Cornwall for London, before travelling to the intoxicating city of Venice. But her new glamorous life is not what she hoped for and, with dark shadows closing in on her, Alexa will question everything she thought she wanted . . . 'A touching tale of star crossed lovers' New Magazine on Map of Stars

    Dr Cat Jarman exposes the unexpected routes that Viking travel and trade took - and how these kings of the river were frequent travellers of the Middle East and the Silk Road.One June day late in the eighth century, Norse seafarers arrived at the English island of Lindisfarne. They waged a savage attack on its unsuspecting abbey, and with this, the Age of the Vikings was born. These roving pillagers spent the next few hundred years raiding and trading a path across Northern and Western Europe. Except, that's not quite true. It's just a convenient place to start the story - a story that has seen radical new discoveries over the past few years. Dr Cat Jarman works on the cutting edge of bioarchaeology, using forensic techniques to research the paths of Vikings who came to rest in British soil. By examining teeth that are now over one thousand years old, she can determine childhood diet, and thereby where a specimen was likely born. With radiocarbon dating, she can ascertain a death date down to the range of a few years. In 2012, a carnelian bead came into her temporary possession. River Kings sees her trace its path back to eighth-century Baghdad, discovering along the way that the Vikings' route was far more varied than we might think, that with them came people from the Middle East, not just Scandinavia, and that the reason for all this unexpected integration between the Eastern and Western worlds may well have been a slave trade running through the Silk Road, and all the way to Britain. River Kings is a major reassessment of the Vikings, and of the medieval world as we know it.

    Plough the Furrow begins in 1910. Esther Everatt, shunned by her family and desperate for work and a place to say, finds her way to Sam Brumby's farm. Able to work alongside any man, she earns old Sam's grudging respect. Prepared to risk everything to secure her future, Esther marries a local farmhand. But as war arrives she comes to understand that only the truest of love can survive the passing of the seasons. Sow the Seed follows the story of Kate, Esther's daughter. Kate is determined to marry her childhood sweetheart, Danny. But when she reaches eighteen Kate is told the bitter truth of her family's past and the reasons why marriage to Danny can never happen. Heart-broken Kate witnesses many things amidst the chaos and destruction of WWII, which finally lead her to experience a love that allows her to leave the past behind. Reap the Harvest is set in the aftermath of the disastrous Lincolnshire floods of 1953. Kate's daughter Ella finds herself compelled to live at Brumby's Farm with her grandmother, Esther. This story of love, war, secrets and tragedy seems destined to repeat itself in heartache before coming full circle and bringing this glorious trilogy to a close.

    The couple call the child Holly and welcome her into their home as their little Christmas miracle. As Holly grows into a lovely girl, full of joy and imagination as wild as her red hair, so too does Rose’s resentment of her. As the years pass and the Clements have a child of their own, Holly is relegated to nothing more than the family’s maid. Not even Silas, the man that Holly has come to know and love as her papa, seems able to save her from his wife’s cruel ways. Tragedy strikes the day after Holly’s sixteenth birthday and she cast from the Clement’s home to face Christmas on the cold London streets, alone and terrified. With her world ripped from under her feet, Holly climbs the stone wall of London Bridge and peers into the rabid waters below… but a voice from the dark offers her hope…all she has to do is follow him. Find out what happens to Holly in The Dressmaker’s Christmas.

    Over twelve hundred years ago, Cynethryth ruled with Offa to become one of the most powerful couples in English history. And although she's the only Anglo-Saxon queen to have coinage issued in her name, she is remembered today only for her purported murder of a fellow king. Was she an infamous monster, or is this only how she appeared to the (male) chroniclers of her day? Read her story and you decide, but remember: his-story is not always the same as her-story. (Warning: this book deals with adult topics and situations.)

    A heartwarming saga of marriage and friendship in a small country town. Young newly-weds Ellen and Richard Lancy are delighted when they have a son to complete their family. But their happiness is short-lived when a tragic accident changes everything. Ellen must stay strong to protect herself and her family. When help comes from an unexpected source, it also brings misunderstandings and disapproval from her neighbours. Can Ellen keep those she loves safe, and overcome the difficulties life has thrown at her? The heartwarming tale of a courageous woman in a rural English town in Victorian times. Another gripping and bittersweet story from the bestselling author of the much-loved Apple Tree Saga. "Sheer country magic." James Herriott

    Four complete novels. Each filled with intrigue, danger, and true love. “Confronting A Rake”A straight laced governess and a handsome rake. Opposites most definitely attract.Devlin Beaumont’s liked being a rake. Whiskey, women, and fun, what more could a man want? All that ends with an unexpected title, three young wards, and a beautiful governess. If that wasn't enough, there is the minor detail that someone is trying to kill him. Rebecca Jones has to be ever mindful of society’s expectations. As the governess to three young girls, she must set an example. A requirement that is sorely tested with the arrival of the new Duke.“Charming A Rake”Rich, powerful, and a rake, Nathanial Caldwell is every woman’s dream.Beautiful, disdained, and impoverished, Lady Alice Weston is desperate. When offered an opportunity to guide the sister of Nathanial Caldwell through her first season, Lady Alice feels as if her prayers have been answered. All she’s ever wanted was a chance for redemption.Of course, working so closely with a rich, handsome man can create a whole new set of problems. Can Lady Alice obtain her dream. And if so, at what price.“Catching A Rake”Olivia Caldwell always believed the man to be insufferable. Unfortunately, he was her brother’s best friend, therefore unavoidable. And while Lord Bradford might be opinionated, domineering, and a notorious rake. He was also the only man in England who was able to rescue her from kidnappers. A fact that was going to lead to her worse nightmare. A marriage of convenience to the one man who she could not control. Lord Bradford knew the woman was demanding, opinionated, and a thorn in his side since she was a little girl. Now, beautiful, charming, and with a tongue sharper than a Sheffield blade, she was a man’s worse nightmare. A woman who could capture his heart. But, society's rules demanded he wed this hellion. His only hope, have her surrender to him. If he failed, he would surely surrender his heart to her, and that way lay madness.“Challenging A Rake”Miss Amanda Waters knew full well that a rake should not be trusted. But when a severely wounded Lord Warwick crashed through her front door, bleeding, and asking her to keep his secret. What choice did she have?Heaven help her if anyone learned she was nursing a British Lord back to health in her upstairs bedroom. Her friends would disown her and most of the ton would think her a fool. But when she discovers Lord Warwick’s true mission, she has no choice but to help. Lord Warwick never expected to need the help of someone like Miss Waters. But his mission was too important. England’s very survival rested in the balanceThe fact that it might cost him his heart was immaterial. Somethings cannot be denied.

    

    

    Driven from home to be dumped in the workhouse, Charlie has had to fight for survival and has vowed to never forgive those who hurt her.Paul Vermont is a godly man who falls in love with Charlie from the moment he first sets eyes on her. The textiles in the factory are nothing but rags compared to her beauty, but bitterness in her heart is evident in the way she treats everyone around her. Paul has strong faith and refuses to believe that Charlie cannot change.He sets out to help her deal with her past—and that means returning to where it all began.The brave Christmas journey she takes then changes everything for them both.If you enjoy heartfelt Victorian romance you will love this beautiful Christmas tale. Read it today.

    Pretty and outspoken, she often alarmed her best friend Amy by expressing doubts - about parents, teachers and, most of all, religion, which according to their strict 1950s Catholic upbringing in Rivington Cross seemed certain, Amy thought, to send them both to Hell. What, after all, was wrong with being a Protestant, Madeleine would ask? Or a Jew? The good-looking boy they both noticed on their way to school was, it was rumoured, Jewish - his family having fled from Poland at the beginning of the war.Father Sheahan, the whiskey-soaked priest from the local church, had discovered that his secret past was catching up with him, and went in fear of his life. Amy, too, had a secret - a secret which caused her to visit the Bell House, an ancient charnel house outside the village. As they grow up, this place of death becomes a meeting place for the friends, who have to learn that differences in religion can cause unexpected heartache.