Book picks similar to
A Slow Train To Budapest by Ann Abelson


20th-c
biography
fiction
historical-fiction

The Crocketts': Western Saga Two


Robert Vaughan - 2020
    

The Eight-Shilling Girl


Faye Godwin - 2021
    

Loving & Losing


Marion Reynolds - 2020
    But this is 1930s Ireland where they must fight against repressive laws and social attitudes.Harry has married his childhood sweetheart but finds his wife’s life and his marriage jeopardised by the strict laws of Church and State.As he struggles to become a writer, Joseph rejects the love of the girl next door. He goes to fight in the Spanish Civil War where he finds a different kind of love.Kathleen, an actress, has romantic ideas about going to Hollywood but a love affair threatens to ruin her life and shatter the happiness of her family.Mary becomes a teacher and forms some strong emotional bonds, but gossip and injustice may rob her of everything she holds dear.Can they overcome prejudice or must they bow to convention?

Besieged (The First Crusade Book 2)


Richard Foreman - 2020
    But they may have found one in the shape of the Holy Lance.Bohemond of Taranto realises that the pilgrims must fight or die.But to fight they must know their enemy. Bohemond instructs Edward Kemp, an English knight, to gather intelligence on Kerbogha and the Muslim army. But in attempting to save the crusaders, Edward may damn himself.Triumph and tragedy await on the plains of Antioch, where the course of the crusade - and history - will be altered forever.Recommended for fans of Bernard Cornwell, Ben Kane & Conn Iggulden.Richard Foreman's new bestselling series on the First Crusade provides an entertaining insight into history - and the significant players in the armed pilgrimage, including Bohemond of Taranto and Bishop Adhemar of Le Puy. Foreman shines a light on the epochal moment, with humour and humanity, which still shapes the story of Europe and the Middle East today.

The Widow Makers:Strife


Jean Mead - 2012
    The eldest Standish boy, Tommy, was something of a changeling: he desired a different life and ruthlessly went in pursuit of his dream of the grandeur and riches of the landowners' class.His ambitions realised, Tommy, is intent on higher profits even though it risks the lives of the quarrymen. Joe, his father, fights for a union to secure fairer conditions for the men. The quarrymen are close to becoming victims as the war between father and son escalates.

The Lion and the Leopard (The Lion and the Leopard Trilogy, #3)


Brian Duncan - 2016
    "The Lion and the Leopard" takes place during the Great 1914-18 War when German forces invaded Nyasaland, Northern Rhodesia and Portuguese East Africa. Martin Russell ("The Settler") and his step-daughter, Clare, travel to the war front, while the Spaight family (Alan, from "Lake of Slaves", and his son Drew, and daughters Mandy and Kirsty) are also drawn into the conflict. A young British officer falls in love with Mandy, but she finds her true love elsewhere. Kirsty's friend, a Britsh naval reservist, joins the gunboat flotilla on Lake Tanganyika. The Chilembwe Uprising in Nyasaland provides an unwelcome distraction early in the war. The loves and tragedies in the families unfold during the long and bitter campaign.

The Wretched Needle Worker


Iris Cole - 2021
    Her father was a monster.How could Vera have been so blind to what was right before her eyes?After the death of her kind and loving Papa, Vera’s home is claimed by ne’er do well Uncle Merritt, who drives the household with cruelty and deprivation. Working for her keep, the once privileged Vera is driven to skin and bone and dreads the harsh beatings that Merritt regularly delivers.Ralph, Papa’s loyal and brave stableboy, cannot bear to see Vera shrinking daily under the hand of Merritt. In an attempt protect her, he challenges Merritt and now, tossed to streets, must survive however he can.With the loss of Ralph, Vera’s soul aches, made worse as she watches her father’s elderly servants treated with cruel indignity. In a desperate bid to protect them from Uncle Merritt, his rage is fuelled, and Vera is delivered an ultimatum, causing her to flee from her home. With nowhere to go, Vera too, finds herself on the streets.As starvation threatens, it is only Ralph and her new friend, Maggie, that keep her alive. But when Maggie unexpectedly reveals the truth about Vera's Papa, Vera is plunged to new despair. Will the truth destroy her? Can she keep secrets for the rest of her life? Will she ever be able to make things right? And will she agree to Ralphs’s plan, even though it means she may lose him forever?For fans of Dilly Court and Historical Romance

HMS Aphrodite (Sea Command Book 1)


Richard Testrake - 2015
    Further political machinations have secured a command for this new officer. It is now up to the new Lieutenant Charles Mullins to make a success of his new command on his own.

The Giving Tree


Anya Fincham - 2016
    They say, every wish can be fulfilled. Kito is a little orphan, living in a village, who got to know about a magical tree, that can make his innermost desire true. But at the same time all the other villagers want their desires to be fulfilled as well...

Raid of the Wolves: A fast-paced Viking Saga filled with action and adventure (Ormstunga Saga Book 2)


Donovan Cook - 2021
    

A Slave's Song


Michael Edwin Q. - 2016
    Along the way he learns the horrors of war, the evils of slavery, the plight of the slave, and the cost of freedom. By a twist of fate he becomes the pastor of a church of black slaves.

The Jarrow Trilogy


Janet MacLeod Trotter - 2012
    Gripping, emotional and uplifting, the Trilogy is inspired by Catherine Cookson, her mother and grandmother.The Jarrow Lass: Brought up on her parents' smallholding in Jarrow in the harsh years of the 1870s, selling vegetables to poverty-struck Irish labourers such as the unruly McMullens, Rose dreams of the world beyond the grime of the town, a world she glimpsed at a fairytale wedding on the Ravensworth Estate as a child. Capturing the heart of handsome and respectable steelworker William Fawcett, it seems her wish for a better life is finally within reach. But tragedy strikes, and to save her young family from destitution, Rose must turn to wild John McMullen. The Jarrow Lass is the first novel in the Jarrow Trilogy and is inspired by Catherine Cookson's grandmother.A Child of Jarrow: To escape her possessive and drunken step-father, Kate is sent away from teaming Jarrow to work on the Ravensworth Estate. She is soon attracting the attention of charming, headstrong Alexander and dares to dream of a future with him. But when Kate discovers herself pregnant and alone she must return to face the wrath of her step-father. Yet she refuses to give up hope that one day Alexander might return to claim her and their love child. Poignant and compelling, A Child Of Jarrow is the second in the Jarrow Trilogy.Return to Jarrow: Rebellious Catherine (Kitty) McMullen, resentful of her mother’s new husband and yearning to escape impoverished Jarrow, determines to educate herself. Soon streetwise Kitty is a ghost of the past and the well-spoken, well-read Catherine leaves the north-east to follow her dreams. But this plucky and romantic heroine encounters hardship and heartbreak on the road to self-discovery. Return To Jarrow concludes the bestselling trilogy.

The Stolen Street Girl


Nell Harte - 2021
    Now, she must learn to survive.Forced to be both mother and father to her siblings after Ada’s mother turns to gin, and no longer able to scour the banks of the Thames as mudlarks, Ada turns to picking up cigarette butts from the filthy streets and repurposing the tobacco into a saleable item.Assisted by Elijah the son of a stonemason the Blair family manages to keep a roof over their heads, until their mother’s addiction spirals out of control and they find themselves out on the street.Desperate for safety, Ada takes a risk and is befriended by the well to do Mr Beauregard. But not all things are as they seem and soon Ada is torn from her family and thrown into a world of corruption she could not have imagined.When a chance meeting with Elijah reveals the truth, Ada’s life is at a crossroadsCan Ada leave behind the new life she now finds herself in? Will Elijah ever forgive her for what she has become? Or should Ada let the past remain behind and leave her family in peace.Nell Harte writes sweet and clean Historical Romance.

Mail Order Bride's Baby And Her Idealistic Lumberjack (A Western Historical Romance Book) (Evergreen Frontier)


Florence Linnington - 2021
    

The Ever Open Door


Glenice Crossland - 2008
    Jim's only complaint is that Sally is too soft hearted for her own good, always at the beck and call of any neighbour, friend or even stranger. Sally, on the other hand, accuses Jim of being a soft touch for anyone after a drink or two at the Rising Sun. Both accept that neither will ever change and they love each other and their daughter Daisy deeply. Theirs is a close-knit family in a close-knit community where gossip - both good and bad - abounds and neighbour looks out for neighbour and friend for friend. And when Sally's generosity leads to an inheritance it should mean a change of life for the better, instead it brings danger and difficult choices for them all...