Not everything is easy to discover.' In war-torn France, charismatic Spaniard Luis elopes with high-born Elise from Paris and takes her to live in a small village in Catalonia. Little do they know that war will rip them apart, sending Elise into unhappy exile in England, and Luis to his death in the Resistance. Many years later their daughter Madeleine returns to France to seek out her roots and the truth of her parents' story. But her arrival in the Catalan village of her childhood unleashes more than she had bargained for, as Madeleine confronts the secrets of war and learns the shocking truth behind her father's death. And as her own love story begins, she must come to terms with her past, and learn to forgive and to believe in the legacy of love her parents left behind.

    Nine young nuns, intoxicated by Luther's subversive writings, became restless and longed to leave their convent. On Good Friday 1523 a haulier smuggled them out hidden in empty herring barrels. Five of them settled in Wittenberg, the very eye of the storm, and one of them - Katharina von Bora - scandalised the world by marrying the revolutionary former monk. Following a near miscarriage, she is confined to her bed to await the birth of their first child; during this time, she sets down her own story. Against a backdrop of 16th Century Europe this vivid account of Katharina von Bora's early life brings to the spotlight this spirited and courageous woman.

    The two artists’ passion for Germaine will lead to a devastating turn. Amid soul-searching and despair, however, Picasso discovers a color palette in which to render his demons and paint himself into lasting history.Bringing the exuberance of the era vividly to life, this richly imagined portrait of Picasso’s coming of age intertwines the love, death, lust, and friendships that inspired the immortal works of a defiant master.

     'This is her best yet. I devoured it in one sitting - It's a real page turner that will delight and tug at the heart strings of readers everywhere. Wonderful!' Fiona Ford, author of Christmas at Liberty's__________In the dark days of war a new hope is born . . . 1939.Mary Vale, a grand and imposing Mother & Baby Home, sits on the edge of the Lake District. Its doors are open to unmarried women who come to hide their condition and find sanctuary. Women from all walks of life pass through Mary Vale, from beautiful waitress Emily, whose boyfriend has vanished without trace, to young Isla, cast out by her wealthy family after her first year at university goes horribly wrong. Awaiting them is Nurse Ada and Sister Anne who work tirelessly to aid the mothers and safely deliver the babies. But the unforgiving Matron and Head of Governors, Captain Percival, have other, more sinister, ideas.As war looms the women at Mary Vale must pull together for the sake of themselves and their babies and Ada and Anne must help protect their patients, no matter what the cost.

    But when the baby dies of natural causes while under her roof, and knowing her neighbour will be devastated, Minnie swaps it with one of the infants in her care.Now seventeen, Jewel Nightingale knows nothing of her true origins. But assaulted by her hateful cousin and making the dreadful discovery that she is pregnant, she faces a desperate dilemma. Fleeing her job as a domestic maid, she follows an advertisement to a house in Bolton's dark slums, where a woman promises to help her when the child is born. Little does Jewel know that there’s a terrible price to pay . . .Can she keep herself – and her baby – safe? And what will happen when Jewel discovers the truth about where she came from? Gritty and page-turning historical saga set in Northern England in the late 1800s, perfect for fans of Dilly Court and Rosie Goodwin.

    John's. Over the decades that follow, the city and the neighbourhood grow around them, as does the Holloway family. When the Second World War comes to St. John's and Audrey Holloway falls in love with an American soldier, she's sure her glamorous new life will unfold far from the streets of Rabbittown.​But fate leads Audrey back to the corner store, where for the next several decades she and the store will remain a fixture in their working-class neighbourhood. The fate of the Holloway family -- of Audrey, her musician son Henry and Henry's talented daughter Rachel -- seems tied to the fate of the corner store and a changing neighbourhood. Finally, in post-moratorium St. John's of the 1990s, Audrey has to face the possibility that the price of saving the family business may be a higher price than she is willing to pay.

    A melancholic cloth that whispered and rustled. Who could say what it foretold.' Dublin, 1840: Rhia Mahoney watches in despair as her father's linen warehouse goes up in flames. Her family is ruined. Her imagined future, full of pattern and colour, plum brocades and beetle-green taffeta, crumbles to ashes. Seeking work as a governess in dismal London, Rhia's life is changed beyond all imagination when her uncle, a shipping merchant, commits suicide. Rhia cannot - will not - believe he would take his own life, but before she can investigate, she is accused of a crime she didn't commit, and forced to board a prison ship bound for New South Wales. The voyage is one of dry biscuits and endless sea, made bearable by the women's daily chore: to sew scraps of cloth into an elaborate quilt. What Rhia does not realise is that with every stitch, she binds herself closer to a journey of discovery that will not end in Australia ...Weaving death, love and adventure into a vivid tale of the world at the height of Empire, The Silver Thread is plotted like a murder mystery, but narrated with the skill and style of a literary storyteller.

    Since her father's stroke, Jean has been trying to run her parents' small farm almost single-handedly and is in desperate need of help. Karl, a German prisoner of war captured when the Allies invade France in 1944, turns out to be just what she needs. He is polite, hardworking and homesick, but is he more than that? Fraternisation between the prisoners and the local population is forbidden, but as the weeks and months pass, Jean and Karl become closer - much to the dismay of Jean's family and Karl's compatriots. Can their love have a future when it seems every hand is against them?

    Jerked from a life of isolation with her mother, Willow learns what alone really means when she finds her mother still in her bed, never to awaken again in this life. From the moment Willow arrives in the police station with her startling announcement, Chad Tesdall fights the friendship he knows he can't avoid. This collection includes episodes fifteen through eighteen of Past Forward. In this volume, Chad and Willow start their life together. A surprise attack, Willow's first vacation, and a slow, gradual expansion of the farm brings more changes to Walden Farm. Follow as Willow's story unfolds past forward.

    The Kingdom of Jerusalem hanging by a thread. One Knight Justice must face his greatest fears or die trying… Brother Foulques de Villaret just wants to stay in Acre and perform his sworn duties. Instead, the young Hospitaller Knight of Saint John must undertake a dangerous journey from the Holy Land to a remote village nestled in the Alps, the ‘Spine of the World’. His mission: buy 500 peasant boys and return them to Acre to be trained as Soldiers of Christ. Pursued across the Mid-Earth Sea by slavers, Brother Foulques and his Army of Children are about to be thrust into a confrontation with the greatest warriors the East has ever known: the Mamluks. To survive, Brother Foulques must turn to risky alliances… and pray that his choices do not lead them all to destruction. Acre is the first book in the Hospitaller Saga, a series of breathtaking historical novels set in the late 13th century. If you like action-packed adventure and authentically rich fiction, then you’ll love J. K. Swift’s historically epic masterpiece.

    Outpost - A prelude to Blood on the Snow with Jack Hallam. The Emerald Graves - Lorn Mullone at the Battle of Vinegar Hill. Pipe and Drum - A tale of the Battle of Assaye seen through the eyes of a Highlander of the 78th Foot. Plains Wolf - Rifleman Arthur Cadoc impresses a certain Spanish Guerrillero. Summer is Coming - There is nothing more horrific than the horrors of the French retreat in icy Russia, 1812. The Diabolical Circumstance of Captain Bartholomew Chivers - A funny story in the vein of Harry Flashman. Flowers of Toulouse - A chilling story. Lamentation - A redcoat looks back on his life after the Battle of New Orleans. Enemy at the Gates - The bloody defence of Hougoumont. The Bravest of the Brave - Ney's final moments at Waterloo.

    Now a shadow of its former glory; most of the rooms have been shut up, the garden is overgrown and the whole place feels as unwelcoming as the family themselves.Struggling with the realities of war, Alice is plagued by anonymous letters and haunting visions of her old household. At first, Beth tries to convince her it’s all in her mind but soon starts to unravel the mysteries surrounding the aristocratic family’s past.An evocative and captivating tale, The Secret of Summerhayes tells of dark secrets, almost-forgotten scandals and a household teetering on the edge of ruin.

    Late one night, a junior naval officer at the Admiralty intercepts a coded despatch, marked with blood: Napoleon Bonaparte is about to launch the largest invasion fleet in history. Target: unknown.England is vulnerable, bereft of allies, and the Sea Lords fear a direct assault on Britain. Admiralty Intelligence sounds the alarm and prepares to unleash Nelson and the Mediterranean squadron.But before they can, they need vital information. They need a special officer to infiltrate by land or by sea to uncover the destination of Napoleon’s armada – a man who never stops.Marine Lt William John Hazzard.But will he agree to help them?Betrayed by the Admiralty at the African Cape three years earlier, Hazzard has vowed never to trust them again. Bitter memories poisoned his return home, and his devoted fiancée Sarah, unable to bear his pain any longer, disappears in Naples – never to be seen again.But the Admiralty knows just how to get him back.They know where Sarah is, and her life is in danger…From pitched sea-battles to back-street duels in a covert war, this is the epic adventure of the new hero of Napoleonic fiction: Hazzard. Perfect for fans of Seth Hunter, Bernard Cornwell and CS Forester.Never give up the boat.

    This is a chance to leave the past behind.But this island, and its inhabitants, have secrets of their own and a not-too-distant past steeped in tragedy and war. None more so than Vila Maslina’s enigmatic owner Damir Maric. A young man with nothing to lose but everything to gain…