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The School Train by Helen Acker


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Bitter Seed


Meg Hutchinson - 1999
    She inherits their house while her twin brother Mark is left the family steel works. When World War I breaks out, Mark joins the RAF, and the management of the business is left in Isabel's hands, which is not welcomed by the town's industrialists. She makes many enemies and has to struggle to keep her business alive. After much unhappiness, she finally finds love with the manager of a local foundry as well as the identity of her real father.

Siena Summer


Teresa Crane - 1999
    When Poppy arrives, she finds a disturbing undercurrent in Isobel and husband Kit’s relationship, then accidentally uncovers a terrible secret.Against the backdrop of a verdant 1920s Tuscany, Poppy’s own journey into love is overshadowed by the insanity of a war long-ended, and a desire for revenge that, with tragic consequences, inevitably damages the innocent… Perfect for readers of Rosanna Ley and Lucinda Riley, and brimming with atmosphere, this is an enthralling and dramatic story of romance, war and jealousy. ‘A writer of great skill and vitality’ Sarah Harrison‘A moving, passionate and treacherous tale’ Essex Chronicle‘A wonderful storyteller’ Daily Mail

The Dressmaker's Daughter


Nancy Carson - 2015
    Love, passion and romance are reserved for daydreams.But then into Lizzie’s quiet world comes two men – one reliable and kind-hearted, the other heartbreakingly handsome. Just as Lizzie’s made her choice, the ominous call of war sounds, and her life changes again.Will Lizzie get her chance at happiness, or has it gone forever?

Down Our Street


Lena Kennedy - 1987
    But with the outbreak of World War II, the Flanagan family is torn apart, shaken from their crowded nest in London's East End. While the young ones are evacuated from the war-torn capital - the girls to Devon and the boys to a school in the Midlands - Joe is soon made a sergeant, fighting in France. Billy volunteers for the Army Transport, and young Dan fulfils his dreams and joins the RAF. The war brings tragedy - even the old home is in ruins, bombed and shell-splintered. It's Amy, with her fierce courage and determination, who must pull the family back together. But when a man full of wicked charm and Cockney banter walks into her life and wins her heart, more turbulent years are sure to follow.

Suffer a Sea Change


Celeste De Blasis - 1976
    Aristocratic Arthur Barton comes into her life unexpectedly, and just as surprisingly Jessica turns to him for solace and advice. Soon he insists that Jessica needs a change, a sea change in exotic Bermuda. Though uneasy, she cannot refuse his generosity. No sooner have her eyes adapted to the shimmering island sun, than two men block the light from view-forceful, charming Kyre Tarkington and volatile, mysterious Winston St. James. Both exercise a frightening power over Jessica, and only when she faces the gravest danger does she realize that the time to play it safe is long past. Now Jessica must open herself up to life, render herself vulnerable to love. Only then can she come to grips with the past and reap the richest reward of all.

Stay as Sweet as You Are


Joan Jonker - 1999
    But¬† Lucy only knows cruelty from the woman who brought her into the world. Her father, Bob, is the one shining light in her life. He tries to protect her, but he is no match for the devious wife who gives him no peace of mind and has no love for his daughter. The walls of the house are thin and Ruby Mellor's angry attacks on Lucy can be heard by their neighbours. One day, Irene Pollard decides she must do something, and she takes the girl under her wing. And two doors up, Mrs Aggie and her seafaring son, Titch, enrich Lucy's life with their sense of fun. But¬†Lucy she still craves a mother's love...

Looking For Love


Rosie Harris - 2003
    The youngest of three, she longs to be loved by her mother, but Ellen spends all her time with her eldest son, while Abbie and her brother, Sam, take refuge with their neighbours, Sandra Lewis and Peter Ryan. Although vibrant and attractive, Abbie pushes people away with her constant need for reassurance. Infatuated with Peter, she longs for the day when he tells her that he loves her. And Sam is courting Sandra. But Peter and Sandra have a secret - one that could destroy the friends' relationship should it become known. Will Abbie finally find the security and affection she has been searching for all her life, or will she always be looking for love...?

Sisters of Gold


Annie Murray - 2018
    Their protective and devout father keeps the girls close. But he can’t protect them all the time . . . When a scandal rocks this family unit to their core, the girls are forced to leave their home under a shadow of secrecy. The girls arrive in the Birmingham’s famous jewellery quarter one stifling August evening to stay with their uncle, goldsmith Ebenezer Watts. Annie takes up work at a nearby factory, but it’s not the work that interests her. Her kind and soft nature, means that her attention is drawn to the immediate need of her impoverished colleagues and the wretched lives they lead. Meanwhile, Ebenezer employs Margaret as a chain maker. When Margaret meets silversmith Philipp Tallis, she is drawn to him instantly. Margaret is forced to closer to their mysterious man in the cramped workshop, as they create objects of beauty.But what is it the Sisters of Gold are hiding? Even though they’ve escaped their past once, it can’t stay hidden forever . . .

Meet Caroline


Kathleen Ernst - 2012
    A British officer boards their sloop, announces that Britain and America are at war, and takes her father prisoner. As Papa is led away, Caroline promises him that she will stay strong and steady until he returns. She tries hard to keep her promise by helping Mama run the family’s shipyard. Then the British attack her village and it looks as if the American side is in trouble. Can Caroline stay steady enough to help win the day?Includes an illustrated "Looking Back" essay about America in 1812.

Nowhere to Run


Jude Watson - 2013
    For five hundred years, they have guarded the 39 Clues – thirty-nine ingredients in a serum that transforms whomever takes it into the most powerful person on earth. If the serum got into the wrong hands, the disaster would rock the world. So certain Cahills have always made it their mission to keep the serum safe, buried, locked away. Until now.Thirteen-year-old Dan Cahill and his older sister, Amy, are the latest guardians of the Clues. They think they’ve done everything right, but a tiny mistake leads to catastrophe. The serum is missing and Dan and Amy have to get it back and stop who stole it . . . before it’s game over. For everyone.

The Masada Scroll


Paul Block - 2007
    Douglas and, more recently, Christ the Lord by Anne Rice and Stone Tables by Orson Scott Card, The Masada Scroll is bold and reverent, with deep and important meaning for today's world.  At the heart of this timely novel is the discovery of a previously unknown gospel that predates the four gospels of the New Testament. The scroll introduces a mysterious symbol that combines the Star of David, the Cross of Christianity and the Crescent and Star of Islam. None of these symbols existed at the time the Gospel was written, adding to the mystery that Michael Flannery, an Irish priest, must unravel.  Flannery discovers that the symbol represents the Trevia Dei, or Three Paths to God. At the heart of Jesus' message is the unity of the paths that lead to God. The true meaning of Trevia Dei has become perverted over the centuries, turning the message of unity into a single path to salvation.  But there are those who do not want the message of this wonderful book of light and love brought to our troubled world, who have chosen to separate rather than unite God's children. The Masada Scroll is the story of the new Apostles who struggle to bring the simple message of Jesus back into a world desperate for joy. The Masada Scroll is a tale of the timeless quest for spiritual truth and redemption. It is a story that will change the way you look at the world…and your own heart.

Matagorda/The First Fast Draw (Bantam Books Western)


Louis L'Amour - 2008
    Now he’s settled on the Texas coast, working a ranch as the partner of his old friend Tom Kittery—and finding himself in the middle of a feud between Kittery and a neighboring family. But the danger from outside is nothing compared to the threat within, as Duvarney suspects Kittery’s woman isn’t all she appears to be. Tap may have to go to war again. But this time will it be with his closest friend?The First Fast DrawEast Texas wasn’t much of a home for Cullen Baker. Few liked him, and some even tried to kill him. Yet after three years of wandering, he’s back to farm the land that is rightfully his. But Cullen’s neighbors have long memories, and his worst adversary has teamed up with a vicious outlaw. With enemies closing in on all sides and threatening the woman he loves, Cullen will have to be faster than lightning—and twice as deadly—just to survive.From the Paperback edition.

No Silver Spoon


Katie Flynn - 1999
    Dympna, the only girl, adores her father Micheál. She does her best to help her English mother and the family rub along by working hard and expecting little.But beneath the smooth-seeming surface there are hidden secrets. Beatrice idolises her clever eldest son, but her attitude to her husband and to Dympna is puzzling. Yet when the family desperately needs money it is Dympna who crosses the water to Liverpool, to send money back for them.Meanwhile, in Liverpool orphaned, half-starved Jimmy Ruddock struggles to escape from his background with little success until he meets Elsie, a tough young slum-dweller who helps him to better himself. Then he starts work abroad a Fleetwood trawler, and meets up with Dympna...Set in the late 1920s and 30s, No Silver Spoon charts the pleasures and pains of life - and love - in the glorious countryside of Connemara and in the fiercely competitive streets of the Liverpool slums. It confirms Katie Flynn as one of the most beloved and bestselling saga writers in Britain.

Paradise Lane


Ruth Hamilton - 1996
    Young Sally leads a ragged and lonely existence in the shadow of Paradise Mill, whose corrupt, evil and greedy owner destroys his own family and then turns his venom on Sally and her friends.

Gaslight In Page Street


Harry Bowling - 1991
    William’s loyalty has worn thin over the years but he cannot break the ties with Galloway because times are hard and the house in which he lives belongs to him. Carrie Tanner grows up in the heart of a poor yet loving family, but as she becomes a young woman she becomes involved in the Suffragette movement. The times are changing – and quickly. Will this close-knit community be able to pull together or will it be torn apart?