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Puppets of Prague: Gripping 20th Century European Historical Fiction by David Canford
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When She Came Back
Yaron Reshef - 2020
When Syma – a young doctor, an independent woman with a mind of her own, decides to leave home and embark on an adventure in a strange land, she cannot imagine the powerful emotional whirlpool she’ll find herself in.Daily life in Palestine is far from comfortable, replete with obstacles. The conflict between the lure of civilized, bourgeois life in Europe and the option of living the Zionist dream while embarking on a love affair is agonizing.She chooses to leave everything behind, and sails back home, to Poland.When WWII breaks out and the situation of Europe’s Jews goes from bad to worse, Syma’s choice turns out to be unfortunate.November, 1942. In the midst of a harsh winter in Poland, Syma stands waiting at the railway station, on the same platform she was so familiar with in her previous life, a bygone reality.As the train approaches the station, Syma grasps that this voyage will be different. Where is she headed now?
Shanghai Girl
Vivian Yang - 2001
Shan Hai Gaaru". This 2011 U.S. edition features an excerpt of the author’s WNYC Leonard Lopate Essay Contest-winning new novel "Memoirs of a Eurasian". In the post-Cultural Revolution Shanghai of 1984, university senior Sha-fei Hong longs to study in the U.S. for graduate school, ostensibly to pursue the American Dream, but partly to escape her sexually-harassing Communist cadre stepfather. She meets the visiting Chinese-American businessman Gordon Lou, who has political ambitions and ties to the Chinatown underworld in the U.S. He takes Sha-fei to the American Consulate in Shanghai to look into studying in America. There, Sha-fei meets the intern Edward Cook, a young, Caucasian American lawyer who has a strong preference for all things Asian. Within a year, these three people of entirely different cultural and socio-economic backgrounds cross paths in New York. Value systems and self-interests clash. The curtain falls on a dramatic stage of ambition, sex, intrigue, and murder.
A Flight of Golden Wings
Beryl Matthews - 2007
Britain is at war and Ruth Aspinall, a gifted pilot, is determined to join the Air Transport Auxiliary, an organisation of civilian pilots who ferry aircraft to wherever they're needed. Meanwhile over in America, siblings Jack and Lucy Nelson, both experienced pilots themselves, are keen to join too.After a perilous journey by sea, Jack is soon having his first experience of the London Blitz before being posted to White Waltham, where he quite literally bumps into Ruth and romance soon blossoms. On D-Day, Jack is sent to France to deliver a Spitfire, but he is declared missing in action after his plane fails to arrive. Heartbroken, Ruth must accept that the love of her life may never return . . .
The Docklands Girls
June Tate - 2016
Working as a supervisor on a production line for planes, Hildy believes she is doing her part to help with the war effort. But troubles at home, with her dependent and overly-protective mother, make it harder for her to findhappiness as she hides her relationship with an American GI.Meanwhile, Cora has lost both her parents in the Blitz and is still reeling from the devastating loss. Along with her friend, Belle, the two young women turn to the dark streets of Southampton to work on the game, wishing to raise enough money for a new beginning elsewhere and put their pasts behind them.For all three women, the war provides challenges and hardships that they will only emerge from by maintaining courage, strength and, above all, hope.
The River: A Christopher Radcliff Short Story
A.D. Swanston - 2018
. . Cambridge on the morning of a day in April, the year of Our Lord 1569.And Christopher Radcliff, Doctor of Civil Laws at Pembroke Hall and recruiter of clever young men to the service of the Earl of Leicester, is amongst a crowd of excited townsfolk and university scholars gathered on a field to watch a game of foot ball. It is to be played between the apprentices of the town and pupils of the colleges and it is hoped it will reconcile differences between town and gown. Bets are placed, wagers made. On the field long-standing animosities surface and violence breaks out but not before the college team is victorious, thanks to the skill of a Pembroke Hall man, John Groom.Later that day, Radcliff is summoned to the senior tutor’s rooms. It transpires that John Groom has been locked up on a serious charge of assault – he’d nearly caused a cobbler’s apprentice to drown. If found guilty, Groom would be expelled from college and face imprisonment. But Christopher smells a rat. He believes the charge to be the fabrication of someone with a serious grudge against the young man, and yet it does seem as if Groom is hiding something. Enlisting the help of his friend Edward Allington and his wife Katherine, Dr Radcliff knows the truth lies somewhere within the infamous den that is Slegge’s gaming house…
Blood & Honour
Richard Foreman - 2018
But what is his ultimate plan?Varro must get to the heart of the conspiracy, or die trying.'Spies of Rome: Blood & Honour' is the first book in a new series by bestselling author Richard Foreman.
Bold, Bright Spirit: a compelling story of courage and resilience in World War II
Martin Lake - 2020
The Housekeeper's Daughter
Rosie Meddon - 2018
Kate Bratton dreams of more. It’s 1914, and her life is mapped out ahead of her: continue working as a maid in the beautiful Woodicombe House, settle down with Luke the gardener and, of course, start a family.Desperate to run away in search of adventure, Kate’s plans are curtailed by the arrival of the Russell family at Woodicombe House. Tasked with becoming a ladies-maid for their daughter, Naomi, Kate gets a glimpse of the other side of life. Little does she know that all families have secrets, no matter their standing.Will Kate return to the safety of her life before the Russell’s departure? Or will the handsome Ned Russell turn her head? The Woodicombe House Sagas
The Housekeer’s Daughter
A Wife’s War (Coming March 2019)
Praise for The Housekeeper's Daughter:
‘I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book and found the story to flow well. There were many twists and turns that built up to the final conclusion. Very enjoyable and definitely recommended’ 5* Reader review
On the King's Sea Service: A John Phillips Novel
Richard Testrake - 2013
At first taking their cue from the previous struggle of the then fledgling United States, the rebellion soon degenerated. The initial violence began to feed upon itself and bloody revolution spread across all of France. Surprisingly, the struggle spread into neighboring countries. Early in 1793, Great Britain and Republican France went to war. This lasted, with a pair of short interruptions, until 1815. For much of this war, Britain strained at every seam to prevent French forces from crossing the Channel. For much of the war, the Royal Navy was the bulwark that prevented invasion, just as it did a century and a half in the future. Our fictional Royal Naval officer in this book is representative of those larger than life figures that saved the British Isles from conquest.
A Legacy of Secrets (An Irish Family Saga, #4)
Jean Reinhardt - 2015
To make life even more stressful for her, the young woman finds herself torn between two of the people she loves most in the world. As her husband, Patrick, does his best to provide for his young family Catherine fears he is keeping secrets from her, possibly even more hurtful than the one she has concealed in her heart. While Patrick yearns for social change and a better future for his children, his wife is more concerned about the past and what damage it might cause.
Castilian Knight
Griff Hosker - 2019
This is the story of a time when brother fought brother and Christian fought Christian. Power was all and Spain was riven by strife which was political, religious and familial! One man came from the harsh land of Castile to make one land and one state. Spain truly began with Rodrigo Diaz de Vivar, El Campeador, El Cid. His story is told through the eyes of the warrior who spent his life at his side. William Redbeard came from humble origins but he was destined for greatness too as he walked in the seemingly endless shadow of El Cid. This first instalment in the Chronicles tells of Rodrigo’s rise to prominence when he became the champion of Prince Sancho of Castile. This is but the beginning of a tale which still stirs the blood a millennium after it began.
Road to the Breaking
Chris Bennett - 2021
Army Fort Davis in the west Texas wilderness, has received shocking news – his father is dead. He must return home to Virginia and claim his inheritance before a maniacal neighbor can murder his widowed mother and seize the family plantation. But he’s torn by a terrible dilemma – to stay in the army and turn his back on his fortune, his mother and his beloved childhood home, or become the thing he despises; a slave master! Is there no other choice? Meanwhile, a woman desperate to redeem her family’s fortunes schemes to marry her beautiful but troubled daughter to the handsome young heir. But will Evelyn’s own plans break his heart instead? An epic journey across a young nation seething with debauchery, brutality, corruption, and political intrigue, unwittingly on the brink of an unimaginable disaster; the American Civil War. Nathan Chambers has left the violent army life behind in Texas, never imaging he’s on the very ‘Road to The Breaking’.
Frankie's Manor
Anna King - 1999
Keeping her job as a barmaid in the East End wasn’t easy, but with the support of her sweetheart Jack Adams, a local constable, and Frankie Buchanan, whom she loves like a brother, she dreams of a bright future.But there is no love lost between the men. Hackney is ‘Frankie’s manor’ and because of his protection racket, Jack is determined to put its ringleader behind bars.When talk of wedding bells for Jack and Rose meet opposition, Rose isn’t prepared to have her happiness ruined for family pride. But when Rose finds herself alone and heartbroken, Frankie is there to pick up the pieces…
A gripping and emotional saga, perfect for readers of Rosie Goodwin and Val Wood.
A Precarious Homecoming: An Arabella Stewart Historical Mystery
D.S. Lang - 2021
An immediate impediment arises when she becomes involved in a murder investigation. Helping solve the crime is crucial, but Bella must work with Constable Jackson Hastings. Once part of her life, Jax turned his back on Bella after her brother, his best friend, died in the trenches. His cold attitude hasn’t softened, but she can’t let that stop her. Both her hometown and family resort, once popular tourist destinations, may not survive if the crime isn’t solved quickly.Jax, a war veteran, faces his own challenges. Wounded in body and spirit, his dreams shattered, he finds himself doing what he said he’d never do—follow in his father’s footsteps as constable. When a wave of crimes hit the town, culminating in murder, his competence is questioned. In a struggle to find the killer and save his job, Jax needs all the help he can get—but he doesn’t want assistance from Bella. Not when he feels responsible for her brother’s death. But more is at stake than his job. He can’t stand by and let Moreley become a ghost town. Nor can he watch while Bella loses Ballantyne.Working together is the only way to solve the crime and offer hope—to their community and for themselves. Will their efforts succeed, or will it be a precarious homecoming?
Daddy Knows Best: A Raw, Uncut True Story
Matt Gable - 2011
Thereafter, he was his worst enemy. A tough-as-nails father who firmly enforces his old-fashioned ways, a mother who has little or no say, and a son with a penchant for getting into misadventures. The boy tries to convince his parents that something is wrong with him, and he is really physically ill. He suffers three years of humiliation, agony, and punishment from the school and his father. The school principal, gave him swats, detention and isolation, where he spent all day locked up in an empty storage room. His emotionally unstable father spanked him ferociously. The boy was also whipped shirtless with his shorts on leaving him with welts all over his body from head to toe. He suffered other cruel punishments as well. The school and his parents misjudge him almost costing him his life. The parents get a divorce. The mother and brothers moved back to Wisconsin from Texas. They found themselves in an all-black housing project, being the only whites there for almost four years. He grows up quick and learns that life isn't as simple as black and white. When he turns 18, he decides to move back to Texas to seek vengeance from his father in a small country town with his father and his new mother. He hasn't seen or talked to his father in almost four years. Things fall apart fast. The young man and his younger brother end up out on the streets being homeless for two months and encounters unpredictable adventures. A raw, uncut true story.