Book picks similar to
A Girl in Wartime by Maggie Ford


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At Long Last Love


Milly Adams - 2017
    A motley crew of friends has replaced the family she’s not spoken to in years. That is until the evening Kate’s sister Sarah walks back into her life. Sarah has a favour to ask: she needs Kate to return home to Dorset for one month to look after her daughter, Lizzie. Reluctantly Kate agrees, even though it means facing the troubled past she hoped she’d escaped. Kate is confronted once again by the prejudice and scrutiny of the townsfolk, including the new village vicar. As the war continues, Kate must fight her own battles and find not only the courage to forge a future but perhaps, at long last, love.'Milly Adams' readers will find the story and its rich cast of characters very appealing.'Lizzie Lane

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 Flower Seller


Linda Finlay - 2018
    Her life seems perfect, until her father suddenly announces bankruptcy. To save Isabella from destitution he sends her to stay with family she has never met, far away on a violet farm deep in Devon.Isabella is horrified to find her uncle expects her to work for her keep, packing up the flowers and selling them in the nearby market. However she soon discovers that life on a violet farm may not be so bad, especially when she meets handsome local farmer Felix Furneaux… Perfect for fans of Dilly Court and Katie Flynn.

The Lady and The Earl


Diedre Clark - 2012
    Allana is a lady, but not of the traditional sense. She is wild and independent, not following the conventional character of a well-bred lady. She believes the Earl will never want one such as her. But Lord Lucas Hoffman does. Can Allana bring her heart to love Lord Hoffman, or has her infatuation with the Earl ruined her ability to love another?Declan Cunningham, the Earl of Westbrook, is not looking for marriage. But when Lord Marcus Tananguard offers him a coveted piece of land, he cannot refuse. The catch? He must marry Tananguard’s daughter. True, the woman is beautiful, but where does her heart lie? Can Declan claim it, or is it already too late?

A Brighter Day Tomorrow


Pamela Evans - 2018
    Then a handsome American serviceman catches their attention, and so begins heartache between the sisters. Dora is increasingly jealous of her sister's blossoming romance with Victor. But when Victor is killed in a bomb attack, Liz makes a shocking discovery that upsets her whole family.Forced out of her home, Liz finds support where she least expects it. And, with almost nothing left to lose, she hopes for a brighter day tomorrow...

Love and a Promise


Lyn Andrews - 2002
    Perfect for fans of Donna Douglas and Kate Thompson.Maddy Kiernan knows her situation is desperate. With her parents dead, her brother Thomas is left as guardian to Maddy and her sister Carmel. But Thomas has plans that don't include his sisters and his reckless ambition could put all their futures at risk. Sharp-witted and strong-willed, Maddy knows it is she who must assume responsibility for the fragile young Carmel.When Thomas deserts Ireland for Liverpool, Maddy realises she has little option but to follow. Within days the girls are destitute, their precious savings gone. Even when Maddy finds a position with an elderly widow, Thomas's aspirations threaten their security. And then Maddy is faced with a terrible choice - between love and a promise...

A Respectable Woman


Susanna Bavin - 2018
    Five years on, she is just another penny-pinching, back-street housewife. When she discovers Stan is leading a double-life, she runs away to make a fresh start elsewhere.Nell forges a new life for herself and her children in Manchester, working in a garment factory as a talented machinist. Her neighbours and colleagues believe she is a respectable widow – even her children think their father is dead – but when the past comes back to haunt her, Nell is faced with a court trial and will have to answer for her actions.‘A real page-turner that will tug at your heartstrings’ Anna Jacobs

The Soldier's Bride


Elizabeth Lord - 1995
    But her love affair has had consequences that will see her more determined than ever to be a soldier’s bride...

The Buttonmaker’s Daughter


Merryn Allingham - 2017
    Nestled in Sussex, the Summerhayes mansion seems the perfect country idyll. But with a long-running feud in the Summers family and tensions in Europe deepening, Summerhayes’ peaceful days are numbered.For Elizabeth Summer, the lazy quiet of her home has become stifling. A chance meeting with Aiden Kellaway, an architect’s assistant, offers the secret promise of escape. But to secure her family’s future, Elizabeth must marry well. A man of trade falls far from her father’s uncompromising standards.As the sweltering heat of 1914 builds to a storm, Elizabeth faces a choice between family loyalty and an uncertain future with the man she loves.One thing is definite: this summer will change everything.

Wartime Brides


Jeannie Johnson - 2002
    Three women from very different backgrounds meet when they find themselves on Bristol Temple Meads station waiting for the return of their loved ones. Edna's fiance , Colin, comes home crippled. Charlotte's doctor husband, who was a loving and gentle father, returns a violent, disturbed man with no love for her and even less for their children. Polly, who is waiting for her GI boyfriend Aaron, is once again disappointed when he doesn't arrive. Adjusting to men who are very changed and, in Polly's case, to no man at all, is the core of this enthralling novel. However, during the war years, the women have had to cope. They too have changed and they harbour secrets that would be best kept.

When the Music Stopped


Beryl Matthews - 2017
    Twins Lester and Lillia Holdsworth are destined for the stage. Lester is a brilliant pianist; Lillia a magnificent singer. But their cruel father has other ideas for their future. Lester is sent to a military academy, while Lillia must marry Lord Dalton – a self-righteous, pompous friend of her father’s looking for a young wife to give him an heir.Yet their plans to defy their father’s wishes are put on hold when war breaks out in 1914. Suddenly Lester is flying planes for the Royal Flying Corps and Lillia is using her skills as a nurse to help those wounded at home, and then abroad. For both twins, the fighting brings hardships and difficult choices. They wait in hope, like the rest of Europe, for the war to end and the music to start again.

The Colours of Love


Rita Bradshaw - 2015
    Their short honeymoon results in a baby, but on the birth of her daughter, Joy, Esther's world falls apart. Esther's dying mother confesses to a dark secret that she has kept to herself for twenty years: Esther is not her natural daughter but the result of an exchange of babies after her own child was stillborn. Esther's real mother was being forced to give up her baby to an orphanage by her furious family who were incensed about the unsuitability of their daughter's lover, and Joy's birth makes the reason clear. Harshly rejected by Monty, and with the man Esther believed was her father breathing fire and damnation, she takes her precious baby and leaves everything and everyone she's ever known, determined to fend for herself and her child. But her fight is just beginning . . .

The Songbirds of Colliers Row


Jennifer Hart - 2017
    That's what the locals are saying about Llandegwen, deep in the Welsh valleys. The village choir, once a source of pride for the small mining community, has been forced to disband; the elderly choirmaster heartbroken by the empty seats belonging to those who'll never return from the battlefields. The arrival of a young war widow from the East End with her little boy sets tongues wagging, not least when rumours abound that she's looking to revive the choir. Can the community set aside their grief and lift their voices, and the village's hopes, once more?

War Widow


June Francis - 2018
    With her husband, Tom, away fighting in the Second World War, she has only her unreliable sister to help her and she has almost given up hope. She is completely devastated when Tom is reported missing, presumed dead. As the months pass and she struggles to come to terms with her loss, Flora is swept off her feet by a handsome American soldier. But he cannot offer the stability that Flora and her family desperately need. And when another terrible tragedy strikes the family, Flora must decide what is really important…

A Daughter’s Courage


Kitty Neale - 2018
    But then an unexpected pregnancy puts everything at risk, and Dorothy is left alone – with Robbie nowhere to be seen.Heartbroken, Dorothy picks up the pieces of her life as a working girl in Battersea helping to support her mother and father. But before long, things start to become difficult. Her father’s health is worsening, money is tight and worst of all, Robbie hasn’t come back for her.Can Dorothy find a way back to happiness in the face of real adversity? Will she have the courage to make it on her own – or is someone else waiting in the wings to save her?Gritty and moving, this is the perfect read for fans of Dilly Court and Maggie Hope.