Book picks similar to
Southern Steel by Dymphna Cusack


historical-fiction
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Revenge


Noel Hynd - 1976
    The decorated US Air Force lieutenant is captured and taken to a POW camp. Only a supreme effort of will keeps him from breaking down. But his ordeal was just beginning. Richard Silva is turned over to a shadowy interrogator -- known as the Imp -- who specializes in the systematic torture of American prisoners. Miraculously, Silva survives and returns to the US. He finds an America that is profoundly different from the country he left, but America isn't the only thing that has changed. Silva's mind has been horribly altered. For him there is only one way out: Find the man who stripped him of his humanity. Find him and kill him. With only a few clues to his enemy's true identity, Silva embarks on a manhunt that spans years and continents. As he draws nearer to his elusive quarry, he move closer to a danger that could turn his desperate vendetta into a chilling face-off that threatens unspeakable consequences for him and his country.

Redstone Station


Therese Creed - 2013
    During various placements at farms and stations during her time at college she was shocked at the second-class status of women workers, whereas her grandfather, Sam, who owns Redstone, has always treated her as an equal. For his part, Sam is delighted to have his granddaughter back on board. In shaping Alice he tried to avoid the mistakes he'd made with her mother, Lara, and she has lived up to his high expectations, graduating from Ag College with flying colours. He now sees Alice as his last chance to preserve his beloved station and successfully take it into the future. Exceptionally hard-working, with great horsemanship, an instinctive understanding of animals and a natural aptitude for farming, Alice is determined to justify her grandfather's faith in her. But will her budding regard for one of the stockmen throw her, and the future of Redstone, off track?

Last Drinks


Andrew McGahan - 2000
    But for George Verney, disgraced journalist and bit-player in the great scandals of his day, the Inquiry has never quite finished. After ten years of self-imposed exile, drawn by the terrible death of a man who was his friend, he reluctantly returns to Brisbane, the city of his downfall. In a town he no longer recognises and through an underworld that has forgotten him, George must seek out the other hidden survivors of his times, to confront the truth about their common past.'Last Drinks, fast moving, funny and shocking, is a lament for all that can go wrong not only in the life of one man, but in the life of an entire state.This is crime fiction that transcends the genre . . . It's a truly compelling and stylish novel, seamlessly written.' - Debra Adelaide, Sydney Morning Herald

Band of Brothers: The Complete Campaigns


Richard Foreman - 2016
    England stands on the brink of war with France. Henry V receives intelligence, through his agent Thomas Chaucer, that the French intend to re-forge their old alliance with Scotland. The King orders Chaucer and veteran archer Robert Cooper to travel across the border and intercept a French agent, Reynard of Troyes, before he can deliver the gold which will fund Scotland's war with England. Chaucer also learns of a plot to murder the man that England cannot afford to go to war without. He orders the man-at-arms, Edward Fordham, to remain in the capital, solve the mystery and stop the assassin. But all is not what it seems. Some wars are fought in the shadows as well as on the battlefield... Harfleur 1415. Harfleur. The town stands defiant. Henry V and his army have been repulsed. If the English fail to break the siege then their campaign will be over. Men will die, from disease or starvation. The King instructs one of his agents, Thomas Chaucer, to negotiate a deal with a local French merchant to re-supply the army. But, instead of meeting an ally, Chaucer is about to come face to face with an old enemy. Henry, in a last throw of the dice, charges the archer Robert Cooper with ending the siege. The bowman forms a plan. The night attack will either save the English army – or damn it. Once more into the breach… Agincourt 1415. Agincourt. Victory or death. Kill or be killed. The English are outnumbered. But Henry V is determined that his army won't be outfought. Robert Cooper and his company of archers must face a new threat, as well as do battle with the old enemy. And as the two sides prepare to engage each other the spy, Thomas Chaucer, and his man-at-arms, Edward Fordham, must travel through enemy-held territory, in order to hunt down Reynard de Troyes. The ruthless French agent will stop at nothing to defeat all his enemies, including Chaucer and Fordham... Richard Foreman’s books have been widely praised. Praise for Band of Brothers: The Game’s Afoot: 'A rattling good yarn, requiring only the minimum of suspension of belief, and leaves one eagerly anticipating the next instalment of the adventures of the team as they accompany the King to Harfleur' - Major Gordon Corrigan, author of A Great and Glorious Adventure: A Military History of the Hundred Years War. Praise for Augustus: Son of Rome: ‘Augustus: Son of Rome forges action and adventure with politics and philosophy. This superb story is drenched in both blood and wisdom - and puts Foreman on the map as the coming man of historical fiction’. - Saul David, Author of the Zulu Hart series. Praise for Raffles: The Complete Innings: ‘Classy, humorous and surprisingly touching tales of cricket, friendship and crime.’ - David Blackburn, The Spectator. Richard Foreman is the author of numerous best-selling books, including Augustus: Son of Rome and the Sword of Rome and Sword of Empire series of historical novellas. He is also the author of Warsaw, a literary novel set during the Second World War. He lives in London.

And Quiet Flows the Don, Vol 1 of 5


Mikhail Sholokhov - 2001
    

Outlaw: The Story of Joe Flick


Greg Barron - 2020
    One very old woman living there, he discovers, was originally from outback New South Wales, and is something of an outcast amongst the Waanyi and Gangalidda locals.On delving deeper, Morris discovers that the old woman was the 'wife' of a white stockman for more than thirty years in the frontier days, and claims to be the mother of one of the north's most notorious outlaws. Determined to record the facts of her son's crimes from her perspective, he sits with her each afternoon.This is the story she told ...

My Father's Moon


Elizabeth Jolley - 1989
    She and the baby, and sometimes Ramsden, eke out their days at shabby hospitals across England, dreaming always of better places, other things.

Tall Poppies


Janet Woods - 2012
    . . - Dorset, 1917. If it's not enough that a girl from a good background is forced to work as a maid, Livia Carr is then violated by her master and falls pregnant. But help unexpectedly comes from her attacker’s son, Richard, a WWI hero who is not expected to live much longer. He marries her, and his death, though expected, comes as a great blow. Into the breach steps Livia's first love, Denton Elliott - but he does not know the truth about her child's parentage . . .

The Dressmaker


Rosalie Ham - 2000
    She plans only to check on her ailing mother and leave. But Tilly decides to stay, and though she is still an outcast, her lush, exquisite dresses prove irresistible to the prim women of Dungatar. Through her fashion business, her friendship with Sergeant Farrat—the town’s only policeman, who harbors an unusual passion for fabrics—and a budding romance with Teddy, the local football star whose family is almost as reviled as hers, she finds a measure of grudging acceptance. But as her dresses begin to arouse competition and envy in town, causing old resentments to surface, it becomes clear that Tilly’s mind is set on a darker design: exacting revenge on those who wronged her, in the most spectacular fashion.

All That Jazz


Dee Williams - 2008
    Times are tough and, to support her sister, Daisy has to work hard as a dancer in a nightclub, getting home late and hardly seeing Mary-Jane. One night a fire starts and Mary-Jane is alone in the house. The night's events lead to the sisters being split up and Daisy May begins to fear that she will never see Mary-Jane again...

Mail Order Bride- Box Set


Katie Wyatt - 2015
    Beauregard Kearny be all that he seems? Will he find it in his heart to forgive her when he finds out the whole truth she’s been hiding? Can Summer rise above her misfortune and find true love and happiness?Will they survive what Mother Nature has in store for them?So come on down and hang out with the folks at Laramie including intimidating US Marshal Beauregard Kearny with a menacing smile, happy Mary, and of course beautiful petite feisty Miss Summer Percy from Pennsylvania.… “a story of hope, fear, romance, suspense and true love.” Rayne's Meadow ~ Book #2 Meet Rayne, she ain’t getting any younger, and its slim Pick'ens for eligible men in her tiny Wisconsin town of Taylor falls. What is it that Wyatt Earp’s brother told Rayne that shakes her trust in her fiancé and their love before it even starts? Will she find it in her heart to get over the secret about him that she discovered? Will Mr. Joseph Hunter be all that he seems? Can she find true love and happiness in these Montana Meadows?Mother Nature can be cruel, will they be able to survive what is coming their way? June's Choice ~ Book #3 Meet June Dennings her husband died she’s running out of money there is no good local man left to marry. Her generosity and kindness has her meet a stranger named Belle one fateful afternoon.What is it that she has in here power that can save her fiance’s cattle ranch and their lives? Will she find it in her heart to forgive him when she finds out the whole truth? Can June rise above her misfortune and find true love and happiness?Will they survive what some no good for nothing cattle rustlers have in store for them?So come on down and hang out with the folks at Amarillo including the tall handsome cattle farmer Mr. Jarrod Bedford that scares the heck out of our pretty miss June, the faithful friend foreman Yancey Williams and Belle the attractive strong woman who holds the key to their lives.… “a story of hope, fear, romance, suspense and true love.” April's Dilemma ~ Book 4 Meet April at 23 years old if she doesn’t find a husband soon it will be too late and her native town of Ohio holds no hope for a husband.she had no choice….… waiting for her future husband to appear. Despite her appearance of bravado, her heart thundered, her palms grew clammy, and if knees really could knock, hers would certainly be doing so. For a second she felt a wave of uncertainty passed through her….

The Strays


Emily Bitto - 2014
    He and his wife are attempting to escape the stifling conservatism of 1930s Australia by inviting other like-minded artists to live and work with them at their family home. As Lily’s friendship with Eva grows, she becomes infatuated with this makeshift family and longs to truly be a part of it.Looking back on those years later in life, Lily realises that this utopian circle involved the same themes as Evan Trentham’s art: Faustian bargains and terrible recompense; spectacular fortunes and falls from grace. Yet it was not Evan, nor the other artists he gathered around him, but his own daughters, who paid the debt that was owing.The Strays is an engrossing story of ambition, sacrifice and compromised loyalties from an exciting new talent.

My Brilliant Career


Miles Franklin - 1901
    Sybylla rejects the opportunity to marry a wealthy young man in order to maintain her independence. As a consequence she must take a job as a governess to a local family to which her father is indebted. "My Brilliant Career" is an early romantic novel by this popular Australian author.

Love's Will


Meredith Whitford - 2010
    But when she meets a man eight years her junior her life changes dramatically. Will Shakespeare is no ordinary Stratford lad. His head is full of poetry, and big dreams of success on the London stage. But after a whirlwind romance, Anne falls pregnant and Will finds himself tied down to a life he doesn't want. Desperate to fulfil his dreams he eventually saves enough to move to London. Pining for her love and bored of her provincial life, Anne follows him to the bustling city. But the city of vice soon threatens the life they have built together. And Anne finds herself caught up in a drama as intense as any that Will is penning for the theatre.

The Weight of Water / Resistance


Anita Shreve - 2011