Book picks similar to
Northern Lights by George Mackay Brown
poetry
inspiration
non-fiction
pub-in-20th-century
Fear
Clare Dundas - 2019
It is a dark and cruel place for the workers on this farm. The master, Archie McLachlan, causes fear to run through the hearts of the slaves, except for one woman who speaks up deliberately and without fear whenever she wishes. Her name is Soola, and she fast becomes leader of the slaves and friend to the master's wife Gertrude. The friendship forms a triangle of competition, love, and hatred as "Massa Archie" becomes more and more dangerous, even towards his own son Robert and Soola's son John, even to a point where Soola begins to understand the meaning of fear. But, together, the leaders of the second generation can look for a future where hope might overcome fear.Thus, this story, Part One of a four-part series, not only recounts the family's beginnings at the Inveraray/Dogwood Plantation, but also introduces the second generation, who will appear again in the ensuing volumes. Slavery, the corruption caused by slavery, its close companions, race bigotry and injustice, and the laws and bitter politics that result from them, are featured and discussed throughout. While, in the foreground, the unique relationship between mistress and slave and their respective descendants triggers a wide-sweeping story of love, conflict, heartbreak, and forgiveness.
A Simple Life: Living off grid in a wooden cabin in France
Mary-Jane Houlton - 2021
They were already used to a simple life, having spent the last three years living on their boat in France for the summer seasons, and returning to the UK and their caravan for the winters. This tiny cabin would now be their new home for the winter months, taking them a step further along the road to self-sufficiency. They had no electricity, no kitchen, no bathroom or bedroom and the loo was a bucket in a shed, but the property came with five acres of field and woodland.From now on their lives would be simple, pared back to the basics, but they found that an off-grid lifestyle was by no means an uncomfortable experience. Responsibilities didn’t disappear but they changed, becoming less onerous. There was more time to think, and to appreciate the natural world around them. Living in such rural isolation, each day brought something new to marvel at: deer browsing in the field at dusk, salamanders on the doorstep, owls calling by night.If their own world felt increasingly magical, the outside world was far from it. They had moved to a foreign country at an historic time, living through a pandemic and adapting to the day-to-day implications of Brexit.A Simple Life doesn’t just follow Mary-Jane and Michael as they settle into their new lives, it also raises questions about what really matters to people. What makes us happy? How does it feel to have few possessions? Will life become unbearable without a flushing toilet?Thought-provoking and amusing, this book opens a window onto a different way of living. Mary-Jane shares a wealth of information and, if you have ever found yourself longing for a simpler life, this might tempt you to take those first tentative steps on the journey.
Struck: A Husband’s Memoir of Trauma and Triumph
Douglas Segal - 2018
Miraculously, his daughter was unharmed, but his wife faced a series of life-threatening injuries, including the same one that famously left Christopher Reeve paralyzed. Following the accident, Segal began sending regular email updates to their circle of friends and family—a list that continued to grow as others heard of the event and were moved by the many emotional and spiritual issues it raised. Segal's compelling memoir is an intimate and honest chronicle built around these email updates, and is a profound example of how people show up for one another in times of crisis.Alternatingly harrowing, humorous, heartbreaking, and hopeful, this is an uplifting tribute to love, determination, and how the compassion of community holds the power to heal, serving as an inspiring testament to the resilience of the human spirit when faced with pain and adversity.
Plantation Restored (Azalea Plantation #3)
B.J. Robinson - 2017
The war ends, and Lexie awaits his return. Other soldiers are making it home, but Reese is missing. She leaves New Orleans and travels back to Azalea Plantation in Vicksburg, Mississippi, to await his return, busying herself with restoring the plantation after the war. Lexie clings to faith and hope and refuses to give up on Reese even though she's heard the stories about prisoners-of-war and the explosion of the Sultana. The family decides to visit Azalea Plantation. Will it be for a funeral or a wedding? Reese has still not shown when they are all gathered together. Is it possible for a country to be restored like a plantation home?
Dirt Classroom: An inspiring true adventure through the Australian Outback
Matt Chadwick - 2016
Over the next 2 years, I was attacked by a few wild animals, experienced unexplained phenomenon, had a massive learning curve and truly experienced the Australian outback. If you are after a story that was written to appeal to the masses and that mainstream publishers love, then this probably isn't for you. If you are after a lighthearted read that provides the raw truth about life out bush and my experience of it, then click away. I hope you enjoy. Note - mature themes.
A Boy's Own Dale: A 1950s childhood in the Yorkshire Dales
Terry Wilson - 2011
But it was on the Dales themselves that Terry came into his own. Whether he was 'out-fishing' the adults with his homemade rod, grouse-beating for the lady of the manor, helping to bring in the farmers' hay in exchange for rabbit shooting rights, or growing his own prize caulis, his idiosyncratic and inventive mind is only matched by his love of nature.
Told with affection, dry humour and a respect for the landscape and its people, through Terry's eyes we meet farmers, mill owners and 'gentlemen of the road'. Beautifully illustrated with newly-commissioned line-drawn illustrations by Don Grant, A Boy's Own Dale is a magical memoir of a long-lost world.
A Smuggler's Guide to Good Manners: A True Story Of Terrifying Seas, Double-Dealing, And Love Across Three Oceans
Kenny Ranen - 2017
It is a yarn still told in a hundred bars in tucked away ports where seafarers drink and wait out stormy weather. The story takes the reader on a smuggling voyage from the Atlantic down the Red Sea to Kenya, to Thailand and back across the Indian Ocean to Spain then the Netherlands. No notoriety, no articles in magazines, no calling for help when things get bad. Medical emergencies at sea, sharks, pirates, monsoon storms, and the Guardia Civil, notwithstanding… backing off was not an option. After 12 years of sailing and smuggling in the N. Atlantic and the Caribbean, Ranen, an old school pre electronic navigation sailor who smuggles to pay the bills for a lifestyle of dangerous freedom, heads for the Indian Ocean aboard his sleek deep ocean sailing boat, Sara. He left with a solid plan to sail new oceans, and do business in a new arena with different cultures. What happens when he gets there sends him on a path that was nothing he imagined, but such is the world of sailing and smuggling. Although Ranen has written this story in first person, It is also told from the perspective of the courageous young “Kenya Cowgirl” who became his crew and lover, all told through her journal entries from that voyage. In the days when “5/11” Beverly Johnson and Lynn Hill were winning the respect of the “rock star” climbers in Yosemite, Ranen was throwing a young Arianna Bell into the maelstrom of long distance non-stop sailing/smuggling. This is her story as well. Surprising twists of fate, cat and mouse with the law and other bad guys, as well as up close accounts of at life at sea in challenging conditions. Like living in a Dylan song.
A Heart Filled With Joy
Indiana Wake - 2021
His neighbors have been a great help with his daughter Charlotte, but he can’t work and take care of her properly.The town matchmaker Emma Hilton has the perfect woman to help Bradley with his baby girl.Nanny Shannon Howell loves taking care of children, but she’d also like to find a husband. She’s eager to travel west in hopes of finding a family to call her own. Shannon is happy to help Bradley with baby Charlotte. Unfortunately, Shannon’s former employer is having problems letting her go.Will the man that traveled across the country drag her back to the east?Has Shannon found the place where she can be her true self with Bradley and Charlotte in Lubbock, Texas?Find out in the first book in a brand new series from Bestselling Mail Order Bride Authors Indiana Wake & Belle Fiffer
A Mother's Sacrifice: The most moving and page-turning saga you'll read this year
Jennie Felton - 2020
Blackpool Lass
Maggie Mason - 2018
She's sent to an orphanage in Blackpool, but the master has an eye for a pretty young lass. Grace won't be his victim, so she runs, destitute, into the night. In Blackpool, she finds a home with the kindly Sheila and Peggy - and meets a lovely airman. But it's 1938, and war is on the horizon. Will Grace ever find the happiness and home she deserves?
Siege (The First Crusade Book 1)
Richard Foreman - 2019
1098. The crusader army still stands outside Antioch. Starving. Deserting. An enemy force, led by Kerbogha of Mosul, is days away from relieving the walled city. Bohemond of Taranto calls upon the English knight, Edward Kemp, to meet with an agent, who is willing to provide the Norman prince with access to Antioch. But Bohemond is not alone in wishing to capture and lay claim to the prize. Edward must contend with enemies in his own camp. Should the knight's mission fail, then so may the entire campaign. Antioch must fall. Recommended for fans of Bernard Cornwell, Michael Jecks and Conn Iggulden. Siege is the first book in a new series, set during the First Crusade, by bestselling historical novelist Richard Foreman. Author Bio: Richard Foreman is the bestselling author of numerous historical series set during the Roman Republic and Roman Empire, including the Augustus Caesar books, Sword of Empire and Sword of Rome. He is also the author Warsaw, Raffles: The Complete Innings and Band of Brothers, a series charting the story of Henry V and the Agincourt campaign. Richard writes modern thrillers too, under the pseudonym of Thomas Waugh. He is a judge for the HWA Crowns and the founder of the London History Festival. He lives in London. Praise for Richard Foreman's Books. Spies of Rome. "A masterful and evocative depiction of a fledgling imperial Rome fraught with intrigue and at war with itself. The story and characters are as striking as the graffiti that adorns the violent city’s walls during Augustus' rise." Steven Veerapen, author of The Abbey Close. "An arresting opening that leads into a thoroughly gripping story. Impressive research and understanding of the period allows Richard Foreman to move so seamlessly and effectively from historical epic to historical detective thriller. A must read for fans of Steven Saylor." Peter Tonkin, author of The Ides. 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. Raffles: The Complete Innings. ‘Classy, humorous and surprisingly touching tales of cricket, friendship and crime.’ David Blackburn, The Spectator. Band of Brothers: The Complete Campaigns. 'Escapism at its best... A great read that tells much about the style of war and how the individuals fought.' Michael Jecks '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.
Warsaw.
BRAVE AND FUNNY MEMORIES OF WWII: By a P-38 Fighter Pilot
Lyndon Shubert - 2017
Always afraid he was about to die, he climbed into the cockpit anyway ... and lived to tell you about it. How would you feel if you were a new guy in the sky ... attacked by four Messerschmitts? Let me tell you, no matter how much you prepare, no matter how much you read, how much you train, no matter how much you think of yourself as a 'Hot Shot Pilot,' you are never ready for life and death combat! How did it feel to say a 'last goodbye' to your bride believing you would never see her again, as you left to fight WWII? Author's Facebook page at: facebook.com/P38Flyer/ As reviewed by A. L. Hanks, Lieutenant Colonel, USAF (Ret) who said it perfectly: In "Brave and Funny Memories of WWII" Lyndon Shubert, to our great benefit, tells us his story, an engaging tale of his WWII experience as a fighter pilot in WWII. A member of the "greatest generation" he recounts his days (and nights) flying P-38 fighters in the wartime skies of Europe. The tale is told in a relaxed, conversational style, honest and personal. The reader will appreciate the authenticity and the easy humor. He tells us a story that is at once delightfully humorous and deadly serious. He shares that unfettered sense of flying a powerful aircraft free in the vast expanse of the sky. The special sense that pilots have when they "can reach out and touch the face of God". Shubert relates the feelings of men in combat, that gripping apprehension in your gut when you know you're going to die, your senses at full maximum intensity, and then that striking after mission fear when you look back and realize that you cheated death once again. Shubert was indeed a special fellow. We are indebted to him for his service and his book. He captures a special piece of the American character and our history that is essential to pass on to our children and grandchildren. Lt Shubert was exceptional, a USAF officer and a fighter pilot who fought the war and earned the Distinguished Flying Cross. The author reminds us once again why fighter pilots are special. Why they are ubiquitously viewed as swaggering "raconteurs", with big egos and big watches who can sometimes be insufferable. But his tale also captures the reality of one-on-one aerial combat, loser goes home.... to God.
A Winter Hope
Sheila Newberry - 2019
Number five Kitchener Avenue heralds the start of a new life for the Hope family. For pregnant Miriam it is a warm, safe environment to bring up her child. For her sister, fourteen-year-old Barbara, it means independence . . . and boys. And for Fred it provides the security he craves for his young family. In the lead up to Christmas, the Hopes settle in, and start to make happy memories in their new home. But World War II is round the corner, and this carefree life can't last. Soon the family are split up. Bar, wanting to do her bit for the war effort, joins the ATS, while Miriam and her children are evacuated to the countryside and away from her husband. As the country is thrown into turmoil, can the Hope family come back together and find the happiness they crave? 'A Winter Hope is a heartwarming novel following two sisters from pre-war to post-war, their parallel stories filled with love and loss. I found myself completely wrapped up with their experiences and shed a tear at the twists and turns of their lives.' Mollie Walton, author of The Daughters of Ironbridge 'I have long been a fan of Sheila Newberry's novels. I love their wonderful warmth and charm.' Maureen Lee, bestselling author of The Seven Streets of Liverpool
'Reading a Sheila Newberry book is like having dinner with your mother in her warm and cosy kitchen. You can feel the love and care put into every juicy morsel' - Diane Allen, bestselling author of
For the Sake of Her Family
Previously published as The Family at Number Five.
Beverly: A Midlife Journey Series
Dianne Harman - 2019
Even more so when your mother’s mantra, "Never More," keeps running through your head. Beverly is starting over and taking charge of her life. She’s moved, has her own business, two puppies, friends, and most surprising to her, a new relationship! But can she trust her heart to him? It’s hard to let go of old hurts. If you’re over fifty and have ever been betrayed by someone, you need to read this book and know that miracles can happen and dreams can come true. A two-time USA Today Bestselling Author brings you the second book in the Midlife Journey Series. Scroll up and click Buy Now.