Emma


Linda Sole - 1999
    How can Emma escape the ties that bind her, to build a life for herself and her child?From the author of The Downstairs Maid(Note: previously published as The Ties That Bind by Linda Sole)

Love and War 1


John Jakes - 1984
    The young would clash on the bloody battlefields of Bull Run and Fredericksburg, while in intrigue-ridden Washington and Richmond strong-willed men and beautiful women would defend their principles with their lives...or satisfy illicit cravings with schemes that could destroy friends and enemies alike. This surging drama is the second part of the trilogy that includes NORTH AND SOUTH and HEAVEN AND HELL. "Craftsmanship nears artistry....A coherent and penetrating vision of the seamy underside of war." (Richmond Times-Dispatch)

Autumn Alley


Lena Kennedy - 1980
    Meet Maud, the formidable Irish-American suffragette; sulky Patricia, whose unhappy childhood leads her to a dangerous love affair; vivacious, flame-haired Colleen; Mary, who struggles to bring up children beside her wayward husband - and Arfer, whose quick mind lifts him out from the world of poverty in London's East End.

Jam Butties and a Pan of Scouse


Maggie Clarke - 2017
    The story covers Maggie Clarke's upbringing in the tenements close to the docks, the River Mersey and the Leeds and Liverpool Canal: an area notorious for having the worst slums in Britain, yet the closest community as well.At the tender age of 11, Maggie Clarke finds herself the matriarch of the family when her Irish mother runs off with another man. Leaving school at 14 to work at a local factory putting sticks into lollies, she is determined to make a better life for herself and her family - before starting her own family with her childhood sweetheart, who she marries at 19 after 'falling in the family way'. She has one night of married life with her husband before he is sent to India with the Navy and is devastated when she never hears from him again, presuming him a casualty of the war that is raging at home and abroad. Another tragedy strikes when Maggie's brother Tommy is also claimed by the war, leaving her father inconsolable, but Maggie knows life has to go on and falls in love with Joseph, an Irish settler who she has 8 children with. But her happiness is short-lived as her first husband suddenly appears out of the blue demanding a divorce, and her new husband drinks away what little money they have, returning in fits of rage that leave Maggie and her children hungry and afraid. Many times she is only able to feed her brood by the kindness of neighbours putting a 'pan of scouse' on the range for her, or feeding her kids jam butties to help out. Maggie's story sweeps across the changing face of Liverpool, from its squalid dock streets, the tenement blocks and cobbled roads to the decline of the docklands, new council housing, the rise of the Mersey beat, the Beatles and the energy and passion of a city that is home to a cast of colourful characters with the resilience to withstand the heartbreak and hardships that only the poorest can know.

Out of the Woods But Not Over the Hill


Gervase Phinn - 2010
    As this sparkling collection of his very best humorous writing shows, he may be 'out of the woods' but he is certainly not 'over the hill'.

Storm of Arrows


Paul Bannister - 2019
    For fans of Bernard Cornwell and Michael Jecks.' Richard Foreman 1330. Edward III of England calls on Lancastrian baron and longbow archer Sir Thomas Holland to capture Roger Mortimer, the regent who usurped the young king’s throne and murdered his father. Holland and his bowmen next help butcher the Scots at Dupplin Moor and destroy the French fleet at Sluys. Yet the archer's greatest challenge is still to come. The Black Prince and Holland lead a great raid across Normandy. But not all goes according to plan. Two French armies pin the heavily-outnumbered English between the Seine and Somme. Their one hope of escape is to cross a dangerous ford. Thomas personally leads the vanguard and although he engineers the defeat of a waiting enemy force, there is still blood to be spilled. The archer and the Prince must still face a desperate battle against the might of France - at a village called Crecy. Recommended for fans of Bernard Cornwell, Michael Jecks and Robyn Young. The archer and the Prince must still face a desperate battle against the might of France - at a village called Crecy. Paul Bannister is a journalist and author. He has written for national newspapers in Britain and America, covering assignments in about 40 countries. His is also the author of the Forgotten Emperor and Crusader series.

Rich Girl, Poor Girl


Eileen Ramsay - 2017
    When she tells her parents of her plans to follow her dream of becoming a doctor instead of marrying and having children, her mother refuses to acknowledge her wishes, seeing her decision as an embarrassment to the family.Meanwhile, in a poorer district of Dundee, Rosie Nesbitt lives a difficult life with her mother and siblings in a house that is too small for all of of them. Equally intelligent, Rosie decides that she wants to become a doctor and create a life for herself that is better than the one she has had growing up. She, too, faces issues - albeit different ones from those of Lucy - and she and her family must fight and make sacrifices for her to receive the education she needs. As the two girls' paths cross, their chosen career isn't the only thing they have in common. They first meet at a party hosted by Kier Anderson-Howard, a potential husband for Lucy, but an eligible man who has his sights set on Rosie.As war approaches, Lucy's and Rosie's lives become complicated by love and loss, and the paths leading to their goals testing their resolves to the limit.

Manchester Moll


Emma Hornby - 2017
    Powerful, absorbing storytelling that is perfect for fans of saga by Dilly Court, Rosie Goodwin and Maggie Hope.

Gifted Magick: The Children of Dark Root: Book Two


April Aasheim - 2019
    This famed rose is sought by all who know of it, saturated with Other-Worldly magick. An offering from one side of the Veil to the other, a symbol of beauty and love. --From the Grimoire of Juliana Benbridge *** It's Winter Solstice Days in Dark Root, and strange happenings abound. The Hellhounds that arrived with Samhain may still be lurking in the woods, people are forgetting things--as if under a spell, and June Bug has taken adolescent rebellion to an all new level. The only common thread appears to be Erin, the pretty, new waitress at Dip Stix. Determined to solve the riddle, Maggie once again turns to the Deciphering Stone and Juliana's scrolls. What she uncovers is a story with ancient roots, and modern relevance. In fact, what Maggie discovers might just be the most important discovery of her life. Magick. Mystery. Mysticism. Maggie.

Tommy's World


Billy Hopkins - 2009
    Born at the end of the nineteenth century in a slum district of Manchester, he's blessed with a loving, hard-working mam and dad, but they don't have two ha'pennies to rub together. In addition to suffering poverty, the family is struck by tragedy not once but twice. But Tommy is a survivor. At school he quickly makes lots of friends, and together they plot money-making schemes, settle scores and play lots of football. Then, at last, it's time to leave the playground behind. Denied the chance of a promising career as an engineer, Tommy instead finds employment at Manchester's Smithfield market and works his way up, finally becoming a porter. He's turning into a man, and amongst the young women who catch his eye is Kate Lally, who may just be the love of his life...

Three Little Ships


Lilian Harry - 2005
    As each boat ferries exhausted men from the beaches to the waiting ships, under incessant fire from enemy aircraft and in a sea awash with debris and bodies, the men are unknowingly united by a powerful driving force—the urgent need to find one man, brother or son, who matters more to them than anyone else. Each of these missing men has a family, a wife or a sweetheart at home who is anxiously waiting for news—and one sweetheart in particular is determined to play her own part in the rescue.

The Bel Lamington Novels: Bel Lamington / Fletcher's End


D.E. Stevenson - 2019
    She finds London a very lonely place, until a charming young artist literally drops in on her rooftop garden... Across two quietly powerful novels, Bel's story unfolds as she moves from London to a fishing hotel in the rugged Scottish highlands and then finally to a picturesque cottage in the Cotswolds in need of repair, all while attempting to navigate unexpected friendships and romances. Filled with all the warmth and charm which D. E. Stevenson readers have come to anticipate, The Bel Lamington Novels are beautifully written gentle romances, sure to satisfy steadfast Stevenson fans and newcomers alike.

Burying Father Tim


Tom Robertson - 2008
    Narrated by a doctor who returns to his old neighborhood for the first time in nearly forty years to attend the funeral of his boyhood parish priest, the story blends hilarious accounts of childhood escapades with the timelessly poignant theme of loss. Reminiscences resonate as the story unfolds, evoking laughter in one moment and tugging on heartstrings the next. Whether you attended Catholic school or merely know someone who did, there is a lot of all of us in the story of Father Tim.

POISONED CHALICE: Mabel de Belleme Normandy's Wicked Lady (Medieval Babes: Tales of Little-Known Ladies Book 8)


J.P. Reedman - 2021
    

The Cornish Widow: A Constance Maxwell Dreamwalker Mystery - Book 1 (The Constance Maxwell Dreamwalker Mysteries)


Jacqueline Beard - 2021