Cynthia Harrod-Eagles

England, 1903. Giles, the new Earl of Stainton, is struggling to bring his family's estate back to order after the death of his father, and he has little time to spare for his young pregnant wife, Kitty. She lives in fear of her mother-in-law, who won't give up the reins of the household....

1901. When the Earl of Stainton dies in a tragic hunting accident, Giles, the eldest son of the noble Tallant family, must step forward to replace him as the head of the family....

Whispers in the servants' hall, scandals in the drawing room - at Ashmore Castle, everyone has something to hide...

England, 1903. Giles, the Earl of Stainton, has fled from his stifling duties to resume his research in Egypt, leaving behind his wife Kitty, and his infant son. Kitty, still reeling from Giles' sudden departure, struggles to keep spirits high in the castle....

In 1914, Britain faces a new kind of war. For Edward and Beatrice Hunter, their children, servants and neighbours, life will never be the same again....

This wonderful series opens with the back drop of the Wars of the Roses with the marriage between Eleanor Morland and a scion of the influential house of Beaufort....

The year is 1915, and the war is raging on.... The war was not 'over by Christmas' after all, and as 1915 begins, the Hunters begin to settle into wartime life....

It is 1833. The industrial age is sweeping through England, and the Stephensons are planning the greatest engineering scheme ever undertaken: a railway line from Liverpool to London....

1501: the turbulence of Henry VIII's reign brings passion and pain to the Morlands as they achieve ever greater wealth and prestige....

1630: after long years of peace the reign of Charles I brings brutal civil war to England....

It is 1558: Elizabeth I is on the throne, though still challenged by Mary, and her Protestant faith threatens the Catholic Morland family....

David Rogers lived the lifestyle of the consultant - expensive clothes, top restaurants, exclusive clubs - until someone killed him in the hallway of his lovely million-plus-pound house....

Slider has to agree. There’s the method of death, a single slash to the jugular; men don’t usually cut....

Set against the evocative backdrop of World War I, this is an epic family drama featuring the Hunters and their servants....

1670: King Charles II's reign has brought peace and prosperity to the Morland family, but James II's ascent to the throne will shatter their restored fortunes....

1659: Cromwell's protectorate is drawing to a close, and the restoration of the monarchy can only improve the fortunes of the Morland family....

Annuciata Morland, fiercely loyal to the Stuart cause, follows her beloved king, James II, into exile....

The rebellion of '45 and the bloody massacre at Culloden thrust Jemima into the spotlight as the savior of the Morland family....

Felicity Holland is missing. She left her handsome West London house to go to her weekly pottery class and didn't come back....

When Melanie Hunter goes missing it is completely out of character for the polite, friendly palaeontologist, and the men in her life come under suspicion....