A Daughter's Promise

A heartwarming saga from the best-selling author of The Workhouse Waif. Sixteen-year-old Lottie Perkins has an important decision to make.... Conditions at the match factory she works at are dire. The girls get treated badly by the management, and there is a severe risk to their health. But then a young journalist, Annie Besant, begins asking questions. Will Lottie and the other girls welcome her help, even when it could cost them their jobs - and their livelihoods...? 

For years Seren James has yearned for a child of her own. Married to a man who has little care for her, she longs for something to fill the emptiness within - and fears that she is almost out of time. When Seren meets a woman who says she can help, she thinks her dreams have come true. But the locals suspect Anwen of witchcraft, and any association with her may taint Seren too.  

Will this little orphan girl find her happy ending? After the death of her father in a mining accident, Megan and her family had no choice but to move to the local workhouse. Separated from her mother and five siblings, young Megan must learn how to stand on her own two feet. But it's on one of the days she's sent out on errands that her fate changes. She meets a young boy who's stealing apples from the local market, as well as a friendly well-to-do lady with the most melodious voice she's ever heard. With her newfound friends, can she find a new life for herself?

Orphaned at the age of 10, Archie Ledbetter is forced to live with his uncle in his very grand house. Uncle Walter seems emotionless, exhibiting little feeling towards the young lad. If it wasn't for some of the staff at Huntington Hall, Archie's life would be a complete misery. There's a dark secret that Cook hints at as to why Archie's mother left her lavish lifestyle behind and ended up settling in the East End of London, scraping a living selling cakes and confectionery from the back of a barrow in the marketplace. Archie's never known his father and wonders who he is. 

Bincy Hall was just seven years old when her mother abandoned her in a marketplace - a moment that will haunt Bincy forever. Discovered by the police, Bincy is taken to an orphanage, where she learns that Mama is not the only person who doesn't want her. In truth, nobody wants her, and Bincy is forced to cling to the orphanage bully Mae for comfort.

Lena Phillips has everything she could want: a father who adores her, a mother who spends hours reading to her, a nursery full of the most wonderful toys. Lena even has Sally Goodman, a doting governess. Lena is only four years old, and she's the happiest little girl in the whole wide world. As Christmas approaches, Lena grows more and more excited - unaware that a dark plot is brewing, and she will be caught in its tendrils.

Winter, Liverpool, 1947. Evie Kilgaren is a fighter. Abandoned by her mother and with her father long gone, she is left to raise her siblings in dockside Liverpool, as they battle against the coldest winter on record. But she is determined to make a life for herself and create a happy home for what's left of her family. Desperate for work, Evie takes a job at the Tram Tavern under the kindly watch of pub landlady and pillar of the community Connie Sharp. But Connie has problems of her own when her quiet life is upturned with the arrival of a mysterious undercover detective.

Kate Channer thought married life was going to be a grand adventure. But when Luke ships off for war before the echoes of their vows have ended she’s left behind, desperate to make a difference and bring him home. Yet life in Devon as ladies-maid to her half sister, Naomi, brings battles of its own. Facing hardship and heartbreak they never imagined, Kate and Naomi must now find the strength to keep the home fires burning through the long uncertain months of a wife’s war.

As daughter of the blacksmith in her tiny Irish village, 15-year-old Kitty Doyle knows little of the ways of the world. But she has to grow up fast when her widowed father remarries and she has no choice but to leave the family home. Luckily, there's work to be found over the water in 1920s Liverpool and soon Kitty has a job in a grocer's, where she also catches the eye of the owner. With Kitty's input the business is soon thriving - but tragedy lies ahead, and she must endure many trials and tribulations before she can find true happiness....

Jo Melling has arrived in Birch End from Australia, still grieving her father's recent death. She's not intending to stay long, but after tracking down her distant family, Jo becomes more involved in village life than she could ever have imagined - and suddenly in danger too. Jo also finds herself drawn to Nick, a handsome newcomer to the village. Nick had planned to settle in Birch End and start a business, but as he grows closer to Jo, he realises he may have to choose between his dreams and a chance at love. 

Ivy Harris is twice unwanted by the time she's two years old. Thrown away both by her parents and her grandmother, she has no choice except to live with her aunt, Bertha. As brilliant, kind, and loving as Bertha is, she's also a crook and a thief - and her ways get them both into trouble more often than not. When Bertha dies, Ivy’s whole world ends - until she meets charismatic, compassionate, golden-haired George, the leader of a gang of street children living in an abandoned warehouse. Despite the best efforts of jealous Jane, Ivy falls for George.

It is 1945 and the war is finally over. For sisters Sophie and Maria, though, the upheaval is just beginning. For they have no choice but to leave their beloved home on the Isle of Man. It is a huge wrench for 18-year-old Maria, who can't forget Hans Bonhoeffer, a young Austrian, interned on the island during the war.

Ten-year-old Jack Larkin has seen more than his fair share of shocking sights, growing up in the notorious Crown Saloon. Broken hearts and broken bones are just a fact of life in a Gin Palace, but for orphan Dolly, the Crown is her last hope. After the death of her mother, Dolly ran away from her sleazy stepfather, Arthur, only to find herself living on the streets. When Jack discovers her hiding in the back yard of the Crown, he persuades his mother, Nellie Larkin, to take Dolly in.

When Sarah Jepson’s mother Annie dies, Sarah is left with her little brother Tommy to care for. Alone in the world, the two of them must make a life for themselves in the wake of the terrible upbringing they have endured. But when Tommy is struck down by illness, Sarah’s new life collapses. Lost in grief, she turns to the handsome Roger to save her – only to find that he is not who he seems....

Returning to the heart of her beloved Cornwall, Kate Ryder weaves another deliciously irresistible tale of desire, jealousy and the search for understanding, set against the stunning backdrop of the glorious Lizard Peninsula. Globally renowned actor Oliver Foxley has made the most difficult decision of all and set the love of his life free, in order to try and bring his family back together. But there's a magnetic pull back to both Cara and Cornwall that Oliver can neither deny nor resist....