Historical Fiction Girl

England, 1939. Geraldine Fitz-Herbert, stifled by her aristocratic upbringing, has always found solace in the sky, the one place she can be truly free and push all limits. As war breaks out, Fitz seizes an opportunity to put her flying skills to good use when she sees an advert for volunteers at the Air Transport Auxiliary. But a chance meeting with American Flight Officer Sam Carter suddenly turns her world upside down. Embarking on a passionate and high-octane affair, Fitz has never known a love like this before and starts to dream of a future together, only for the reality of war to hit.

Dottie Perks has forged a new life for herself in London, with a new job and a loving boyfriend. She's safe, happy and loved. What more could she ask for? But when Dottie visits her home in Brighton, the last person she expects to see is her first love, Ralph Bennett. As old feelings come rushing to the surface, Dottie struggles to deny the strong chemistry between them. She can't throw away everything to be with Ralph...can she?

As the Allied troops draw closer to victory, life at Beach View Boarding House is still full of uncertainty. Rosie’s plans for her wedding to Ron Reilly are plagued with misunderstandings. And when Ron takes on a secret assignment just days before they are due to say their vows, it seems their plans for a future together may be doomed. Meanwhile, Peggy Reilly embraces her new managerial role at the uniform factory. It’s a welcome distraction while her husband, Jim, is still away fighting in the Far East.

When Sophie Weiss boards the SS St Louis, she has no reason to stay in Germany. The Nazis have taken everything from her, and her only hope is escape. But when she meets fellow Jewish refugees Rosa, Hannah and Rachel on board, the friendship they form gives Sophie hope that there can be happiness in her future, after all.

Brighton, 1930: Maureen O'Connell is a carefree girl, but war is looming, and life will never be the same again. Jack and Nelson have always been dear friends to Maureen. Despite their different backgrounds, they've seen each other through thick and thin. The candle Maureen's always held for Jack burns bright, but just as she's found love, war wrenches them apart. With Jack no longer by her side and Nelson at war, can Maureen look to a brighter future?

Sally Harper is busy juggling running London’s Oxford Street Store Harpers and looking after her beautiful new-born daughter, whilst husband Ben is overseas on another dangerous mission; this time to rescue a friend in need. Young Becky Stockbridge finds herself in a difficult situation, which could bring shame to her and her family. Will Becky, with the help of her friends, find her happy ever after and keep her secret? Marion Jackson is blessed with a son as she eagerly awaits the return of her husband, Reggie. But all is not right when Reggie returns.

WWI is now in full swing and with their brothers away fighting the Graham sisters have an increasingly important role to play at the family smock mill. But while Daisy and her cousin Olive are both nursing and Holly has taken on the role of a busy mother and wife, Cynthia is stretched to her ends trying to help her husband keep the business afloat. Violet, meanwhile, having lost interest in the bakery, is heavily involved in the suffragette movement, causing rifts among the family. But through the ups and downs of war, love could be blossoming.

You can’t have your best friend be famous if you’re not famous. It doesn’t work. You’re emotional pen-friends. You can send each other letters - but you’re not doing anything together. You live in different countries. Johanna Morrigan (AKA Dolly Wilde) has it all: at 18, she lives in her own flat in London and writes for the coolest music magazine in Britain. But Johanna is miserable. Her best friend and man of her dreams John Kite has just made it big in 1994’s hot new Britpop scene. Suddenly John exists on another plane of reality: that of the Famouses. Never one to sit on the sidelines, Johanna hatches a plan....

Inspired by the true story of the Quality Street factory and its loyal workers, this is a nostalgic and compelling novel and the perfect Christmas treat. At 16 years old, Irene ‘Reenie’ Calder is leaving school with little in the way of qualifications. She is delighted to land a seasonal job at Mackintosh’s Quality Street factory. Reenie feels like a kid let loose in a sweet shop, but trouble seems to follow her around, and it isn’t long before she falls foul of the strict rules.

In November 1944, 18-year-old June Walker boards an unmarked bus, destined for a city that doesn't officially exist. Oak Ridge, Tennessee has sprung up in a matter of months - a town of trailers and segregated houses, 24-hour cafeterias, and constant security checks. There, June joins hundreds of other young girls operating massive machines whose purpose is never explained. They know they are helping to win the war, but must ask no questions and reveal nothing to outsiders.

As war approaches, Alice, Edith and Marg fear for the safety of their families, while trying to decide the best way they can do their bit for their country. Alice decides to volunteer with the Red Cross, helping those most in need, Marg is preparing to marry her true love at the most dangerous of times and Edith hopes to finally realise her dream of becoming a teacher, and starting a family of her own. Things have never been easy for the Halfpenny girls, but family, friendship and community spirit will always see them through the darkest of days.

There was and there was not, as all stories begin, a princess cursed to be poisonous to the touch. But for Soraya, who has lived her life hidden away, apart from her family, safe only in her gardens, it's not just a story. As the day of her twin brother's wedding approaches, Soraya must decide if she's willing to step outside of the shadows for the first time. Below in the dungeon is a demon who holds knowledge that she craves, the answer to her freedom.

London Society is harsh for a young woman with no family connections who has to work for a living. But when Daisy Merrick is sacked from yet another job, the feisty and outspoken miss comes up with a plan that could give her a future beyond her wildest dreams. There's only one problem. Her success depends on a man, the most infuriating, impossible, immovable man she's ever met.

Against the devastating Blitz of London, normal life must continue for Lizzie Larch. With Sebastian returning to war, Lizzie must make a success of her business in order to survive and to care for her young child. Silently in the shadows, her secret enemy watches and waits, threatening to ruin Lizzie and everything she holds close. Lizzie is soon battling against shortages whilst her hat business explodes.... But soon Lizzie begins to realise that success can mean nothing without the man she loves.

Circumstances force eight-year-old Sarah and her widowed mother to enter the notorious St Giles and St George’s Workhouse. When her mother dies in childbirth, the independent-minded Sarah falls foul of the workhouse master, Trigg, and his cruel wife. Sarah’s ordeal seems to be over when a sugar mill owner takes her into his home. But her wealthy benefactor reports Trigg and his wife. And blaming Sarah for their misfortune, in a fit of revenge, the couple decide to take the law into their own hands.

Calabria, Italy, 1936. In a remote farming village nestled in the mountains that descend into the sparkling Ionian Sea, young and spirited Giulia Tallariti longs for something more. While she loves her home and her lively family, she would much rather follow in her nonna’s footsteps and pursue her dream of becoming a healer. But as Mussolini’s focus shifts to the war in Europe, civil unrest looms. Whispers of war are at every corner and her beloved village, once safe from the fascist agenda of the North, is now in very real danger.

London, 1941. The Blitz. When a Royal Navy memo arrives at head office, requesting female recruits to sign up as motorcycle dispatch riders, delivering highly classified orders across the country, three women jump at the chance to sign up for the most dangerous jobs in London.

It is only Annie Brooks’ second day working in the Bexleyheath branch of F. W. Woolworths when an oil bomb is dropped on the store and she must help save her fellow staff members. Thankfully uninjured, she is moved to the Erith store. There, she meets a lad – much to the consternation of her mother, who is unhappy with her daughter spreading her wings. She'd much rather Annie stay at home to help with the family’s small laundry business and care for her ageing grandfather and young brother. Annie falls in love anyway, but is let down when she finds the man is married with children.

Ballymor, Ireland, 1847. As famine grips the country, Kitty McCarthy is left widowed and alone. Fighting to keep her two remaining children alive against all odds, Kitty must decide how far she will go to save her family. Present day. Arriving in Ballymor, Maria is researching her ancestor - Victorian artist Michael McCarthy - and his beloved mother, the mysterious Kitty who disappeared without a trace.

Maria Martingale was going to elope. But Phillip Hawthorne, Marquess of Kayne, put a stop to those plans when he learned his younger brother intended to marry a cook's daughter. Now, 12 years later, Maria discovers that the man who holds her fate in his hands is none other than the haughty gentleman who sent her packing - and he's as handsome and arrogant as ever.