Historical Fiction Girl

Life as an ATA pilot is tough, but despite the long hours and danger, Ellie can think of nowhere she'd rather be. Not only does she love flying, but doing important war work, alongside new-found friends, provides a welcome distraction from worrying about loved ones fighting on the front line. Being an ATA girl is definitely exciting but, as Ellie soon finds out, wearing the distinctive blue uniform also means putting her life on the line every time she takes to the skies.

Random House presents the audiobook edition of The Shop Girls of Chapel Street by Jenny Holmes, read by Janine Birkett. Orphaned young, Violet Wheeler has been brought up by her aunt - but after Winnie's death, she feels like she's lost everything. With no-one to turn to, she has to rely on the goodwill of the community to help her out. At the Jubilee drapers, amongst the spools of ribbon, skeins of silk and latest 30s fashions, Violet finds a refuge.

November 14, 1944: I wax a German ace. The next morning, it’s March 10, 1942. Confused? Welcome to my world. I have no idea how this happened or what the hell is going on, other than the fact that the airfield I found belongs to the 2/81, an all-female fighter squadron operating near Marseille, France.

The eerie beauty of the Gloucestershire mansion and the mystery that surrounds it have always captivated him, and he can neither continue living in the house nor give it up completely despite the painful memories it stirs in his heart. But when Reed begins having troubling dreams about Anna being in danger, he puts his heartbreak and bitterness aside and directs his carriage back to Winterset, determined to protect the woman he cannot stop loving. Once again passion flares between them, but the murder of a servant girl draws them deep into the foreboding, deadly legends of Winterset.

A portrait painting is stolen from a London home. Shortly afterwards, the owner, Nat, calls on genealogist Jefferson Tayte for his help. She believes the subject of the painting, a young girl called Jess, is a past relative and wants to learn more about her. The problem is that Nat's research has hit a brick wall - Jess appears to have vanished from the slums of Victorian London soon after the portrait was painted.

In this last book in the trilogy about Gabrielle Allan, the listener finds Gay and her great-aunt, Belle, about to start a new life in a setting far different from their much-loved Drovers Road. The sheep station of Cape Lost is now Gay’s responsibility, and regardless of her three years’ study at the Massey Agricultural College, both the isolation and tasks ahead seem alarming. Despite its remote and nearly inaccessible location, a surprising cast of new and old characters converge on the station’s windswept, sea-edged expanse.

Bobbie Fraser, Mary Holland and Jean Thornton are Atta Girls - part of the Air Transport Auxiliary team flying planes between bases. Taking to the air in anything they're given, their work is dangerous but their courage always comes through. Now there's a new girl joining the ranks - Canadian Viv Robertson, who is bright, brash and brave. But can Viv settle into her new home with the other girls?

Catherine feels trapped. Her father is determined to marry her off to a rich man—any rich man, no matter how awful. But by wit, trickery, and luck, Catherine manages to send several would-be husbands packing. Then a shaggy-bearded suitor from the north comes to call—by far the oldest, ugliest, most revolting suitor of them all. Unfortunately, he is also the richest.

When Jess bumps into Milan unexpectedly, sparks are reignited, and she wonders if she made a mistake finishing with him in Amberton. But matters are complicated when a film company arrives at Bentley Priory to make a morale-boosting film about the RAF. The lead actor is none other than Leonard Steele, a man from Jess’ past who could ruin everything she has worked so hard to build.

When Frances Bumgarten encounters a handsome stranger in her kitchen in the middle of the night, her first impulse is to wallop the scoundrel on the head with a bread paddle. And when Frankie discovers he is "The Fox", a disarmingly arrogant purveyor of gossip among England's aristocracy, she's tempted to take a second swing. Never mind that Reynard Boulton, nephew of the Viscount Tannehill, is returning her inebriated uncle safely home. This chiseled intruder has sparked an infuriating physical sensation unlike anything the feisty Nevada silver heiress has experienced.

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.

The city of Austin, Texas, "is fearfully dull", wrote young Will Porter to a friend in the spring of 1885, "except for the frequent raids of the Servant Girl Annihilators, who make things lively in the dead of night." Years later Will Porter would become the most famous writer in America - O. Henry, the toast of New York. The long-ago Austin servant girl murders would remain unsolved. But behind the O. Henry pen name, Will Porter was a man with secrets.

Sally Hobart Alexander continues the story of her journey into blindness in this uplifting tale of a life rebuilt and love renewed. Suzanne Toren’s perceptive narration perfectly expresses the emotions of Sally’s sometimes fun, often arduous, and always interesting journey. Also available is Taking Hold, My Journey Into Blindness, which tells the first half of Sally’s story.

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.

For fourteen-year-old Leah Payne, life in her beloved coastal Carolina town is worlds away from the harsh realities of the day. Loyal to her lumberjack father, she knows only of the familiarity of her small community, the magic of the natural world, and the creative intuition that prompts her to march to the beat of her own drum. But when an accident takes her father's life, leaving her an orphan, Leah finds herself cast into a family of strangers whose welcoming façade hides a terrible secret.

When Aurore hears these words, she knows notorious Alaskan bandit Soapy Smith is about to find out everything. How will she get her mother's money back now? How will she expose Soapy and his gang? How will she escape? Aurore, her mother and little brother have set off for Uncle Thibault's lodge in the Yukon after the death of Aurore's father, little knowing they are headed for the Klondike Gold Rush and the adventure of a lifetime.

Joy McCullough's bold novel in verse is a portrait of an artist as a young woman, filled with the soaring highs of creative inspiration and the devastating setbacks of a system built to break her. McCullough weaves Artemisia's heartbreaking story with the stories of the ancient heroines, Susanna and Judith, who become not only the subjects of two of Artemisia's most famous paintings but sources of strength as she battles to paint a woman's timeless truth in the face of unspeakable and all-too-familiar violence.

Determined to win the war against the Necorers, Farin and Knight Emicho travel to Hubstone, the capital city. Thanks to stinker's daemonic meddling, the gravedigger's son becomes the rising star at the royal court. All too soon, he finds himself dealing with political machinations and intrigues.

Berlin, 1950. When Hanni Winter shows her new husband the heartbreaking photos she captured during the war, his reaction is unexpected. His face white, Freddy can’t take his eyes off the photo of a young girl around four years old.

London 1917. As the Americans enter the war, there is renewed energy in the war effort. With husbands and sons fighting for freedom, the women of Harpers are left to tackle the day-to-day affairs at home and work. With Ben Harper away, Sally fears she is being followed by a mysterious woman. Who is she, and what does she want? Maggie Gibbs collapses seriously ill in the frontline hospitals and is brought back to England close to death. Can she be saved, and what does the future hold for her and her broken heart?