Historical Homes

Norfolk, 1944. Phylly is a Land Girl on Catchetts Farm. She and her friend Gracie are doing their bit to support the war effort. But times are changing at Catchetts—there's an evacuee and two POWs on their way. And then Phylly meets an American airman from the base up the road. As the War rages on the Continent, Phylly and Gracie's world will be changed forever.

To escape gossip about her disastrous engagement, Sarah Miller flees to Wylder, Wyoming, where her aunt owns a dress shop. But the danger she discovers in the wild west has her ready to board the next stagecoach out of town. Daniel Taylor rescues a damsel in distress, only to fall in love with her at first sight. When Sarah is forced to face down the men who have tormented her since her arrival in Wylder, she will have to make the most difficult decision of her life.

Norma Hayes has always tried to make Christmas special for her family, but 1944 will make that more difficult with money being tight and wartime rationing making everything hard to come by. Aware of his mother's hardships and the worry from having her eldest son at war, Norma's second son, Dennis, is determined to buy his mother a special gift this Christmas: a lavender blue dress he hopes will bring her comfort.

Der Preis der Freiheit. Lady Aisla Montgomery führt eine durchaus erträgliche Ehe - ihr Mann bleibt in Schottland und sie in Paris. Doch irgendwann reicht ihr dieses Leben nicht mehr und sie will nur noch eines: die Scheidung. Niall Stuart Maclaren, der raubeinige Laird von Tarbendale, bereut den Tag, an dem er seine schöne, widerspenstige Frau kennenlernte. Der Gedanke an sie löst bittere Wut in ihm aus. Und doch hat keine andere Frau sein Blut je so in Wallung gebracht.

Yorkshire, 1946. At last, Sonny and Rachel Cowgill hear the news they’ve been so desperate for. Their son Mark, who was injured in the very last days of the fighting, will make it home in time for Christmas. But their youngest son Billy has not been so lucky. He was declared missing in action in Crete and is presumed dead. Sonny and Rachel are learning to give up hope of seeing him again. Meanwhile, in Australia, Luke Fisher returns from the German prisoner of war camp where he was interned. His beloved fiancée Isabella Finnegan is waiting for him. But all is not well.

October 1940. Twenty-three-year-old Bobby Bancroft is working as a typist for a city newspaper, but she longs to be breaking the news herself. When she successfully applies for a junior reporter role at The Tyke, a magazine serving the Yorkshire Dales, she's thrilled – even if she only gets the position because so many men are away fighting. Bobby moves to the sleepy village of Silverdale, but she quickly discovers life in the countryside is a different world.

It is 1933 inside a sweltering courtroom in Macon, Georgia. Fifteen-year-old Robert sits on a bench awaiting sentencing after being picked up for vagrancy and spending a night in jail. He left his home in Illinois with a neighborhood friend to ride the rails and find work to help their families. The friend turned back, too afraid to face the perils ahead. But going back empty-handed isn’t an option for Robert.

From Liverpool’s best-loved author comes a superb novel of loss and grief, love and hope, set on Merseyside in 1920.

Abraham escapes his comfortable and luxurious life in Germany and immigrates to Israel prior to the breakout of the Second World War. As a means to support his family amidst financial hardship, Abraham enlists in the Israeli branch of the Royal Pioneer Corps under the British Military.

What begins as a pleasant holiday with a new friend in Brighton quickly turns to devastation for Anabelle Milton when she receives the tragic news: her parents are dead. Turned out of the only home she’s ever known, Anabelle is sent to live with an aunt and uncle who are strangers to her. Heartbroken, she arrives at Bellingham Cottage, a cozy home on the sprawling grounds of the Bellingham estate, to find an unexpectedly warm welcome - not only from her own family but also from the family of their aristocratic neighbors, Lord and Lady Bellingham.

December 1941, North East England. Despite the loss of her father, Sarah is settling into her new role at the munitions factory. Her blossoming romance with pitman Stan is a welcome distraction from the dangerous working conditions. But a shocking revelation puts everything on the line. Meanwhile Fran is missing her sweetheart Davey, who has been conscripted to Bletchley Park. Beth is longing for someone too - and it's not her husband on the front line. As the factory girls face hardship on the home front, they will discover that the heroes they need are already by their side.

The year is 1910. Katherine Davis, MD, is an intelligent, self-assured, and attractive woman whose confidence perfectly reflects the confidence of a new century overflowing with scientific, medical, and technological breakthroughs. Without a moment's hesitation, young Dr. Davis accepts the professional invitation of a lifetime when she travels to Chicago's Hull-House to work with the celebrated social reformer, Jane Addams.

A posh New York apartment building on Park Avenue is home to the rich and famous: Sidney Sapphire, the blond anchorwoman of ABC News; Angela Somoza, the gorgeous Nicaraguan jet-setter; Bob Horowitz, the former chairman of the United Jewish Appeals; and the usual collection of banking and industrial CEOs, Wall Street magnates, and white-haired philanthropists. Vinnie Ferretti, the Brooklyn-born doorman, joins the ranks when he becomes a major fashion designer.

Summer is coming to the four streets - but so is trouble, especially for its redoubtable women, who've struggled through a bitter winter to put food on the table. Peggy Nolan, with seven boys and a husband too lazy to work, has hit rock bottom and is hiding a terrible secret. Maura and Tommy Doherty always looked out for any neighbour in trouble, especially Peggy, but they're far away, running a pub in Ireland and corrupt copper, Frank the Skank, is moving into their old house on the four streets. Can anything bring them home in time?

March 1942. As the war continues, wedding bells are ringing for the factory girls. Sarah is happily settling into married life, whilst Fran is busy planning her upcoming wedding. Meanwhile, Beth hasn’t heard from her husband, Bob, since he returned to the navy, and she’s starting to fear the worst. And new friend Viola is still recovering from a nasty accident. Life on the home front can be challenging, but the factory girls can get through anything.

Edie’s hopes of serving overseas are dashed when she’s sent to be a Land Girl in a sleepy Cumbrian village. Prue has shut the world out since her son went away to fight. Yet when asked to take in a Land Girl and two little evacuees from London, she has no choice. Edie’s heart breaks seeing the children’s cold welcome. But when the evacuees take in a stray puppy, even Prue can’t say no. Edie realises Applefield Manor could become a sanctuary. But can she persuade Prue to open her heart, and her home?

Since their mother walked out on them as children, Izzie’s taken responsibility for her younger sister, Linda. And when their father’s temper flares up, Izzie knows the girls are better off on their own. But when a handsome Italian chef moves to Worthing and offers Izzie a job in his cafe, she is forced to choose between her responsibilities and her desires. Then her mother resurfaces, and Izzie discovers there’s more to her abandonment than meets the eye.

In the 1930s, Emma Pearson and her family offered a rural holiday to two orphaned children. Despite being unable to adopt John and Tommy as their own, the Pearsons stayed in touch over the years, treating them as family.

It is 1953 in a small country town in Australia, a time of post-war prosperity and hope. The Holtens are wealthy austere graziers who have lived on the land for generations. The McBrides are a large and loving shearers family who are new arrivals to the district. When the McBrides eldest daughter falls in love with the Holtens only son and heir, the barriers to their love seem overwhelming. But in the end, their love triumphs even over tragedy and hope and joy are their enduring legacy.

Gallipoli, 1916. Lovat Scout soldier Donald Peter Gillies lies in hospital, blinded by the Turks. There he falls in love with his Queen Alexandra Corps nurse, Louise. The story moves back and forth from their time at the field hospital to the west highlands of Scotland where Donald grew up. As they talk in the quiet hours he tells her the stories of the coast and glens. Louise in turn tells her own story of growing up in a Welsh coal mining valley. They get cut off from the Allied troops and are forced to make an escape, but there is still another tragic twist to their story....