Historical Homes

February 1918. Detective Inspector Harvey Marmion and Detective Sergeant Joe Keedy are pulled from their beds to attend a sinister siege involving three burglars where one policeman has already been shot dead. Attempts at talking the men in the house into surrender are met with stony silence so the police proceed to batter down the door and Keedy bravely leads the way. A gunshot is heard. Keedy is hit. As Keedy is rushed to hospital, Marmion is on the trail of the men who fled the scene and startling revelations emerge.

Who is Charlotte Mason? The Angel Orphan tells the true and inspiring story of the courageous young girl who changed the face of education in the United Kingdom and beyond. In this fictionalized biography, author Leah Boden brings to life the story of the intelligent young girl who grew to be an author and champion of education. Charlotte Marie Shaw Mason was born in Wales and raised as an only child in the north of England. Her family struggled, but she became a self-directed learner. Orphaned as a teenager, Charlotte had a lifelong struggle with illness. Yet Charlotte persevered.

When Simon, an orphaned young cat, is smuggled on board HMS Amethyst, his simple life amidst the streets of Hong Kong is transformed into an adventure fit for heroes. Bringing joy and compassion to those on board, Simon is the only puss to have been awarded the PDSA Dickin Medal, the highest honour for animal gallantry in wartime.

A tale of two cities Gloucester and London. A tale of two boys Toby, saved from an African slave ship, and Aaron, the illegitimate son of the heir to a great estate. A tale of fathers and sons Otis, dealing in the vilest trade of all, and his son Meshak, not quite of this world; Sir William Ashbrook, landowner, and Alexander, the son he disinherits... An epic journey fraught with every danger and excitement, until love triumphs over hate and corruption, from bestselling author Jamila Gavin.

When a ghostly figure is sighted in the murky tunnels beneath Edinburgh, Zinnie and her sisters suddenly find their underground home filled with curious visitors. Among them is the owner of a new museum - the House of Wonders - who seems to know more about the ‘ghost’ than he should.

Marrying the most beautiful girl in German Village had turned Will Fischer's life into a nightmare. But the night the 1888 blizzard roared into Columbus, Ohio, everything changed. Only time would tell if it was for better or worse.

Stephen Friedman is making a good living in good times. He's just an ordinary guy. Or so he thinks. But one day an extraordinary piece of information tells him differently. It's a clue from the grave of a Holocaust survivor. A clue that makes him heir to an incredible fortune . . . a clue that...

In June 1916, a young woman named Charlotte Reid is found murdered in a cinema. Harvery Marmion and Joe Keedy are assigned the task of finding the killer who so elusively fled in the dark. Before long, two more victims, of striking similarity but differing backgrounds, are found dead around the city. Meanwhile, miles from home, Marmion’s son Paul prepares for life on the front line as he marches towards the Battle of the Somme.

May 1915. As zeppelin bombs fall on London and with the sinking of the Lusitania, anti-German hysteria reaches fever pitch and attacks on German immigrants surge. Not even the West End of London is immune. Jacob Stein's bespoke tailoring business comes under brutal attack, leaving his safe ransacked, his daughter, Ruth, raped and Jacob dead.

January 1916. Britain is on the brink of enforcing conscription. Eligible young men who have not yet signed up to fight are despised as ‘conchies’ and ‘shirkers’, subjected to hatred and verbal abuse. Cyril Ablatt, leader of Shoreditch’s group of conscientious objectors, makes a rousing speech at a meeting of the No-Conscription Fellowship, refusing to be ‘an instrument of slaughter in a khaki uniform’.

Anne Wakefield travels halfway around the world for love. But when she arrives in Canada from England at the end of World War II, she discovers the handsome Canadian pilot she'd fallen in love with has married someone else. Heartbroken, she prepares to return to London, though she has nothing left there to return to. Her former fiance's mother makes a suggestion: marriage to her other son.

When a new student transfers to principal Tom Gardner' s school, Tom instantly recognizes that this teenager is the son he never knew he had, the result of a one-night stand years before. Raised by an adoring and fiercely independent mother who never revealed the name of his biological father, Kent is a fine young man.

Join the Prescott family: a bright and enigmatic mix of characters who struggle together, and pick their way through the different perilous minefields of Flushing, Queens, during the Vietnam War era. At the center of this story is a boy becoming a man, simultaneously surrounded and set ablaze by his unstable yet supportive family.

It’s 1895 in New York City. Hard times have hit, and life isn’t going to get noticeably better any time soon. Almost-13-year-old Chipper Carey is running with the Midnight Rats kid gang just to survive. Ma died of consumption when he was six. He knows Ma wouldn’t have approved. But what ultimately has to matter is reality, and without the Midnight Rats, Chipper would have nothing. He’d starve. Fortunately for Chipper, fate takes over and introduces him to the wealthy Miss Sibley.

You have heard, no doubt, the tale of Master Oliver Twist - that rags-to-riches boy; the parish orphan who became heir to the Brownlow fortune. But what few know is that there was a second Twist - a girl, brought into this world moments ahead of her brother. This is the story of Twill Twist - and her journey through the gambling dens and workhouses of London, as she attempts to make a life for herself, rescue her friends and uncover the mystery of her past - while meeting some familiar faces along the way....

Madeline Collier, a young, widowed socialite in 1876 Denver City, Colorado, finds solace in charity work and fundraising for a local children’s home. Although her days are full, she longs for her home to be filled with the laughter of children and a husband. In the meantime, she submits the paperwork to adopt an orphan, but is denied because she isn’t married.

It’s never easy keeping secrets...Only her desire to crush the Crown’s enemies could induce Lady Lucille Stanford to endure another Season. For years she has worked secretly for the Home Office, and she has come to London with one purpose: Foil the attempted kidnapping of a highly valuable target, identity unknown. Inconveniently, Lord Harrington - Lucy’s brother and guardian - has other plans. He won’t be satisfied until she is at long last married.

In a time when the traditional ways of medicine are constantly being questioned by new doctors fresh from medical school, midwife Martha Cade tries to balance her life's calling with the demands of her family. Recently reunited with her estranged 17-year-old daughter, Martha finds herself torn between guiding her child and allowing her to be an adult. At the same time, she must decide whether she'll risk reopening the heart she'd long closed off to love.

1916. As thousands of Brits are fighting on the Front Line, a new breed of women emerges to hold the Home Front together. Fiercely independent and fiery-spirited, the munitionettes, or ‘canaries’, are easily recognisable with their chemically-stained yellow faces. Among the raucous group of women is Florrie Duncan, who plans to celebrate her birthday in style at the Golden Goose pub. But the celebrations are cut short when all but one are killed in a brutal explosion.

Pentonville Prison. Wally Hibbert is serving a long sentence for arson. But after befriending and tricking one of the officers, Hibbert makes an audacious escape. Inspector Marmion, the detective who arrested Hibbert, is warned to watch his back, but it seems that Hibbert has another target in his murderous sights. However, the investigation is mired in confusion, and the identities of killer and victim become increasingly ambiguous.