In January, 1919, a new gardener at a snowbound boarding school catches everyone’s attention. It’s rumoured he is a war hero. He’s 19-year-old Albert, haunted by Great War experiences and fighting the temptation of one particular prefect. What they want is illegal. Being caught would ruin them. Then Albert’s past finds him, making their quest […]
The Show Woman by Emma Cowing
It’s Scotland in 1910. Born into the world of the circus, Lena now stands at a crossroads. With the sudden death of her father, she faces a stark choice: get married or get a job. The fairgrounds are no place for a woman to go it alone. Until flame-haired Violet, known to all as ‘the […]
Can books save lives?
A pioneering library was set up at Endell Street Military Hospital during the First World War. There, the women who ran the hospital used reading as therapy for the damaged soldiers. Louise Morrish writes about the library, which inspired her latest novel, and asks: can books save lives? If we could step back in time, […]
Celebrations at the Toffee Factory by Glenda Young
The Great War has ended, but Jack’s toffee factory struggles after years of sugar rations and its troubles are far from over. Fun, feisty Elsie longs for freedom and excitement. Hoping to meet the man of her dreams, she spurns the attention of dependable Stan. Will she realise that what she wants and what she […]
The Face Stealer by Sarah Rayne
In London, in 1909, the Fitzglens combine running London’s finest theatre with a very profitable side-line in stealing. But while they might be thieves, they still have principles. They never pinch anything their victim couldn’t afford to lose. When a stranger approaches Jack Fitzglen after a performance, claiming that a Fitzglen has committed a grave […]
The Beast of Littleton Woods by TE Kinsey
October, 1912, and the inhabitants of Littleton Cotterell emerge from their homes after a week of torrential storms to the gruesome news that one of Sid Hyde’s prized sheep has been mauled to death. As rumours abound of a vicious beast stalking the Gloucestershire countryside in search of prey, Lady Hardcastle and her fearless lady’s […]
The Lost Passenger by Frances Quinn
Trapped in an unhappy aristocratic marriage, Elinor Coombes sees only lonely days ahead of her. So a present from her father — tickets for the maiden voyage of a huge, luxurious new ship called the Titanic – offers a welcome escape from the cold, controlling atmosphere of her husband’s ancestral home, and some precious time […]
The Sultan’s Emu by RJ Wilton
A world of veils and delusions. A city in ferment. A battle of empires played out in diplomatic details and back-street brutality. Marrakesh, 1906, and the unexpected arrival of a circus to perform for the Sultan seems like an opportunity for European envoy and Moroccan warlord alike, as they manoeuvre for advantage and pursue their […]