Before the war began, Minki had everything – an attentive husband, three adorable children, and a successful career as journalist. But all that changed in an instant. Her sweet Clara, with her blue eyes and porcelain features, started having fits. Since then, Minki hasn’t been able to sleep properly because she knows children with illnesses […]
Disobedient by Elizabeth Fremantle
Rome in 1611 is a jewel-bright place of change, with sumptuous new palaces and lavish wealth on display. A city where women are seen but not heard. Artemisia Gentileschi dreams of becoming a great artist. Motherless, she grows up among a family of painters — men and boys. She knows she is more talented than […]
73 Dove Street by Julie Owen Moylan
When Edie Budd arrives at a shabby West London boarding house in October 1958, carrying nothing except a broken suitcase and an envelope full of cash, it’s clear she’s hiding a terrible secret. And she’s not the only one; the other women of 73 Dove Street have secrets of their own… Tommie, who lives on […]
The Lie by Mary Chamberlain
Joan, once a singing star of the 1940s and 1950s, now ekes out a lonely, impoverished existence – until a chance encounter promises a comeback concert and an album. Her sister Kathleen is a successful medical researcher who has been offered the directorship of a prestigious institute in Los Angeles as she contemplates the recent […]
Sinners of Starlight City by Anika Scott
Madame Mystique is a performer extraordinaire, come to work her scandalous magic at the glittering 1933 Chicago World’s Fair. Of African-American and Sicilian heritage, Mystique – aka Rosa Mancuso – and her fellow performers move on the margins. Her ambiguous status serves a hidden vendetta: she awaits the arrival of Paolo Amanta, the dashing pilot […]
The Silk Code by Deborah Swift
England in 1943: deciding to throw herself into war work, Nancy Callaghan joins the Special Operations Executive in Baker Street. There, she begins solving ‘indecipherables’ – scrambled messages from agents in the field. Then Nancy meets Tom Lockwood, a quiet genius when it comes to coding. Together they come up with the idea of printing […]
Books for history lovers: summer reading 2023
What will you be reading this summer? We asked 12 well-known and well-loved authors to each suggest a couple of books they recommend for history lovers to enjoy over the next couple of months – and long after. They’ve come back with a wide-ranging mix of history and fiction spanning 2,000 years, with a foray […]
Sailor of Liberty by JD Davies
In 1793 the infant French republic is assailed on all sides, by enemies within and the combined might of the great European monarchies without. A fanatical regime has taken power in Paris. In the midst of these upheavals, Philippe Kermorvant, son of an English aristocrat and a French nobleman, arrives in Brittany, his father’s homeland, […]