For Nicholas Hawthorne, the Catholic heir to Measham Hall in Derbyshire, subterfuge is part of everyday life. But there are deeper and darker secrets even than his family’s outlawed religion: why is his father, Sir William, so reclusive? What became of his mother, and his aunt Alethea? And who fatally betrayed his cousin Matthew? Nicholas […]
The Fascination by Essie Fox
Twin sisters Keziah and Tilly Lovell are identical in every way, except that Tilly hasn’t grown a single inch since she was five. Then at the age of 15 the girls are sold to a mysterious Italian known as ‘Captain’. Theo is an orphan, raised by his grandfather. Resenting his grandson for his daughter’s death […]
The Illusions by Liz Hyder
Bristol, 1896. Used to scraping a living as the young assistant to an ageing con artist, Cecily Marsden’s life is turned upside down when her master suddenly dies. Believing herself to blame, could young Cec somehow have powers she little understands? Meanwhile Eadie Carleton, a pioneering early film-maker, struggles for her talent to be taken […]
The Square of Sevens by Laura Shepherd-Robinson
A girl known only as Red, the daughter of a Cornish fortune-teller, travels with her father making a living predicting fortunes using the ancient method: the Square of Sevens. When her father suddenly dies, Red becomes the ward of a gentleman scholar. Now raised as a lady amidst the Georgian splendour of Bath, her fortune-telling […]
Shiaba by Willie Orr
Many have heard of the Irish potato famine, but few know that Scotland suffered a smilar fate, with disastrous consequences for those who worked the land. Calum MacGillivray is a man on the brink of ruin, his harvest failed and his prospects gone. The temptation of a new life in Canada beckons, but Calum is […]
Clytemnestra’s Bind by Susan C Wilson
The House of Atreus is spiralling into self-destruction — a woman must find a way to break the family curse. Queen Clytemnestra’s world shatters when Agamemnon, a rival to the throne of Mycenae, storms her palace, destroys her family and claims not only the throne but Clytemnestra herself. Tormented by her loss, she vows to […]
The Prodigal Son by Chris Bishop
In 893 the kingdom of Wessex is once more plagued by Viking attacks. Wareham is obliged to strengthen its defences against the threat posed by huge fleet of Viking longships which are rampaging along the south coast and could strike there at any time. Meanwhile, having recognised Edward’s true lineage, King Alfred fears that the […]
The Last Lifeboat by Hazel Gaynor
Liverpool, 1940, and Alice King stands on the deck of SS Carlisle, waiting to escort a group of children to Canada as overseas evacuees. She is finally doing her bit for the war. In London, as the Blitz bombs rain down and the threat of German invasion looms, Lily Nicholls anxiously counts the days for […]