Historical Homes

With the end of World War II finally in sight, Ensign Luke Valenti heads home to Los Angeles, eager to be reunited with the girl he left behind. As Luke navigates his rocky transition to peacetime, he yearns for a quiet return to civilian life, but discovers the US Navy plans to make him its war-hero poster boy and keep him squarely in the spotlight.

In ancient Rome, the number of slaves was far greater than that of free citizens. As a result, often the people Romans feared most were the "enemies at home," the slaves under their own roofs. Because of this, Roman law decreed that if the head of a household was murdered at home, and the culprit wasn't quickly discovered, his slaves - all of them, guilty or not - were presumed responsible and were put to death...without exception.

Ten-year-old Pearl Spence is a daydreamer, playing make-believe to escape life in Oklahoma's Dust Bowl in 1935. The Spences have their share of misfortune, but as the sheriff's family, they've got more than most in this dry, desolate place. They're who the town turns to when there's a crisis or a need. Pearl is proud of her loving, strong family, though she often wearies of tracking down her mentally impaired older sister or wrestling with her grandmother's unshakable belief in a God. Then a mysterious man bent on revenge tramps into her town of Red River.

Ten years ago, US State Department intelligence officer Jordan Weiss’s idyllic experience as a graduate student at Cambridge was shattered when her boyfriend Jared drowned in the River Cam. She swore she’d never go back—until a terminally ill friend asks her to return. Jordan attempts to settle into her new life, taking on an urgent mission beside rakish agent Sebastian Hodges. Just when she thinks there’s hope for a fresh start, a former college classmate tells her that Jared’s death was not an accident—he was murdered.

It began in Ireland in the mid 1700s. The water in Ireland, indeed throughout Europe, was famously undrinkable, and the gin and whiskey that took its place devastated civil society. It was a disease ridden, starvation-plagued, alcoholic age, and Christians like Arthur Guinness—as well as monks and even evangelical churches—brewed beer that provided a healthier alternative to the poisonous waters and liquors of the times. This is where the Guinness tale began.

As the depression worsens, a distant war draws near. Dan O'Brian finds he is once again embroiled with the inner conflicts he had hoped were far behind him after returning from World War I. Dan holds a strong conviction that the United States should stay out of the new war-because this time it is his son, Cory, whose life could be threatened by a foreign menace. But convictions can change. Through his work as a musician, Dan finds an unlikely friend in Josh Brown, a man who challenges Dan's view of the world. And though both men share a common tragic link to the past, events of the future ...

Tim O'Brien gave us this intensely personal account of his year as a foot soldier in Vietnam. The author takes us with him to experience combat from behind an infantryman's rifle, to walk the minefields of My Lai, to crawl into the ghostly tunnels, and to explore the ambiguities of manhood and morality in a war gone terribly wrong.

The old trunk sat unclaimed on the depot platform for more than two decades. John Forrester 's decision to use it as an escape vehicle would result in it becoming either an untimely coffin or a way to freedom for his only nephew, Timothy. "Timothy's Home", Book V of The Nan's Heritage Series, brings the story of the trunk and the people connected to it full circle. New characters blend with beloved ones from the other books in the series giving a window into life of the 1800s in Colorado. In Elaine Littau's latest offering, "Timothy's Home", she endeavors to keep the story unpredictable as ...

The luck of a gambling hand had changed his fate and now the young cowboy was ready to start a new life. Bud After serving time in the Louisiana State Prison, Bud Downey spent many months winning a small fortune as a gambler. Feeling confident that he had won enough money, he packed up his stake to begin his journey to Limason, Texas—Home. After his last winning hand at the gambling table, a couple of disgruntled cowboys were angry that they had lost all their money to the smooth-talking young man. As Bud traveled near the border of Lafayette, Louisiana, he was ambushed, shot and left for...

The year is 1840. Twenty-three years ago, Horatio Lord Hornblower was governor of the island of St. Helena and hailer to its only prisoner, Napoleon Bonaparte. First mutual respect, and later shared tragedy, forged a clandestine friendship between the two men. Now King Louis Philippe of France has requested that the remains of the late emperor be returned, and Queen Victoria has granted that request. The French have also requested that the former-Governor Lord Hornblower attend the exhumation as the official British representative.

When Pierrot becomes an orphan, he must leave his home in Paris for a new life with his aunt Beatrix, a servant in a wealthy Austrian household. But this is no ordinary time, for it is 1935 and the Second World War is fast approaching; and this is no ordinary house, for this is the Berghof, the home of Adolf Hitler. Pierrot is quickly taken under Hitler's wing and thrown into an increasingly dangerous new world: a world of terror, secrets, and betrayal from which he may never be able to escape.

It's January 1943 when Rita Vincenzo receives her first letter from Glory Whitehall. Glory is an effervescent young mother, impulsive and free as a bird. Rita is a sensible professor's wife with a love of gardening and a generous, old soul. Glory comes from New England society; Rita lives in Iowa, trying to make ends meet. They have nothing in common except one powerful bond: The men they love are fighting in a war a world away from home. Brought together by an unlikely twist of fate, Glory and Rita begin a remarkable correspondence.

Miss Addison Campbell will do almost anything to leave Apple Creek behind, the small Wisconsin town where she grew up. She wants to expand her horizons and see the world. She thinks she has found the perfect opportunity to travel by accepting a position requiring her to move to Oklahoma Territory as a companion, maid, and nanny for Miss Bexley Opal Dellwood. However, Addy doesn’t expect her new employer to abandon her baby and surrender him to Addison when they journey to meet Miss Dellwood’s future husband, Reed Logan, the man Milly Crenshaw has matched her to marry. Find out what ...

In Berkeley, California, in 1944, Homicide Detective Al Sullivan has just left the swanky Claremont Hotel after a drink in the bar when a presidential candidate is assassinated in one of the rooms upstairs. A rich industrialist with enemies among the anarchist factions on the far left, Walter Wilkinson could have been targeted by any number of groups. But strangely, Sullivan’s investigation brings up the specter of another tragedy at the Claremont, ten years earlier: the death of seven-year-old Iris Stafford, a member of the Bainbridge family, one of the wealthiest in all of San Francisco.

In the shadow of the War of 1812, a riveting tale unfolds during the pivotal Battle of Baltimore. This historical fiction novel intricately weaves the lives of several individuals against the backdrop of a nation in turmoil. Francis Scott Key, detained aboard a British ship, pens the words that would become the Star-Spangled Banner. Meanwhile, Frederick Hall, an escaped slave, bravely fights for the American side that denied him his freedom. Amidst the build up to war, young Grace Wisher, an indentured servant, pours her skill and silent hopes into the very stitches and fabric of the ...

Two years into World War II, Britain is feeling her losses: The Nazis have won battles, the Blitz has destroyed cities, and U-boats have cut off the supply of food. In an effort to help housewives with food rationing, a BBC radio program called The Kitchen Front is holding a cooking contest - and the grand prize is a job as the program’s first-ever female co-host. For four very different women, winning the competition would present a crucial chance to change their lives.

Sharla Cody is only five, but has already lived a troubled life - only to find herself dumped on an elderly neighbor's doorstep when her mother takes off for the summer. Although Sharla is not the angelic child Addy Shadd had pictured when she agreed to look after her, the two soon forge a deep bond. To Addy's surprise, Sharla's presence brings back memories of her own childhood in Rusholme, a town settled by fugitive slaves in the mid-1800s. She reminisces about her family, her first love, and the painful experience that drove her away from home.

Governments were toppled and rulers were killed during the last attempt to find the lost treasure Amy and Dan Cahill are searching for - do they even stand a chance?

East Prussia, 1944. When the war comes to 12-year-old Agnes’ village, she finds herself stuck between two terrifying armies. Every man she’s ever known has been forced to fight for the Nazis, and as the Red Army approaches every innocent woman and child is made to leave their home. Then tragedy strikes and she and her brother, Dieter, find themselves alone in vast, isolated woodland, and Agnes must protect Dieter at all costs....

Once Amy and Dan Cahill's choice was simple - take a million dollars or the first of 39 Clues that lead to the source of unimaginable power. Now it's clear that the hunt for Clues is bigger than anything that Amy and Dan could ever have imagined.