Historical Homes

August 1941: As war sweeps across Britain and millions of men enlist, women must fight the battle on the home front. Fran always thought she would marry her childhood sweetheart and live in Massingham, the beloved pit village she has always called home. But the opening of a munitions factory in the north-east of England presents a new opportunity. Against her father's wishes and with best friends Sarah and Beth by her side, Fran signs up to join the ranks of women at the factory. It's dangerous work, but the friends discover that their lives are only just beginning.

1943. A German aircraft crashes into a house in Worthing, and causes complete devastation to the local community. Three strangers meet for the first time that day - Pip, Stella and Lillian. Lillian's little girl, Flora, has been hurt in the crash and is rushed to hospital. As she comes through her ordeal, she finds her mother and her two new ‘aunties’ by her bedside.

Katherine Wilburn’s War In the autumn of 1944, as World War II rages across Europe and the Pacific, Katherine Wilburn faces battles of her own. At 34, she is navigating her third marriage, burdened by her husband’s struggle with alcoholism and the emotional toll of raising three children in uncertain times. Her eldest son, just 17, is serving in the Army and landed in Normandy on D-Day. It’s been over a month since Katherine last heard from him, and her fears grow with each passing day. Meanwhile, her ten-year-old son Glenn is struggling in school, and her sixteen-year-old daughter ...

Kate Ketchum is inflicted with the disease of desire. Impassioned with fantasies of a singing career and traveling the world, she abandons her generations-old family tradition working at the declining Owl & Shamrock shoe factory. Leaving the stage of the local pub she's graced for years, Kate pursues her music education, when a surprising college scholarship to the University of Connecticut provides her escape route.

Alone and on the streets after their mother ends up in hospital, Charlie has promised his little sister, Maisie, he’ll never let her feel frightened again. That promise is hard to keep when Maisie falls ill. Hope comes in the shape of Susan and the other nurses at the local hospital. Times are tough, and lately they’ve seen even more children come through their doors who need kindness and a loving home. The only way to keep Charlie and Maisie out of the orphanage is to find them a good foster home, but there are far too many people who’d take them in for their own ruthless ends.

When Amanda Wyld tumbles one hundred years through time, she lands in west Texas on the property of handsome, protective, Tom Thornton. The year is 1883, and a range war rages as barbed wire divides open land into pieces. These illegal fences are forcing ranchers to cut the wire to get their livestock to water. Guns blaze and tempers fray as men and women fight for their homes and their land. Tom does not need or want the responsibility for the young woman he rescues from the range, but they soon find themselves falling hard for each other. Her modern attitudes lead Amanda to put her health...

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.

In Britain's darkest hour, an extraordinary community of women strives to protect the Home Front.

Four girls. Four generations. One family. The second entry in the beautiful new series from Ann M. Martin. Dana is Abby's daughter - but she's always been much closer to her father, Zander. He's a celebrated New York author who encourages Dana's artistic talents...even if he sometimes drinks too much. Dana is on his side in any argument, regardless of whether he's wrong. And then her father dies. After years of moving, often with her mother and three siblings, Dana is angry at Abby, and wants nothing more than to leave her family and get back to New York City.

הביתה הלוך חזור הוא ספרה הראשון של אילה דקל, מרצה ומנחה בנושאי יהדות, זהות ומגדר, נשואה ואם לשלושה, שהלכה לפני כשנתיים להלוויה משפחתית, ושמעה שם, לגמרי במקרה, סיפור שטלטל את עולמה.

A slave's brave journey to living his dream. John Ware, a well-known, highly loved, and acclaimed Black cowboy, arrived in Alberta at the beginning of the extraordinary ranching story on the grasslands. He faced and conquered snowstorms, vast distances, rough horses, not to mention a few rough men. As John participated in the building of some of the great Alberta ranches, he faced racism and delayed, but not forgotten, dreams of a ranch and family of his own. Being one of only a handful of Black men on the grasslands, his dream seemed to be passing him by.

Jack recalls 1974, when Henry Aaron was only one hit away from tying the great Babe Ruth for most career home runs and only two home runs away from breaking Ruth's record. Aaron's pursuit of the record has such a powerful influence on fans' imaginations that Jack thinks his best friend Joe hit a home run on a freight train. And just like with Aaron's home run (that is earning him death threats and has placed him under FBI protection), Joe's home run reveals deep-seated divisions among everyone in Jack's hometown, even his own family.

The naval Battle of Copenhagen cost Captain Will Dormer an eye and a leg. The battle to establish himself as Viscount Claremont of Belford Park could cost him his life. He feels completely at sea as owner of an estate, but his father and two brothers managed to kill themselves in a drunken carriage accident.

Running from her abusive grandfather—broken and afraid—17-year-old Valentia Brocato flees her homeland, hoping for a brighter future in America. Little does she realize that America is about to enter its own conflict—The Great War.

One day, villagers from Lacaune, in the mountains of southern France, returned from the woods with a startling story. They’d glimpsed a naked boy digging in the leaves. A year later - in 1798 - the strange, scarred boy appeared again, and this time woodsmen captured him and marched him down the mountain to the village square, where everyone crowded around to take in the spectacle. And so began the curious public life of the boy known as the Savage of Aveyron, whose journey took him all the way to Paris.

Charles Henstock, vicar of Thrush Green, is living in his new vicarage after the old one burned down. In its place are eight retirement homes, but there’s heated debate in the village about the new residents. How to choose who will live there? How will they get on together? And how will they accommodate all the pets? Meanwhile the old residents have their worries.

It is 1953 in a small country town in Australia, a time of post-war prosperity and hope. The Holtens are wealthy austere graziers who have lived on the land for generations. The McBrides are a large and loving shearers family who are new arrivals to the district. When the McBrides eldest daughter falls in love with the Holtens only son and heir, the barriers to their love seem overwhelming. But in the end, their love triumphs even over tragedy and hope and joy are their enduring legacy.

The eighth novel in the Tropical Frontier series, The Good Dog is the prequel to The Cow Hunters. This is the story of one dog's journey to discover a place called home.

October 1940. Twenty-three-year-old Bobby Bancroft is working as a typist for a city newspaper, but she longs to be breaking the news herself. When she successfully applies for a junior reporter role at The Tyke, a magazine serving the Yorkshire Dales, she's thrilled – even if she only gets the position because so many men are away fighting. Bobby moves to the sleepy village of Silverdale, but she quickly discovers life in the countryside is a different world.

Britain's favourite gardener and TV presenter Alan Titchmarsh takes us to the scenic highlands of Scotland for his new tale of betrayal, mystery and romance. The author of eight bestselling novels including The Haunting and Folly, Titchmarsh's new multi-generational novel makes the perfect gift this Mother's Day. It seems a perfect afternoon in the Highlands. Standing at the door of the lochside castle that has been his family's home for generations, Charlie Stuart welcomes his guests to the annual summer drinks party.