Historical Stories

Set in 1860, this is the story of Sarah Forbes Bonetta, the intelligent, multilingual Yoruba princess from West Africa who became the goddaughter of the British Queen Victoria. Victoria Princewill reimagines Sarah's life in England, telling the story of a girl living between two cultures, trying ...

A gripping Roman adventure told by a young North African girl who sets out on a danger-filled journey to Britain. When Camilla, a young North African girl, travels from Leptis Magna to Britain with her family, she believes that she is going on a great adventure and will eventually return to Roman...

1891. On a stormy night off the coast of southern Australia, a ship transporting a cargo of exotic animals tosses and turns in enormous seas. Rhino senses they are in grave danger. Not far away, ten-year-old Evie and her grandfather shelter in their crumbling, once-grand old home. They know too w...

Orphan Ettie Shaw is penniless and homeless on the streets of London when she is spotted by her older brother Joe. Joe has fallen in with a notorious pickpocket gang run by a man called Fagin, and Ettie has to disguise herself as a boy so she can come back with him to Fagin's lair. At first Ettie...

In disgrace after a mistake that cost the lives of half his men, Alexios arrives in Castellum. It's his first command, but it isn't really a promotion. The Frontier Wolves who man this outpost in the far north of Roman Britain are a fierce and savage bunch, a far cry from the regular legions he'd...

It's 1381 and the king, Richard II, has imposed a new tax on the people. In the village of Aylesford, Tilda and her ploughman father were already struggling to make ends meet. As serfs they have no rights to move freely or earn wages for their work. Tilda is desperate for a better life than the v...

The court of King Henry VIII is brought brilliantly to life. Spanning a period of 20 years, the fates of all Henry's six wives are told from the perspective of two young courtiers serving at the royal palaces at different periods.

Based on true-life events during the Second World War, this novel is a funny and gripping account of a childhood spent under occupation and a daring rescue.

1905. 12-year-old Helena's father is appointed clock-winder to the Marquis of Norfolk's enormous collection of clocks. It's a risky job - if the clocks stop, Helena's father will lose everything. But when Helena starts helping out, she discovers the Marquis is hiding many secrets, and finds herse...

Soon to be a major film starring Cate Blanchett and Jack Black, this enduring American classic initiates a twelve-part series following orphan Lewis Barnavelt in his attempt to find a clock hidden in the walls of his uncle's house which is being used by magical forces to bring down humankind. The...