Historical fiction

Inspired by the incredible stories of the heroines of the Italian Resistance, this is a heart-wrenching dual-timeframe story which is a portrait of war and a powerful exploration of how far we will go to protect our families, set between World War II Naples and the glamorous Golden Age of Hollywood.

Part of a loose trilogy based on the end of empire, 'The Vaster Wilds' is the story of a young girl who is servant to a minister and his young mistress, and in charge of their young daughter Bess. On an epic voyage across the Atlantic, ship-wrecked, far from home and fighting for survival, the pr...

Bude, Cornwall 1944. Even in Cornwall, the war shows no signs of slowing. When tragic circumstances force Alice to give up her spy training, she is distraught. That is, until she's asked to join a specialist group of codebreakers who might just find the key to winning the war. Young Imogen feels ...

1938: Lady Vita Goldsborough lives in the shadow of her controlling older brother. Trapped and isolated on the East Anglian coast, Vita takes solace in watching the birds that fly over the marshes. But then she meets local artist Dodie Blakeney. The two women form a close bond, and Vita finally g...

After ten blood-filled years, the war is over. Troy lies in smoking ruins as the victorious Greeks fill their ships with the spoils of battle. Alongside the treasures looted are the many Trojan women captured by the Greeks - among them the legendary prophetess Cassandra, and her watchful maid, Ri...

Jersey, 1943. When the German Army invades the tranquil island, librarian Grace La Motée is determined to keep her services running. Ordered to destroy books which threaten the Nazi regime, she refuses, instead hiding them away and fighting back by forming a book club: a lifeline to help islande...

September 1939. Friends Maggie Shaunessy and Lizzie Taylor are heartbroken to be evacuated from their Liverpool homes to rural Yorkshire. Lizzie is sent to live with a vicar in the village of Gargrave while Maggie finds herself delivered by chauffeur to Hawith Hall and Lady and Lord Bradley. Both...

In this timely and timeless speculative novel, set in 1950s America, Kelly Barnhill exposes a world that wants to keep girls and women small - and examines what happens when they rise up. Alex Green is four years old when she first sees a dragon. In her next-door neighbour's garden, in the spot w...

1347. Bruised and bloodied by an epic battle at Crécy, six soldiers of fortune known as the Essex Dogs pick through the wreckage of the fighting - and their own lives. Now a new siege is beginning, and the Dogs are sent to attack the soaring walls of Calais. King Edward has vowed no Englishman w...

Hampshire, 1944, the darkest days of the war. Trixie and Vi are back in Gosport and doing their bit to help Britain win the war. Felling trees is backbreaking, but at least they know they're doing vital work. Trixie has a new boyfriend, Eddie. He's charming, handsome, and always flush with cash -...