Historical fiction

In Strasbourg, in the boiling hot summer of 1518, a plague strikes the women of the city. First it is just one - a lone figure, dancing in the main square - but she is joined by more and more and the city authorities declare an emergency. Musicians will be brought in. The devil will be danced out...

The Sinai desert, 1973. As the Yom Kippur War flares into life, a state-of-the-art Soviet MIG fighter is racing at breakneck speed over the arid scrublands below - and promptly disappears. NASA Flight Controller and former US Navy test pilot Kaz Zemeckis watches the scene from the ground - and is...

Henry VIII has ordered the dissolution of the monasteries and England is full of informers. At the monastery of Scarnsea events have spiralled out of control with the murder of Commissioner Robin Singleton. Matthew Shardlake, a lawyer, and his assistant are sent to investigate.

In the glittering and ruthlessly competitive world of opera, Maria Callas is known simply as la divina: the divine one. With her glorious voice, instinctive flair for the dramatic and striking beauty, she's the toast of the grandest opera houses in the world. Yet her fame has been hard won: raise...

Spring 1919, and John Sawtelle's imagination has got him into trouble again. Now John and his newlywed wife, Mary, along with their two best friends and their three dogs, are setting off for Wisconsin's north woods, where they hope to make a fresh start - and to live a life of meaning, purpose, a...

South Africa, 1899 - the smouldering hostility between the Boers of the Transvaal and Orange Free State and the British colonies of the Cape and Natal is about to burst into flame. War is coming and no one can prevent it. Colonel Penrod Ballantyne, hero of Abu Klea and Omdurman, is sent to Mafeki...

1939. The threat of war is looming over Blackpool, but Martha and Trisha are determined not to let it dampen their spirits. With two young evacuees for Martha to take care of, and Trisha's market garden business growing as Britain digs for victory, the friends have their hands full. Both are prou...

Gabriel Dax is a young man haunted by the memories of his youth: every night, when sleep finally comes, he dreams about his childhood home in flames. His days are spent on the move as a travel writer, capturing the changing, intriguing landscapes of a world in the grip of the Cold War, and very o...

England, 1936. The reign of Edward VIII has begun, but danger for the monarchy already looms on the horizon. At home in Morland Place, Polly Morland feels alone and abandoned, with her brother summoned to France by his old employer. James soon finds himself travelling to Russia, whereas Polly wil...

Three girls seem to have the world at their feet in the summer of 1914. But World War 1 is coming and things will change forever - especially for women. Lucinda McFarlane is engaged to be married to dashing Sir David Melcome, but their society wedding has to be scaled right down when war is decla...