Whether your passion is The Ancient Greeks, The Wars of The Roses or The Russian Revolution, you'll find stories of life during these eras and every other, often using factual accounts to build a fictional narrative.
Historical Fiction Books
Canongate Books The House of Doors
Book SynopsisLONGLISTED FOR THE BOOKER PRIZE 2023LONGLISTED FOR THE WALTER SCOTT PRIZE FOR HISTORICAL FICTIONA SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLERA FINANCIAL TIMES, NEW STATESMAN, NEW YORKER AND WASHINGTON POST BOOK OF THE YEARWillie Somerset Maugham is one of the greatest writers of the early twentieth century. But in 1921 he is beleaguered by an unhappy marriage, ill-health and business interests that have gone badly awry. He is also struggling to write.His friend Robert Hamlyn offers an escape in the Straits Settlements of Penang, where Robert''s steely wife Lesley learns to see Willie as he is - a man who has no choice but to mask his true self.As Willie prepares to leave, Lesley confides in him secrets of her own, including how she came to know the charismatic revolutionary Dr Sun Yat Sen. And more scandalous still, her connection to an Englishwoman charged with murder in the Kuala Lumpur courts - a tragedy drawn from fact, a
£9.49
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC The House With the Golden Door
Book SynopsisThe Sunday Times Top 10 Bestseller ‘Brutal yet beautiful, heartfelt yet harrowing, this is one compulsive read’ Susan Stokes-Chapman Amara has escaped her life as a slave in Pompeii’s most notorious brothel. She now has a house, fine clothes, servants – but all are gifts from her patron, hers for as long as she keeps her place in his affections. As she adjusts to this new life, Amara is still haunted by her past. At night she dreams of the wolf den, and the women she left behind. By day, she is pursued by her former slavemaster. In order to be truly free, Amara will need to be as ruthless as he is. She knows she can draw strength from Venus, the goddess of love. Yet falling in love herself may prove to be Amara’s downfall. Praise for The House with the Golden Door: 'Beautiful, moving, captivating... A brilliant sequel to The Wolf Den' Jennifer Saint 'Vivid, unsentimental and compelling' The Times '[A] gripping sequel... Harper's recreation of this ancient world continues to thrill' Observer 'Gripping and richly imagined, this is spellbinding storytelling' Louise O'Neill 'A spell-binding novel that brings Pompeii back to life and explores enslavement in all its forms' Anna Mazzola 'Absolutely stunning and utterly gripping!' Buki PapillonTrade ReviewSo beautiful, moving, captivating and thrilling. The House with the Golden Door is a brilliant sequel to The Wolf Den -- Jennifer Saint, author of AriadneVivid, unsentimental and compelling * The Times *Vivid, gripping, and richly imagined, this is spellbinding storytelling -- Louise O'Neill[A] gripping sequel... Harper's recreation of this ancient world continues to thrill * Observer *A gripping and spell-binding novel that brings Pompeii back to life and explores enslavement in all its forms -- Anna MazzolaAbsolutely stunning and utterly gripping! -- Buki PapillonRichly evocative, and reeling with drama and the determined passion and conflicts of its unforgettable heroine, this is historical fiction at its most thrillingly entertaining * LoveReading *Beautifully written with great heart... Addictive reading * NB Magazine *Meticulously researched, it's another brilliant look at the inhabitants of this fascinating ancient city * Woman & Home *Ancient Pompeii comes to life in the second installment in Elodie Harper's Wolf Den trilogy... with Harper's clear prose and modern dialogue * Historical Novel Society *
£9.49
Atlantic Books The Sinner's Mark: The latest rich, evocative
Book Synopsis'Dramatic and colourful' SUNDAY TIMES'Beautiful writing' GILES KRISTIAN Treason, heresy and revolt in Queen Elizabeth's England . . . The year is 1600. With a dying queen on the throne, war raging on the high seas and famine on the rise, England is on the brink of chaos. And in London's dark alleyways, a conspiracy is brewing. In the court's desperate bid to silence it, an innocent man is found guilty - the father of Nicholas Shelby, physician and spy. As Nicholas races against time to save his father, he and his wife Bianca are drawn into the centre of a treacherous plot against the queen.When one of Shakespeare's boy actors goes missing, and Bianca discovers a disturbing painting that could be a clue, she embarks on her own investigation. Meanwhile, as Nicholas comes closer to unveiling the real conspirator, the men who wish to silence him are multiplying. When he stumbles on a plan to overthrow the state and replace it with a terrifying new order, he may be forced to make a decision between his country and his heart . . .Trade ReviewThe third in Perry's series is as dramatic and colourful as the previous two. * The Sunday Times *An absolute belter of a read and another fabulous addition to the Jackdaw Mysteries series... I just gobbled up the pages as the story fairly roars along battling spies and pirates on route... S. W. Perry ensures the sights, smells and sounds of London and Morocco entered my very being. I love this series. -- Liz Robinson * LoveReading, Picks of the month *The writing is of such a quality, the characters so engaging and the setting so persuasive that, only two books in, S.W. Perry's ingeniously plotted novels have become my favourite historical crime series. * S. G. MacLean on The Serpent's Mark *A satisfyingly convoluted plot. * Sunday Times on The Serpent's Mark *No-one is better than S. W. Perry at leading us through the squalid streets of London in the sixteenth century. * Andrew Swanston on The Serpent's Mark *The Serpent's Mark is an excellent evocation of Elizabethan England, with espionage, intricate conspiracies, strange medical practises and a gripping story. A rattling good read. * William Ryan on The Serpent's Mark *A gorgeous book - rich, intelligent and dark in equal measure. It immerses you in the late 16th century and leaves you wrung out with terror. This is historical fiction at its most sumptuous. * Rory Clements on The Angel's Mark *Wonderful! Beautiful writing, and Perry's Elizabethan London is so skilfully evoked, so real that one can almost smell it. * Giles Kristian on The Angel's Mark *
£9.49
HarperCollins Publishers Every Woman for Herself
Book SynopsisA hilarious tale of divorce and dating from the No.1 bestselling author of The Christmas Invitation. Perfect for fans of Katie Fforde and Carole Matthews First comes marriage. Then comes divorce. Then it’s every woman for herself… When Charlie’s husband Matt tells her that he wants a divorce she has to start from scratch. Suddenly single, broke and approaching forty, she is forced to return to her childhood home in the Yorkshire moors. Living with her father and eccentric siblings could be considered a challenge, but soon Charlie finds her new life somewhat refreshing. Now that she’s single she’s got no need to dye her roots nor to be the perfect wife and she can return to her first love – painting. But just as she begins to feel settled, handsome, bad-tempered actor Mace North moves in down the road and starts mixing things up for Charlie in more ways than one… Praise for Trisha Ashley: ‘One of the best writers around!’ Katie Fforde ‘Full of down-to-earth humour’ Sophie Kinsella ‘A warm-hearted and comforting read. Trisha at her best’ Carole Matthews ‘An absolute delight. Every Woman for Herself is a laugh-out-loud read that leaves you feeling pleased with the world’ Take a BreakTrade ReviewPraise for Trisha Ashley: ‘One of the best writers around!’ Katie Fforde ‘Full of down-to-earth humour’ Sophie Kinsella ‘A warm-hearted and comforting read. Trisha at her best’ Carole Matthews
£8.54
Persephone Books Ltd Little Boy Lost
Book Synopsis
£13.00
Viz Media, Subs. of Shogakukan Inc Golden Kamuy Vol. 31
Book SynopsisA tale of high adventure and survival!In the early twentieth century, Russo-Japanese War veteran Saichi Sugimoto searches the wilderness of Hokkaido for a hoard of hidden gold. With only a cryptic map and a native Ainu girl to help him, Saichi must also deal with every murderous cutthroat, bandit and rogue who knows about the treasure!After escaping the battle with Lieutenant Tsurumi’s forces at Goryokaku, Sugimoto, Asirpa, Hijikata, and their comrades board a train headed for Hakodate—but the train is loaded with Tsurumi’s 7th Division troops! The quest for the gold has become a bloody struggle for the Ainu deed and the fate of Hokkaido and the Ainu people. As the train hurtles toward the end of the line, Sugimoto and Asirpa face Tsurumi for the last time. This epic story of survival, death, betrayal, madness, redemption, family, love, and honor comes to a close in the final volume of Golden Kamuy!
£10.44
Simon & Schuster The Fortnight in September
Book Synopsis
£15.30
Little, Brown Book Group Fingersmith
Book SynopsisFrom an award-winning author, Fingersmith is an extraordinary, ingenious tale of fraud, insanity and secretsLondon 1862. Sue Trinder, orphaned at birth, grows up among petty thieves - fingersmiths - under the rough but loving care of Mrs Sucksby and her ''family''. But from the moment Sue draws breath, her fate is linked to that of another orphan growing up in a gloomy mansion not too many miles away. ''A page turning thriller while managing to be a tender love story'' Adam Kay''Intensely atmospheric, impeccably paced, and cunningly structured'' Mail on Sunday''A chilling, ingenious erotic thriller - unputdownable'' Sunday Express''Long, dark, twisted and satisfying... An unforgettable experience'' Julie Myerson, Guardian
£10.44
Random House The Warm Hands of Ghosts
Book SynopsisThe sweeping new novel from New York Times bestselling author Katherine Arden.''A wonderful clash of fire and ice ... A book you won''t want to let go of.'' Diana Gabaldon''A spectacular tour de force ... I love this book so much and want everyone to read it!'' Naomi Novik''Well-researched and beautifully written, this is a compelling, memorable novel.' The Guardian''Darkly beautiful and deeply humane ... The Warm Hands of Ghosts will stir your heart, and settle into your bones.'' Ava Reid''Visionary, imaginative and brilliantly written.'' Anthony HorowitzThis exquisite novel took me over like a haunting ... One of the best historical fantasies I''ve ever read' Emma TörzsA historical fantasy that will touch the hearts of many readers' Fantasy Hive______________World War One, and as shells fall in Fl
£17.09
American University in Cairo Press The Night Will Have Its Say: A Novel
Book SynopsisInternational Booker Prize finalist and "one of the Arab world's most innovative novelists" (Roger Allen) delivers a brilliant retelling of the Muslim wars of conquest in North AfricaThe year is 693 and a tense exchange, mediated by an interpreter, takes place between Berber warrior queen al-Kahina and an emissary from the Umayyad General Hassan ibn Nu'man. Her predecessor had been captured and killed by the Umayyad forces some years earlier, but she will go on to defeat them.The Night Will Have Its Say is a retelling of the Muslim wars of conquest in North Africa during the seventh century CE, narrated from the perspective of the conquered peoples. Written in Ibrahim al-Koni's unique and enchanting voice, his lyrical and deeply poetic prose speaks to themes that are intensely timely. Through the wars and conflicts of this distant, turbulent era, he addresses the futility of war, the privilege of an elite few at the expense of the many, the destruction of natural habitats and indigenous cultures, and questions about literal and fundamentalist interpretations of religious texts.Al-Koni's masterly account of conquest and resistance is both timeless and timely, infused with a sense of disaster and exile—from language, the desert, and homeland.Trade Review"I loved The Night Will Have Its Say. Ibrahim al-Koni weaves a magical tale of a world where female power and the polyphony of the feminine are a given, where the earth and the heavens are in constant dialogue, and where ancestors and scriptures are alive and present."—Nadia Wassef, author of Shelf Life“A rich text. . . with gripping scenes and confrontations, and some fascinating underlying conflicts, in particular concerning attitudes towards life, freedom, and conquest . . . . an unusual kind of historical fiction, but certainly worthwhile.”—The Complete Review"[W]estern readers will be rewarded with insights into the rise of Islam and some lesser-known but important leaders . . . [and] find triggers here that cause one to examine, at least for a while, eternal questions about who we are and where we fit in the larger tides of life." —Historical Novels Review"One of the most acclaimed writers in the Arabic world . . . his most recent novel, The Night Will Have Its Say . . . placed during the Muslim conquest of North Africa in the seventh century CE, written from the perspective of the conquered, he once again returns to the desert that has remained his spiritual home."—AramcoWorldPRAISE FOR IBRAHIM AL-KONI“A magnificent novelist”—Marilyn Booth, translator of the International Booker Prize winner, Celestial Bodies“One of the Arab world’s most innovative novelists”—Roger Allen, University of Pennsylvania“The desert setting is al-Koni's strength: its expanse, desolation, and mystery are powerfully evoked.”—Banipal"Al-Koni's story, simply and elegantly told, has all the inevitability of a Greek tragedy--or, better, all the tribulations of Job."—Kirkus Reviews“Al-Koni’s novels are aesthetic renderings of the passions of the desert and of the rich legends and cosmology of his people. An encyclopedic writer who has digested mythologies of the ancient world and literature of the modern world, al-Koni has both a poetic bent and a mystical inclination.”—Al Ahram Weekly“A true journey into the human psyche”—Cairo Magazine“Imagine Cormac McCarthy’s savage lyricism in a Paul Bowles desert landscape and you begin to enter the bleakly beautiful world of this mesmerizing, fable-like novel.”—The Independent
£11.99
Luath Press Ltd Ballad of the Five Marys
Book SynopsisBALLAD of the FIVE MARYSYestreen the Queen had Four MarysTonight she’ll hae but threeThere was Mary Seton, and Mary BeatonAnd Mary Carmichael and me.from ‘Mary Hamilton’, The Child BalladsThe Mary Carmichael of the well-known ballad may be a fiction but Marys Seton, Beaton, Livingston and Fleming, together with Mary Stewart, comprised the real five Marys – assertive young women unafraid to question their place in society.Who was Mary Queen of Scots? Vilified as an adulteress, only to be immortalised as a martyr, where does history become legend?Why was Mary deposed? Who killed Darnley? Five hundred years after the Battle of Flodden and the birth of John Knox, this new take on Mary’s life explores not only the historical events which led to her demise, but the relationships and emotions of an increasingly isolated young woman faced with political and religious upheaval and her country’s gradual loss of independence.Our Sovereign Lady who now Reigns at this Hour, The Mighty Lord be ever her Protector And Make Her Marriage as He thinks Best, That Her Liege may Reign in Peace and RestTHE FORMAN ARMORIAL, C.1562Trade ReviewThere’s an old publishing belief that books about Mary Queen of Scots always sell. Smith’s certainly deserves to do so. He finds his way through the maze of 16th century Scottish politics dexterously and persuasively. ALLAN MASSIE, THE SCOTSMAN
£8.54
Cornerstone Midshipman Bolitho Richard Bolitho Midshipman
Book SynopsisAlexander Kent is the author of twenty-seven acclaimed books featuring Richard Bolitho. Under his own name, Douglas Reeman, and in the course of a career spanning forty-five years, he has written over thirty novels and two non-fiction books.Trade ReviewOne of our foremost writers of naval fiction...authentic, inspiring, well-characterised and, finally, moving * Sunday Times *
£9.49
Penguin Books Ltd Moon Tiger
Book SynopsisPenelope Lively''s Booker Prize winning classic, Moon Tiger is a haunting story of loss and desire, published here as a Penguin Essential for the first time.Claudia Hampton - beautiful, famous, independent, dying.But she remains defiant to the last, telling her nurses that she will write a ''history of the world . . . and in the process, my own''. And it is her story from a childhood just after the First World War through the Second and beyond. But Claudia''s life is entwined with others and she must allow those who knew her, loved her, the chance to speak, to put across their point of view. There is Gordon, brother and adversary; Jasper, her untrustworthy lover and father of Lisa, her cool conventional daughter; and then there is Tom, her one great love, found and lost in wartime Egypt.''Leaves its traces in the air long after you''ve put it away'' Anne Tyler''A complex tapestry of great subtlety. Lively writes so well, savouring the words as she goes'' Daily Telegraph''Very clever: evocative, thought-provoking and hangs on the mind long after it is finished'' Literary ReviewTrade ReviewLeaves its traces in the air long after you've put it away * Anne Tyler *A complex tapestry of great subtlety. Lively writes so well, savouring the words as she goes * Daily Telegraph *Very clever: evocative, thought-provoking and hangs on the mind long after it is finished * Literary Review *Lively's ability to bring her character and the world she inhabits into full technicolour is beautiful. This is a unique book about a fascinating unpredictable woman way ahead of her time and yet absolutely of her time * Lemn Sissay *One of Britain's most celebrated novelists. Moon Tiger's multiple, shifting viewpoints weaves an eloquent disquisition on memory, identity, age, love and regret * Financial Times *Atmospheric, inventive. Few books I've read recently have given me so much pleasure * Sam Jordison, Guardian *
£8.54
Hodder & Stoughton The Nurses of Eastby End
Book SynopsisRachel Norris wants to forge a new life and career. And she wants to forget her past.When Rachel qualifies as nurse, she does so because she wants to help others and make a difference. But she is also running from a past life that must stay hidden forever.Completing her training, Rachel moves to London but misses home desperately, so when she hears about an opportunity to train as a district nurse in a village near Rochdale, she seizes the opportunity, even though it will take her closer to the trouble she left behind. She knows nothing about Eastby End and she is shocked to find it a little more than a slum. It''s clear she will need to work hard and keep her wits about her to win the trust of the villagers.Joss Townley has been reluctantly working in his father''s factory but is dismayed at the conditions the workers endure. When his father dies, he sells up immediately to begin travelling but is called home by his mother in an emergency - in order t
£8.54
Little, Brown Book Group The Gathering Storm
Book SynopsisThe eagerly-awaited return to the acclaimed Morland Dynasty series, and the 100th novel by Cynthia Harrod-EaglesEngland, 1936The 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 will voyage on the Queen Mary with New York - and a long-lost love - her destination. Soon the family are scattered to the four winds, from Hollywood to war-torn Spain. Working for the Air Ministry on new fighter planes, Jack fears that his children are not taking the increasingly tense situation in Europe seriously enough. The nation is divided over which is the greater thread: Communist Russia, or Fascist Germany. As the storms of war gather, they will threaten to overwhelm the Morlands and destroy all that they have worked for...
£19.79
Dialogue Goddess with a Thousand Faces
Book Synopsis''I loved Goddess with a Thousand Faces. Fascinating, fun and thoughtful and enlightening'' JENNIFER SAINT''A beautiful weave of history, myth and storytelling by one of our most exciting new classicists'' DAN SNOWSteeped in ancient magic, dark divinity and wild ways, Goddess with a Thousand Faces takes you on a historical journey like no other...Blending mythological retellings with historical research, Goddess with a Thousand Faces traverses the world and transports through time to bring ten formidable and inspiring ancient goddesses to life. Meet Artemis, the Greek goddess of the wilderness, never without her bow and arrow; Sedna, Inuit goddess of the ocean, guarding the icy waters and all its creatures; Isis, Egyptian goddess of healing, who dwells by the River Nile, just to name a few...Jasmine Elmer explores these goddesses of our past, uncovering their truths, their rebellion and their freedom. For too
£19.80
Orion Publishing Co Treason of Sparta
Book SynopsisBook 7 in The Long War series from the master of historical fiction, Christian Cameron When the dust settled and the blood dried after the Battle of Plataea, Greeks might have thought that their freedom was secured. But before the corpse of the Great King's general was cold, Athens and Sparta began to bicker over dividing up the spoils. After an autumn of victory, it's a long cold winter among the burned cities and destroyed shrines of Greece, and a hungry spring. And when Arimnestos goes to sea to cruise the Persian-held coasts, he finds that Persia is still not beaten... and that old alliances are now fraying. Is the impossible true? Would the Spartans rather see Athens destroyed than Persia defeated? And who will save the cities of Ionia from the Great King's wrath?It's the spring of 478BCE, and the Long War isn't over yet. ______________PRAISE FOR CHRISTIAN CAMERON
£9.49
Pan Macmillan The Woolworths Saturday Girls
Book SynopsisCan the Woolworth girls achieve their dreams in time for their futures to begin? The Woolworths Saturday Girls is the seventh instalment in Elaine Everest's much-loved Woolworths series.1950. The Second World War is over and life has moved on for the Woolworth girls, Sarah, Maisie and Freda. In a new world the Woolworth women have high expectations of their daughters, wanting them to seize opportunities they didn’t have themselves.Ready to take on Saturday jobs at Woolworths, budding friends Bessie, Claudette, Clementine and Dorothy are faced with unforeseeable challenges, as the real world comes into focus. Their bond can only be strengthened as they overcome the darkest times. Perhaps their lives are not as clear-cut as their mothers wished them to be . . .When Bessie finds love in the wrong crowd and falls pregnant, the image of her future and ambitions become skewed and she relies on the Saturday girls to help her see her problems through – but how will they find a home for the baby when it arrives?With wild imaginations, it is up to the Woolworth girls, new and old, to save the day – and their futures . . .Trade ReviewA warm, tender tale of friendship and love . . . sweet as a Woolies pick’n’mix -- Milly Johnson, author of The Teashop on the Corner, on The Woolworths GirlsA heart-warming story about finding strength in the hardest of times * Woman’s Own *
£7.99
HarperCollins Publishers Flashmans Lady Book 3 The Flashman Papers
Book SynopsisCoward, scoundrel, lover and cheat, but there is no better man to go into the jungle with. Join Flashman in his adventures as he survives fearful ordeals and outlandish perils across the four corners of the world.Flashman's at it again! Caught between two Chinese lovers, held captive by Borneo pirates and enslaved by a voluptuous Madagascan queen, Harry Flashman's doing better than ever.Trade Review'Flashman is a wonderful creation, by a master storyteller. We'll forever delight in his evil antics' JEFFREY ARCHER ‘Politically incorrect, lascivious and fiendishly handsome, Flashman is the greatest ’ BORIS JOHNSON ‘Flashman is one of the great characters of modern fiction; a rogue, a lover, and always an irresistible read’ BERNARD CORNWELL ‘Flashman, Sherlock Holmes, Toad of Toad Hall, Bertie Wooster. Any writer would give his eye-teeth to have created a character as good as those. GMF was one of the greats’ CONN IGGULDEN ‘The perfect fictional creation’ TONY PARSONS ‘A first-rate historical novelist’ KINGSLEY AMIS
£10.44
HarperCollins Publishers Sleepers Castle An epic historical romance from
Book SynopsisThe Sunday Times Top Ten bestseller.Two women, centuries apart. Linked in a place haunted by its history . . .Separated by more than six hundred years of history, two women are drawn together by Sleeper's Castle, a house steeped in memory and magic. This is an epic tale of forbidden love, cruel revenge and a war that time can't forget.Grieving and lost, Miranda has moved to Hay to escape, and slowly she feels herself coming to life in the solitude of the mountains. But her vivid dreams at Sleeper's Castle introduce her to Catrin, a young women whose gift for foretelling the future embroiled her in a bloody revolt against English rule many centuries ago.An unbreakable connection is forged across history. Catrin is reaching out . . . and only Miranda can help. But time is running outSunday Times bestselling author Barbara Erskine returns to Hay in the year that marks the 30th anniversary of her sensational debut bestseller, Lady of Hay.Readers LOVE Barbara Erskine:Atmospheric' ?????EnthTrade Review‘Sleeper's Castle is a haunting tale, confirming that Barbara Erskine remains the mistress of the time-slip novel’ Acclaimed historian and novelist, Alison Weir Captivating . . . Beguiling ghosts that whisper to us from the past and seek to stamp their will upon the present’ Richard and Judy bestseller, Rachel Hore Evocative and haunting, [I was] every bit as captivated as I was when I was swept away by Lady of Hay’ Sunday Times bestselling author, Elizabeth Chadwick
£10.44
HarperCollins Publishers The Book of Lost and Found Sweeping captivating
Book SynopsisSweeping, escapist and heartrending the perfect read for fans of Victoria Hislop and Kate Morton.LONDON, 1986: Bequeathed an old portrait by her grandmother, Kate Darling begins to unpick the tapestry of her family's secret history in a journey that takes her to Corsica, Paris and back to the heady days of the Roaring Twenties where it all began.PARIS, 1939: Alice Eversley and Thomas Stafford meet once again in the City of Light. Tom is now a world-famous artist, Alice is much-changed too bruised from the events of the last decade. Perhaps they can lose themselves in the love story that ignited by a moonlit lake all those years ago?But sometimes there's no place for happy endings and there's no hiding from the shadow of war . . .Trade ReviewPraise for The Book of Lost and Found: ‘A glamorous, seductively immersive read… [Foley] is a talent to watch’ Sunday Times ‘Wildly romantic and very enjoyable; a super debut’ Daily Mail ‘A fabulously engrossing epic read’ Woman & Home ‘This beautiful heartbreaking read will give you goosebumps’ Fabulous, Sun on Sunday ‘[A] striking debut’ Grazia ‘Tightly plotted with polished prose, this is very good indeed’ Sunday Mirror ‘Epic debut’ Independent ‘A rich, rolling, romantic story that sweeps across time and space’ Saga ‘It's a lovely world to inhabit – not only for the memorable characters and poignant romances, but thanks to an array of glorious settings that whisk you from wild Corsica to buzzing New York via wartime Paris. Perfect escapism.’ Kate Riordan, author of THE GIRL IN THE PHOTOGRAPH ‘Atmospheric, evocative, epic: a beautifully heart-wrenching story about talent, sacrifice and love' Julie Cohen, Richard & Judy selection for Dear Thing. ‘A classic sweeping love story . . . moving and engrossing’ Katherine Webb
£10.44
HarperCollins Publishers The Ashes of London The first book in the
Book SynopsisThe first book in the No. 1 Times bestselling seriesThis is terrific stuff' Daily TelegraphA breathtakingly ambitious picture of an era' Financial TimesA masterclass in how to weave a well-researched history into a complex plot' The TimesOver 1 Million Andrew Taylor Novels Sold!A CITY IN FLAMESLondon, 1666. As the Great Fire consumes everything in its path, the body of a man is found in the ruins of St Paul's Cathedral stabbed in the neck, thumbs tied behind his back.A WOMAN ON THE RUNThe son of a traitor, James Marwood is forced to hunt the killer through the city's devastated streets. There he encounters a determined young woman, who will stop at nothing to secure her freedom.A KILLER SEEKING REVENGEWhen a second murder victim is discovered in the Fleet Ditch, Marwood is drawn into the political and religious intrigue of Westminster and across the path of a killer with nothing to loseTrade Review‘Ashes of London is terrific’ Sarah Hilary ‘The Ashes of London presents a breathtakingly ambitious picture of an era … the multiple narrative strands are drawn together in a brilliantly orchestrated finale’ Financial Times ‘In this elegant, engrossing novel set during an extraordinary period, Taylor skilfully presents a London in which so many must still pay the price for the Civil War and the murder of King Charles I’ Sunday Express ‘One of the most reliably enjoyable of historical novelists … Taylor demonstrates his usual command of plot and historical background’ The Sunday Times 'A complex weave of history and mystery and the first of a new series from Andrew Taylor' The i ‘The author conveys the confusion and uncertainty of the times in a pacy story of Charles II’s desire for vengeance, the struggle to rebuild a stricken city and the hunt for a murderer’ Daily Mail ‘This is terrific stuff: intelligent, engrossing and, in its evocation of a long-vanished London, wonderfully plausible.’ Toby Clements, Daily Telegraph 'The Ashes of London weaves a pacy story from the framework of true events. A new Shardlake may rise from the ashes' The Times ‘Andrew Taylor provides a masterclass in how to weave a well-researched history into a complex plot.’ The Times, Books of the Year ‘Thrilling… Gripping, fast-moving and credible… It’s a well-constructed political thriller with moments of horror, admirable and enjoyable. Taylor has done his research so thoroughly as to be unobtrusive’ Spectator ‘Finely wrought and solidly researched… The novel’s plot is fiendishly complex’ Sunday Telegraph
£9.49
HarperCollins Publishers Dickens C Tale of Two Cities
Book SynopsisHarperCollins is proud to present its range of best-loved, essential classics.''It was the best of times, it was the worst of times''Set in Paris and London against the backdrop of the French Revolution, A Tale of Two Cities tells the story of Lucie Manette and her father Alexandre, held captive in Paris's notorious Bastille prison for eighteen years. When Alexandre is finally released, the Manettes find themselves caught up in the lives of a French aristocrat and an English lawyer who compete for the love of Lucie. The ensuing tale of violence and revenge depicts the plight of the peasantry, the brutality of the early revolutionaries, and the menacing shadow of the guillotine.Serialised in Dickens's own literary periodical in 1859, A Tale of Two Cities is one of the best-known works of literature set during the French Revolution.
£7.59
HarperCollins Publishers The Court of Miracles The SUNDAY TIMES
Book SynopsisLes Misérables meets Six of Crows in this page-turning adventure as a young thief finds herself going head to head with leaders of Paris''s criminal underground in the wake of a failed French Revolution.A CITY DIVIDEDA DEADLY BETRAYALThe French Revolution of 1828 has failed, and Paris is in mourning.The wretched of the city have gathered into guilds of thieves, assassins and worse, to form the Court of Miracles.When Eponine''s sister is sold into the Guild of Flesh, both their fates are sealed. The only chance Eponine has of rescuing her is to join the Miracle Court and steal back what was taken.But to do that she''ll have to become the greatest thief the city has ever known.''[A] twisty, turny and fiercely told tale of revenge and redemption''DAILY MAIL''A book with both big heart and a nicely nasty streak''THE I PAPER''Beguiling, an an Angela Carter-like way''SFX''Come for the world-building and Les Mis connections, stay for the heroine''STARBURSTTrade Review‘Strong, feminist fantasy’STYLIST ‘[A] twisty, turny and fiercely told tale of revenge and redemption’DAILY MAIL ‘Grant’s Éponine dreams of revenge, not pretty revolutionaries … She must plot a path through the treacherous Court of Miracles – a world where even the most innocent of encounters could still end with a knife in the back … A book with both a big heart and a nicely nasty streak’THE I PAPER ‘As Nina's quest … takes her from the catacombs to the palace, from the company of beggars to revolutionaries to the Dauphin himself, the balance between fairy tale and realism is beautifully maintained. Beguiling, in an Angela Carter-like way’SFX ‘A dark, thrilling tale of what goes on in a fantastical Parisian underworld … come for the world-building and Les Mis connections, stay for the heroine’STARBURST ‘The Eponine power fantasy for everyone who has ever wanted to punch Rudyard Kipling in the face’EK Johnson, #1 New York Times bestseller
£10.44
HarperCollins Publishers Emmas Secret
Book SynopsisThe legendary Emma Harte, heroine of A Woman of Substance, returnsAt the centre of this sweeping saga stands Paula O''Neill, beloved granddaughter of Emma and the guardian of her vast business empire. Paula believes that all that Emma left to the family is secure. However, beneath the surface sibling rivalry and discontent are beginning to flare.Into this volatile mix walks Evan Hughes, a young American fashion designer. On her deathbed, Evan''s grandmother told her to find Emma Harte. But Emma has been dead for thirty years; and Evan bears an uncanny resemblance to Paula O''Neill.Troubled by Evan''s presence, Paula turns to Emma''s recently discovered war-time diaries to find the truthThe decades fall away. It is London during The Blitz and Emma Harte comes vividly back to life. Working hard under war-time conditions, she is also holding her family together as bombs drop, sirens wail and her sons go off to war. As she struggles to cope, the indomitability, will power and strength that have forged Emma into the woman she is all come to the fore.As the pages unfurl, Paula discovers the secret Emma Harte took to the grave to protect others.Emma''s Secret is vintage Barbara Taylor Bradford. Emotion, drama, intrigue and passion fill the pages in a spellbinding novel which only she could write.Trade Review Praise for Barbara Taylor Bradford: 'Queen of the genre.' Sunday Times ‘Few novelists are as consummate as Barbara Taylor Bradford at keeping the reader turning the page. She is one of the world’s best at spinning yarns.’ Guardian ‘A classic saga of loyalty, secrets, passion and intrigue…if you’ve been suffering withdrawal symptoms from Downton, this is for you’ Daily Mail ‘As romantic and thrilling as the rest’ Independent on Sunday ‘Another great yarn from the ultimate storyteller’ The Sun ‘The storyteller of substance.’ The Times
£10.44
Three Rivers Press Pope Joan A Novel
Book Synopsis“Pope Joan has all the elements one wants in a historical drama—love, sex, violence, duplicity, and long-buried secrets. Cross has written an engaging book.”—Los Angeles Times Book ReviewIn this international bestseller and basis for the 2009 movie of the same name, Donna Woolfolk Cross brings the Dark Ages to life in all their brutal splendor and shares the dramatic story of a woman whose strength of vision led her to defy the social restrictions of her day.For a thousand years her existence has been denied. She is the legend that will not die—Pope Joan, the ninth-century woman who disguised herself as a man and rose to become the only female ever to sit on the throne of St. Peter. Now in this riveting novel, Cross paints a sweeping portrait of an unforgettable heroine who struggles against restrictions her soul cannot accept. Brilliant and talented, young Joan rebels against medieval social
£14.62
Pan Macmillan Harvest
Book SynopsisWinner of the 2015 International IMPAC Dublin Literary AwardWinner of the 2014 James Tait Black PrizeShortlisted for the 2013 Man Booker PrizeShortlisted for the 2013 Goldsmiths PrizeShortlisted for the 2014 Walter Scott Prize for Historical FictionAs late summer steals in and the final pearls of barley are gleaned, a village comes under threat. A trio of outsiders - two men and a dangerously magnetic woman - arrives on the woodland borders triggering a series of events that will see Walter Thirsk's village unmade in just seven days: the harvest blackened by smoke and fear, cruel punishment meted out to the innocent, and allegations of witchcraft.But something even darker is at the heart of Walter's story, and he will be the only man left to tell it . . .Trade Review'Unfolding in Crace's trademark rhythmic prose and brimming with unsentimental but intense feeling for the natural landscape, this lingering novel is as resonant as it is elusive.' Daily Mail‘Jim Crace is the most generous of writers. A fabulist, an open heart, an imagination in full flight. There is something of a harvest in every book: the promise, the violence, the fall, the regain. And Harvest is one of his best novels ever. He is, quite simply, one of the great writers of our time.’ Colum McCann, author of Let the Great World Spin‘Harvest, his latest novel, dramatises one of the great under-told narratives of English history . . . Crace brings his signature combination of atmosphere and exactitude to every aspect of this far-off world . . . the prose is extraordinary: rich yet measured, estranged and familiar, both intimate and austere . . . Harvest can be read in mythical, even biblical terms, but the physical and emotional displacement of individuals and communities at its heart remains as politically resonant today as it was at the time.’ Guardian‘Crace’s prose - percussive, rhythmic, resonant - is unmistakable.’ Independent on Sunday ‘The rhythmic power of his prose, with its vivid physical imagery, brings his stories to life . . . Crace is brilliant at evoking atmosphere, mood and an all-persuasive sense of place . . . Harvest has been announced by Crace as his final novel. If so . . . it is majestic leavetaking, honed by an unforgettable narrative voice: resigned, bewildered, ultimately hopeful . . . Few novels as fine or as complex in their apparent simplicity will be published this, or indeed any, year.’ Irish Times‘Harvest is Jim Crace's most ambitious novel since Being Dead (1999) . . . Crace's stunning depiction of country life in all its hardship - less Tolstoy, more Hardy, but bleak-pastoral rather than idyllic-bucolic . . . Harvest is a mesmerising slow-burner of a novel, both a paean to a lost way of life and a timeless cautionary fable. . . . We gladly accompany Thirsk on his eventful seven-day journey of discovery, always aware of that one portentous word which slyly reappears as a leitmotif, signifying a better future beyond the village boundary, a word in which Jim Crace cleverly compounds his perennial twin concerns of place and time: hereafter.’ Literary Review'The best of his that I've read . . . Full of the most wonderful descriptions . . . Very readable and very scary . . . A tour de force' Gillian Slovo, Saturday Review on BBC Radio 4‘Crace evoked this musty, murky world, and the ambiguous persona of our protagonist within it, with wit and immediacy that bring it touchably close . . . The story that he constructs is involving and mysterious, stoked by vividly descriptive prose that’s never wastefully or showily verbose.’ Scotland on Sunday‘This very beautifully written novel gives pause for thought and unearths a quintessential England, never stereotyped, which is also deeply and humanly unique. And, until he writes an even better one, this, for me, is Crace’s most satisfying, and probably, best book.’ Scotsman‘Terrible, lyrical, beauty that is nothing like any other novel I have ever read . . . Crace achieves a cadence of speech which sounds and feels as if it is absolutely authentic.’ Spectator‘Harvest is as finely written as it is tautly structured. Pungently flavoured with archaic words (“reasty”, “turbary”, “yellow manchet bread”), its language is exhilaratingly exact, sometimes poetic and sometimes stark (slashed across the mouth with a pruning blade, someone is left “hardly moving, but…certainly alive. A dead man never made such noise”). Magnificently resurrecting a pivotal moment in our history about which it is deeply knowledgeable, this simultaneously elegiac and unillusioned novel is an achievement worthy to stand alongside those of Crace’s great fictional influence, William Golding.’ Sunday Times‘Jim Crace’s setting is closely imagined in a detailed, credible, tactile way that makes it seem real — while, of course, it is entirely imaginary. . . Crace’s entertaining story of ordinary farming folk, somewhere, somewhen, ploughs a deep furrow.’ The Times'Inimitably excellent, Jim Crace stands on his own ground among living English novelists . . . Crace is surely the nearest talent to William Golding that our literature can boast today. . . As for Crace's language, it would be otiose with this writer to note its blazing clarity of vision, its passionate microscopic observation and the untiring swing and spring of its rhythm. . . Crace's incandescent visit to a near-mythical Deep England results in a story both topical, and global. No recent English novel has deeper roots, yet casts so broad a shade.' Independent‘Beautifully written, alive with the author’s love of landscape and language, this is a book to savour.’ Choice Magazine‘This is a novel of beautiful writing and careful structure, in tune with the gentle harmonies of autumn and yet aware of how ruin is always around the corner. … Crace has a great gift for clarity, his prose precise and heartfelt, achieving a timeless, polished quality.’ Daily Telegraph‘Jim Crace, the son of a north London Co-op insurance agent, is a magician among British novelists … Harvest turns out to be a William Golding-like meditation of social change in a bucolic backwater and its sorry aftermath…. Crace’s 11th novel is a glory to read, as the intensely poetic prose is brought to a burnished pitch throughout.’ Evening Standard‘Jim Crace is a Titan of the modern English novel. From Continent and The Gift of Stones on to Quarantine and The Pesthouse, he has won a slew of prizes without ever losing his popular touch. Hailed as the natural heir to William Golding, he has just published his latest novel, Harvest, to universal acclaim … Beautifully detailed, the writing doubles as a paean to the natural world, as Crace precisely outlines a rural peasantry’s paradise lost.’ Irish Examiner‘The spirit of play in Crace’s work serves as the cover for a spirit of elegy. Starting from scratch- inventing cultures, fabricating epigraphs- better enables him to communicate his message, usually about transition and impermanence. His novels depict, in prose of sometimes overpowering richness, the encroachment of progress on a stone-age community, the Judean desert and a post-industrial city … The most seductive and enthralling of Crace’s novels, Harvest is also likely to be his last. Ending is its theme - or if not ending, then the destructiveness inherent in change.’ New Statesman‘Crace, a spellbinding writer, graceful in style and intense in his feeling for the natural word, deeply disturbs our polite, picturesque fantasies of pre-industrial rural life.’ Saga '[Harvest] allows Crace to indulge in his speciality: describing horrific acts of violence in ice-cool, ironic prose ... The book has the feel of a fable rather than an historical novel ... Crace’s greatest achievement is to convey the elemental pleasure of [the villagers'] lifestyle to readers.’ Sunday Express ‘Set just as common ground and strips of cultivation were being enclosed by landowners keen to reap much greater profits from sheep, it has a timeless quality that gives the central themes a continuing relevance, as immigration policy moves up the political agenda. This is achieved through a sparse structure and universal characters, but most of all through an extraordinarily metrical prose whose cadences echo across the centuries.’ Sunday Herald‘Masterly, elegiac novel about an 18th-century village under threat.’ Sunday Times Culture‘This is a novel with plenty of incident but little drama, creating its considerable power, instead, through Walter’s mesmerising narrative. At the end, it may not be too fanciful to conflate Walter and Crace, as the narrator steps out of bounds and says farewell to a way of life.’ Observer‘Each of his 11 finely crafted novels fashions a unique climate, landscape and mood, a far cry from everyday realism though nothing to do with soppy or silly fantasy ... The latest, set in an isolated English village at some unspecified point in the pre-industrial past, is no exception. The story of a single fateful week in the community’s history is told by Walter Thirsk, a middle-aged peasant ... a story that is both topical and global ... Crace’s writing has the mesmerising quality of a prose poem ... The beauty of the country is “vividly described”, but the human race is seen as “brutish, instinctively cruel and stupid”. In this brilliant novel, greed wins.’ Week‘The feel for landscape, and how man relates to it, is the crowning achievement of this fine novel. Crace’s precision of language, his mastery of his themes, the fullness of his imagination and his fastidiously well-made sentences offer abundant satisfactions.’ Times Literary Supplement For Christmas I hope for Harvest, the last novel of that fine and unsparing writer Jim Crace. -- Colin Thubron, Books of the Year * Observer *A spare, haunting book that offers a peasant's-eye view of a catastrophic week in an unnamed and remote feudal village. Interlopers arrive and the irruption marks the end of an age-old way of life. Shortlisted for the 2013 Man Booker Prize, it is one to savour - Crace has said that this is his last novel. -- Books of the Year * Financial Times *There are three novels I've pressed most enthusiastically on people this year. Jim Crace's Booker-shortlisted Harvest, about land enclosure and dispossession, transports the reader into a past that feels more present than the world outside, yet also sheds an uneasy light on today. -- Best Fiction of 2013 * Guardian *Masterly in its firm grip on what need only be intimated and what stated cleanly. It was easily the best-written novel of the year. -- Philip Hensher, Books of the Year * Spectator *The most accomplished novelists can illuminate the present while making their chosen past live, move and talk. In Harvest, Jim Crace leaves the precise era unspecified as he writes, with all his near-hallucinatory skill, about an English village destroyed by the advent of agrubusiness. This intensely local story becomes, by the rhythmic majesty and fervour of its writing, a universal one. -- Boyd Tonkin, Books of the Year * Independent *A community is torn apart by the threat of enclosure, in this beautifully written book, an early front-runner for this year's Man Booker -- Best Books of 2013 * Sunday Times *Two novels this year stretched the bounds of historical fiction and were great page-turners too; Kate Atkinson's Life After Life and Jim Crace's Harvest . . . Crace's threnody to a dying rural culture has something of the same dreamlike power, a story with an almost brutally simple arc that is also lyrical and thought-provoking -- Books of the Year * Evening Standard *Harvest, apparently Jim Crace's farewell to novelism, has [an] elusive quality. Set in a remote farming community that goes to hell in a handcart with the advent of land enclosures, it aspires to the unsettling self-assurance of a William Golding novel without ever quite cashing the cheque that its attitude promises. -- Books of the Year * Daily Telegraph *
£10.44
Random House USA Inc Outlander 20th Anniversary Collectors Edition
Book Synopsis
£34.00
Random House USA Inc Lady Macbeth
Book SynopsisNEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER ? From #1 New York Times bestselling author Ava Reid comes a ?masterful reimagining? (Publishers Weekly) of Lady Macbeth, Shakespeare?s most famous villainess, giving her a voice, a past, and a power that transforms the story men have written for her.?Lady Macbeth doesn?t retell Shakespeare so much as slice cleanly through it, revealing what was hidden beneath. I couldn''t look away.??Alix E. Harrow, New York Times bestselling author of Starling House A CRIMEREADS BEST BOOK OF THE YEARThe Lady knows the stories: how her eyes induce madness in men.The Lady knows she will be wed to the Scottish brute, who does not leave his warrior ways behind when he comes to the marriage bed.The Lady knows his hostile, suspicious court will be a game of strategy, requiring all of her wiles and hidden witchcraft to survive. But the Lady does not know her husband has occult secrets of his own. She does not know that prophecy girds him like armor. She does not know that her magic is greater and more dangerous, and that it will threaten the order of the world. She does not know this yet. But she will.
£22.88
Random House USA Inc The Burgess Boys
Book SynopsisStruggling with the long-term fallout of the accident that killed their father when they were boys, two brothers are catalyzed by a nephew''s thoughtless prank and discover heartbreaking deceptions and losses that inform both their personal and professional lives. By the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Olive Kitteridge. Reprint.
£10.80
Pan Macmillan All the Pretty Horses
Book SynopsisCormac McCarthy was the author of many acclaimed novels, including Blood Meridian, Child of God and The Passenger. Among his honours are the National Book Award, the National Book Critics Circle Award and the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction. His works adapted to film include All the Pretty Horses, The Road and No Country for Old Men the latter film receiving four Academy Awards, including the award for Best Picture. McCarthy died in 2023 in Santa Fe, NM at the age of 89.Trade ReviewA darkly shining work . . . executed with consummate skill and much subtlety - the effect is magnificent -- John Banville, author of The Sea * Observer *An exhilarating, exceptional novel * Spectator *All the Pretty Horses is indisputably a masterpiece. * Financial Times *One of the greatest American novels of this or any time * Guardian *[A] totalizing reality, where meditation and resistance are two components of one reality, a destiny of wandering the borderlands of the U.S. and Mexico in the postwar twentieth century -- Rachel Kushner, author of The Mars Room
£10.44
Pan Macmillan A Mothers Sorrow
Book Synopsis
£8.54
Pan Macmillan Outer Dark
Book SynopsisCormac McCarthy was the author of many acclaimed novels, including Blood Meridian, Child of God and The Passenger. Among his honours are the National Book Award, the National Book Critics Circle Award and the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction. His works adapted to film include All the Pretty Horses, The Road and No Country for Old Men the latter film receiving four Academy Awards, including the award for Best Picture. McCarthy died in 2023 in Santa Fe, NM at the age of 89.
£9.49
Pan Macmillan The Midnight Rose
Book SynopsisLucinda Riley was born in 1965 in Ireland and, after an early career as an actress in film, theatre and television, wrote her first novel aged twenty-four. Her books have been translated into thirty-seven languages and continue to strike an emotional chord with cultures all around the world. The Seven Sisters series specifically has become a global phenomenon, creating its own genre.Her books have been nominated for numerous awards, including the Italian Bancarella Prize, the Lovely Books Award in Germany and the Romantic Novel of the Year Award. In 2020, she received the Dutch Platinum Award for sales over 300,000 copies for a single novel in one year a prize last won by J. K. Rowling for Harry Potter.In collaboration with her son Harry Whittaker, she also devised and wrote the Guardian Angels series of books for children.Though she brought up her four children mostly in Norfolk, England, she fulfilled her dream in 2015 of buying a remote farmhouse in West
£9.49
Random House USA Inc Outlander 4Copy Boxed Set
Book Synopsis
£33.97
Abrams Uncle Sam
Book Synopsis The long-awaited reissue of the classic Vertigo miniseries Uncle Sam by Steve Darnall and Alex Ross is a sharp political fever dream praised by Kirkus as a “truly subversive graphic novel” and “a damning account of American political history that also affirms basic democratic ideals”Uncle Sam: Special Election Edition is a vibrant, hallucinatory tour of modern America—the story of a star-spangled, ragged vagrant named Sam who is guided by the voices in his head and his own fractured memories. Absorbed by history-traveling visions of America’s dark past, Uncle Sam struggles to remember his true identity and piece together the scattered clues of his own experiences in this deep and thoughtful look at America’s checkered past. Meticulously researched by Steve Darnall and fully painted by Alex Ross, Uncle Sam returns in print just when it is needed most—in time for th
£16.14
Pan Macmillan Calling Me Home
Book SynopsisA moving love story inspired by a true story and perfect for fans of The Help In a time of hate, would you stand up for love? Shalerville, Kentucky, 1939. A world where black maids and handymen are trusted to raise white children and tend to white houses, but from which they are banished after dark. Sixteen-year-old Isabelle McAllister, born into wealth and privilege, finds her ordered life turned upside down when she becomes attracted to Robert, the ambitious black son of her family’s housekeeper. Before long Isabelle and Robert are crossing extraordinary, dangerous boundaries and falling deeply in love. Many years later, eighty-nine-year-old Isabelle will travel from her home in Arlington, Texas, to Ohio for a funeral. With Isabelle is her hairstylist and friend, Dorrie Curtis - a black single mother with her own problems. Along the way, Isabelle will finally reveal to Dorrie the truth of her painful past: a tale of forbidden loTrade Review‘Before I started reading Calling Me Home, I knew that this was Pan Macmillan’s lead fiction debut of 2013, and that Warner Bros had snapped up the film rights, but nothing prepared me for the overwhelming roller coaster of emotions induced by the astonishingly talented Julie Kibler’s debut novel . . . I cried, and I cried, and after I’d finished crying I cried a bit more. And when people asked what was wrong when I arrived at Fabulous HQ the next day, complete with puffy eyes and blotchy skin, I muttered something incomprehensible about a book that I’d finished reading the night before. In short: Calling Me Home left me speechless. So be prepared to embark on a heart-rending journey during which you will laugh, cry and stare astonished at the very words on the page. No words can quite pinpoint the magic and resonance of this incredible novel, so all that I can say is: you must read this!’ Fabulous magazine'A beautiful story, beautifully told. The quality of the writing is first class. Whenever I put it down, I always looked forward to coming back to it and I'm sad to have finished it. What I particularly liked was the lack of mawkishness in the book. Both the main characters are very likeable and not in the least martyred despite all they've been through. By the end, they felt like friends to me; two women whose company and whose stories I thoroughly enjoyed. The difficult subject of racism was dealt with face-on, but at the same time handled with the lightest of touches.I thoroughly enjoyed this book and I am already recommending it to friends' Louise Douglas, Bestselling Author‘You’d never guess that Calling Me Home is a debut novel, Julie Kibler’s writing is so wise and assured. Although the two strong women she’s created come from completely different backgrounds, the bond that grows between them is extraordinary, touching and believable. I laughed out loud in places and had tears in my eyes as I turned the last page. I can’t wait to watch Julie Kibler’s star rise!’ Diane Chamberlain‘If Julie Kibler's novel Calling Me Home were a young woman, her grandmother would be To Kill a Mockingbird, her sister would be The Help and her cousin would be The Notebook. But even with such iconic relatives, Calling Me Home stands on her own; this novel uncovers a painful past that tells us so much about who we are, where we're going, and the people who are traveling with us’ Wiley Cash, bestselling author of A Land More Kind Than Home'A wonderful debut; thought provoking, heart breaking yet redemptive. Utterly compulsive' Irish Examiner‘This touching tale covers the same difficult subject of racism and segregation in 20th-centuary America as The Help. But it’s a much more human and personal book… A sad but life-affirming book’ Bella‘Based on a true story, fans of the The Help will be enthralled by this emotional read' Prima'A devastating tale of forbidden love' Woman & Home
£8.54
Pan Macmillan The Angel Tree
Book SynopsisA tale of family secrets and forgotten pasts from the international number one bestselling author of the Seven Sisters series, Lucinda Riley.Trade ReviewThe Angel Tree packs a real psychological punch, exploring the fall-out from troubled childhoods and how events in the past impact on not just our perception of the world but on how we handle our relationships with other people . . . Sweeping, absorbing, beautifully written and utterly compelling, this is a saga to sit back and savour on long winter nights * Lancashire Evening Post *A brilliant page-turner just soaked in glamour and romance -- Daily Mail, on The Seven SistersA masterclass in beautiful writing -- The Sun, on The Sun Sister
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Pan Macmillan To Die in Spring
Book SynopsisWinner of the HWA Sharpe Gold Crown for Best Historical Novel.An international bestseller, To Die in Spring is a beautiful and devastating novel of a friendship tragically interrupted by war, by German author Ralf Rothmann.Walter Urban and Friedrich 'Fiete' Caroli work side by side as hands on a dairy farm in northern Germany. By 1945, it seems the War's worst atrocities are over. When they are forced to 'volunteer' for the SS, they find themselves embroiled in a conflict which is drawing to a desperate, bloody close. Walter is put to work as a driver for a supply unit of the Waffen-SS, while Fiete is sent to the front. When the senseless bloodshed leads Fiete to desert, only to be captured and sentenced to death, the friends are reunited under catastrophic circumstances.In a few days the war will be over, millions of innocents will be dead, and the survivors must find a way to live with its legacy.'To Die in Spring holds its own against Günter Grass and Erich Maria Remarque; it is an excellent work, and one deserving of its wide readership' – GuardianTrade ReviewTo Die in Spring holds its own against Günter Grass and Erich Maria Remarque; it is an excellent work, and one deserving of its wide readership. -- Rachel Seiffert * Guardian *A Bosch-like vision of hell... The horror of war and the deep damage it does to people... is not always handled as well, or as powerfully, as this. * Sunday Times *A wonderful, precise, very moving novel. -- Roddy DoyleA remarkable and memorable book, about the nastiness, fear, dirt and brutality of war . . . Few novels, in any language, have conveyed them better. -- Caroline Moorehead * Times Literary Supplement *Yes, you’ve already read Remarque, but you should read this one because it’s not just the story of wartime trauma, but also the story of how that trauma affects the future. Walter Urban and his friend Friedrich Caroli are just 17 years old when they’re drafted from their dairy-farm duties into the trenches. Today, right now, we all need to read the chilling section in which very young men are hectored into military service. * LitHub *Rothmann's work [is] one of the most substantial of contemporary German literature. * Tagesspiegel *In this masterpiece, Ralf Rothmann manages the seemingly impossible. He describes the guilt of their fathers' generation from the viewpoint of the post-War generation without betraying it to a moralising know-it-all attitude. * Badische Zeitung *In contemporary German literature, there is nothing that can be compared to this book. * Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung *Searing, haunting, incandescent: Rothmann’s new novel is a vital addition to the trove of wartime fiction. * Kirkus (starred review) *A sublime novel of damaged lives - and of fathers and sons. * Der Spiegel *With his powerful poetics, Ralf Rothmann belongs to the most important German authors, and as a narrator, he is possibly the most sensitive of his generation. He visualises thoughts, gestures and noises masterfully. * Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung *As a critic, one should use superlatives cautiously, but this novel is a sensation, a literary and political event. Rothmann's scenes and imagery are so impressive that readers experience the sensation of standing on the battlefield themselves. The author always finds the appropriate words for the horror, for this life damaged by war . . . Rothmann poses the question of guilt, without moralising . . . Apart from the prizes that this powerful and smart novel will receive, one wishes the text one thing first and foremost: many readers. From all generations, in Germany and abroad, because in belligerent times like these, the sad story of Walter and Friedrich is a strong, timeless beacon against war. * SWR *He imagines the characters, landscapes, dialogues with hallucinatory precision, doesn't spare the reader any detail of the brutality . . . [He] lets objects - a footstool, a coat, the hem of a dress - speak. * Süddeutsche Zeitung *One can justifiably say that To Die in Spring heralds the post-Grass era with force. * Die ZEIT *Rothmann tells a story which, without resorting to a hyper-realistic description of catastrophe, narrates the destruction of human beings who seek to remain untouched by evil, who strive with very different intensities to preserve the traces of their humanity . . . Moving, with exquisite prose, suffused with a sense of poetry, in the face of human and collective desolation. * Diario Vasco *To Die in Spring by Ralf Rothmann, is the best novel about the end of the Second World War in years, and a beautiful anti-war tale of universal importance . . . With its lyrical realism, the text reaches new heights. Not a word is out of place. * El País *The war is almost over, the Russians are getting nearer and two young men join the SS. A bad career move, but To Die in Spring is a wonderful, precise, very moving novel by German author Ralf Rothmann. -- Roddy Doyle * Guardian *In To Die in Spring Ralf Rothmann finds a way to describe German suffering without succumbing to self-pity or overlooking guilt. An extraordinary novel. * La Nueva España *Brilliant . . . Spare and elegant, [To Die in Spring] paints a quietly harrowing picture of the lasting effects of human violence . . . Directly confronting issues of responsibility, accountability, and legacy, this is an undeniably powerful work. * Publishers' Weekly (starred review) *
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Pan Macmillan Sunset Swing
Book Synopsis'Here ends one of the finest achievements of recent crime fiction' - Sunday Telegraph'Outstanding' - The Times*Winner of the 2022 CWA Historical Dagger and Gold Dagger*Los Angeles. Christmas, 1967. A devil is loose in the City of Angels . . .A young nurse, Kerry Gaudet, travels to the City of Angels desperate to find her missing brother, fearing that something terrible has happened to him: a serial killer is terrorising the city, picking victims at random, and Kerry has precious few leads.Ida Young, recently retired Private Investigator, is dragged into helping the police when a young woman is discovered murdered in her motel room. Ida has never met the victim but her name has been found at the crime scene and the LAPD wants to know why . . .Meanwhile mob fixer Dante Sanfelippo has put his life savings into purchasing a winery in Napa Valley but first he must do one final favour for the Mob before leaving town: find a bail jumper before the bond money falls due, and time is fast running out.Ida’s friend, Louis Armstrong, flies into the city just as her investigations uncover mysterious clues to the killer’s identity. And Dante must tread a dangerous path to pay his dues, a path which will throw him headlong into a terrifying conspiracy and a secret that the conspirators will do anything to protect . . .Completing his American crime quartet, Ray Celestin's Sunset Swing is a stunning novel of conspiracy, murder and madness, an unforgettable portrait of a city on the edge.Trade ReviewCelestin’s debut The Axeman’s Jazz immediately attained cult status, and successive books also impressed. But this is his most dizzying accomplishment, a truly epic crime chronicle. Set in a pulsing 1960s Los Angeles, Celestin creates a joint picture of the histories of organised crime and jazz, full of coruscating detail. -- Barry Forshaw * Financial Times *Sunset Swing concludes Ray Celestin's outstanding City Blues quartet . . . Celestin's most perfectly wrought portrait, however is of the City of Dreams itself, soaked in corruption and empty of heart. Sunset Swing may be an ode to the classics of hard-boiled noir, but it has more than enough rhythm of its own to take its place beside them * The Times *Magnificent and moving * Sunday Times Crime Club *Over four books, beginning with The Axeman’s Jazz in 2014, Ray Celestin has constructed a riveting saga of music, the mafia and murder in four American cities from 1919 to the 1960s. Sunset Swing, unfolding in Los Angeles in 1967, brings his City Blues Quartet to a triumphant conclusion . . . Brilliantly combines the page-turning tension of the best crime fiction with a panoramic portrait of a city in the midst of profound social change -- Nick Rennison * Sunday Times *Here ends one of the finest achievements of recent crime fiction, Ray Celestin’s City Blues Quartet . . . Throughout this series, the counterpoint to Celestin's stark portrayal of a fundamentally corrupt and gangster-ridden America has been his rare ability to capture in prose something of the glory of the music made by Armstrong and his fellow jazz-men. Here he rises to the final challenge of Armstrong's last comeback . . . Few artists have combined greatness and lovability to the extent Armstrong did, and these outstanding hard-boiled thrillers double as a worthy tribute to him -- Jake Kerridge * The Sunday Telegraph *Sunset Swing brings Ray Celestin’s brilliant City Blues Quartet to an end in quite some style. This outstanding series has tracked its characters across four major American cities and over half a century . . . Each of the four books is an epic in its own right, but here, as winter wildfires rage at the end of the continent, the feel is almost apocalyptic . . . The section . . . where Amstrong is first confounded by, then finds a new way to understand and interpret, Bob Thiele’s lyrics for ‘What A Wonderful World’, is as fine and nuanced a piece of writing about music as you’ll find anywhere. It’s one of several superb and moving moments in the best book in a quite remarkable series. Start here if you want, but to get the full effect, put The Axeman’s Jazz, Dead Man's Blues, and The Mobster's Lament on your Christmas list as well. It would almost be a crime not to. * The Quietus *Celestin’s crime quartet – set against the evolution of jazz in 20th-century America – comes to a superb close in this final volume, which also serves as tribute to the genius of Louis Armstrong * The Daily Telegraph *The series is a delight * The Times *This lively, jazz-based series can only be cause for celebration * Sunday Times *Not only a satisfying and multi-layered mystery, but also a well researched and dynamic portrait of a teeming city, rife with corruption * Guardian *A vividly written crime thriller which is a contender for book of the year -- Daily Mirror on The Mobster's LamentOne of the most ambitious and riveting works of crime fiction in years . . . -- Sunday Express on The Mobster's LamentCaptivating -- Spectator on Dead Man's BluesAn absolute must for true crime fanatics * Refinery 29 *Outstanding -- Daily Telegraph on The Axeman's Jazz
£9.49
Pan Macmillan The Axeman's Jazz
Book SynopsisInspired by a true story, set against the heady backdrop of jazz-filled, mob-ruled New Orleans, The Axeman’s Jazz by Ray Celestin is a gripping thriller announcing a major talent in historical crime fiction.Winner of the CWA New Blood Dagger for Best Debut Crime Novel of the YearRecommended on the Radio 2 Arts Show with Claudia WinklemanShortlisted for Theakston's Crime Novel of the Year AwardNew Orleans, 1919. As a dark serial killer – the Axeman – stalks the city, three individuals set out to unmask him:Detective Lieutenant Michael Talbot – heading up the official investigation, but struggling to find leads, and harbouring a grave secret of his own.Former detective Luca d’Andrea – now working for the mafia, his need to solve the mystery of the Axeman is every bit as urgent as that of the authorities.And Ida – a secretary at the Pinkerton Detective Agency. Obsessed with Sherlock Holmes and dreaming of a better life, she stumbles across a clue which lures her and her musician friend, Louis Armstrong, into the case – and into terrible danger . . .As Michael, Luca and Ida each draw closer to discovering the killer’s identity, the Axeman himself will issue a challenge to the people of New Orleans: play jazz, or risk becoming the next victim.'A fascinating portrait of a vibrant and volatile city and a riveting read' – GuardianThe Axeman's Jazz is the first book in Ray Celestin's prize-winning City Blues quartet. It is followed by the second installment, Dead Man's Blues.Trade ReviewA rewarding crime novel, swinging its way to a terrifying denouement with all the panache of a New Orleans marching band * The Times *A fascinating portrait of a vibrant and volatile city and a riveting read * Guardian *Gripping . . . Celestin smartly evokes the atmosphere of 1919 New Orleans, and a city dominated by music and the mob * Sunday Times *Based on a true story . . . this thriller blends voodoo, gangsters and jazz into an intoxicating mix * Sunday Mirror *The evocative prose brings the jazz-filled, mob-ruled ‘Big Easy’ of pre-prohibition America to life in glorious effect with a story full of suspense and intrigue. Stunning * Sunday Express *Outstanding * Daily Telegraph *A clever and utterly believable procedural with a suitably grisly killer, set in a brilliant and vibrant historical background * Crime Review *The best debut I’ve read this year * Scotsman, Crime Books of the Year *Celestin has skilfully woven around the facts a clever story of three detectives who, in different ways and for different motives, set out to find the murderer. He brilliantly portrays the mood of a city under a siege of fear. Fictional musicians mix with the real jazz artists of the period, not least Louis Armstrong. * The Times, Crime Books of the Year *An absolute must for true crime fanatics * Refinery29 *
£9.49
Pan Macmillan Underworld
Book SynopsisUnderworld opens – famously – at the Dodgers-Giants 1951 National League final, where Bobby Thomson hits The Shot Heard Round the World and wins the pennant race for the Giants. But on the other side of the planet, another highly significant shot was fired: the USSR's first atomic detonation. And so begins a masterpiece of gloriously symphonic storytelling.Don DeLillo loosely follows the fate of the winning baseball as the book swells and rolls through time. He offers a panoramic vision of America, defined by the overarching conflict of the cold war.This is an awe-inspiring story, seen in deep, clear detail, of men and women, together and apart, as they search for meaning, survival and connection in the toughest of times.Part of the Picador Collection, a series showcasing the best of modern literature.Trade ReviewA literary colossus, equal to any (and surpassing most) of the vaulting novels which strive for the immensity of the American mythic. -- Geoff Dyer * Sunday Telegraph *A rousingly impressive achievement in almost every novelistic department - dialogue, structure, timing, precise description, heartfelt veracity and the rest. -- William Boyd * Observer *Every decade or so the real thing comes along - a work of literature so overwhelmingly good that you know it is a masterpiece which will endure . . . huge sections sweep you along in a way that only the greatest books can. -- Michael Shelden * Daily Telegraph *His longest, most ambitious, and most complicated novel - and his best . . . Underworld is the black comedy of the Cold War; it is full of sentences that capture, with the choice of the odd word, a moment in American history. * New Yorker *Astonishing . . . an amazing performance . . . Mr DeLillo's most affecting novel yet . . . This bravura master of cerebral pyrotechnics also knows how to seize and rattle our emotions . . . In this remarkable novel, [DeLillo] has taken the effluvia of modern society, all the detritus of our daily and political lives, and turned it into a dazzling, phosphorescent work of art. * New York Times *Don DeLillo's latest epic, Underworld, brilliantly interweaves voices, incidents and telling details into a moving, empowering people's history. If Libra, White Noise and Mao II hadn't already done enough to persuade British readers that DeLillo ranks with the best of contemporary American novelists, Underworld surely will. -- Blake Morrison * Independent on Sunday *DeLillo suddenly fills the sky. Underworld renders DeLillo a great novelist . . . [it] surges with magisterial confidence through time (the last half-century) and through space (Harlem, Phoenix, Vietnam, Kazakhstan, Texas, the Bronx) . . . It isn't every day, or even every decade, that one sees the ascension of a great writer. -- Martin Amis * Esquire *Among other things, the new novel from Don DeLillo is a remarkable feat of engineering . . . he chisels and carves until he has made something that cannot help but lift your heart: a cathedral of prose . . . He has built a towering structure and I recommend you climb to the top. The view is sensational. -- Allison Pearson * Evening Standard *With Underworld, DeLillo confirms himself in the select group of great American writers truly equal to the temper of very strange times. * Times Literary Supplement *Underworld is nothing less than the story of the States in the Cold War; an epic to set alongside Moby Dick or Augie March. -- Tim Adams * Observer *
£11.69
The New York Review of Books, Inc Zama
Book Synopsis"First published in 1956, Zama is now universally recognized as one of the masterpieces of modern Argentinean and Spanish-language literature. Written in a style that is both precise and sumptuous, Zama takes place in the last decade of the eighteenth century and describes the solitary, suspended existence of Don Diego de Zama, a highly placed servant of the Spanish crown who has been posted to Asunciâon, the capital of remote Paraguay. Eaten up by pride, lust, petty grudges, and paranoid fantasies, DonDiego does as little as he possibly can while plotting an eventual transfer to Buenos Aires, where everything about his hopeless existence will, he is confident, be miraculously transformed and made good. Don Diego''s slow, nightmarish slide into the abyss is not just a tale of one man''s perdition but an exploration of existential, and very American, loneliness. Zama''s stark, dreamlike prose and spare imagery make every word appear to emerge from an ocean of things left unsaid"--
£11.69
Zaffre Cilka's Journey: The Sunday Times bestselling
Book SynopsisHer beauty saved her life - and condemned her.In 1942 Cilka Klein is just sixteen years old when she is taken to Auschwitz-Birkenau Concentration Camp. The Commandant at Birkenau, Schwarzhuber, notices her long beautiful hair, and forces her separation from the other women prisoners. Cilka learns quickly that power, even unwillingly given, equals survival.After liberation, Cilka is charged as a collaborator by the Russians and sent to a desolate, brutal prison camp in Siberia known as Vorkuta, inside the Arctic Circle. Innocent, imprisoned once again, Cilka faces challenges both new and horribly familiar, each day a battle for survival. Cilka befriends a woman doctor, and learns to nurse the ill in the camp, struggling to care for them under unimaginable conditions. And when she tends to a man called Alexandr, Cilka finds that despite everything, there is room in her heart for love.Based on what is known of Cilka Klein's time in Auschwitz, and on the experience of women in Siberian prison camps, Cilka's Journey is the breathtaking sequel to The Tattooist of Auschwitz. A powerful testament to the triumph of the human will, this novel will move you to tears, but it will also leave you astonished and uplifted by one woman's fierce determination to survive, against all odds. 'She was the bravest person I ever met'Lale Sokolov, The Tattooist of Auschwitz
£6.99
Zaffre Three Sisters: A triumphant story of love and
Book Synopsis'Gripping, heartbreaking and uplifting.' Christy Lefteri, author of the million-copy bestseller The Beekeeper of AleppoTHEIR STORY WILL BREAK YOUR HEARTTHEIR JOURNEY WILL FILL YOU WITH HOPEYOU WILL NEVER FORGET THEIR NAMESWhen they are little girls, Cibi, Magda and Livia make a promise to their father - that they will stay together, no matter what. Years later, at just 15, Livia is ordered to Auschwitz by the Nazis. Cibi, only 19 herself, remembers their promise and follows Livia, determined to protect her sister, or die with her. Together, they fight to survive through unimaginable cruelty and hardship.Magda, only 17, stays with her mother and grandfather, hiding out in a neighbour's attic or in the forest when the Nazi militia come to round up friends, neighbours and family. She escapes for a time, but eventually she too is captured and transported to the death camp.In Auschwitz-Birkenau the three sisters are reunited and, remembering their father, they make a new promise, this time to each other: That they will survive.Three Sisters is a beautiful story of hope in the hardest of times and of finding love after loss. Heather Morris is the global bestselling author of The Tattooist of Auschwitz and Cilka's Journey, which have sold eight million copies worldwide. Three Sisters is her third novel, and the final piece in the phenomenon that is the Tattooist of Auschwitz series.Trade ReviewAt the heart of this unbearably sad, but ultimately uplifting novel is the unbreakable bond shared between three sisters . . . A gruelling read, but the vivid resilience of the girls, their constant care and affection for each other, is immeasurably comforting * Daily Mail *Offers a fascinating glimpse into life after the horrors of Auschwitz. And that's what makes this book stand out . . . A story of hope, spirit and sheer human resilience * Sunday Express *Emotionally affecting storytelling * Top page-turners selection for Daily Telegraph *Another heart-wrenching, deftly told tale . . . it is hard not to be moved by such a chronicle * Mail on Sunday *Heartbreaking yet inspiring, this is a moving tale of bravery, the power of love and survival against the odds * My Weekly *A stunning novel * People Magazine *Morris skillfully chronicles the lives of the sisters from childhood to old age, balancing fictional invention with extensive research and immersion into the Mellers' lives. Readers will be greatly inspired by this story of resilience * Publishers Weekly starred review *Readers of historical and World War II fiction will be gripped by the conclusion to Morris's trilogy * Library Journal *Emotional and inspiring * Platinum Magazine *This book! I loved it. The fact that this is a true story means a lot, but the author is so skilled that you really live through the experiences of these girls. Each of them comes to life and is very much her own person. If I could give it more than five stars, I would. * 5* Netgalley review *I really enjoyed this book because it was very different to the others as this was about the bond of three sisters and not giving up on the others, about sticking together no matter what and getting through the war and staying safe. There is a lot to be taken from these incredible women stories. I highly recommend this book to everyone!! * Steph Reads Blog *Heather Morris's books are written with such care and feeling. This is the story of three sisters and how they coped with the horrors they witnessed in the camps during WW2 and their fight and determination to survive. Excellent book and very emotional. * 5* Netgalley review *This novel is testament to the power that love and devotion can get you through everything. Just like Heather Morris' other works this is also well-written, you get sucked in and before you know it you have read 50 pages in an afternoon! It is interesting that this book doesn't just end with the sister's release from Auschwitz like most other WWII memoirs but carries on and explains how the sisters slowly heal and move on with the rest of their lives. * 5* Netgalley review *An incredible book from start to finish, so emotional and so powerful, every chapter left me desperate to read on. I felt so invested in the lives of the three sisters, and as a reader you become so connected to them, especially as this book spans more than just their lives in Auschwitz, looking at both before and after, meaning they become the three-dimensional people they deserve to be. This was just as excellent as Heather Morris' previous books! * Emma is Reading a Book blog *I absolutely adored Heather's two previous novels - The Tattooist of Auschwitz and Cilka's Journey - so I was more than excited to see she'd written another book. I love that these stories are real, and Heather has been chosen as the guardian of them. She manages to portray the joy amongst the pain, fear, and desperation. What they went through was terrible, but she's managed to ensure we don't forget the beauty the sisters experienced too. * Books by my Bedside blog *I was deeply moved and an emotional wreck for great chunks of this book. If you have read and been moved by Heather Morris's previous books, this is a must read. If you've never read anything in this genre, this is a must read. A dark and bleak but ultimately life-affirming journey, with hope in the darkest days, a determination to survive and to care for those that you love. A vitally important book to never forget, and a reminder of the depth of human hope, love, and the will to survive. * Avid Reader blog *I am not normally one for historical reads, however, this has completely changed my perspective! I loved it! Incredibly gripping and heart-wrenching, would definitely recommend it. * Partridge Pages Blog *This book! I loved it. It was one of those that I was so sorry when I was finished it. The author is so skilled that you really live through the experiences of these girls. And each of them comes to life and is very much her own person. If I could give it more than five stars, I would. * 5* Review from Netgalley *Having read Heather Morris' previous two books, I could not wait to read Three Sisters and it really did not disappoint. Incredibly well written and atmospheric. Everything was handled sensitively and in an inspiring way. I would happily read more from Heather Morris in the future, and I can't wait to see what she does next. * 5* Review from Netgalley *The book is an honest, powerful, at times hard hitting recollection of what the Meller family went through. Once again Heather has taken the dreadful memories of Auschwitz survivors and created an amazing book. The way Heather writes these stories you feel like you have been on a journey and as you read you are almost an eyewitness to the atrocities survivors had to endure. * 5* Review from Netgalley *Prior to reading this book, I had read Heather Morris' The Tattooist of Auschwitz and found it incredibly moving. Three Sisters unveils a different, yet equally brutal side to the concentration camps, through the eyes of three fiercely loyal and brave sisters. Morris does such a wonderful job with such harrowing subject matter. Instead of highlighting or lingering on the horrors that occurred, she focuses on the sisters and their mother and grandfather. Their bond, courage and will to survive is astounding to read about and this is made all the more poignant by the strength of Morris' craft. The authors care for the real sisters' stories is evident throughout; her respect for them filters through the pages. It is no easy task to take someone's life story, particularly one so tragic, and craft it into a book like this. It takes a special person to do it. * 5* Netgalley review *My words are really not going to do this book justice. Heather Morris has (not surprisingly) delivered yet another deeply moving story of bravery, loyalty, survival and love, in defiance of the inconceivable horror and brutality faced at Auschwitz-Birkenau. A complete emotional rollercoaster, we follow sisters Cibi, Magda and Livi; their harrowing, eye opening story of resilience and strength shown throughout their journey and the story of their survival together. * 5* Netgalley review *Wow. I'm absolutely blown away. An extremely heart-breaking but wonderfully written book. What I say here will not do this book justice. Having read both The Tattooist of Auschwitz and Cilka's Journey; I had to of course read Three Sisters too. I think this is possibly my favourite book of the three. I loved how there was so much detail into their lives afterwards, survival, love and family. I would highly recommend that if you do read this book, to read the authors note at the end along with the afterwords. * 5* Netgalley review *Wow, this is such an incredible read. Ciba, Magda and Livia have an indescribable story to tell. They live through so much and Morris gives them a voice and retells everything they endured; good and bad. The three sisters are such strong women and I loved getting to know them, reading about their life and seeing what happened to them and those around them. Three Sisters is an absolute must read. It is powerful, moving and thought-provoking. * 4* review on Netgalley *A heart wrenching, emotional, sad and poignant read. I think the author has captured her characters feelings, thoughts and emotions very eloquently and as a reader you can't help but be affected by their story which had me in tears a few times. A very powerful and poignant read that will stay on my mind for a while. * 4* Netgalley review *If you enjoyed the first two books (`The Tattooist of Auschwitz and Cilka's Journey), then I think you'll equally enjoy this book. The three sisters fill the pages with bravery, family love and the ability to endure. At the end of the book, I had a lump in my throat as you see the large legacy that the three sisters grew: they endured, survived, and thrived which makes for a rewarding and inspiring read. * Between my Lines Blog *
£14.44
Bedford Square Publishers The Ashes of Berlin
Book SynopsisAshes of Berlin is shortlisted for the CWA Endeavour Historical Dagger World War II is over, and former German intelligence officer Captain Gregor Reinhardt has returned to Berlin. He's about to find that the bloodshed has not ended - and that for some, death is better than defeat. A year after Germany's defeat, Reinhardt has been hired back onto Berlin's civilian police force. The city is divided among the victorious allied powers, tensions are growing, and the police are riven by internal rivalries as factions within it jockey for power and influence with Berlin's new masters. When a man is found slain in a broken-down tenement, Reinhardt embarks on a gruesome investigation. It seems a serial killer is on the loose, and matters only escalate when it's discovered that one of the victims was the brother of a Nazi scientist. Reinhardt's search for the truth takes him across the divided city and soon embroils him in a plot involving the Western Allies and the Soviets. And as he comes under the scrutiny of a group of Germans who want to continue the war - and faces an unwanted reminder from his own past - Reinhardt realizes that this investigation could cost him everything as he pursues a killer who believes that all wrongs must be avenged...Trade ReviewLet's not mince words: historical thrillers don't come any better than The Ashes of Berlin -- Barry Forshaw * The Financial Times *Reinhardt is a terrific creation -- Marcel Berlins * The Times *Sunday Times Crime Club name Ashes of Berlin their Star Pick for December reads * The Sunday Times *Luke McCallin's best Reinhardt novel yet. It's dark, brooding and raw. Also, impeccably researched -- Jon Courtenay GrimwoodA compelling, addictive narrative that had me turning the pages into the small hours. Superlative -- CJ Carver
£11.69
The Lilliput Press Ltd Charlotte
Book SynopsisMartina Devlin's enthralling new novel Charlotte weaves back and forth through Charlotte Brontë's life, reflecting on the myths built around her by those who knew her, those who thought they knew her, and those who longed to know her. Above all, this is a story of fiction: who creates it, who lives it, who owns it.
£15.19
Penguin Putnam Inc The Once and Future King
Book SynopsisA deluxe hardcover edition of the world''s greatest fantasy classic--part of Penguin Galaxy, a collectible series of six sci-fi/fantasy classics, featuring a series introduction by Neil Gaiman T. H. White''s masterful retelling of the saga of King Arthur is a fantasy classic as legendary as the sword Excalibur and city of Camelot that are found within its pages. This magical epic takes Arthur from the glorious lyrical phase of his youth, through the disillusioning early years of his reign, to maturity when his vision of the Round Table develops into the search for the Holy Grail, and finally to his weary old age. With memorable characters like Merlin and Owl and Guinevere, beasts who talk and men who fly, wizardry and war, The Once and Future King has become the fantasy masterpiece against which all others are judged, a poignant story of adventure, romance, and magic that has enchanted readers for generations. Penguin Galaxy Six of our greatest masterworks of science fiction and fantasy, in dazzling collector-worthy hardcover editions, and featuring a series introduction by #1 New York Times bestselling author Neil Gaiman, Penguin Galaxy represents a constellation of achievement in visionary fiction, lighting the way toward our knowledge of the universe, and of ourselves. From historical legends to mythic futures, monuments of world-building to mind-bending dystopias, these touchstones of human invention and storytelling ingenuity have transported millions of readers to distant realms, and will continue for generations to chart the frontiers of the imagination. The Once and Future King by T. H. White Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert A. Heinlein Dune by Frank Herbert 2001: A Space Odyssey by Arthur C. Clarke The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin Neuromancer by William Gibson For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators--
£25.60
