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Books > Fiction > Genre fiction > War fiction > First World War fiction
The thrilling new book from Sheila Riley in her Liverpool Saga
series 1916 LIVERPOOL Following the death of her father, Ruby
Swift, and husband Archie finally move back into Ashland Hall. As
the Great War rages, fathers and sons take the King's Shilling and
head off to fight the unknown enemy, not knowing what horrors lie
ahead. With Ned Kincaid in the Navy, Archie signs up to the
volunteer constabulary and nurses Anna Cassidy and Ellie Harrington
enlist to do their bit for King and Country. Soon the true
casualties of war are being brought home in droves, Ruby converts
Ashland Hall into an auxiliary hospital for wounded servicemen.
It's not long before the true cost of war is brought closer to home
and Anna and Ellie enlist in the British Military Nursing Corp and
soon find themselves in the battlefields of France in search of the
truth. But they soon discover more than they bargained for...
Praise for Sheila Riley: 'A powerful and totally absorbing family
saga that is not to be missed. I turned the pages almost faster
than I could read.' Carol Rivers 'A fabulous story of twists and
turns - a totally unputdownable, page turner that had me cheering
on the characters. I loved it!' Rosie Hendry 'A thoroughly
enjoyable, powerful novel' Lyn Andrews 'An enchanting, warm and
deeply touching story' Cathy Sharp 'Vivid, compelling and full of
heart. Sheila is a natural-born storyteller.' Kate Thompson 'This
author knows the Liverpool she writes about; masterly storytelling
from a true Mersey Mistress.' Lizzie Lane
Can you leave the past behind and embrace the future? - A brand new
series from Tracy Baines. 'A new saga author has arrived. The Women
of Fisher's Wharf is a joy to read' - AnneMarie Brear Great
Grimsby, 1912 Newlywed fisherman Alec Hardy decides to make a fresh
start with his young wife Letty and move to the thriving fishing
port of Grimsby in search of a brighter future. Letty is from
farming stock and knows nothing of the hard life as a fishermen's
wife but is willing to embrace the challenge with Alec. But where
Alec goes, so does his widowed mother, Dorcas and she has trouble
coming to terms with taking second place in her son's life. With
Alec at sea for weeks on end, the two women clash and Letty seeks
escape from her bitter mother-in-law amongst the streets of Fish
Dock Wharf. Can Letty help them break free from the shadows of the
past or will she be bound by Dorcas' insistence that they cling to
the old ways? Praise for Tracy Baines: 'A saga about ambition, hard
work, courage ...and spite'. Rosie Clarke I highly recommend this
book.' Fenella Miller 'An emotional, entertaining read that had me
gripped!' Sheila Riley 'An absorbing saga. I loved it from the very
beginning and would highly recommend it...' Elaine Roberts
'Terrific - beautifully written. A well-crafted and satisfying
story' Maisie Thomas 'A pleasure from start to finish.' Glenda
Young 'an evocative, busy, entertaining read vying with angst, and
of course, more than a dollop of tension.' Margaret Graham, Frost
Magazine 'Characterisation is one of the book's strong points - the
individual characters stay in your mind long after you finish the
story.' Barbara Dynes, The Voice'I just loved this book! Molly
Walton
Shortlisted for The Sunday Times Young Writer of the Year 2015, Ben
Fergusson's critically acclaimed debut, The Spring of Kasper Meier,
was the winner of the Betty Trask Prize 2015 and the HWA 2015 Debut
Crown Award. The Other Hoffmann Sister is a gripping, evocative
read about two sisters set in pre-WW1 Germany which will appeal to
fans of The Essex Serpent by Sarah Perry. For Ingrid Hoffmann the
story of her sister's disappearance began in their first weeks in
Southwest Africa... Ingrid Hoffmann has always felt responsible for
her sister Margarete and when their family moves to German
Southwest Africa in 1902, her anxieties only increase. The casual
racism that pervades the German community, the strange relationship
between her parents and Baron von Ketz, from whom they bought their
land, and the tension with the local tribes all culminate in
tragedy when Baron von Ketz is savagely murdered. Baroness von Ketz
and their son, Emil, flee with the Hoffmanns as the Baron's
attackers burn down the family's farm. Both families return to
Berlin and Ingrid's concerns about Margarete are assuaged when she
and Emil von Ketz become engaged on the eve of the First World War.
But Margarete disappears on her wedding night at the von Ketz's
country house. The mystery of what happened to her sister haunts
Ingrid, but as Europe descends into chaos, her hope of discovering
the truth becomes ever more distant. After the war, in the midst of
the revolution that brings down the Kaiser and wipes out the
aristocracy that her family married into, Ingrid returns to the von
Ketzes' crumbling estate determined to find out what really
happened to her sister.
Set deep in the mountains of southern France, this charming short
novel tells the story of a man from the Cevennes Mountains called
Roux, who refuses to join the army at the outbreak of war in 1914.
Instead, he flees and hides in the hills, only returning
occasionally to the farm where he left his mother and sisters. The
people of the valley condemn his desertion and they hope the police
will find his hideout. But as the months and the years go by, and
the horrors of the trenches become known, the local people start to
understand Roux's actions. Roux begins to appear in the village
more often, helping out and explaining that his decision was taken
out of respect for the Bible. His arrest at the end of the War is
therefore met with sadness and regret. Chamson explores questions
of perception, morality and conscience with a lightness of touch
coupled with an atmospheric picture of life in a WWI era rural
community.
'I never saw the man again, alive or dead. One will say that I saw
him only for a moment, that it was misty at the time, and that even
I did not recognise the features, covered as they were with grime
and stubble. Yet I am sure that the taller of the two ragged
civilians I saw in the chalk quarry that misty March morning of
1918 was that Lieutenant Peter Rawley, R. F.A., who the official
records stated was killed near Arras the previous autumn.' Behind
the Lines is a thriller that follows on from the success of W. F.
Morris's first novel, Bretherton: Khaki or Field-Grey? Morris is
again concerned with questions of identity, allegiance, chance,
concealment and self-discovery. A subaltern is forced to flee when
he accidentally kills an overbearing, taunting fellow officer:
appearances are all against him and he does not trust to trench
justice. He becomes a fugitive and has to join forces with other
deserters, lost soldiers and outlaws in a hand-to-mouth existence
in the no man's land between opposing forces. A series of
adventures and disasters ensue, including capture by the Germans
and near death by firing squad. Only his own bravery and the
devotion of his fiance can rescue him from his plight. A
contemporary commentator noted that 'in spite of the flood of war
books', Morris was able to achieve 'a quite different viewpoint
from all the others', and his book was 'an outstanding success'.
To swing the tide of the war, he must take to the air once again.It
was 1916. The First World War had still two years to run. Martin
Falconer, at eighteen an experienced pilot with service in France
to his credit, was kicking his heels in England, awaiting another
posting to the Front. Throughout the spring he watched the progress
of the war, especially the war in the air, acknowledging to himself
the German's superiority. Their machines were better, and they had
produced the war's best-known hero of the air, the Red Baron.
British machines were poor, morale was low, and the odds were
stacked against them. Finally, at the beginning of April, Martin
was sent again to France - but this was the month that became known
as Bloody April, when a pilot's life-expectancy was two weeks, and
Martin found himself in a unit demoralised and ill-managed. John
Harris's sombre picture of Britain at war is as compelling as only
the truth can be, perfect for fans of W. E. Johns, Alexander
Fullerton and David Black.
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