"If at all possible, send or take your household animals into the country in advance of an emergency. If you cannot place them in the care of neighbours, it really is kindest to have them destroyed." Joanna Ryan's father has gone off to war, leaving her in the care of her step-mother, a woman more concerned with having a good time than being any sort of parent to her. But then she finds a puppy, left for dead, and Joanna becomes determined to save him, sharing her meagre rations with him. But, in a time of war, pets are only seen as an unnecessary burden and she is forced to hide her new friend, Harry, from her step-mother and the authorities. With bombs falling over Bristol and with the prospect of evacuation on the horizon, can they stay together and keep each other safe? A gripping, heartwarming historical saga from bestselling author Lizzie Lane. Praise for Lizzie Lane: 'A gripping saga and a storyline that will keep you hooked' Rosie Goodwin 'The Tobacco Girls is another heartwarming tale of love and friendship and a must-read for all saga fans.' Jean Fullerton 'Lizzie Lane opens the door to a past of factory girls, redolent with life-affirming friendship, drama, and choices that are as relevant today as they were then.' Catrin Collier 'If you want an exciting, authentic historical saga then look no further than Lizzie Lane.' Fenella J Miller

'An excellent new series by the consistently brilliant Robert Fabbri' Sunday Sport _____________________________ Babylon, 323 BC: Alexander the Great is dead, leaving behind him the largest, and most fearsome, empire the world has ever seen. As his final breaths fade in a room of seven bodyguards, Alexander refuses to name a successor. But without a natural heir, who will take the reins? As the news of the king's sudden and unexpected death ripples across the land, leaving all in disbelief, the ruthless battle for the throne begins. What follows is a devious, tangled web of scheming and plotting, with alliances quickly made and easily broken, each rival with their own agenda. Let the battles begin...

In the shadow of Sicily's Mount Etna, a brutal rebellion is about to erupt . . . The scorching new historical thriller from Sunday Times bestseller and Ancient Rome expert, Harry Sidebottom. 'What Bernard Cornwell is to the Napoleonic Wars, Harry Sidebottom is to Roman legions: unassailable' - THE TIMES ______________________ AD265 - Sicily, Ancient Rome: In the shadow of Mount Etna, slaves are rising up. As the rebel leader declares Sicily the new land of the free, men and women are slaughtered, and cities across the island are sacked and burned. When a ship is wrecked off the island's west coast, all but two survivors are cut down in the surf by the rebel slaves. Ballista, an experienced Roman soldier, has always found a way to survive against the odds - but his son Marcus is still just a boy. With the burning road stretching out ahead of them, father and son must cross the war-ravaged island in a race against time to save the rest of his family, and somehow find a way to extinguish the brutal rebellion, before it all goes up in flames. THE BURNING ROAD is the scorching new thriller from one of the world's best historical novelists - for fans of Simon Scarrow, Conn Iggulden, Ben Kane and Bernard Cornwell. ____________________________ Praise for Harry Sidebottom's historical thrillers: 'A storming triumph' - DAILY TELEGRAPH 'An extraordinarily vivid take on the ancient world' - EVENING STANDARD 'Absorbing, rich in detail and brilliant' - THE TIMES 'Relentless, brutal, brilliant' - BEN KANE

Violette, the duke's daughter, was imprisoned for an unforgivable crime - but she gains a miraculous second chance when she awakens in her own past, a year before her sentencing! This time, she swears not to make a single misstep: she'll live quietly and unobtrusively so no one gets hurt. Although the restrictive bonds of House Vahan keep Violette tethered, her childhood friend Yulan and her maid Marin are there to support her...as well as an unlikely ally who crosses her path. Series Overview: Succumbing to long-simmering jealousy over her younger sister, noblewoman Violette snaps and does something terrible. As she languishes in prison, something unexpected happens: time is rewound, sending her back to the day she first met her sister! Armed with the memories of her disastrous first go-round, Violette is determined to take the script in a different direction this time.

For one to rule, the other must die. AD 312: A year of horrific and brutal warfare. Although outnumbered, Constantine's legions seem unstoppable as they surge through Maxentius' Italian heartlands. Constantine is determined to reach and seize the ancient capital of Rome from his rival, yet his army is exhausted, plagued by religious rivalries and on the verge of revolt. Maxentius meanwhile contends with a restive and dissenting Roman populace. Neither general can risk a prolonged war. When the two forces clash amidst portents and omens in a battle that will shape history, there are factors at work beyond their control. Only one thing is certain: Constantine and Maxentius' rivalry must end. With one on a bloodied sword and the other the sole ruler of an Empire... Praise for Gordon Doherty and Simon Turney: 'A page turner from beginning to end... A damn fine read' Ben Kane, author of Lionheart 'The Rise of Emperors series is first-rate Roman fiction. Doherty and Turney each breathe life into their respective characters with insight and humanity' Matthew Harffy, author of Wolf of Wessex 'A nuanced portrait of an intriguing emperor' The Times (on Turney's Commodus) 'A meticulously researched and vivid reimagining of an almost forgotten civilisation' Douglas Jackson, author of Hero of Rome (on Doherty's Empires of Bronze) 'An intriguing and highly polished piece of historical fiction' James Tivendale from Grimdark (on Sons of Rome)

SHORTLISTED FOR THE HISTORICAL WRITERS' ASSOCIATION GOLD CROWN AWARD 2022. A disgraced warrior must navigate a course between honour and shame, his people and the Roman Empire, in the first of a trilogy set in the second century AD from the author of Smile of the Wolf. AD173. The Danube has frozen. On its far banks gather the clans of Sarmatia. Winter-starved, life ebbing away on a barren plain of ice and snow, to survive they must cross the river's frozen waters. There's just one thing in their way. Across the ice lies the Roman Empire, and deployed in front of them, one of its legions. The Sarmatians are proud, cast as if from the ice itself. After decades of warfare they are the only tribe still fighting the Romans. They have broken legions in battle before. They will do so again. They charge... Sarmatian warrior Kai awakes on a bloodied battlefield, his only company the dead. The disgrace of his defeat compounded by his survival, Kai must now navigate a course between honour and shame, his people and the Empire, for Rome hasn't finished with Kai or the Sarmatians yet. Reviews for Tim Leach: 'Roman military adventure at its best. Ranks with the best historical fiction available today.' Simon Turney 'The characters feel rounded and real, and the Sarmatians' attempts to keep their world alive are heartbreaking.' The Times 'Tim Leach writes beautifully. Lyrical and thoughtful.' For Winter Nights 'Recommended.' Historical Novel Society 'Magnificent.' Historia 'A poetic, absorbing narrative.' Sunday Times 'Brilliantly atmospheric, utterly compelling and beautifully written.' Caroline Lea 'The storytelling is rich with imagery. It deserves huge success.' David Gilman

The brand new release from bestselling author Rosie Clarke. Friendship, tears, laughter and enduring love help the Harpers girls survive...LONDON 1917 As the Americans enter the War, there is renewed energy in the war effort. With husbands and sons fighting for freedom, the women of Harpers are left to tackle the day-to-day affairs at home and work. With Ben Harper away, Sally fears she is being followed by a mysterious woman. Who is she and what does she want? Maggie Gibbs collapses seriously ill in the frontline hospitals and is brought back to England close to death. Can she be saved and what does the future hold for her and her broken heart? Marion Jackson's father is on the run from the Police already wanted for murder. She fears he will return to threaten his family once more. And Beth Burrows is pregnant with her second child, worried and anxious for her husband Jack, who has been many months at sea. As Christmas 1917 approaches what will the future hold for Harpers, its girls and their men at War?

The wolves of Odin have been unleashed: the hunt has begun.Anno Domini 1040. Christianity has swept unstoppably across Scandinavia, leaving few enclaves of the old ways clinging on to their fading world as King Olof of Sweden works to convert his people. A young warrior, Halfdan, has witnessed the 'mercy' of the Christian lords, watched his people attacked, his village burned and the Odin stone toppled as heretical. Watched his father cut down by an ambitious Christian jarl and his zealous priest. Among the ashes of his world he vowed an oath of vengeance before all the gods. That oath will bring together an unlikely band of allies and carry them to the very edge of the world, fighting giants, dragons and wraiths, in pursuit of his father's killer: Yngvar. The jarl is powerful, and the weaving of Fate difficult, but the blood price must be paid. A compelling and explosive novel of revenge, this is a major new series from S.J.A. Turney. Perfect for fans of Bernard Cornwell, Giles Kristian and Angus Donald. Praise for Blood Feud 'Si Turney is a natural born storyteller, gifted, brilliant and utterly enthralling. Blood Feud tells the story of a young Norse warrior, Halfdan, who swears to avenge the murder of his father. The reader is almost immediately immersed into the action, swept away into the dragon-ship beside Halfdan and his tough, salty and occasionally hilarious crew of Vikings... An intelligent, fast-paced but finely crafted novel of battle, comradeship and bloody revenge - with some surprising twists along the way. Highly recommended to all those who enjoy a superior Viking adventure yarn!' Angus Donald, author of The Last Berserker 'SJA Turney's new Viking epic is a bone-crunching good time! A resourceful young warrior on a quest for vengeance takes to the sea with a dragon long-ship and a motley band of new friends, fighting old enemies, foreign wars and the mysterious workings of fate at every new turn of the tide. Blood Feud is sure to thrill those mourning the end of Bernard Cornwell's Saxon Stories' Kate Quinn, author of The Rose Code 'A rich combination of saga and quest, religion and violence, with a satisfying conclusion that paves the way for further adventures' Ruth Downie, author of the Medicus series

Their rivalry will change the world forever.As competition for the imperial throne intensifies, Constantine and Maxentius realise their childhood friendship cannot last. Each man struggles to control their respective quadrant of empire, battered by currents of politics, religion and personal tragedy, threatened by barbarian forces and enemies within. With their positions becoming at once stronger and more troubled, the strained threads of their friendship begin to unravel. Unfortunate words and misunderstandings finally sever their ties, leaving them as bitter opponents in the greatest game of all, with the throne of Rome the prize. It is a matter that can only be settled by outright war... 'A page turner from beginning to end... A damn fine read' Ben Kane, author of Lionheart (on Sons of Rome) 'The Rise of Emperors series is first-rate Roman fiction. Doherty and Turney each breathe life into their respective characters with insight and humanity' Matthew Harffy, author of Wolf of Wessex 'A nuanced portrait of an intriguing emperor' The Times (on Turney's Commodus) 'A meticulously researched and vivid reimagining of an almost forgotten civilisation' Douglas Jackson, author of Hero of Rome (on Doherty's Empires of Bronze) 'An intriguing and highly polished piece of historical fiction' James Tivendale from Grimdark (on Sons of Rome)

LONGLISTED FOR THE WILBUR SMITH ADVENTURE WRITING PRIZE 2022. An action-packed historical novel featuring Danish warrior Styrkar, and his journey through the violent Norman Conquest as he fights for vengeance. The champion of a dead king has nothing left to lose... And nothing more to fear. Hastings, 1066. Styrkar the Dane stumbles wounded and delirious from the corpse-strewn battlefield of Senlac Hill. He has watched his king butchered at the hands of foreign knights, seen his countrymen defeated in battle, and he will not stop until there is a reckoning. Styrkar embarks on a bloody quest to avenge his dead master, becoming an outlaw in the wilds and earning a fearsome reputation. When a Breton knight seeks to track down this fugitive and make his own name, he can little envisage the task he has set himself. For Styrkar, the Red Wolf, last surviving housecarl to King Harold Godwinson, will carve the story of his vengeance in Frankish flesh... or die in the attempt. Praise for Richard Cullen: 'Richard Cullen's writing is as sharp as the blade wielded by Styrkar, the series' protagonist, who cuts a bloody swathe through his Norman enemies on his quest for vengeance. Styrkar is a great heroic creation, and the Wolf of Kings series places Cullen in the top tier of historical action and adventure authors' Matthew Harffy 'Oath Bound is a terrific novel... It's a brutal yet compelling tale, and one that gripped me from the first page to the last' Paul Fraser Collard, author of FugItive 'A perfect example of tight, gritty, character-driven storytelling' Luke Scull, author of The Grim Company (on Herald of the Storm)

The second thrilling installment in the George Hart series is set during the Second Anglo-Afghan War, of 1878-80 Back in England following his heroics in the Zulu Wars, George Hart is summoned to a new adventure when Prime Minister Disraeli asks him to go on a secret mission to Afghanistan, where the British fear Muslim extremists are poised to overthrow the local ruler and threaten the jewel in the Imperial crown, India.
Hart has severe misgivings. Always an outsider in British society, he doesn't like Whitehall's arrogant way of meddling in other people's religious and political affairs, but, desperate for money, he takes the job and descends the Khyber Pass into a strange and violent land. When his warnings are ignored by the pompous British Resident in Kabul, a terrible massacre occurs, and soon Hart is on the run with a beautiful Afghan princess, in a race to prevent an uprising and head off a catastrophic British invasion.

To the god of old things To the gods of the riverbank To the god of hunters Assyria, in the reign of Ashurbanipal. For Aurya and her daydreaming brother Sharo, every day is a struggle for survival, as they dodge the beatings of their drunken father and scrabble for scraps of food. One violent evening, everything changes. Soon, they are on the barge of King Ashurbanipal, bound for the beautiful, near-mythical city of Nineveh. Their fates become inextricably bound to that of the king - and the injured lion captured by his men. Twenty-six centuries later, British-Iraqi archaeologist Katya joins a dig in Mosul to protect the ancient ruins of Nineveh from organised looters, following in the footsteps of her dead father. When she and Salim, a fellow archaeologist, discover an astonishingly beautiful and rare carving, they know their find will bring the world's attention to Mosul. But the real world crashes in to their studious idyll to catastrophic, devastating effect when ISIL storm Mosul - and take Katya, Salim and local girl Lola hostage. All Our Broken Idols is hauntingly evocative, a novel in which past and present lives intertwine and stories travel across the ages. It is a story about the importance of art and the threat it poses to those in power. And it is about bravery; standing up for what you believe in, and who you love.

A Horatio Hornblower Tale of the Sea May, 1810 - and thirty-nine-year-old Captain Horatio Hornblower has been handed his first ship of the line . . . Though the seventy-four-gun HMS Sutherland is 'the ugliest and least desirable two-decker in the Navy' and a crew shortage means he must recruit two hundred and fifty landlubbers, Hornblower knows that by the time Sutherland and her squadron reach the blockaded Catalonian coast every seaman will do his duty. But with daring raids against the French army and navy to be made, it will take all Hornblower's seamanship - and stewardship - to steer a steady course to victory and home . . . This is the sixth of eleven books chronicling the adventures of C. S. Forester's inimitable nautical hero, Horatio Hornblower. 'I recommend Forester to every literate I know' Ernest Hemingway

'This is Robert Harris storytelling territory and is told with equal panache and authenticity. There could be no higher praise.' Daily Mail One the least known but most terrifying moments in modern history - when the fate of the world lay with a lone, nervous Soviet naval officer one hundred meters under the Caribbean sea - lies at the heart of this breathtaking new Cold War thriller from the author of the acclaimed Black Sun. The year is 1962, and KGB Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Vasin is searching for ghosts: for evidence of the long-rumoured existence of an American spy embedded at the highest echelons of Soviet power. But it's while on this wild goose chase, a high-stakes espionage race against a rival State agency, that Vasin first hears whispers of an ominous top-secret undertaking: Operation Anadyr. As tensions flare between Nikita Khrushchev and President Kennedy over Russian missiles hidden in Cuba, four Soviet submarines - each carrying tactical ballistic missiles armed with thermonuclear warheads - are ordered to make a covert run at the U.S. blockade in the Caribbean . . .

War correspondent Colin Frere is on assignment in Malia, a Southeast Asian state consumed by civil conflict and revolution. He is abducted by the Communist guerrillas - actually by prearrangement. His mission is to understand the rebels and their charismatic leader - not least because his own elder brother once fought alongside them. But he soon finds that idealism trumps journalistic detachment and he becomes an active soldier in the revolutionary cause. His journey and that of his adopted country involves heroism, romance, comradeship - and ultimately betrayal. Heroes in the Evening Mist was the last novel by the prolific author William Ash, who died in 2014, and it has hitherto been unpublished. Ash was born in Texas but fought as a Spitfire pilot in the Second World War before spending three years in a German prisoner-of-war camp. His repeated attempts to escape made him one of the models for the character played by Steve McQueen in the film The Great Escape and were chronicled in his best-selling memoir Under the Wire. He was a lifelong socialist and his final work shows a rare sympathetic engagement not only with the cause of post-colonial liberation but also with the problems faced by revolutionary governments once they have won power

July 1924. Sarah Cunningham, a young Modernist painter, arrives in Carmel-by-the-Sea from Paris to bury her older sister, Ada Belle. En route, she is shocked to learn that Ada Belle's suspicious death is a suicide. But why kill herself? Her plein air paintings were famous and her upcoming exhibition of portraitures would bring her even wider recognition. Sarah puts her own artistic career on hold and, trailed by Ada Belle's devoted dog, Albert, becomes a secret sleuth, a task made harder by the misogyny and racism she discovers in this seemingly idyllic locale. Part mystery, part historical fiction, this engrossing novel celebrates the artistic talents of early women painters, the deep bonds of sisterhood, the muse that is beautiful scenery, and the determination of one young woman to discover the truth, to protect an artistic legacy, and to give her sister the farewell she deserves.

In the early 1980s, a pharmaceutical company administers an unethical drug trial to residents of the Niger Delta village of Kreektown. When children die as a result of the trial, the dominoes of language extinction and cultural collapse begin to topple. Decades later the end looms for the Menai people. Continents-apart twin brothers separated at birth, an excommunicated daughter living an urbane life with her doctor husband, and an infamous vigilante are among the indelible characters whose lives are shaped by this collective tragedy. Not least of these is the spiritual leader Mata Nimito, who retraces his people's ancient migration on his quest to preserve the soul of the Menai and resolve the consequences of a centuries-old betrayal. In The Extinction of Menai, Chuma Nwokolo moves across time and continents to deliver a story that speaks to urgent contemporary concerns. He confronts power relations between large corporations and small communities, corporate lobbies and governments, and big pharma and consumers, all expressed through the competing narratives that record the life and death of a civilization.In a novel of stunning scope, Chuma Nwokolo moves across time and place to deliver a story that speaks to urgent contemporary concerns. His characters' indelible voices offer perspectives that are simultaneously global, political, and intimately human.

'A page turner from beginning to end ... A damn fine read' Ben Kane. Four Emperors. Two Friends. One Destiny. As twilight descends on the 3rd century AD, the Roman Empire is but a shadow of its former self. Decades of usurping emperors, splinter kingdoms and savage wars have left the people beleaguered, the armies weary and the future uncertain. And into this chaos Emperor Diocletian steps, reforming the succession to allow for not one emperor to rule the world, but four. Meanwhile, two boys share a chance meeting in the great city of Treverorum as Diocletian's dream is announced to the imperial court. Throughout the years that follow, they share heartbreak and glory as that dream sours and the empire endures an era of tyranny and dread. Their lives are inextricably linked, their destinies ever-converging as they rise through Rome's savage stations, to the zenith of empire. For Constantine and Maxentius, the purple robes beckon...

Massacres, invasions, plots. An Emperor on the edge. An Empire in peril.Caracalla is on the warpath. Time, he has decided, to put his enemies in their place. To invade the Parthians at the edge of the Empire. To destroy everything in his way. For Imperial Assassin Silus, this is a time of crisis. Forced to guard the Emperor as part of his elite bodyguard, Silus knows that the situation is untenable. As everything threatens to crumble, Silus must make the ultimate choice... and face the ultimate sacrifice. The question is simple: will he turn traitor, for the sake of the Empire and the sake of his conscience? Or is loyalty, and the life of his charge Tituria, more important? As innocents die, as blood flows, as the Roman legions march on an epic scale, one thing is clear. It's decision time. The thrilling climax to Alex Gough's bestselling series, perfect for fans of Anthony Riches, Ben Kane and Bernard Cornwell.

Join young Horatio Hornblower in the thrilling naval adventure from the author of The Good Shepherd, now a major-motion picture starring Tom Hanks 'A joyous creation, a perfection in words. Young Hornblower is, simply, one of the most complete creations of character in fiction' Conn Iggulden, The Independent _______ 1793, the eve of the Napoleonic Wars, and Midshipman Horatio Hornblower receives his first command . . . As a seventeen-year-old with a touch of sea sickness, young Horatio Hornblower hardly cuts a dash in His Majesty's navy. Yet from the moment he is ordered to board a French merchant ship in the Bay of Biscay and take command of crew and cargo, he proves his seafaring mettle on the waves. After a character-forming duel, several deadly chases and some dramatic captures and escapes, the young Hornblower is soon forged into a formidable man of the sea. This is the first of eleven books chronicling the nautical adventures of C. S. Forester's inimitable hero, Horatio Hornblower. _______ 'Absolutely compelling. One of the great masters of narrative' San Francisco Chronicle

Stolen from her people as a child and raised as a citizen of the Tyranian Empire, Ligea Gayed is the obvious choice to despatch to her homeland, occupied Kardiastan, with orders to root out a rebel conspiracy. At first, she devotes herself to her new assignment with zeal. Adopted daughter of the Empire's greatest general, and possessing a fearsome reputation within the ruthless Imperial spy network known as the Brotherhood, Ligea views herself as a loyal servant of Tyrans. But blood will out, and with each day she spends among her parents' people, her disciplined self-image crumbles a little. And there are secrets in Kardiastan, secrets that will inevitably force Ligea to choose between her upbringing and her birthright. Secrets that will shape the destiny of two nations. . .