Villa Diodati, Lake Geneva, 1816.

The dark summer that birthed a monster . . .

Eighteen-year-old Mary Shelley has fled London with her lover, Percy Shelley, and her sister, Claire. Tormented by Shelley’s betrayals, haunted by the loss of their baby and suspicious of her sister’s intentions, Mary seeks sanctuary.

But Lord Byron’s villa, lying under ominous, ash-shrouded skies, feels more like a trap. When Byron suggests each guest write a supernatural tale, Mary is as drawn to the challenge as she is, unexpectedly, to Byron himself.

And so an idea begins to form in her mind . . .

It spills out of her in thick, black ink.
A thing given life is before her.

Day and night, she is possessed.
Heart and mind. Body and soul.

But is she in control, or is it?

In this hauntingly evocative feminist retelling, Caroline Lea delves into the female rage, creative madness and steamy scandal that bore the world's most famous work of gothic fiction. Perfect for fans of The Essex Serpent and The Manningtree Witches.

’n Deernisvolle roman oor die kronkelpaaie van die lewe en die liefde. Marco Romanelli, ’n Italianer wat in ’n konsentrasiekamp was, gaan woon in 1948 om gesondheidsredes in die Bosveld. Daar ontmoet hy vir dr. Lettie Viljoen. Die liefde blom tussen hulle . . . maar dan breek die polio-epidemie van die jare vyftig uit.

’n Nuwe uitgawe van die geliefde roman, wenner van die ATKV-prys vir Liefdesromans.

Die Tweede Wêreldoorlog verdeel die wêreld, dit skeur gesinne uitmekaar. Binne hierdie milieu maak ons kennis met De Wet en Klara, Gerbrand en Christine – jongmense met drome en aspirasies wat elkeen op ’n unieke manier deur die oorlog beïnvloed word.

Wanneer ’n Italiaanse krygsgevangene op die Fouries se Bosveldplaas ’n klipbrug oor die Nyl moet kom bou, ontmoet hy vir Klara en vind in haar ’n geesgenoot . . .

Boelie is mister Fourie se oudste seun en erfgenaam; Pérsomi is die bywonerskind. Maar Pérsomi is slim en het haar intelligensie waarskynlik van haar onbekende biologiese pa geërf. Sy presteer op skool en bekwaam haar as prokureur.

’n Baie spesiale vriendskap ontwikkel tussen Boelie en Pérsomi, maar iets hou haar terug – waarom kan sy nie met oorgawe liefhê nie? En wanneer sy as baie jong prokureur inwillig om die Indiërwinkeliers se gedwonge verskuiwings in die hof te beveg, bring dit haar in direkte konflik met die gemeenskap – én met Boelie.

Te midde van alles bly die vraag: Wie is Pérsomi se pa? En wanneer sy eindelik uitvind, hoe sal dit haar lewe beïnvloed?

’n Meesleurende roman wat afspeel teen die agtergrond van die stormagtige politiek van die 1940’s en die apartheidswette van die 1950’s.

Twyfelbos is ’n meesleurende historiese roman wat afspeel in die Overberge in die vroeë agtienhonderds.

Sophia Truter is getroud met sir John Truter. Sy het ’n afkeer van die Kaap se vertoonsug, en ná die dood van haar jongste seun besluit sy om weer te gaan boer. Dié keer begin sy klein, op ’n lap grond anderkant die Kleinrivier – sonder slawe en voormans.

Algaande vind Sophia haar voete. Maar dan word iemand op die bokpad anderkant die Akkedisberg vermoor.

For a thousand years, Concordia has maintained peace between its provinces. To mark this incredible feat, the emperor's ship embarks upon a twelve-day voyage to the sacred Goddess's Mountain.

Aboard are the twelve heirs of the provinces of Concordia, each graced with a unique and secret magical ability known as a Blessing.

All except one: Ganymedes Piscero – class clown, slacker, and all-round disappointment.

When a beloved heir is murdered, everyone is a suspect. Stuck at sea and surrounded by powerful people and without a Blessing to protect him , Ganymedes's odds of survival are slim.

But as the bodies pile higher, Ganymedes must become the hero he was not born to be. Can he unmask the killer and their secret blessing before this bloody crusade reaches the shores of Concordia?

Or will the empire as he knows it fall forever?

It is 1895, and turn-of-the-century Paris is as chaotic as it is glamorous. Industry and invention have created ever greater wealth and terrible poverty. One autumn morning, an anarchist boards the Granville to Paris express train, determined to make her mark on history.

Aboard the train are others from across the globe: the railway crew who have built a life together away from their wives, a little boy travelling alone for the first time, an artist far from home, a wealthy statesman and his invalid wife, and a young woman with a secret hidden under her dress.

All their fates are bound together as the train speeds towards the City of Light . . .

Inspired by a famous rail disaster, The Paris Express is a thrilling ride and a literary masterpiece that evokes an era not so different from our own.

A visionary tale inspired by the life of film director G.W. Pabst, who fled to Hollywood to resist the Nazis only to be forced to return to his homeland and create propaganda films for the German Reich.

An artist’s life, a pact with the devil, and the dangerous illusions of the silver screen.

G.W. Pabst, one of cinema’s greatest directors of the 20th century, was filming in France when the Nazis seized power. To escape the horrors of the new and unrecognizable Germany, he fled to Hollywood. But now, under the blinding California sun, the world-famous director suddenly looks like a nobody. Not even Greta Garbo, the Hollywood actress whom he made famous, can help him.

When he receives word that his elderly mother is ill, he finds himself back in his homeland of Austria, which is now called Ostmark. Pabst, his wife, and his young son are suddenly confronted with the barbaric nature of the regime. So, when Joseph Goebbels—the minister of propaganda in Berlin—sees the potential for using the European film icon for his directorial genius and makes big promises to Pabst and his family, Pabst must consider Goebbels’s thinly veiled order. While Pabst still believes that he will be able to resist these advances, that he will not submit to any dictatorship other than art, he has already taken the first steps into a hopeless entanglement.

Kehlmann’s latest oeuvre explores the complicated relationships and distinctions between art and power, beauty and barbarism, cog and conspirator.

1875. When Kathryn Walsh arrives in tiny Calvada, a mining town nestled in the Sierra Nevadas, falling in love is the farthest thing from her mind. Banished from Boston by her wealthy stepfather, she has come to claim an inheritance from the uncle she never knew: a defunct newspaper office on a main street overflowing with brothels and saloons, and a seemingly worthless mine. Moved by the oppression of the local miners and their families, Kathryn decides to relaunch her uncle’s newspaper―and then finds herself in the middle of a maelstrom, pitted against Calvada’s most powerful men. But Kathryn intends to continue to say―and publish―whatever she pleases, especially when she knows she’s right.

Matthias Beck, owner of a local saloon and hotel, has a special interest in the new lady in town. He instantly recognizes C. T. Walsh’s same tenacity in the beautiful and outspoken redhead―and knows all too well how dangerous that family trait can be. While Kathryn may be right about Calvada’s problems, her righteousness could also get her killed. But when the handsome hotelier keeps finding himself on the same side of the issues as the opinionated Miss Walsh, Matthias’s restless search for purpose becomes all about answering the call of his heart.

Everyone may be looking to strike it rich in this lawless boomtown, but it’s a love more precious than gold that will ultimately save them all.

A sweeping story of love, adventure and adversity, The Map of Bones by Kate Mosse is an epic tale of courageous women battling to survive in a hostile land.

Olifantshoek, Southern Africa, 1688. When the violent Cape wind blows from the south-east, they say the voices of the unquiet dead can be heard whispering through the deserted valley. Suzanne Joubert, a Huguenot refugee from war-torn France, arrives in search of her cousin ― the notorious she-captain and pirate commander Louise Reydon-Joubert ― who landed at the Cape of Good Hope more than sixty years before, then disappeared without a trace . . .

Franschhoek, Southern Africa, 1862. Nearly one hundred and eighty years after Suzanne’s perilous journey, another intrepid and courageous woman of the Joubert family ― Isabelle Lepard ― has journeyed to the small frontier town once known as Oliftantshoek in search of her long-lost relations. Intent on putting the women of her family back into the history books, she quickly discovers that the crimes and tragedies still shadow the present. And now, Isabelle faces a race against time if she is to discover the truth, and escape with her life . . .

'Exquisite' - Will Dean, author of Dark Pines 'This is a book that will stay with you' - Ann Cleeves, bestselling author of the Vera series 'Compelling, twisty and wonderfully suspenseful' - Claire Fuller, author of Unsettled Ground In a lonely cottage on a deserted stretch of shore, a moment of tragedy between lovers becomes a horrific murder. And two women who should never have met are connected for ever . . . Six years after the end of the Great War, a nation is still in mourning. Thousands of husbands, fathers, sons and sweethearts were lost in Europe; millions more came back wounded and permanently damaged. Beatrice Cade is an orphan, unmarried and childless - and given the dearth of men, likely to remain that way. London is full of women like her: not wives, not widows, not mothers. There is no name for these invisible women, and no place for their grief. Determined to carve out a richer and more fulfilling way to live as a single woman, Bea takes a room in a Bloomsbury ladies' club and a job in the City. Then a fleeting encounter changes everything. Bea's emerging independence is destroyed when she falls in love for the first time. Kate Ryan is an ordinary wife and mother who has managed to build an enviable life with her handsome husband and her daughter. To anyone looking in from the outside, they seem like a normal, happy family - until two policemen knock on her door one morning and threaten to destroy the facade Kate has created. From the author of Little Deaths, longlisted for the Bailey's Women's Prize for Fiction, comes the sensational Other Women. Mesmerising, haunting and utterly remarkable, this is a devastating story of fantasy, obsession inspired by a murder that took place almost a hundred years ago.

Three women, five centuries, one spellbinding story

In the present day, Kate flees a traumatic relationship to the Cumbrian cottage she inherited from her great-aunt; but the cottage hides secrets of its own.

In 1942, Violet rebels against her father’s ideas of a ‘proper young lady’ … until he takes matters into his own hands.

In 1619, Altha is on trial for witchcraft, implicated in the gruesome death of a local man.

Three women they tried to cage – but Weyward women belong to the wild. And they cannot be tamed…

What would you give to win the world?

Zhu Yuanzhang, the Radiant King, is riding high after her victory – one that tore southern China from its Mongol masters. Now she burns with a new desire: to seize the throne and crown herself emperor.

However, Zhu isn’t the only one with imperial aspirations. Courtesan Madam Zhang plots to steal the throne for her husband. But scorned scholar Wang Baoxiang is even closer to the throne. He’s maneuverered his way to the capital, where his courtly games threaten to bring the empire to its knees. For Baoxiang also desires revenge: to become the most degenerate Great Khan in history. In the process, he’d make a mockery of the warrior values his Mongol family loved more than him.

To stay in the game, Zhu must gamble everything on one bold move. A risky alliance with an old enemy: Ouyang, the brilliant but unstable eunuch general. All contenders will do whatever it takes to win. But when desire has no end, and ambition no limits, could the price be too high for even the most ruthless heart to bear?

'When the men leave for the Western Front, Peggy and her friends must shoulder the burden at home.

As she moves between her narrowboat full of memories and the demands of the bookbindery where she works, Peggy’s dreams of escaping for a new life feel ever more remote.

But the war brings people together in unexpected ways. New friends and lovers offer new opportunities but also present difficult choices – and Peggy must write her own story.

Eric Blair stood out amongst his fellow police trainees in 1920s Burma. Nineteen years old, unusually tall, a diffident loner fresh from Eton, after five years spent in the narrow colonial world of the Raj – a decaying system steeped in overt racism and petty class-conflict – he would emerge as the George Orwell we know.

Drawing on all his powers of observation and imagination, Paul Theroux brings Orwell's Burma years to radiant life, tracing the development of the young man's consciousness as he confronts the social, racial and class politics and the reality of Burma beyond. Through one writer, we come to understand another - and see how what Orwell called 'five boring years within the sound of bugles' were in fact the years that made him.

Journey to the dusty plains of Central Australia in The Pearl Sister, the fourth book in the number one bestselling Seven Sisters series by Lucinda Riley. A spellbinding story of love and loss, inspired by the mythology of the famous star constellation. CeCe D'Apliese has never felt she fitted in anywhere. Following the death of her father, the elusive billionaire Pa Salt - so-called by the six daughters he adopted from around the globe and named after the Seven Sisters star cluster - she finds herself at breaking point. Dropping out of art college, CeCe watches as Star, her beloved sister, distances herself to follow her new love, leaving her completely alone. In desperation, she decides to flee England and discover her past; the only clues she has are a black-and-white photograph and the name of a woman pioneer who lived in Australia over one hundred years ago. En-route to Sydney, CeCe heads to the one place she has ever felt close to being herself: the stunning beaches of Krabi, Thailand. There amongst the backpackers, she meets the mysterious Ace, a man as lonely as she is and whom she subsequently realizes has a secret to hide . . . A hundred years earlier, Kitty McBride, daughter of an Edinburgh clergyman, is given the opportunity to travel to Australia as the companion of the wealthy Mrs McCrombie. In Adelaide, her fate becomes entwined with Mrs McCrombie's family, including the identical, yet very different, twin brothers: impetuous Drummond, and ambitious Andrew, the heir to a pearling fortune. When CeCe finally reaches the searing heat of the Red Centre of Australia, she begins the search for her past. As something deep within her responds to the energy of the area and the ancient culture of the Aboriginal people, her creativity reawakens once more. With help from those she meets on her journey, CeCe begins to believe that this wild, vast continent could offer her something she never thought possible: a sense of belonging, and a home . . . The epic multi-million selling series continues with The Moon Sister. 'Delicious reading' - Daily Mail

What the Wind Saw is a collection of 25 short stories of the people, real and imagined, from a small tract of ancient land in the heart of Hertfordshire. The wind has always blown over these villages, fields, rivers, its towns and its city. It always will. We have the same worries, fears, hopes and dreams today as we have always had. We are connected to each other by our shared experiences, by the places that we live and by the paths that we tread. These are stories of friendship, power, love, grief and ambition inspired by the landscape and what is in it - John Bunyan's Cottage, Shaw's Corner, the annual Ayot St Lawrence art show, the Devil's Dyke, St Albans market, a walk in the woods, a walk across the fields.