The spellbinding new book from the USA Today bestselling author of The Schoolteacher of Saint Michel, perfect for fans of The Nightingale and The Paris Library.

Naples 1943. Luisa Giordano has faced many losses: her mother to a deadly illness, the man she loved to the Nazis when war came to Italy, and her unborn child at the hands of her own husband. All Luisa has left is her voice, and when she learns her husband is colluding with the enemy, she knows she must use it to fuel the women of Naples with fire.

Los Angeles 1962. Hollywood starlet Lola Hart has come a long way from the backstreets of Naples, the glamorous parties a way to dull the pain of the past. When she is offered the role of a lifetime portraying a heroine of the Italian resistance, she knows returning home means confronting old ghosts. But as she seeks out the story behind the film, she realises there are many in Naples with secrets, and that the woman she is to play held the greatest one of all...

Inspired by the stories of the heroines of the Italian Resistance, this is a heart-wrenching dual-timeframe story which is a portrait of war and a powerful exploration of how far we will go to protect our families, set between World War II Naples and the glamorous Golden Age of Hollywood.

THE FUN FACTORY is set in the golden decade before the Great War, when the music halls were the people's entertainment, before radio, television or cinema, and bigger than all of them.

Arthur Dandoe is a gifted young comedian trying to make his way within the prestigious Fred Karno theatre company. Determined to thwart him at any cost is another ruthlessly ambitious performer - one Charlie Chaplin. Things turn even nastier when Arthur and Charlie both fall for the same girl, the irresistibly alluring Tilly Beckett.

One of the two rivals is destined to become the most celebrated man on the planet, with more girls than he can shake his famous stick at. The other. . . well, you'll just have to read this book - his book.

It could have been so different.

After more than a decade of tumult, Roman warrior Rex and his aristocratic wife, Flavia, are thankful to the God they serve for the peaceful life they are living in the city of Alexandria. But with the Empire in flux, it cannot last. When Rex is called away to serve Constantine in his fight against Licinius, Flavia's loneliness and longing for a baby lead her down the road of temptation. Perhaps one of Egypt's gods will grant her conception? As battles rage both within and without, Rex and Flavia will have to rely on God's forgiveness and protection if they are to survive the trials to come. Their adventures sweep them into the great events of the ancient church, including the forging of the Nicene Creed, terrible murders within the imperial family, the quest for the true cross of Christ in Jerusalem, and the end of pagan Rome as a new Christian empire dawns. Bryan Litfin brings his epic Constantine's Empire series to a thrilling close with this dramatic tale of struggle and redemption.

'A sensual feast of a novel, written with elegance, beauty, charm and skill in a voice that is both lyrical and unique. The Language of Food is an intriguing story with characters that leap off the page and live, but what sets it apart from it's contemporaries is Abbs' outstanding prose' Santa Montefiore Eliza Acton, despite having never before boiled an egg, became one of the world's most successful cookery writers, revolutionizing cooking and cookbooks around the world. Her story is fascinating, uplifting and truly inspiring. Told in alternate voices by the award-winning author of The Joyce Girl, and with recipes that leap to life from the page, The Language of Food by Annabel Abbs is the most thought-provoking and page-turning historical novel you'll read this year, exploring the enduring struggle for female freedom, the power of female friendship, the creativity and quiet joy of cooking and the poetry of food, all while bringing Eliza Action out of the archives and back into the public eye. 'I love Abbs's writing and the extraordinary, hidden stories she unearths. Eliza Acton is her best discovery yet' Clare Pooley 'A feast for the senses, rich with the flavours of Victorian England, I prepared every dish with Eliza and Ann and devoured every page. A literary - and culinary - triumph!' Hazel Gaynor 'Exhilarating to read - thoughtful, heart-warming and poignant, with a quiet intelligence and elegance that does its heroine proud' Bridget Collins 'A sumptuous banquet of a book that nourished me and satisfied me just as Eliza Acton's meals would have... I adored it' Polly Crosby 'An effervescent novel, bursting with delectable language and elegant details about cookbook writer, Eliza Acton. Don't miss this intimate glimpse into the early English kitchens and snapshot of food history' Sara Dahmen 'Wonderful... Abbs is such a good story teller. She catches period atmosphere and character so well' Vanessa Nicolson 'Two of my favourite topics in one elegantly written novel - women's lives and food history. I absolutely loved it' Polly Russell 'A story of courage, unlikely friendship and an exceptional character, told in vibrant and immersive prose' Caroline Scott 'Richly imagined and emotionally tender' Pen Vogler 'Characters that leap off the page, a fascinating story and so much atmosphere, you feel you're in the kitchen with Eliza - I loved it.' Frances Quinn 'I was inspired by Eliza's passion, her independence, her bravery and ambition. Like a cook's pantry, The Language of Food is full of wonderful ingredients, exciting possibilities and secrets. Full of warmth and as comforting as sitting by the kitchen range, I loved it' Jo Thomas 'A delightful read' Nina Pottell 'Clever, unsentimental, beautifully detailed and quietly riveting' Elizabeth Buchan, author of Two Women in Rome 'A wonderful read' John Torode England 1835. Eliza Acton is a poet who dreams of seeing her words in print. But when she takes her new manuscript to a publisher, she's told that 'poetry is not the business of a lady'. Instead, they want her to write a cookery book. That's what readers really want from women. England is awash with exciting new ingredients, from spices to exotic fruits. But no one knows how to use them Eliza leaves the offices appalled. But when her father is forced to flee the country for bankruptcy, she has no choice but to consider the proposal. Never having cooked before, she is determined to learn and to discover, if she can, the poetry in recipe writing. To assist her, she hires seventeen-year-old Ann Kirby, the impoverished daughter of a war-crippled father and a mother with dementia. Over the course of ten years, Eliza and Ann developed an unusual friendship - one that crossed social classes and divides - and, together, they broke the mould of traditional cookbooks and changed the course of cookery writing forever.

This New York Times bestseller from “one of the great storytellers of our time” (San Francisco Book Review) turns from the glamour of the royal courts to tell the story of an ordinary woman, Alinor, living in a dangerous time for a woman to be different.

On Midsummer’s Eve, Alinor waits in the church graveyard, hoping to encounter the ghost of her missing husband and thus confirm his death. Until she can, she is neither maiden nor wife nor widow, living in a perilous limbo. Instead she meets James, a young man on the run. She shows him the secret ways across the treacherous marshy landscape of the Tidelands, not knowing she is leading a spy and an enemy into her life.

England is in the grip of a bloody civil war that reaches into the most remote parts of the kingdom. Alinor’s suspicious neighbors are watching each other for any sign that someone might be disloyal to the new parliament, and Alinor’s ambition and determination mark her as a woman who doesn’t follow the rules. They have always whispered about the sinister power of Alinor’s beauty, but the secrets they don’t know about her and James are far more damning. This is the time of witch-mania, and if the villagers discover the truth, they could take matters into their own hands.

“This is Gregory par excellence” (Kirkus Reviews). “Fans of Gregory’s works and of historicals in general will delight in this page-turning tale” (Library Journal, starred review) that is “superb… A searing portrait of a woman that resonates across the ages” (People).

The brand-new historical novel based on a true story from the bestselling author of The Rose Code and The Alice Network.

In the snowbound city of Kiev, aspiring historian Mila Pavlichenko's life revolves around her young son - until Hitler's invasion of Russia changes everything. Suddenly, she and her friends must take up arms to save their country from the Fuhrer's destruction. Handed a rifle, Mila discovers a gift - and months of blood, sweat and tears turn the young woman into a deadly sniper: the most lethal hunter of Nazis. Yet success is bittersweet.

Mila is torn from the battlefields of the eastern front and sent to America while the war still rages. There, she finds an unexpected ally in First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt, and an unexpected promise of a different future. But when an old enemy from Mila's past joins forces with a terrifying new foe, she finds herself in the deadliest duel of her life.

The Diamond Eye is a haunting novel of heroism born of desperation, of a mother who became a soldier, of a woman who found her place in the world and changed the course of history forever.

Number One bestselling author Philippa Gregory's new historical novel tracks the rise of the Tidelands family in London, Venice and New England.

Midsummer Eve 1670. Two unexpected visitors arrive at a shabby warehouse on the south side of the River Thames. The first is a wealthy man hoping to find the lover he deserted twenty-one years before. James Avery has everything to offer, including the favour of the newly restored King Charles II, and he believes that the warehouse's poor owner Alinor has the one thing his money cannot buy – his son and heir.

The second visitor is a beautiful widow from Venice in deepest mourning. She claims Alinor as her mother-in-law and has come to tell Alinor that her son Rob has drowned in the dark tides of the Venice lagoon.

Alinor writes to her brother Ned, newly arrived in faraway New England and trying to make a life between the worlds of the English newcomers and the American Indians as they move toward inevitable war. Alinor tells him that she knows – without doubt – that her son is alive and the widow is an imposter.

Set in the poverty and glamour of Restoration London, in the golden streets of Venice, and on the tensely contested frontier of early America, this is a novel of greed and desire: for love, for wealth, for a child, and for home.

Publisher's Weekly bestseller. Soon to be a major motion picture! New York Times bestselling author Francine Rivers brilliantly retells the biblical love story of Gomer and Hosea during the California Gold Rush. Angel, living in California's Gold country, is sold into prostitution as a child and quickly learns that men want only one thing from her and are never to be trusted. It is her burning hatred towards these men that keep her alive and she has no intention of changing her ways until Michael Hosea, a godly man, declares God has called upon him to marry her and love her unconditionally. Angel leaves her difficult life behind and slowly, day by day, her heart starts to warm towards Michael. But with these new feelings of affection come overwhelming feelings of unworthiness and fear. Can Angel overcome these feelings of shame and accept Michael's love and the love of God who loves her unconditionally? This classic story of God's unconditional love has captured the hearts of millions worldwide.

** A Book of the Year in The Times - The New Statesman - Observer - Financial Times - Irish Times - Irish Independent - Times Literary Supplement ** WINNER OF THE ORWELL PRIZE AND THE KERRY GROUP IRISH NOVEL OF THE YEAR AWARD SHORTLISTED FOR THE RATHBONES FOLIO PRIZE AND THE IRISH NOVEL OF THE YEAR AT THE DALKEY LITERARY AWARDS 'Exquisite.' Damon Galgut 'Masterly.' The Times 'Miraculous.' Herald 'Astonishing.' Colm Toibin 'Stunning.' Sunday Independent 'Absolutely beautiful.' Douglas Stuart It is 1985, in an Irish town. During the weeks leading up to Christmas, Bill Furlong, a coal and timber merchant, faces into his busiest season. As he does the rounds, he feels the past rising up to meet him - and encounters the complicit silences of a people controlled by the Church.

'Irresistible' Jennifer Saint 'Spellbinding' Elodie Harper THE GREATEST EVER LOVE STORY WAS A LIE . . . The first time Romeo Montague sees young Rosaline Capulet he falls instantly in love. Rosaline, headstrong and independent, is unsure of Romeo's attentions but with her father determined that she join a convent, this handsome and charming stranger offers her the chance of a different life. Soon though, Rosaline begins to doubt all that Romeo has told her. She breaks off the match, only for Romeo's gaze to turn towards her cousin, thirteen-year-old Juliet. Gradually Rosaline realises that it is not only Juliet's reputation at stake, but her life. With only hours remaining before she will be banished behind the nunnery walls, will Rosaline save Juliet from her Romeo? Or can this story only ever end one way? A subversive, powerful untelling of Shakespeare's best-known tale, narrated by a fierce, forgotten voice: this is Rosaline's story. Hamnet meets My Dark Vanessa in this fierce, feminist, intensely gripping novel; captivating and chillingly relevant, FAIR ROSALINE takes everything you thought you knew about Romeo and Juliet and turns it on its head . . . 'Irresistible. An excellent spin on a timeless classic' Jennifer Saint 'I have not been able to stop thinking about this book . . . Fair Rosaline is a gripping, spellbinding and wonderfully immersive book - and one that truly makes you think. I would be very surprised if everyone is not talking about it this summer' Elodie Harper 'A brilliant and beguiling re-imagining of the Romeo and Juliet story. A terrific novel - very clever and alluring' William Boyd 'Thought-provoking . . . a rich and atmospheric work that, despite its historical setting, feels intensely relatable thanks to Solomons' resilient heroine' Katherine J. Chen, author of Joan 'Masterfully weaves Shakespeare's classic play into a gripping story of female agency and strength. Rosaline is a compelling heroine and I was rooting for her from the first page' Isabelle Schuler, author of Lady Macbethad 'Intelligent, imaginative, irreverent. Solomons has created a gripping Romeo and Juliet for the 21st century' Annabel Abbs 'A brilliant, feminist re-imagining of Romeo and Juliet. I absolutely devoured this thought-provoking, female-centric take on Shakespeare' Jillian Cantor, USA Today bestselling author of Beautiful Little Fools 'Exquisitely written, wonderfully lyrical and richly immersive - this a story we all know made fresh and chillingly relevant, refracted through a feminist lens' Ellery Lloyd *SELECTED AS ONE TO WATCH IN 2023 IN THE EVENING STANDARD*

'n Eggo in Die Duisternis

In hierdie aangrypen­de roman, boek 2 in die die Merk van die leeu-reeks, neem Francine Rivers lesers terug na ’n ander tyd en kultuur, en tóg her­­ken ons onsself, ons ge­liefdes en ons wêreld in die blad­sye van hierdie boek. Die hand van God is duidelik sig­baar in die verhaal van Hadassa en Mar­kus soos die evan­gelie van Jesus Christus ontvou en Hy sy men­se be­mag­tig om die wêreldse dinge te oorwin. ’n Eggo in die duisternis is ’n getuienis van die liefde. Dit is ’n boeiende verhaal wat in eg menslike terme weergegee word. Dit vertel van Hadassa se getrouheid aan haar Verlosser en Markus se soeke na God. Die boek spreek tot elke leser omdat hulle kan identi­fiseer met hierdie twee karakters se wors­te­ling rondom hulle geloof en hulle liefde vir mekaar. In hierdie verhaal sal lesers opnuut ontdek wat dit bete­ken om na God se stem te luister.

'n Stem in Die Wind

In ’n eeue oue kultuur skrikwekkend eenders as die hedendaagse moderne Amerika, veg ’n jong slavin om die behoud van die mense en die man wat sy lief­het. Verskeur deur haar liefde vir ’n aantreklike jong edelman probeer sy desperaat aan haar geloof in ’n lewende God vashou; ’n God wat sy glo hulle kan ver­los van die verslawende mag van ’n dekadente Rome. Hierdie meesterlike en opwindende roman uit die pen van die gewilde skrywer Francine Rivers is be­stem om tot die hart te spreek van elkeen wat dit lees. Die boodskap is een van waarheid en hoop in ’n wêreld vol leuens en wanhoop.

So Seker as Wat Die Dag Breek

So seker as wat die dag breek is die derde boek in die Merk van die leeu-reeks. Net soos die vorige twee boeke in die reeks, ’n Stem in die wind en ’n Eggo in die duisternis, neem hierdie boek die leser terug na antieke Rome en die vroeë jare van die Christelike kerk. So seker as wat die dag breek vertel die ver­haal van Atretes en Rispa, die weduwee wat A­tretes se seun uit sy verhouding met Julia versorg; ’n seun wat Atretes vir lank geglo het dood is. Hulle lewe en optrede open ons oë vir die vernietigende krag van woede, maar ook die wonderlike krag van vergifnis. Dit is ’n verhaal vol waarheid en hoop en dit dra die boodskap van God se onvoorwaarlike liefde. Hier­die is Christelike fiksie op sy beste.

Set in a brothel during the Yorkshire Ripper murders of 1977, Katy Massey's remarkable debut crime novel is inspired by her unique real-life experience and explores issues of race, sex work, class, and trust in the police.

Leeds, 1977. A chill lies over the city: sex workers are being murdered by a serial killer they are calling the 'Ripper', the streets creeping with fear.

Tough, sharp, but tender, Maureen runs Rio's, a clean, discreet brothel in the city. She's a good boss who takes great care of her workers - especially her best girls, Bev and Anette. The Ripper may be terrifying girls who work the street, but at Rio's the girls seem safer.

But when Bev's sweet-natured son is found beaten to death, a figure from Maureen's past, DS Mick Hunniford, shows up at her door. Does his arrival herald danger or salvation? And who can Maureen really trust?

The impressive and moving debut crime novel from huge new talent Katy Massey opens up a world we have rarely seen, at a time of great danger and drama.

A stunning reissue of the second part of Hilary Mantel’s award winning Wolf Hall trilogy, unlocking the darkly glittering court of Henry VIII, where Thomas Cromwell is now chief minister.

Though he battled for seven years to marry her, Henry is disenchanted with Anne Boleyn. She has failed to give him a son and her sharp intelligence and audacious will alienate his old friends and the noble families of England. When the discarded Katherine dies in exile from the court, Anne stands starkly exposed, the focus of gossip and malice.

At a word from Henry, Thomas Cromwell is ready to bring her down. Over three terrifying weeks, Anne is ensnared in a web of conspiracy, while the demure Jane Seymour stands waiting her turn for the poisoned wedding ring. But Anne and her powerful family will not yield without a ferocious struggle. Hilary Mantel's Bring Up the Bodies follows the dramatic trial of the queen and her suitors for adultery and treason.

To defeat the Boleyns, Cromwell must ally with his natural enemies, the papist aristocracy. What price will he pay for Anne's head?

The heartbreaking and completely unputdownable instant New York Times bestseller and Reese Witherspoon Book Club pick about the pain and sacrifice of forbidden love, the lengths a mother will go to protect her child, and survival against the odds.

Philadelphia, 1948: Fifteen-year-old Ruby's dreams are almost within reach. She's going to be the first in her family to attend college, despite having a mother more interested in keeping a man than raising her only daughter. But falling madly in love with the one boy she is forbidden from threatens to pull Ruby back into poverty and desperation. When she's imprisoned in a home for unwed mothers - locked in the House of Eve with other 'fallen girls' - everything she's worked so hard for starts slipping through her fingers.

Washington, DC, 1948: Eleanor arrives in the city with ambition, hope and a past she's trying her hardest to run from. When she meets William at Howard University, with his inky black eyes and broad shoulders, it's love at first sight. But William hails from one of Washington, DC's elite Black families, who don't let just anyone into their inner circle - especially not a girl from 'the wrong side of the tracks'. Eleanor hopes that a baby will mean they finally accept her, and that her secrets won't see the light of day - but fate has other plans in store...

In the dawn of the 1950s, Ruby and Eleanor are complete strangers - until their paths unexpectedly collide. Forced to make the most heartbreaking decisions of their lives, will their choices save them... or be their undoing?

Fans of Kate Quinn, Lisa Wingate and Kristin Harmel will fall head over heels for this totally gripping and heart-wrenching historical-fiction page-turner.

Alison Hart, a medium by trade, tours the dormitory towns of London’s orbital ring road with her flint-hearted sidekick, Colette, passing on messages from beloved dead ancestors.

But behind her plump, smiling persona hides a desperate woman: she knows the terrors the next life holds but must conceal them from her wide-eyed clients. At the same time she is plagued by spirits from her own past, who infiltrate her body and home, becoming stronger and nastier the more she resists…

Shortlisted for the Orange Prize, Hilary Mantel’s supremely suspenseful novel is a masterpiece of dark humour and even darker secrets.

Fra Filippo Lippi is notorious for his contempt of his vows; he was never obedient and never chaste. The nun who modelled for his pictures of the Virgin Mary became the mother of his children. Yet this apparently 'bad' man painted divine pictures; moreover, he was the favourite painter of that very astute patron, Cosimo de' Medici.

Nineteen-year-old Vivian Morris arrives in New York City in the summer of 1940 with nothing but a sewing machine and a heretofore unindulged taste for adventure. Finding employment as seamstress at the Lily Playhouse, a charmingly down-at-heel Manhattan revue, Vivian quickly becomes the toast of the showgirls, transforming the tat only fit for the cheap seats into creations for goddesses. Adventure and opportunity blossom on every corner of this strange wartime city of girls, and Vivian and her girlfriends mean to down New York to its last drop. But there are hard lessons to be learned, and bitterly regrettable mistakes to be made. Vivian learns that to live the life she wants, she must live many lives, ceaselessly and ingeniously making them new.