An epic odyssey in which a young man must choose between the lure of the future and the claims of the past

With clouds looming on the horizon, a group of children play among the roots of the gnarled Bone Tree. Their games will be interrupted by a merciless storm-bringing with it the Great Flood of 1927-but not before Robert Chatham shares his first kiss with the beautiful young Dora. The flood destroys their homes, disperses their families, and wrecks their innocence. But that kiss will sustain Robert for years to come. Having lost virtually everything in the storm's aftermath, Robert embarks on a journey through the Mississippi hinterland-from a refugee camp to a brothel to the state's fearsome swamp. Trouble follows close on his heels, fueling Robert's conviction that he's marked by the devil. Yet just when he seems to shake off his demons, he's forced to make a choice that will test him as never before.

Teeming with language that Entertainment Weekly hailed as "sun-scorched prose that] recalls William Faulkner, Flannery O'Connor, and Cormac McCarthy," Southern Cross the Dog is a tour de force of literary imagination that voices both the savage beauty and complex humanity of the American South.

In 1411, ten-year-old Elizabeth Courtenay, the intellectually precocious and lively daughter of the Earl of Devon, starts to keep a diary in a light-hearted fashion as a relief from household tasks and embroidery. Little does she realise then that as an adult she will go on, not only to record the difficult day-to-day life of a Lady of the Manor, but also an extraordinary series of misfortunes and disasters. From the moment she secretly marries William Bonville of Colcombe Castle, her long life becomes one of desperate love and grim endurance, interspersed with moments of beauty, hope and humour. Through her own family and that of her husband, Elizabeth becomes involved in a vicious local feud which leads into the ruthless bloody battles of the Wars of the Roses, culminating in a terrible personal tragedy.

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER | A REESE'S BOOK CLUB PICK "A great narrative about personal strength and really captures how books bring communities together." -Reese Witherspoon From the author of the forthcoming Someone Else's Shoes, a breathtaking story of five extraordinary women and their remarkable journey through the mountains of Kentucky and beyond in Depression-era America Alice Wright marries handsome American Bennett Van Cleve, hoping to escape her stifling life in England. But small-town Kentucky quickly proves equally claustrophobic, especially living alongside her overbearing father-in-law. So when a call goes out for a team of women to deliver books as part of Eleanor Roosevelt's new traveling library, Alice signs on enthusiastically. The leader, and soon Alice's greatest ally, is Margery, a smart-talking, self-sufficient woman who's never asked a man's permission for anything. They will be joined by three other singular women who become known as the Packhorse Librarians of Kentucky. What happens to them--and to the men they love--becomes an unforgettable drama of loyalty, justice, humanity, and passion. These heroic women refuse to be cowed by men or by convention. And though they face all kinds of dangers in a landscape that is at times breathtakingly beautiful, at others brutal, they're committed to their job: bringing books to people who have never had any, arming them with facts that will change their lives. Based on a true story rooted in America's past, The Giver of Stars is unparalleled in its scope and epic in its storytelling. Funny, heartbreaking, enthralling, it is destined to become a modern classic--a richly rewarding novel of women's friendship, of true love, and of what happens when we reach beyond our grasp for the great beyond.

Mags Perry has fled a loveless marriage and returned from England to 1970s Ireland where she picks up what work she can find as a freelance journalist. Beautiful, intelligent and idealistic, her divorce has made her a pariah in traditional Irish society, but the burgeoning Women Movement offers her an opportunity to join in the fight for a better, fairer republic - and if possible, find a different kind of love along the way.

"The Hudson River Valley, 1769: "A man mysteriously disappears without a trace, abandoning his wife and children on their farm at the foot of the Catskill Mountains. At first many believe that his wife, who has the reputation of being a scold, has driven her husband away, but as the strange circumstances of his disappearance circulate, a darker story unfolds. And as the lines between myth and reality fade in the wilderness, and an American nation struggles to emerge, the lost man's wife embarks on a desperate journey to find the means to ensure her family's survival . . .

'Unspoken' charts the interlocking stories of a very different group of characters through the tumultuous decade of the 1960s in Ireland. It is an ambitious novel, rich in characterisation, which depicts a period integral to the story of modern Ireland.

In August 1945 the Japanese in Malaya finally surrendered. The Malayan People's Anti-Japanese Army, who were largely Communist, emerged from the jungle to make claim on the promises given them by the British and Malayan authorities.They were to be disappointed. The pre-war ban on the Communist Party in Malaya continued and the promise of land and money in recognition of their brave service failed to be honoured.After three years of frustration they returned to the jungle now calling themselves the Malayan Races Liberation Army. They started to blow up bridges, ambush roads and abduct local businessmen, many of whom were murdered.In 1948, a state of emergency was declared and British and Commonwealth Troops entered the jungle to kill or capture their former allies. This proved no easy task, for their enemy had been well trained during the war by British instructors.The emergency or 'The Undeclared War' lasted until 1960, when the remnants of the terrorists finally accepted an amnesty.The novel 'Jungle Haven' is the sequel to that of 'Strange Alliance'. The story restarts in July 1952 as the book's two main characters, Royal Marines Sgt Major Jim Muir and Sgt Peter Blake, are coming to the end of their unit's two-year stint fighting the terrorists. They have just completed their last patrol and are about to prepare for the move to Singapore then onward to Malta in the troopship Dilwara.

The Secrets of the Lake is a gripping wartime novel, by the author of The Silk Weaver, Liz Trenow. 'Masterful storytelling, immersive locations, and characters that inhabit your heart from the first page' - Gill Paul, author of The Secret Wife. The war may be over, but for Molly life is still in turmoil. Uprooted from London after the death of her mother, Molly, her father and younger brother Jimmy are starting again in a quiet village in the countryside of Colchester. As summer sets in, the heat is almost as oppressive as the village gossip. Molly dreams of becoming a journalist, finding a voice in the world, but most of the time must act as Jimmy's carer. At just ten years old he is Molly's shadow, following her around the village as she falls under the spell of local boy Kit. Kit is clever, funny and a natural-born rebel. Rowing on the waters of the lake with him becomes Molly's escape from domestic duty. But there is something Kit is not telling Molly. As the village gossip starts building up with whispers against Molly's father over missing church funds, everything Molly thought she knew is turned upside down. And on one stormy night, when she sneaks out of the house to try to put things right, Jimmy vanishes. Never to be seen again. Decades later, Molly is an elderly woman in sheltered housing, still haunted by the disappearance of her brother. When two police officers arrive to say that the remains of a body have been found at the bottom of the lake, it seems like Molly will at long last have her answer . . .

On the voyage to France Wordsworth meets the elegant Elizabeth Montrose, who is travelling to Orleans to visit her nephew Pierre. Wordsworth's plans are to visit Paris and Orleans so when Elizabeth Montrose invites him to call on her, he gratefully accepts. There he meets Pierre, stays at his splendid chateau and visits his vineyard. Pierre is a generous man and gives freely to his workers and the locals. But his generosity doesn't allay fears that as the revolution spreads, his chateau and vineyard will become targets for pillage and destruction. At the chateau Wordsworth meets the beautiful Annette Vallon. They become inseparable but their lives are clouded with fear. Revolutionary France is a dangerous place for foreigners and Wordsworth must leave for his safety. Wordsworth is distraught as Annette is expecting his child and he vows to return when calmer times prevail. Back in England he befriends Samuel Taylor Coleridge and they collaborate on works of poetry, particularly the Lyrical Ballads. William and Dorothy return to the Lake District and find Dove Cottage where they meet again a childhood friend Mary Hutchinson. William and Mary fall in love but Wordsworth has learned Annette gave birth to a daughter, his daughter. He is drawn again to France to see Annette and their daughter and after joyous times there he returns to England to write, and with Annette's blessing, to marry Mary Hutchinson. This is a splendid novel which captures the horrors of revolution and the brilliance of Britain's best-loved poet.

In this classic British mystery, a revised will, a troubled upper-class marriage, and a crazed witness shake up a seemingly solved murder case. Marion Grey is growing used to the idea that her husband will never leave prison. After the horrors of a very public trial she's almost able to find relief in her resignation. But when new evidence suggests her husband may be innocent after all, she hires a professional--Miss Maud Silver--to clear his name. It begins with a chance encounter on a busy train, when a friend of Marion's meets a half-mad woman who claims to know something of the Grey case. With her is a man who disappeared during the trial--and may have information that could set Marion's husband free. But who is he, and where has he gone? To find out, demure governess-turned-detective Miss Silver must track him down before becoming a victim herself. In a series that's a delightful blend of Downton Abbey and Agatha Christie, retired schoolteacher and sleuth Miss Silver "has her place in detective fiction as surely as Lord Peter Wimsey or Hercule Poirot" (Manchester Evening News).

'I implore our citizens and allies that when I shall have departed this life they will honor my deeds and name with their praise and kind remembrance.' Vain hope! In death, as in life, political intrigues, family hatreds and betrayals, and sexual passions and jealousies combine with a succession of personal tragedies to destroy the character and good name of Tiberius, the brilliant stepson and successor of the deified Augustus. The 'ablest of all the sovereigns the empire ever had' surges to life with all his stiff pride, mordant wit and penetrating intelligence in this adventure-packed tale of love, war, political double-dealing, partisan struggle and brazen treachery. The hand of fate lays waste all rivals, leaving Tiberius the reluctant Caesar, burdened by the twin griefs of having to give up the woman he loves in order to wed Augustus's licentious daughter, and the bitter humiliation of having been the choice of last resort to govern Rome. While his military prowess shields the empire, his reputation and political authority are under incessant assault and treachery, not only from enemies but even his most trusted lieutenant, Sejanus, in this epic novel of an age whose events often mirror those of the present. Tiberius - Reluctant Caesar depicts a world whose political duplicity, cynical manipulations, fanatical hatreds, public gullibility and sexual intrigues are difficult to distinguish from our own.