This story is a work of historical fiction based on real people and events. It describes a troubled royal marriage during the course of one year in AD 675. Mercia and Northumbria have long been at war. There is an unexpected romance. King Aethelred of Mercia and Osryth of Northumbria decide to marry. Aethelred gives Osryth a wedding gift of valuable treasure gleaned from the battlefields of the past. She decides in secret to take the treasure along with the remains of her long-dead uncle to a shrine in Bardney in Lincolnshire. Osryth faces many challenges and setbacks on her long journeys to places such as Whitby, Lincoln and later York. The loss of the gold, silver and jewels causes a rift in her marriage. The mystery looks unlikely to be solved. Will the treasure ever be found and will the couple ever be reconciled?

"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 . . .

'Mesmerising from beginning to end.' Lizzie LaneYorkshire 1860 With the heat of their beloved India far behind them, Evie Davenport and her widowed British Army officer father, are starting a new life in England. But Evie is struggling. With her dearest mother gone, Yorkshire with its cold, damp countryside and strict societal rules makes Evie feel suffocated and alone. Her friendship with Sophie Bellingham, the gently reared daughter of a wealthy rail baron, is Evie's only comfort. Until the arrival of local cotton mill owner, Alexander Lucas. Newly returned from America, it is expected Alexander will marry and finally make England his home. And Sophie with her family connections and polite manners is the obvious choice. But when Alexander meets Evie, a simmering passion ignites between them. Evie, with her rebellious spirit is like no other woman Alex has ever met, but to reject Sophie for Evie would cause a scandal and devastate everyone Evie loves. Evie knows she must do her duty. But in doing so faces the unbearable future of being without the man she loves. Praise for AnneMarie Brear: 'AnneMarie Brear writes gritty, compelling sagas that grip from the first page.' Fenella J Miller 'Poignant, powerful and searingly emotional, AnneMarie Brear stands shoulder to shoulder with the finest works by some of the genre's greatest writers such as Catherine Cookson, Audrey Howard and Rosamunde Pilcher.'

The Black Mountain is a Quick Read short story from bestselling author Kate Mosse. It is May, 1706. Ana, a young Spanish woman, lives in a small town on the north-west coast of Tenerife with her mother and twin younger brothers. The town is in the shadow of a mighty volcano, which legend says has the devil living inside it. However, there has been no eruption for thousands of years and no one believes it is a threat. One day, Ana notices that the air feels strange and heavy, that the birds have stopped singing. Tending the family vineyard, a sudden strange tremor in the earth frightens her. Very soon it will be a race against time for Ana to help persuade the town that they are in danger and should flee before the volcano erupts and destroys their world. Will they listen? And Ana herself faces another danger . . .

A BBC TWO BETWEEN THE COVERS BOOK CLUB PICK AN INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER SHORTLISTED FOR THE MAN BOOKER PRIZE WINNER OF THE MAN ASIAN LITERARY PRIZE AND THE WALTER SCOTT PRIZE Teoh Yun Ling was seventeen years old when she first heard about Aritomo and the garden. But a war would come to Malaya, and a decade pass before she would travel to see him. A man of extraordinary skill and reputation, Aritomo was once the gardener for the Emperor of Japan, and now Yun Ling needs him. She needs him to help her build a memorial to her beloved sister, killed at the hands of the Japanese. She wants to learn everything Aritomo can teach her, and do her sister proud, but to do so she must also begin a journey into her own past, a past inextricably linked with the secrets of her troubled country. A story of art, war, love and memory, The Garden of Evening Mists captures a dark moment in history with richness, power and incredible beauty.