In their home port of Bristol, the Seymores were feared, but they had no difficulty in obtaining crews for their ships. They paid well and expected blind loyalty. Woe betide anyone who talked of what happened in foreign lands.... In a lifetime, I have had many interests. A keen gardener, dabbled in politics, dramatics, wine making, old music and dance, also religiion. Most of all, I observe the different interests of all kinds of people. Probably, this gives me the urge to write. The characters that I write about are fictional, with a hint of truth. My service in the Royal Navy has given me a wide spectrum of human nature. Eric Griggs

Forced to protect him. Determined to bring him down... Previously published as Her Hidden Life 'An absorbing, well-researched story that brings to life an extraordinary period in history' GILL PAUL, bestselling author of The Secret Wife Germany, 1943 Magda Ritter longs for a peaceful life. But war is drawing closer, and soon she is forced to serve the one man she hoped never to encounter - Hitler. Taken to his mountain retreat, she is assigned the most dangerous job of all. She is to be the Fuhrer's 'Taster' and check his food for poison. Desperate to escape, Magda joins an underground resistance group intent on ending Nazi rule. To stop the atrocities around her, Madga must risk everything - her position, her family, and even her life. A poignant tale of hope, danger and betrayal from the heart of history's darkest moments.

The old world dying on its feet, a new one struggling to be born . . .

Dublin, 1918. In a country doubly ravaged by war and disease, Nurse Julia Power works at an understaffed hospital in the city centre, where expectant mothers who have come down with an unfamiliar flu are quarantined together. Into Julia’s regimented world step two outsiders: Doctor Kathleen Lynn, on the run from the police, and a young volunteer helper, Bridie Sweeney.

In the darkness and intensity of this tiny ward, over the course of three days, these women change each other’s lives in unexpected ways. They lose patients to this baffling pandemic, but they also shepherd new life into a fearful world. With tireless tenderness and humanity, carers and mothers alike somehow do their impossible work.

In The Pull of the Stars, Emma Donoghue tells an unforgettable and deeply moving story of love and loss.

From the Sunday Times No.1 Bestselling author comes the latest instalment in an epic multi-million selling series, The Seven Sisters.

To the outside world, Electra D’Aplièse seems to have it all: as one of the world’s top models, she is beautiful, rich and famous.

Yet Electra’s already tenuous control over her state of mind has been rocked by the death of her father, Pa Salt, the elusive billionaire who adopted his six daughters from across the globe. Struggling to cope, she turns to alcohol and drugs. As those around her fear for her health, Electra receives a letter from a stranger claiming to be her grandmother . . .

In 1939, Cecily Huntley-Morgan arrives in Kenya from New York to nurse a broken heart. Staying with her godmother, a member of the infamous Happy Valley set, she meets Bill Forsythe, a notorious bachelor and cattle farmer with close connections to the proud Maasai tribe. But after a shocking discovery, and with war looming, Cecily has few options. Moving up into the Wanjohi Valley, she is isolated and alone. Until she meets a young woman in the woods and makes her a promise that will change the course of her life for ever.

The Sun Sister is the sixth breathtaking instalment in Lucinda Riley’s multi-million selling epic series, The Seven Sisters.

‘Heart-wrenching, uplifting and utterly enthralling. The Seven Sisters series is Lucinda Riley at the top of her game: a magical storyteller who creates characters we fall in love with and who stay with us long after we finish reading. Dazzlingly good.’ Lucy Foley, bestselling author of The Hunting Party

Can she find freedom... In her lover's arms? Desperate for a divorce from her violent, adulterous husband, Vita runs away to the Roman Baths, where she is brought face to face with forbidding, handsome slave Ven. In him she finds an instant connection and ally. Yet to escape with their lives they'll have to resist their burning chemistry! And as Vita realises that freedom comes at a high cost, she knows she might have to make an impossible choice!

Set in 1938, with preparations for war well underway, newlyweds Celia and Carston Prestwick begin their honeymoon on the night train to Scotland. Sabotage, a steam train race and two tangled love triangles are just some of the issues that tumble out of this intriguing romantic novel; a novel peppered with classic Howard G. Awbery twists and turns. Readers will be able to put 'The Music Box' down just once...at the very end!

Governess-turned-sleuth Miss Silver must follow a trail of poison-pen letters to save an heiress from murder. Rachel Treherne has always had a steady head on her shoulders; it's why her late father named her the sole trustee of his considerable fortune. But the decision galled a number of Rachel's relatives, including her married older sister, her socialist nephew, and her father's ambitious young cousin. Rachel fears she may be overreacting to the anonymous letters she's received threatening her life, but then someone tampers with the chocolates she bought herself. If her cousin hadn't partaken first and noticed an unwholesome taste, who knows what may have happened? Miss Silver suspects someone in Rachel's inner circle has grown tired of being a poor relation, and she travels incognito to the Treherne country home to unmask the culprit--before it's too late--in this intriguing entry in the beloved series featuring a contemporary of Agatha Christie's Miss Marple. Lonesome Road is the 3rd book in the Miss Silver Mysteries, but you may enjoy reading the series in any order.

This is a novel that opens in 1900 and is set in the cotton mills area around Rochdale, Lancashire. Lord James lives in a manor house with his family. He owns a mill and the workers' cottages. He is a good employer, ahead of his time. Life was grim in 1900 and life expectancy short. The author transports us back to glimpse life as it was over 100 years ago, through the sad and happy times. Her style is flowing and the book is entertaining and realistic. Read it and enjoy it. Recommended.

Wicked intrigue unfolds as an unlikely marriage leads to a path of risky desire in the lush, green Scottish Highlands. Born into riches and groomed in English luxury, Margot Armstrong didn't belong in a Scottish chieftain's devil-may-care world. Three years ago she fled their marriage of convenience and hasn't looked back-except to relive the moments spent in wild, rugged Arran McKenzie's passionate embrace. But as their respective countries' fragile unity threatens to unravel, Margot must return to her husband to uncover his role in the treachery before her family can be accused of it. Red-haired, green-eyed Margot was Arran's beautiful bride. Her loss has haunted him, but her return threatens everything he has gained. As the Highland mists carry whispers of an English plot to seize McKenzie territory, he must outmaneuver her in games of espionage...and seduction. But even as their secrets tangle together, there's nothing to prevent love from capturing them both and leading them straight into danger.

Diana Biller's The Brightest Star in Paris is a thrilling story of first loves and second chances. She never expected her first love to return, but is he here to stay? Amelie St. James is a fraud. After the Siege of Paris, she became "St. Amie," the sweet, virtuous prima ballerina the Paris Opera Ballet needed to restore its scandalous reputation, all to protect the safe life she has struggled to build for her and her sister. But when her first love reappears looking as devastatingly handsome as ever, and the ghosts of her past quite literally come back to haunt her, her hard-fought safety is thrown into chaos. Dr. Benedict Moore has never forgotten the girl who helped him embrace life after he almost lost his. Now, years later, he's back in Paris. His goals are to recruit promising new scientists, and maybe to see Amelie again. When he discovers she's in trouble, he's desperate to help her--and hold her in his arms. When she finally agrees to let him help, they disguise their time together with a fake courtship. Soon, with the help of an ill-advised but steamy kiss, old feelings reignite. Except, their lives are an ocean apart. Will they be able to make it out with their hearts intact? I foresee years of excellent storytelling from Diana Biller; the certainty of that excites me. - Smart Bitches, Trashy Books

#1 New York Times bestselling author Bold and clever, THE CAVANAUGHS are unlike any other family in early Victorian England. #1 New York Times bestselling author Stephanie Laurens continues to explore the enthralling world of these dynamic siblings in the eagerly anticipated second volume in her captivating series. A Gentleman of Means One of the most eligible bachelors in London, Lord Christopher "Kit" Cavanaugh has discovered his true path and it doesn't include the expected society marriage. Kit is all business and has chosen the bustling port of Bristol to launch his passion-Cavanaugh Yachts. A Woman of Character Miss Sylvia Buckleberry's passion is her school for impoverished children. When a new business venture forces the school out of its building, she must act quickly. But confronting Kit Cavanaugh is a daunting task made even more difficult by their first and only previous meeting, when, believing she'd never see him again, she'd treated him dismissively. Still, Sylvia is determined to be persuasive. An Unstoppable Duo But it quickly becomes clear there are others who want the school-and Cavanaugh Yachts-closed. Working side by side, Kit and Sylvia fight to secure her school and to expose the blackguard trying to sabotage his business. Yet an even more dastardly villain lurks, one who threatens the future both discover they now hold dear

The third novel in the beloved Regency-set world of Julia Quinn’s charming, powerful Bridgerton family, now a series created by Shonda Rhimes for Netflix. Welcome to Benedict’s story . . .

Sophie Beckett never dreamt she would sneak into Lady Bridgerton’s famed masquerade ball – or that ‘Prince Charming’ would be waiting there for her! Though the daughter of an earl, Sophie had been relegated to the role of servant by her disdainful stepmother. But that night, spinning in the strong arms of the debonair and devastatingly handsome Benedict Bridgerton, she felt like royalty. Yet she knows all enchantments must end.

But Sophie has reckoned without Benedict’s determined heart: he has sworn to find and wed his mystery miss, for he knows this is his only chance for a fairy tale love . . .

Having watched her dissolute father squander the family's fortune on his disreputable and extravagant lifestyle, young flame-haired beauty Aria Milborne despises the empty glamour of Society. So she is dismayed when she is forced take a job with an American millionaire in order to save the beloved family home, Queen's Folly, where her brother, Charles, works night and day to make ends meet. Appalled by Dart Huron's arrogance and the behaviour of his spoilt film star floozy Lulu Carlo, who is desperately trying to marry him, Aria finds herself at loggerheads with her new employer while being pursued relentlessly by his amorous aristocratic friend, Lord BAuckleigh. When Dart offers Aria a fortune to agree to a pretend engagement designed to free him from the grasping Lulu, she finds herself emblazoned across the Press throughout the land to her shame and humiliation. Her heart fills with hate for the dashing Dart Huron until the news that he has been shot almost stops her own heart and she understands that this is not hate at all - This is love.

When the imperious Alston, Marquis of Falcon cynically announces that he is interested in marrying his daughter in order to gain a Royal appointment, the Earl of Warnborough is thoroughly pleased. There would be many benefits to being part of his far richer neighbour's family and estates But the beautiful Mirabel is already betrothed and so is Deirdre, albeit secretly, which leaves only Elmina, the youngest and the Cinderella of the Warne family. Nevertheless they are all shocked when she shyly says that she will be happy to marry the dashing Marquis. But not as stunned as her new husband when she repels his wedding night advances with an expert Karate move Self-educated and schooled in the martial and equine arts, Elmina blossoms inwardly and outwardly with an unusual allure of her own. And she prays that her handsome new husband will come to love her for herself. But, when she is kidnapped by murderous horse thieves, it seems that she will die without knowing the love she yearns for -

Samantha Clyde, the beautiful, and dutiful daughter of the ailing Vicar of Little Poolbrook in Worcestershire, lives a cosy sheltered life attending to her father's needs and helping out with the Church bazaar at The Castle her impoverished family once owned. Her world is turned upside down when celebrated fashion photographer, Giles Bariatinsky, is very struck by Samantha's enigmatic and unusual beauty and whisks her off to a glamorous new life as a model of haute couture in London. Bewildered and intimidated by London Society's decadence, she meets the dashing firebrand novelist David Durham, experiences her first ever kiss and loses her heart utterly in an instant. Almost as quickly, all her hopes and dreams are dashed when the man she loves despises her naivety. And since no other man will ever take David's place in her heart, Samantha takes refuge in a Convent, resolving to become the sophisticated woman of the world that she imagines David Durham desires -

Almost identical in their golden-haired, blue-eyed beauty and similarly named, cousins Antonia 'Toni' Combe and Latonia Hythe are nevertheless very different personalities. Desperate to avoid a journey to India forced on her by her stern uncle, Kenrick Combe, the new Lord Branscombe, and which would prevent her marrying the man she desperately loves, the flirtatious and capricious Toni beseeches her cousin to take her place as her Uncle Kenrick has not seen Toni for many years. So conscientious Latonia nervously accepts the pretence, assumes the role of her cousin and then sets sail with her stern protector for India. Berated and frowned upon by his Lordship for her cousin's 'misdeeds', Latonia nevertheless looks forward to the adventure of visiting and seeing India, until her deception is revealed to his Lordship's fury But, when she overhears a sinister plot to kill him, she rushes in the night to warn him and is rewarded with passionate kiss, she suddenly knows that it is not hate but love that burns in her heart - love for a man who must surely despise her forever -

Dashing Lord Victor Brooke has displeased his Godmother, Her Majesty Queen Victoria, with his latest indiscretion with one of her more attractive Ladies-in-Waiting and he is dismayed to find that his punishment means missing his beloved Social Season in London Her Majesty orders him instead to escort the eighteen-year-old Princess Sydella to Zararis, where she is to marry King Stephan, who has requested an English bride so that his small nation will receive the British Empire's protection against Russian incursions. Bored and embarrassed, Lord Victor passes off his chore as a 'secret mission', but little does he know that his lie is soon to come true. As soon as they embark on a British Battleship, he is astounded to find himself captivated by the Princess's beauty and her enchanting joie de vivre. And when he saves her from an assassin's bomb on their arrival at Zararis and then from certain death at sea, he wins her heart, as she has already won his. Yet no sooner than they find love, they know that all is lost - for Sydella is already committed to marry the King of Zararis -

After years of fighting with the Duke of Wellington against Napoleon, the Marquis of Melverley has neglected his family seat, preferring his dalliances with London's Beau Monde beauties. Now, betrayed by his latest mistress, he returns to Melverley Hall to lick his wounds, but nearing home he is halted by an accident and meets the beautiful young Christina Churston, heartbroken at the death of her old but very beloved pony. Soon, he is appalled to find that she is not only orphaned but also being pestered by a lecherous old womaniser, who lives nearby. So the Marquis promptly offers her his protection at Melverly Hall to be chaperoned by his old Governess, Miss Dickson. Just as Christina melts his heart and he sets about saving the local people from penury, she is kidnapped by the Marquis's evil cousin, Terence Verley, who is the Heir Presumptive to the title and the estate. Kidnapped, imprisoned and about to lose her life, or worse, Christina realises too late that she has lost her heart to the Marquis, whom she is sure that she will never see again -

Employed by the beautiful but mean Mrs. Schuster as a lady's companion on her trop to Morocco, Melina Lindsay is thrilled to at last visit the beautiful land of which her late father had talked with such fondness. But when, jealous of the attention Melina's beauty and youth attract, Mrs. Schuster peremptorily sacks her, she finds herself her alone and helpless in a strange country . Suddenly, a dashing stranger disguised as an Arab appears on her balcony seeking refuge. And, when Melina hides him from his murderous pursuers, it transpires that he is an English agent on a desperate mission to save a young boy who has been kidnapped by evil subversives and whom they will surely murder. Joining the handsome Bing Ward on his perilous mission, she puts her life in his hands and very soon he will also possess her heart - but only if they survive