Margaretha van Hulsteyn (also known as Scrappy) is the daughter of respected Pretoria attorney Sir Willem van Hulsteyn, and she's an aspiring actress. While studying in London after the Great War, Scrappy changes her name to Marda Vanne and enters into a relationship with one of the foremost actresses of her day, Gwen Ffrangcon-Davies.

However, on a visit to her parents in the Union of South Africa, Marda meets Hans Strydom, an attorney and uncompromising radical politician with the soubriquet ‘The Lion of the North’. Their meeting changes the course of her life, at least temporarily… Strydom went on to become a principal progenitor of the harshest discriminatory legislation which endured for decades until his nephew, President FW de Klerk, in a volte-face, dismantled the laws of apartheid.

A work of biographical fiction, The Lion & The Thespian is based on the true story of the marriage of Hans Strydom, prime minister of South Africa from 1954 to 1958, to the actress Marda Vanne. Veteran author David Bloomberg (former executive mayor of Cape Town, and founder of Metropolitan Life), following extensive reading and research, has adhered faithfully to the chronology of the lives of the main protagonists, their personalities and the historical facts with which they were associated. Creative license has allowed Bloomberg to recreate appropriate scenes and dialogue, complemented by reported sources and recorded speeches.

Based on an incredible true story, Prize Women is a profoundly moving novel that sheds light on a scandalous moment in history.

It's the 1920s, a time of unparalleled excess.
But for the rich to party, the poor must starve . . .

Into the city arrives pregnant runaway Lily di Marco.
She has nothing – and expects nothing.
But soon she will find herself in a towering mansion just streets away.
Confidante to, and best friends with, its glamorous owner Mae Thebolt.

Until the competition.

A childless millionaire leaves his fortune to the woman
who will have the most babies over ten years.
Is it an eccentric contest, or a horrible joke played by a rich man on the poorest women of the city?

Either way, it will tear Lily and Mae’s friendship - and their lives - to pieces . . .

A sweeping novel about the extraordinary woman who captured Napoleon's heart, created a dynasty, and changed the course of history--from the New York Times bestselling author of The Traitor's Wife, The Accidental Empress, and Sisi.

As the French revolution ravages the country, Desiree Clary is faced with the life-altering truth that the world she has known and loved is gone and it's fallen on her to save her family from the guillotine.

A chance encounter with Napoleon Bonaparte, the ambitious and charismatic young military prodigy, provides her answer. When her beloved sister Julie marries his brother Joseph, Desiree and Napoleon's futures become irrevocably linked. Quickly entering into their own passionate, dizzying courtship that leads to a secret engagement, they vow to meet in the capital once his career has been secured. But her newly laid plans with Napoleon turn to sudden heartbreak, thanks to the rising star of Parisian society, Josephine de Beauharnais. Once again, Desiree's life is turned on its head.

Swept to the glittering halls of the French capital, Desiree is plunged into the inner circle of the new ruling class, becoming further entangled with Napoleon, his family, and the new Empress. But her fortunes shift once again when she meets Napoleon's confidant and star general, the indomitable Jean-Baptiste Bernadotte. As the two men in Desiree's life become political rivals and military foes, the question that arises is: must she choose between the love of her new husband and the love of her nation and its Emperor?

From the lavish estates of the French Riviera to the raucous streets of Paris and Stockholm, Desiree finds herself at the epicenter of the rise and fall of an empire, navigating a constellation of political giants and dangerous, shifting alliances. Emerging from an impressionable girl into a fierce young woman, she discovers that to survive in this world she must learn to rely upon her instincts and her heart.

Allison Pataki's meticulously researched and brilliantly imagined novel sweeps readers into the unbelievable life of a woman almost lost to history--a woman who, despite the swells of a stunning life and a tumultuous time, not only adapts and survives but, ultimately, reigns at the helm of a dynasty that outlasts an empire.

Love at first sight - based on the true story of one girl and her 'train man'...

One very ordinary day, Maya Flowers sees a new commuter board her train to London, and suddenly the day isn't ordinary at all. Maya knows immediately and irrevocably that he is The One.

Every day they go through the same routine; he with his head in a book and her dreaming of their happily-ever-after. But eventually, Maya plucks up the courage to give Train Man a note asking him out for a drink.

And so begins a story of sliding doors, missed opportunities and finding happiness where you least expect it. Based on the true story that everyone is talking about, The Note is an uplifting, life-affirming reminder that taking a chance can change everything...

Perfect for fans of David Nicholls' One Day, Jojo Moyes and Sophie Kinsella. The Note is a once-in-a-lifetime love story for hopeless romantics everywhere.

Lucy is forty-two when it hits: the stunning realization that her life went off-track years before and never regained its footing. She hardly noticed at the time, too busy raising three kids and navigating the ups and downs of marriage to an admittedly adoring husband. She loves her family dearly, yet she can't escape the nagging sense that her life doesn't match the dreams of her youth. Further complicating matters is the reappearance of Matthew, her first love and the father of her first child. In a fit of midlife rebellion, she rashly agrees to a rendezvous with Matthew in Las Vegas, never suspecting that her illicit vacation will force her to confront another long-buried secret. In Vegas, Lucy must reexamine each of her life choices, her ideas of friendship and love, even the truth and power of her own sexuality. Sure to ring familiar with women of "a certain age," this novel of rediscovery is humorous and poignant, an irreverent portrait of one woman's quest for happiness.