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Books > Fiction > Genre fiction > War fiction > Second World War fiction
SHORTLISTED FOR THE WOMEN'S PRIZE FOR FICTION SHORTLISTED FOR THE
BOOKER PRIZE A ROYAL READING ROOM PICK 2023 SHORTLISTED FOR THE HWA
GOLD CROWN THE NEW YORK TIMES AND TIMES BESTSELLER TIME MAGAZINE
BOOK OF THE YEAR 'A gripping historical adventure that feels sharp,
fresh and modern' STYLIST 'So beautiful, so daring, so complete'
TAYLOR JENKINS REID 'A masterpiece' NIGELLA LAWSON 'Luminous,
masterful. Glides seamlessly through the 20th century, immersing
the reader' TELEGRAPH, Best Fiction of 2021 'How deeply we care
about each of these people. Extraordinary' NEW YORK TIMES
'Wonderful. Memorable characters and vivid storytelling' GOOD
HOUSEKEEPING MAGAZINE 'A tour-de-force' DAILY EXPRESS A soaring,
breathtakingly ambitious novel that weaves together the astonishing
lives of a 1950s vanished female aviator and the modern-day
Hollywood actress who plays her on screen. _______________________
From her days as a wild child in prohibition America to the blitz
and glitz of wartime London, from the rugged shores of New Zealand
to a lonely iceshelf in Antarctica, Marian Graves is driven by a
need for freedom and danger. Determined to live an independent
life, she resists the pull of her childhood sweetheart, and burns
her way through a suite of glamorous lovers. But it is an obsession
with flight that consumes her most. Now, as she is about to fulfil
her greatest ambition, to circumnavigate the globe from pole to
pole, Marian crash lands in a perilous wilderness of ice. Over half
a century later, troubled film star Hadley Baxter is drawn
inexorably to play the enigmatic pilot on screen. It is a role that
will lead her to an unexpected discovery, throwing fresh and
spellbinding light on the story of the unknowable Marian Graves.
_________________________________________ 'Extraordinary' NEW YORK
TIMES 'Full of adventure, passion and tragedy' THE TIMES 'Soars
from the very first page' SUNDAY EXPRESS 'Luminous, masterful.
Glides seamlessly through 20th century history' DAILY TELEGRAPH
'Breathtaking' OBSERVER 'Impressive and gripping' SUNDAY TIMES
'Surprising and moving at every turn' GUARDIAN 'Audacious and
Immersive' DAILY MAIL 'Accomplished and ambitious' FINANCIAL TIMES
Readers love GREAT CIRCLE: ***** What a read! Immense story with
beautifully created characters ***** A 600 page turner that you are
sad to finish ***** The story is so well researched and planned;
historical fiction standing side by side with history itself *****
This is a stunning achievement, my perspective feels fundamentally
transformed through reading it ***** A wonderful saga, covering a
large chunk of the twentieth century
To follow her dream, she's gone from city to village - but can she
ever fit in? October 1940. Bobby Bancroft is working as a typist
for a city newspaper, but she longs to be breaking the news
herself. She is thrilled to secure a junior reporter role at The
Tyke, a magazine serving the Yorkshire Dales. However, when Bobby
moves to Silverdale, she discovers rural life is a different world.
The close-knit villagers and cantankerous local animals prove
difficult to win over, while mischievous vet Charlie seems
determined to lead her astray. As Bobby struggles to find her place
amongst the dalesfolk, she wonders if she's made a huge mistake.
Will the city girl ever make a home of the beautiful but hostile
countryside of the Dales? An uplifting, lively World War Two rural
saga that fans of Annie Murray, Rosie Hendry, Gervase Phinn and
James Herriot will love.
Berlin, 1938. Newly-appointed military attache Noel Macrae and his
extrovert wife Primrose arrive at the British Embassy. Prime
Minister Chamberlain is intent on placating Nazi Germany, but
Macrae is less so. Convinced Hitler can be stopped by other means
than appeasement, he soon discovers he is not the only dissenting
voice in the Embassy and finds that some senior officers in the
German military are prepared to turn against the Fuhrer. Gathering
vital intelligence, Macrae is drawn to Kitty Schmidt's Salon (a
Nazi bordello) and its enigmatic Jewish hostess Sara Sternschein-a
favourite of sadistic Gestapo boss Reinhard Heydrich. Sara is a
treasure-trove of knowledge about the Nazi hierarchy in a city of
lies, spies and secrets. Does she hold the key to thwarting Hitler
or is Macrae just being manipulated by her whilst his wife
romantically pursues his most important German military contact,
Florian Koenig? In James MacManus' absorbing new novel the author
evokes a time and place when the personal and political stakes
could not be higher and where the urge for peaceful compromise
conflicts with higher ideals and a vicious regime bent on war. As
loyalties are stretched to the limit and Europe slides towards
another war, could just one act of great courage and sacrifice
change everything?
A brand new series full of friendship, singing and laughter as war
looms...Cleethorpes 1939 With the country teetering on the brink of
war everyone faces an uncertain future. Destitute after the tragic
death of her father, aspiring singer Jessie Delaney and her family
have no choice other than to accept the charity of relatives to
ensure a roof over their heads. Spiteful Aunt Iris soon has Jessie
dreaming of a life filled with colour and excitement that she knows
the theatre can offer. How can Jessie escape the drudgery, support
her family and pursue her dreams? Through her father's connections
Jessie finds work as a Variety Girl in a new show at the Empire in
Cleethorpes, a small seaside theatre on the east coast. But taking
the job means flying solo and leaving her family and her
sweetheart, Harry behind. Friendships are forged but will the
glamour of show business lose its shine without those she loves
close by? A gritty and heart-warming saga perfect for readers of
Elaine Everest, Nancy Revell and Pam Howes. Praise for Tracy
Baines: 'A charming, heart-warming saga about ambition, hard work
and courage in the cut and thrust of a world often driven by
jealousy and spite'. Rosie Clarke 'Immerse yourself in the
exciting, evocative world of Wartime musical theatre. I highly
recommend this book.' Fenella Miller 'An emotional, entertaining
read that had me gripped!' Sheila Riley 'An absorbing and poignant
saga. I loved it from the very beginning and would highly recommend
it...' Elaine Roberts 'Terrific - beautifully written. The book
twinkles. A well-crafted and satisfying story' Maisie Thomas 'A
pleasure from start to finish.' Glenda Young '...you will have to
read this well-researched song and dance of a novel in great gulps
as I did' Annie Clark 'I just loved this book! Molly Walton The
Variety Girls is terrific - beautifully written & with an
unusual background. The stage costumes twinkle with sequins and the
book twinkles with tiny details of theatre life that add depth and
atmosphere to this well-crafted and satisfying story. Maisie
Thomas, The Railway Girls 'A pleasure from start to finish.' Glenda
Young, Belle of the Backstreets '...you will have to read this
well-researched song and dance of a novel in great gulps as I did'
Milly Adams 'an evocative, busy, entertaining read, which has well
balanced touches of humour, vying with angst, and of course, more
than a dollop of tension.' Margaret Graham, Frost Magazine
'Characterisation is one of the book's strong points - the
individual characters stay in your mind long after you finish the
story.' Barbara Dynes, The Voice
Three women, a nation seduced by a madman, and the Nazi breeding
program to create a so-called master race At Heim Hochland, a Nazi
breeding home in Bavaria, three women's fates are irrevocably
intertwined. Gundi is a pregnant university student from Berlin. An
Aryan beauty, she's secretly a member of a resistance group. Hilde,
only eighteen, is a true believer in the cause and is thrilled to
carry a Nazi official's child. And Irma, a 44-year-old nurse, is
desperate to build a new life for herself after personal
devastation. All three have everything to lose. Based on untold
historical events, this novel brings us intimately inside the
Lebensborn Society maternity homes that actually existed in several
countries during World War II, where thousands of "racially fit"
babies were bred and taken from their mothers to be raised as part
of the new Germany. But it proves that in a dark period of history,
the connections women forge can carry us through, even driving us
to heroism we didn't know we had within us.
What if everyone you loved was suddenly taken away? Five siblings
struggle to stay together as the tides of war threaten to tear them
apart. When Germany invades France in the Second World War, the
five Laskowski children lose everything: their home, their Jewish
community and most devastatingly their parents who are abducted in
the night. There is no safe place left for them to evade the Nazis,
but they cling together, never certain when the authorities will
come for what is left of them. Inspired by the poignant, true story
of the author's mother, this moving historical novel conveys the
hardship, the uncertainty and the impossible choices the Laskowski
children were forced to make to survive the horrors of the
Holocaust. ***PRAISE FOR THE YOUNG SURVIVORS*** 'A haunting
account... a devastating story of twins separated, of grandparents,
parents and cousins, entire families, disappeared - a story that
had to be told.' Elizabeth Fremantle 'A story that will make you
weep, wonder and remember.' Tatiana de Rosnay, author of Sarah's
Key 'A poignant and gripping debut. Set against the darkest days of
WWII, the novel reminds us that the bonds of family and the power
of love can never be extinguished.' Alyson Richman, bestselling
author of The Lost Wife 'A heartbreaking yet uplifting story of
loss and love told through the eyes of children... gripping and
deeply moving.' James MacManus 'A hugely impressive debut.' Michael
Newman, CEO of The Association of Jewish Refugees 'A novel that is
arrestingly sincere, full of touching moments and informed by
careful research. The beating heart of The Young Survivors is the
author's emotional connection to her characters, which is
unmistakably based on longstanding and deep engagement with her own
family's past.' Dr Toby Simpson, Director of The Wiener Holocaust
Library
No one survives war unscathed. But even in the darkest days, seeds
of hope can grow. It is 1946 and in the village of Oakbourne the
men are home from the war. Their bodies are healing but their
psychological wounds run deep. Everyone is scarred - those who
fought and those left behind. Alice Rayne is married to Stephen,
heir to crumbling Oakbourne Hall. Once a sweet, gentle man, he has
returned a bitter and angry stranger, destroyed by what he has seen
and done, tormented by secrets Alice can only guess at. Lonely and
increasingly afraid of the man her husband has become, Alice must
try to pick up the pieces of her marriage and save Oakbourne Hall
from total collapse. She begins with the walled garden and, as it
starts to bear fruit, she finds herself drawn into a new, forbidden
love. Set in the Suffolk countryside as it moves from winter to
spring, The Walled Garden is a captivating love story and a
timeless, moving exploration of trauma and the miracle of human
resilience. 'Richly evocative and transporting' Stacey Halls
Amid the chaos of the Second World War comes a charming story of
courage and friendship, from the author of Green Dolphin Country
and A City of Bells. In the summer of 1940, as the darkest days of
the Second World War approach, a chance encounter on a train leads
Miss Brown to become housekeeper at the Castle. Hidden in a quiet,
rural corner of England, the crumbling castle is home to lonely
historian Mr Birley and his nephews, fighter pilot Richard and
fair, peace-loving Stephen. With young evacuees Moppet and Poppet,
and mysterious violinist Jo Isaacson, this unexpected family of
strangers come to rely on each other as the devastations of war
rage on.
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy meets Agent Carter meets X-Men in this
classic British espionage story where a young woman must go
undercover and use her superpowers to discover a secret Nazi plot
and stop an invasion of England. In 1936, there are paranormal
abilities that have slowly seeped into the world, brought to the
surface by the suffering of the Great War. The research to
weaponize these abilities in England has lagged behind Germany, but
now it's underway at an ultra-secret site called Monkton Hall. Kim
Tavistock, a woman with the talent of the spill-drawing out truths
that people most wish to hide-is among the test subjects at the
facility. When she wins the confidence of caseworker Owen Cherwell,
she is recruited to a mission to expose the head of Monkton
Hall-who is believed to be a German spy. As she infiltrates the
upper-crust circles of some of England's fascist sympathizers, she
encounters dangerous opponents, including the charismatic Nazi
officer Erich von Ritter, and discovers a plan to invade England.
No one believes an invasion of the island nation is possible, not
Whitehall, not even England's Secret Intelligence Service.
Unfortunately, they are wrong, and only one woman, without
connections or training, wielding her talent of the spill and her
gift for espionage, can stop it.
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Madeleine
(Hardcover)
Euan Cameron
1
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R523
R477
Discovery Miles 4 770
Save R46 (9%)
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Ships in 9 - 17 working days
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"Immersive, nuanced, impeccably researched" IAN RANKIN "Beautifully
written and moving" ALLAN MASSIE "Poignant, nostalgic and redolent
of the smell of France" SIMON BRETT Family history has always been
a mystery to Will Latymer. His father flatly refused to talk about
it, and with no other relatives to consult, it seems that a mystery
it shall always remain. Until of course, Will meets Ghislaine, his
beautiful French cousin, in a chance encounter that introduces him
to his grandmother, Madeleine, shut away in a quiet Breton manor
with her memories and secrets. Before long, Will has been plunged
headlong into the life of Madeleine's great love, his longlost
grandfather, Henry Latymer. Reading Henry's old letters and diaries
for the first time, Will discovers an idealistic young man, full of
hopes and optimism - an optimism that will gradually be crushed as
the realities of life under the Vichy regime become glaringly
clear. But the more Will delves into Madeleine and Henry's past,
and into France's troubled history, the darker the secrets he
discovers become, and the more he has cause to wonder if sometimes,
the past should remain buried.
Her beauty saved her life - and condemned her. In 1942 Cilka Klein
is just sixteen years old when she is taken to Auschwitz-Birkenau
Concentration Camp. The Commandant at Birkenau, Schwarzhuber,
notices her long beautiful hair, and forces her separation from the
other women prisoners. Cilka learns quickly that power, even
unwillingly given, equals survival. After liberation, Cilka is
charged as a collaborator by the Russians and sent to a desolate,
brutal prison camp in Siberia known as Vorkuta, inside the Arctic
Circle. Innocent, imprisoned once again, Cilka faces challenges
both new and horribly familiar, each day a battle for survival.
Cilka befriends a woman doctor, and learns to nurse the ill in the
camp, struggling to care for them under unimaginable conditions.
And when she tends to a man called Alexandr, Cilka finds that
despite everything, there is room in her heart for love. Based on
what is known of Cilka Klein's time in Auschwitz, and on the
experience of women in Siberian prison camps, Cilka's Journey is
the breathtaking sequel to The Tattooist of Auschwitz. A powerful
testament to the triumph of the human will, this novel will move
you to tears, but it will also leave you astonished and uplifted by
one woman's fierce determination to survive, against all odds. 'She
was the bravest person I ever met' Lale Sokolov, The Tattooist of
Auschwitz
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Zoli
(Paperback)
Colum McCann
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R306
R278
Discovery Miles 2 780
Save R28 (9%)
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Ships in 9 - 17 working days
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The life of Zoli Novotna begins on the leafy backroads of Slovakia,
when she and her grandfather come upon a quiet lake where their
family has been drowned by Fascist guards. Zoli and her grandfather
flee to join up with another clan of travelling harpists. So begins
an epic tale of song, intimacy and betrayal. Based loosely on the
true story of the Gypsy poet Papusza, and set against the backdrop
of the Second World War, Zoli is a love story, a tale of loss, and
a parable of modern-day Europe.
Three women. One daring mission.
1946. One morning while passing through Grand Central Terminal, Grace Healey finds an abandoned suitcase tucked beneath a bench. Inside is a dozen photographs—each of a different woman. Grace soon learns that the suitcase belonged to Eleanor Trigg, leader of a network of female secret agents deployed out of London during the war. Twelve of these women were sent to Occupied Europe as couriers and radio operators to aid the resistance, but they never returned home.
Setting out to learn the truth behind the women in the photographs, Grace finds herself drawn to a young mother turned agent named Marie, whose mission overseas reveals a remarkable story of friendship, valor and betrayal. In this riveting story inspired by true events, Pam Jenoff weaves a tale of courage, sisterhood and the great strength of women to survive in the hardest of circumstances.
From the bestselling author of THE SECRET OF NIGHTINGALE WOOD comes
an exciting WW2 mystery entwined with magic and myth, shortlisted
for the Waterstones Children's Book Prize. 'A beautiful story.'
KIRAN MILLWOOD HARGRAVE, author of The Girl of Ink & Stars '[A]
mesmerising second novel' THE TELEGRAPH 'A poignant and uplifting
tale packed with adventure, atmosphere and intriguing characters.'
MAIL ON SUNDAY England is at war. Growing up in a lighthouse, Pet's
world has been one of storms, secret tunnels and stories about sea
monsters. But now the clifftops are a terrifying battleground, and
her family is torn apart. This is the story of a girl who is small,
afraid and unnoticed. A girl who freezes with fear at the enemy
planes ripping through the skies overhead. A girl who is somehow
destined to become part of the strange, ancient legend of the
Daughters of Stone ... The highly-anticipated second novel by Lucy
Strange, author of the bestselling The Secret of Nightingale Wood
and The Ghost of Gosswater. A haunting wartime tale about a girl
who lives in a lighthouse, woven through with an unforgettable
legend. Winner of the Historical Association Young Quills Award
2021 and shortlisted for the Waterstones Children's Book Prize
2020.
In 1945, Hannah Weiss, a Jewish-Austrian scientist, is removed from
her laboratory at the Los Alamos National Lab and taken to
Leavenworth Prison for interrogation. Major Jack Delaney, a rising
star in the shadowy world of military intelligence, is convinced
that someone in the United States has been sharing information with
the Nazi party. The captivating, raven-haired, female scientist in
New Mexico is his primary suspect. Across the globe, countries are
racing to perfect the atomic bomb--a weapon powerful enough to stop
WWII, and, perhaps, all future wars. But for Hannah, who has been
sending mysterious postcards to a contact still in Germany, the
trouble is just beginning. As Jack questions Hannah about her
involvement with the infamous Kaiser Wilhelm Institute in Berlin
ten years earlier, and her apparently friendly relationships with
high-ranking members of the Nazi party, he slowly becomes seduced
by her intelligence and quiet confidence. Is Hannah a Nazi spy, or
is she protecting a far more personal and dark secret of her own?
When Jack finally uncovers the truth about her life in Berlin
before the war, Hannah must compromise her political allegiance,
and choose between two lovers, and two versions of history. A
vivid, page-turning, and inspiring re-imagination of the final
months of World War II, and the brilliant researchers behind the
first atomic bomb, Hannah's War is an unforgettable love story
about an exceptional woman, and the dangerous power of her greatest
discovery.
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Abigail
(Paperback)
Magda Szabo; Translated by Len Rix
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R481
R453
Discovery Miles 4 530
Save R28 (6%)
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Ships in 10 - 15 working days
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AS HEARD ON BBC RADIO 4s BOOK AT BEDTIME A Sunday Times, Times,
Irish Independent, Spectator and Good Housekeeping Book of the Year
'Sensationally good' Sunday Times 'Remarkably, unusually vivid' The
Times 'Brilliantly evokes wartime love and heartbreak.' Guardian
Two sisters. Four nights. One City. April, 1941. Belfast has
escaped the worst of the war - so far. Following the lives of
sisters Emma and Audrey - one engaged to be married, the other in a
secret relationship with another woman - as they try to survive the
horrors of the Belfast Blitz, These Days is an unforgettable novel
about lives lived under duress, about family, and about how we try
to stay true to ourselves 'Breathtakingly good . A novel of
enormous heart; full of luminous passages of prose.' Observer
'Meticulously researched, perfectly imagined, full of compassion
and emotional truth.' CLARE CHAMBERS
The Fifth Column is a thrilling novel about the only man who can
thwart a Nazi sympathizer uprising in New York during the Second
World War, from bestselling author Andrew Gross. A Man in Trouble
February 1939 and Europe is on the brink of war. Charles Mossman is
in a bar in Hell's Kitchen, New York, reeling from the loss of his
job and his failing marriage, whilst outside thousands of Nazi
sympathizers are attending a hate-spewing rally. As he confronts
one, Charles makes a horrendous mistake with deadly consequences. A
City of Secrets Two years later, Charles is released from prison
and tries to reunite with his family. The US has kept out of the
war for now but the pressure in the city is rising as those
sympathetic to the Nazi cause lay the foundations for what lies
ahead. The Enemy Within As he tries to make amends with his wife
and daughter, Charles starts to understand that surrounding them
there are forces that will use any means necessary to bring about
the downfall of his nation. And when his daughter is befriended by
a seemingly amiable Swiss couple, it brings to the surface his
fears of a 'Fifth Column' of embedded German spies in their new
neighbourhood. All Charles wants is to redeem himself as a husband
and father, but sometimes a man must do questionable things to
stand up for his family and what he believes, even sacrificing his
life to do so . . .
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