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.

"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

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.

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 . . .