A heart-warming story of friendship and family during the first Christmas of World War Two. Autumn 1939 and London prepares to evacuate its young. In No 5 Jubilee Street, Bermondsey, ten-year-old Connie is determined to show her parents that she's a brave girl and can look after her twin brother, Jessie. She won't cry, not while anyone's watching. In the crisp Yorkshire Dales, Connie and Jessie are billeted to a rambling vicarage. Kindly but chaotic, Reverend Braithwaite is determined to keep his London charges on the straight and narrow, but the twins soon find adventures of their own. As autumn turns to winter, Connie's dearest wish is that war will end and they will be home for Christmas. But this Christmas Eve there will be an unexpected arrival...

In this Final volume of the Brigid O'Meara trilogy, the heroine, a beautiful Irish music hall dancer/singer, who was drawn into gun smuggling during the 1895 Jameson Raid against Kruger's Boer Republic, and was incarceratedin a British concentration camp when she sided with the Boers during the AngloBoer War, marries Willie Gray, the British Uitlander and revolutionary who she fell in love with during the turbulent period building up to the war. Now, in the aftermath of the war, Bridgid undergoes a cathartic journey where she is forced to confront the demons of the past that she has kept bottled up inside her. The dark world she is projected into is a harsh one, far removed from the comfortable life she has created with Willie and her son Ritchie, but it is also a world that gives insights into the hypocritical social morals and sanctimonious self-rightiousness of the new rulung British colonials. It is a world which gives Bridgid the freedom to take revenge on past enemies, but also one in which she has to face retribution for actions that have sunk her into a deep abyss from which there seems no escape.

A Times Fiction Book of the Year 'Superb . . . weaves winningly between the present and the second world war, between Tangiers and Paris.' Observer Here is Paris as you have never seen it before - a city in which every building seems to hold the echo of an unacknowledged past, the shadows of Vichy and Algeria. American postdoctoral researcher Hannah and runaway Moroccan teenager Tariq have little in common, yet both are susceptible to the daylight ghosts of Paris. Hannah listens to the extraordinary witness of women who were present under the German Occupation; in her desire to understand their lives, and through them her own, she finds a city bursting with clues and connections. Out in the migrant suburbs, Tariq is searching for a mother he barely knew. For him in his innocence, each boulevard, Metro station and street corner is a source of surprise. In this urgent and deeply moving novel, Faulks deals with questions of empire, grievance and identity. With great originality and a dark humour, Paris Echo asks how much we really need to know if we are to live a valuable life. 'Faulks captures the voice of a century' Sunday Times 'The most impressive novelist of his generation' Sunday Telegraph

Bridges to Survival is a WWII behind-enemy-lines thriller and a coming-of-age tale set in Verona, Italy and the Brenner Pass. Eighteen-year-old Harry is forever changed by the friendships forged in the smelter of war. He does battle with his basic morals as he witnesses friends tortured beyond recognition and finds his instinct for revenge unbridled. When his team leaders disappear, Harry is transformed from trainee to leader as he and his friends in the Resistance struggle to complete their mission. In the midst of all this turmoil, he finds love, courage and his reason for living.

The strange brigadier who hardly speaks... Leo, his feisty pilot daughter... Labrador, the vengeful Pole... Henry Dunning-Green, Leo's boring suitor... Adrian Russell, the treacherous master spy... ... All linked by SOE Somerville, the top secret Second World War finishing school for spies on England's south coast, and its local community: A melting pot of intrigue and counter-intrigue. A fast-unfolding, untold tale of deception, betrayal and romance leading to a tense life-or-death climax in occupied France. Many of the events actually took place. This is the first fictional treatment of life at the famous Special Operations Executive 'finishing school' for spies, SOE Beaulieu in the New Forest (renamed SOE Somerville). It's also the first fully realised fictional portrait of master spy and traitor Kim Philby (renamed Adrian Russell) who lectured at SOE Beaulieu.

The brand new Courtney Series novel, and the much-anticipated sequel to the global bestseller WAR CRY Torn apart by war, Saffron Courtney and Gerhard von Meerbach are thousands of miles apart, both struggling for their lives. Gerhard - despite his objections to the Nazi regime - is fighting for the Fatherland, hoping to one day have the opportunity to rid Germany of Hitler and his cronies. But as his unit is thrown into the hellish attrition of the Battle of Stalingrad, he knows his chances of survival are dwindling by the day. Meanwhile Saffron - recruited by the Special Operations Executive and sent to occupied Belgium to discover how the Nazis have infiltrated SOE's network - soon finds herself being hunted by Germany's most ruthless spymaster. Confronted by evil beyond their worst imaginings, the lovers must each make the hardest choice of all: sacrifice themselves, or do whatever they can to survive, hoping that one day they will be reunited. Courtney's War is an epic story of courage, betrayal and undying love that takes the reader to the very heart of a world at war.

An epic adventure full of peril on the high seas.1782: Fresh from passing his Lieutenancy examination, Alan Lewrie is promoted to first officer aboard brig o'war Shrike. He is sent to the Caribbean, where the Royal Navy battles the French and Spanish. Despite his assignment, Lieutenant Lewrie just can't help himself, chasing the attentions of the young Lucy Beaumont. But when ordered to carry diplomats to Florida's Gulf Coast and form an alliance with the Creeks and Seminoles to resist the spread of a fledgeling US, Lewrie might just get into even more trouble... The King's Commission is a rip-roaring tale perfect for fans of C.S. Forester and Julian Stockwin.

**THE FRENCH PHOTOGRAPHER is now available in ebook** THE INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER 'This has to be the most beautiful book I've read in a very long time' ***** 'The best book I have read!' ***** 'Superbly written with characters I truly cared and worried about' ***** 'If you like Kate Morton or Lucinda Riley, you'll like this too' ***** Crossing generations, society's boundaries and international turmoil, The Paris Seamstress is a beguiling, transporting story perfect for fans of Lucinda Riley, Kate Furnivall, Kate Morton and Penny Vincenzi. *************** What must Estella sacrifice to make her mark? 1940: Parisian seamstress Estella Bissette is forced to flee France as the Germans advance. She is bound for Manhattan with a few francs, one suitcase, her sewing machine and a dream: to have her own atelier. 2015: Australian curator Fabienne Bissette journeys to the annual Met Gala for an exhibition of her beloved grandmother's work - one of the world's leading designers of ready-to-wear. But as Fabienne learns more about her grandmother's past, she uncovers a story of tragedy, heartbreak and secrets - and the sacrifices made for love. PRAISE FOR NATASHA LESTER... 'Fascinating and impeccably researched' GILL PAUL 'A fantastically engrossing story. I love it' KELLY RIMMER 'A beautiful story in every way' THE LADY 'Intrigue, heartbreak... I cannot tell you how much I loved this book' RACHEL BURTON 'If you enjoy historical fiction (and even if you don't) you will love this book' Sally Hepworth 'A gorgeously rich and romantic novel' Kate Forsyth 'Stunning . . . Will have you captivated' Liz Byrski 'This romance will have you enchanted' Woman's Day 'Natasha Lester is our generation's Louisa May Alcott' Tess Woods 'What a GEM!' Sara Foster 'Natasha Lester brings bold, brave women to life' Courier Mail 'I love this book' Rachael Johns 'Exquisite!' Vanessa Carnevale 'Engaging' Herald Sun 'An essential addition to Australian fiction' AusRomToday 'Utterly compelling' Good Reading 'Emotion that will touch your heart and soul deeply' Jodi Gibson 'Fascinating, evocative and meticulously researched' Annabel Abbs 'Entertaining and provocative' Perth Festival 'Lester has woven a fine, original story of everlasting quality.' BetterReading 'A captivating tale' Daily Examiner 'A delightful and multi-faceted romp through the jazz era' Natalie Salvo 'Excellent historical fiction' The Book Muse 'You will love this even if you're not a regular reader of historical fiction' Jess Just Reads 'Storytelling at its finest' Great Reads & Tea Leaves

In novels such as Silence, Endo Shusaku examined the persecution of Japanese Christians in different historical eras. Sachiko, set in Nagasaki in the painful years between 1930 and 1945, is the story of two young people trying to find love during yet another period in which Japanese Christians were accused of disloyalty to their country. In the 1930s, two young Japanese Christians, Sachiko and Shuhei, are free to play with American children in their neighborhood. But life becomes increasingly difficult for them and other Christians after Japan launches wars of aggression. Meanwhile, a Polish Franciscan priest and former missionary in Nagasaki, Father Maximillian Kolbe, is arrested after returning to his homeland. Endo alternates scenes between Nagasaki-where the growing love between Sachiko and Shuhei is imperiled by mounting persecution-and Auschwitz, where the priest has been sent. Shuhei's dilemma deepens when he faces conscription into the Japanese military, conflicting with the Christian belief that killing is a sin. With the A-bomb attack on Nagasaki looming in the distance, Endo depicts ordinary people trying to live lives of faith in a wartime situation that renders daily life increasingly unbearable. Endo's compassion for his characters, reflecting their struggles to find and share love for others, makes Sachiko one of his most moving novels.

A classic thriller featuring the most daring escape of the Second World War, from the Sunday Times bestselling author of The Eagle Has Landed. American Colonel Hugh Kelso is washed ashore on German-held Jersey in Spring 1944, with top-secret D-Day plans in his possession. To get him back, the most daring escape of the Second World War must be planned and executed. Harry Martineau, bilingual philosophy professor turned assassin, and Sarah Drayton, a beautiful, half-French Jersey native, are selected to carry out the mission, and set off to steal the most precious Allied asset from under the noses of the Nazis...

In February 1941 British Command surrendered to the Nazis. Churchill has been executed, the King is in the Tower and the SS are in Whitehall... For nine months Britain has been occupied - a blitzed, depressed and dingy country. However, it's `business as usual' at Scotland Yard run by the SS when Detective Inspector Archer is assigned to a routine murder case. Life must go on. But when SS Standartenfuhrer Huth arrives from Berlin with orders from the great Himmler himself to supervise the investigation, the resourceful Archer finds himself caught up in a high level, all action, espionage battle. This is a spy story quite different from any other. Only Deighton, with his flair for historical research and his narrative genius, could have written it.

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 make amends with his wife and daughter. America is wrestling with whether to enter the war but support is growing, driving Nazi sympathizers underground. Charles begins to understand that surrounding them there are forces that will use any means necessary to bring about the downfall of his nation. The Enemy Within When Charles's 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 whatever it takes to stand up for his family and what he believes, even sacrificing his life to do so . . .

CASTAWAYS IN A ZOMBIE PLAGUE Six kids ranging from suburban geeks to street-smart pariahs. A British captain who rarely talks and never smiles. All on the 70-foot pilot house ketch Crosscurrent Voyager, bound on a senior summer cruise to adventure and se

Major Sharpe finds himself a fugitive, hunted by enemy and ally alike. Major Richard Sharpe awaits the opening shots of the army's campaign with grim expectancy. For victory depends on the increasingly fragile alliance between Britain and Spain - an alliance that must be maintained at any cost. Pierre Ducos, the wily French intelligence officer, sees a chance both to destroy the alliance and to achieve a personal revenge on Richard Sharpe. And when the lovely spy, La Marquesa, takes a hand in the game, Sharpe finds himself enmeshed in a web of political intrigue for which his military expertise has left him fatally unprepared. Soldier, hero, rogue - Sharpe is the man you always want on your side. Born in poverty, he joined the army to escape jail and climbed the ranks by sheer brutal courage. He knows no other family than the regiment of the 95th Rifles whose green jacket he proudly wears.

From The Times bestselling author of The Other Mrs Walker - Waterstones Scottish Book of the Year 2017 - comes Mary Paulson-Ellis's second stunning historical mystery, The Inheritance of Solomon Farthing. Solomon knew that he had one advantage. A pawn ticket belonging to a dead man tucked into his top pocket - the only clue to the truth . . . An old soldier dies alone in his Edinburgh nursing home. No known relatives, and no Will to enact. Just a pawn ticket found amongst his belongings, and fifty thousand pounds in used notes sewn into the lining of his burial suit . . . Heir Hunter, Solomon Farthing - down on his luck, until, perhaps, now - is tipped off on this unexplained fortune. Armed with only the deceased's name and the crumpled pawn ticket, he must find the dead man's closest living relative if he is to get a cut of this much-needed cash. But in trawling through the deceased's family tree, Solomon uncovers a mystery that goes back to 1918 and a group of eleven soldiers abandoned in a farmhouse billet in France in the weeks leading up to the armistice. Set between contemporary Edinburgh and the final brutal days of the First World War as the soldiers await their orders, The Inheritance of Solomon Farthing shows us how the debts of the present can never be settled unless those of the past have been paid first . . .

From Fascist Spain, to war again After a gruelling escape through the Pyrenees snow from the horrors of the Spanish civil war, Carmen and her Spanish family settle in the apparent peace of southern France. But relief is short-lived. Within months, France, too, is plunged into war - and, worse, a rapid defeat. Under the control of Hitler's puppet Vichy regime, the region is plagued by starvation, restrictions and atrocities, especially against Jews, propelling Carmen to join the Spanish - now bolstering the French resistance. With the help of the British S.O.E, and against huge odds, they win a spectacular victory over the Germans. Based on true but largely untold events, this sweeping adventure is a heady mix of romance, horror, betrayal and warfare.

'In Stockwin's hands the sea story will continue to entrance readers across the world' - Guardian With Bonaparte held to a stalemate in Europe, the race to empire is now resumed. Britain's ambitions turn to the Spice Islands, the Dutch East Indies, where Admiral Pellew has been sent to confront the enemy's vastly rich holdings in these tropical islands. Captain Sir Thomas Kydd joins reinforcements to snatch these for the British Crown. The two colonial masters of India and the East Indies face each other in mortal striving for the region - there can be only one victor to hold all the spoils. The colonial genius, Stamford Raffles, believes Britain should strike at the very centre of Dutch spice production, the Moluccas, rather than the fortresses one by one but is fiercely opposed. Kydd, allying himself to this cause, conspires to lead a tiny force to a triumphant conclusion - however the Dutch, stung by this loss, claim vengeance from the French. A battle for Java and an empire in the East stretches Kydd and Tyger's company to their very limits. ************* Praise for Julian Stockwin's Kydd series 'Paints a vivid picture of life aboard the mighty ship-of-the-line' Daily Express 'This heady adventure blends fact and fiction in rich, authoritative detail' Nautical Magazine 'Fans of fast-paced adventure will get their fill with this book' Historical Naval Society

The bestselling author of the Emperor, Conqueror and The Wars of the Roses returns to the Ancient World with a gripping adventure based on an epic true story. 'HIS FINEST NOVEL TO DATE . . . THE BATTLE SCENES ARE THRILLING' SUNDAY EXPRESS ___________ In the Ancient World, one army was feared above all others. 401 BC. The Persian king Artaxerxes rules an empire stretching from the Aegean to northern India. As many as fifty million people are his subjects. His rule is absolute. But the sons of Sparta are eager to play the game of thrones . . . Battles can be won - or lost - with a single blow. Princes fall. And when the dust of civil war settles, the Spartans are left stranded in the heart of an enemy's empire, without support, without food and without water. Far from home, surrounded by foes, it falls to the young soldier Xenophon to lead the survivors against Artaxerxes' legendary Persian warriors. The Falcon of Sparta masterfully depicts the ferocity and heroism that was the Ancient World. It is a tale of warring ambition, betrayal and bravery and an extraordinary journey out of exile against the odds. 'The pace is nail-biting' THE TIMES

"The guilty one is not he who commits the sin, but he who causes the darkness." "So long as ignorance and poverty exist on earth, books of the nature of Les Miserables cannot fail to be of use," says Victor Hugo in the preface of his famous novel. Certainly, Les Miserables is French history recounted through the personal stories of its main characters. The tale offers philosophical insight on the good deeds that can happen even amidst ignorance and poverty. This handsome leather-bound volume is a beautiful addition to any classic literature library with specially designed endpapers, gilded edges, and a ribbon bookmark so you will never lose your place.

Two sets of cousins, Boer and Brit, find their destinies inexorably intertwined in the politics and mayhem that led up to and encompassed the Anglo Boer War of 1899-1902. From Transvaal to Victorian England, the cousins form strong bonds, which are tested on the battlefields of South Africa.

Martin de Winter, nurtured to lead his country of birth, Transvaal, into the twentieth century, instead finds himself excelling as a gifted young general, fighting a desperate war to keep his nation from ruins, all the while being haunted by his love for a British woman. James Henderson, cavalry officer, is forced by his father, a military aristocrat, to marry or face expulsion from his regiment. Bound for India, the regiment is diverted to South Africa to fight the Boers. James rides to glory and honor but is at the mercy of his loyalty to his country and his compassion for his Boer family.

In the drawing rooms of Cape Town and Pretoria, Stefanie de Winter, celebrated pianist, is viewed from both sides with suspicion. Fiercely loyal to her brother Martin but in love with a British officer, she embarks on a dangerous path to keep them both. Dr. Charles Henderson tends to the slaughter on the battlefields. He is devastated by the willful destruction of his adopted country, Transvaal, and anguished by the part his brother, James, plays in this. Karel and Rudolf de Winter, twin brothers devoted to each other and their horses to the exclusion of all else, fight a battle against the bullet that might separate them forever.

Through anger, injustice, and betrayal, the family discovers that there is a force stronger than war. They only have to call on it to find that love transcends all.