In the turmoil and confusion of London's East End between the wars, young Nelly Kelly soon learns that life may never match her expectations. Forced to keep house for her charming, yet autocratic, father, Nelly toils in a sweatshop to keep her family clothed and fed. But though life is hard, Nelly still has friendship, dancing and her early dreams to cling to. Dreams which slowly crumble as marriage, the war and a lost baby are followed by the heartache of a lost love. Fortune may crush her proud spirit but when faced with a crisis which will test her courage to the limit, no tragedy can change Nelly Kelly's determination to be her own woman.

Falling asleep on the bus after a hard day's work, Joe finds himself stranded in the East End, disorientated in the heavy fog and innocently embroiled in a violent encounter. The incident ends in murder and Joe is accused - of the real villains there remains not a trace. But his memory of that fateful night, and a clue to the identity of the murderers, helps him through his time in prison and fuels his desire to uncover the truth. His quest leads him back to the East End and to the Ship and Castle pub, run by the mysterious and formidable Queenie . . .

Living in poverty in the Kentish marshes, young Kate dreams of a life of abundance and riches in the castle that towers over her village. So when the beautiful Lady Evelyn descends, requesting Kate to be her personal maidservant at the castle, it looks like the first stage of a dream come true. But there are blackhearted men to contend with, evil in thought and deed, and they have a sophistication well beyond that of anyone Kate has encountered before. And when her one true love, Tom the fisherman, returns from sailing the seven seas, it is to a very different Kate from the one he left behind . . .

Fall in love with Lena Kennedy's remarkable first novel... Spanning four decades and four generations, this compelling family saga reveals the extraordinary life story of a resilient Cockney woman, MAGGIE. Raised in Stepney, the heart of London's East End, Maggie Riley is the only child of an Irish widower. When she becomes pregnant at the age of fifteen she is delighted, for it means she has captured her beloved Jim Burns. But life is a constant struggle - to bring up her four sons, to cope with a part-time husband, to 'better herself'. And that struggle is set against critical events of the era: the Depression, the Blackshirt marches, the devastation of World War II and its aftermath. With the skill of a natural storyteller, Lena Kennedy makes us share Maggie's life: we experience Maggie's hardships as she confronts poverty; we feel her grief when she sends her children off during the evacuation; we sympathise with her loneliness through the long years of the war; we share the impressions of her first trip abroad to South Africa and Australia. We rejoice in her triumphs and feel the sorrow of her tragedies.

Warm-hearted and wilful, her temper as fiery as her beautiful auburn hair, Lady Penelope is a romantic heroine whose impulsive nature makes her as many enemies as her vivacious, flame-haired beauty wins her admirers. Caught up in the dangerous intrigues of Queen Elizabeth's court, forced to marry a wealthy but repulsive nobleman, she pours all her passion into her children . . . and her lovers. But though her heart often rules her head, Penelope survives her loveless marriage and a life filled with tragedy to emerge triumphant.

Gas lights and horse drawn buses, gin-soaked night clubs and fluttering lace curtains: enter the world of Autumn Alley. Here you'll find Maud, the formidable Irish-American suffragette; sulky Patricia, whose unhappy childhood leads her to a dangerous love affair; vivacious, flame-haired Colleen; Mary, who struggles to bring up children beside her wayward husband - and Arfer, whose quick mind lifts him out of the world of poverty in London's East End.

A wealth of lively characters and true-to-life situations in this collection confirm Lena Kennedy's reputation as one of our most vivid and compelling storytellers. The title story, 'Ivy of the Angel', reveals why an elderly bag lady becomes the centre of attention in an Oxford Street store; 'The Lonely Road' is the tale of thwarted love in London's East End; 'The Willows Wept With Me', 'Linda's Revenge' and 'The Long Dream' are all examples of how the smooth surface of a buried past can be disrupted by the intrusions of the present. With the freshness and directness that have become her hallmark, Lena Kennedy explores the enduring power of love, the triumph of hope over adversity, the problems of illness and prejudice, and the quirky kindness of fate.

Like a dandelion seed adrift on the wayward winds, Marcelle de la Strange is an innocent in the decadent and dangerous London of James I. When her mother's violent death leaves Marcelle at the mercy of her lecherous stepfather, she can't help but be drawn to the dashing Thomas Mayhew, King's Messenger and attendant to the flamboyant court favourite Robert Carr, who offers her protection, freedom . . . and love. But such perfect happiness is brittle, vulnerable. A mysterious royal lover, tawny-haired and passionate, leaves Marcelle with child. Kidnapped by the powerful Howard family, the baby is an innocent pawn in a deadly political game and Marcelle's desperate search for her son threatens her reconciliation with Thomas, her health, and even her very sanity . . .