Fiction Women World War

When Frankie’s mother dies, she is sent to live with her aunt Bet in Worthing, Sussex. Life on their farm is happy - for a while. But when World War Two breaks out, Frankie must help her country by signing up to the women’s branch of the British Army. Soon, she meets Romare, an American Doctor who has come to the UK after facing terrible racism at home. But trouble is stirring in Britain, too, and it falls to Frankie to try to protect him. Can love triumph over a history of hate? Or will Frankie and Romare’s love pay the ultimate sacrifice?

On the eve of World War I, 21-year-old Georgie Hyde-Lees - on her own for the first time - is introduced to the acclaimed poet W. B. Yeats at a soirée in London. Although Yeats is famously eccentric and many years her senior, Georgie is drawn to him, and when he extends a cryptic invitation to a secret society, her life is forever changed. A shadow falls over London as zeppelins stalk overhead and bombs bloom against the skyline. Amidst the chaos, Georgie finds purpose tending to injured soldiers in a makeshift hospital, befriending the wounded and heartbroken Lieutenant Pike....

1940: Als die Deutschen Paris einnehmen, wird die Haute-Couture-Schneiderin Estella in eine Mission der Résistance verwickelt, bei der sie dem geheimnisvollen Alex begegnet. In letzter Sekunde verhilft Estellas Mutter ihr zur Flucht, und sie gelangt nach New York – mit nicht mehr in der Tasche als einem goldenen Kleid und einem Traum: sich als Designerin in der von Männern beherrschten Welt der Mode einen Namen zu machen. Und dann steht sie auf einmal Alex gegenüber, der mehr über das Schicksal ihrer in Frankreich gebliebenen Mutter weiß, als er preisgeben will...

"Sei mutig. Liebe viel und stürmisch. Werde zu der Frau, von der ich mir immer sicher war, dass Du sie sein könntest." Auf der Flucht vor der Verfolgung durch die Deutschen gelangt eine junge Schneiderin ins New York der Vierziger und kämpft darum, Modeschöpferin zu werden.

In February, 1922, at the western-most entrance to Victoria Station in Manchester, a massive plaque was unveiled. Beneath a vast tiled map showing the lines of the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway network, a series of seven bronze panels recorded the names of the men of the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway who gave their lives for King and Country in the Great War - a total of 1,460 names. In March, 1940, a group of women of varying ages and backgrounds stands in front of the memorial, ready to do its bit in this new World War....

Istanbul, 2001. Maya Duran is a single mother struggling to balance a demanding job at Istanbul University with the challenges of raising a teenage son. Her worries increase when she is tasked with looking after the enigmatic Maximilian Wagner, an elderly German-born Harvard professor visiting the city at the university’s invitation. Although he is distant at first, Maya gradually learns of the tragic circumstances that brought him to Istanbul 60 years before, and the dark realities that continue to haunt him.

Enid Campbell, granddaughter of a duke, grew up surrounded by servants, wanting for nothing except love. But when her brother died in the First World War, a new heir was needed, and it was up to Enid to provide it. A troubled marriage and three children soon followed. Broken by postpartum depression, overwhelmed by motherhood and a loveless marriage, Enid made the shocking decision to abandon her family, thereby starting a chain of events—a kidnap, a court case, and selling her son to her sister for £500 - that reverberated through the generations.

Christmas 1889. A baby is born in the early hours at Vienna General Hospital, only to be abandoned by her unwed mother and entrusted to a foundling home and its loving caretaker. Fanny Schindler grows from a precocious girl into a strong-willed young woman. Undeterred by the rules of her station, she’s determined to rise above her humble origins and pursue her dreams at all costs, becoming an apprentice to one of the most glamorous fashion houses in Austria-Hungary.

Cancer stole everything from Ceelie - her peace of mind, her self-image, perhaps even her 23-year marriage to her college sweetheart, Nate. Without the support of Darlene, her quirky elderly friend, she may not have been able to endure so much loss. So when Darlene’s own prognosis turns dire, Ceelie can’t refuse her seemingly impossible request - to find a WWII paratrooper named Cal, the father who disappeared when Darlene was an infant, leaving a lifetime of desolation in his wake.

1930: As raids and violent arrests sweep through their Crimean village, two families are forced to make desperate choices in order to keep themselves - and their hope - alive. The Pfeiffers get out as quickly as they can, braving a last-minute escape in the dead of night. Their friends the Scholzes are less lucky. Captured and transported to labour camps in the icy Far North, the future seems a bleak, dark nightmare for the couple and their three children.

On the windswept shores of an East German island, Bettina Heilstrom struggles to build a life from the ashes. World War II has ended, and her country is torn apart. Longing for a family, she marries Werner, an older bureaucrat who adores her. But after joining the fledgling secret police, he is drawn deep into its dark mission and becomes a dangerous man.

England, 1939: In letzter Minute ist Ruth die Flucht geglückt. Als Hausangestellte kommt sie bei einer Familie in der Nähe von London unter. Ihre Gedanken und Sorgen sind jedoch in der alten Heimat - bei ihrer Mutter und vor allem bei ihrem Vater, der von den Nazis inhaftiert wurde. Ruths muss hart arbeiten, und es bleibt ihr wenig Zeit, sich in London um Ausreisepapiere für ihre Eltern und ihre Schwester zu bemühen. Dann erreicht sie die Nachricht, dass ihr Vater aus der Haft entlassen werden kann - allerdings nur, wenn er innerhalb von vierundzwanzig Stunden die Papiere aus England vorlegt.

Simones Leben verändert sich dramatisch, als ihr Mann Henry sie verlässt und kurz darauf ihre geliebte Mutter Anna stirbt. In ihrem Nachlass findet Simone ein seltsames Kästchen mit wunderschönen Stoffstücken. Getrieben von dem Wunsch, herauszufinden, was es mit den prachtvollen Stoffen auf sich hat, begibt sie sich auf die Suche nach dem Geheimnis ihrer Mutter.

December 1941. War has erupted in the Pacific, spelling danger for Gina Capelli Thorpe, an American expat living in Manila. When the Japanese invade and her husband goes missing, Gina flees with her daughter to the Zambales Mountains to avoid capture - or worse. Desperate for money, medicine, and guns, the resistance recruits Gina to join their underground army and smuggles her back to Manila.

Ukraine, 1923. On a small farm, two boys are born within days of each other, both Ukrainian, one Jewish. Mykhail and Asher grow up inseparable, together finding friendship, adventure and escape from the harshness of Russian rule. But after Asher’s family flees to Warsaw, their worlds are torn to shreds by the Second World War. The war brings cruelty to both boys. Although Asher finds love in Warsaw, the city is far from the haven his family sought; meanwhile Mykhail becomes a victim of the bitter struggle for Ukraine. But worse follows, in the shape of the Treblinka death camp.

1943: Europe is at war - but neutral Ireland is isolated from the storm. In a sleepy coastal village south of Dublin, eighteen-year-old Aileen Sweeney meets soldier Niall O’Rourke at a dance, and the spark between them soon ignites a powerful love. But when Niall makes a life-changing and contentious decision, Aileen’s hopes and dreams fall apart. In an instant Niall is transformed from dashing suitor to social outcast, and the fallout leaves each of them navigating the consequences alone. Putting her innocence behind her, Aileen must make her own tough choices.

Gegen alle Widerstände wird Mimi Reventlow Fotografin, und findet nicht nur ihre Freiheit, sondern auch die Liebe... Minna Reventlow, genannt Mimi, war schon immer anders als die Frauen ihrer Zeit. Es ist das Jahr 1911 und während andere Frauen sich um Familie und Haushalt kümmern, hat Mimi ihren großen Traum wahr gemacht.

In Where the Wild Cherries Grow by Laura Madeleine, it is 1919, and the end of World War I has not brought peace for Emeline Vane. Lost in grief, she is suddenly alone at the heart of a depleted family. And just as everything seems to be slipping beyond her control, in a moment of desperation, she boards a train and runs away.

Spring 1900. Ever since she was nine years old, Mairi McGloughlin has known she wants to be a farmer, but by the law of the land it's her scholarly brother, Ian, who will someday inherit. The next best thing might be to marry a farmer, and charming, confident Jack could be the perfect answer. But then there's Robin, her brother's best friend, more a man of books than of the land - and yet there's something about him.... But with the outbreak of the Great War, their choices change completely, and neither Mairi, Ian nor Robin can hope to escape unscathed.

Norway, 1940. Nazis pour into Oslo, a shroud of dread looms over the city, and eighteen-year-old Ingrid Solberg fears the worst. Under German rule, harsh rationing and the exorbitant cost of medicine threaten the lives of many, including Ingrid’s mother. And when Ingrid meets a young SS officer, she’s forced to make a desperate choice. Seventy years later, after the death of Ingrid in her adopted country of Canada, her son, Arnold, finds a disturbing letter in her belongings. He embarks on a journey to Oslo to understand his family’s history....