Historical Family Saga

Amburgo, 1889. Oscar Troplowitz è un giovane farmacista, deciso a sperimentare nuove formule per quello che secondo lui sarà l'affare del secolo: i prodotti di bellezza per le donne. Così, quando scopre che l'imprenditore Paul Beiersdorf vende il suo laboratorio farmaceutico per ragioni famigliari, non esita a farsi avanti. Tuttavia, all'entusiasmo iniziale fanno seguito le prime difficoltà: Oscar è ebreo, e inoltre ha idee “troppo” moderne sui benefici da riservare ai lavoratori.

Berlin, Ende des 19. Jahrhunderts. Sie nennen ihn "Merlin", weil er alle verzaubert - der Mann, den ihr Bruder ihr als seinen Freund vorstellt. Paula Oppenheimer, die in einem offen jüdischen Haushalt groß geworden ist, verliebt sich sofort in den jungen Dichter Richard Dehmel. Ihre Eltern aber stellen sich gegen diese Verbindung. Richard ist ihnen zu wild und unkonventionell. Entgegen aller Warnungen, Paula heiratet den Dichter und wird kurz darauf schwanger. Richard hat große Pläne - er verkehrt mit vielen jungen Literaten und will als Künstler leben.

At Treetops Foundling Home in Victorian Nuneaton, one special little girl brings sunshine and joy wherever she goes. A favourite of her foster mother, Kitty grows into a beguiling young woman but soon attracts the attention of more than one suitor with questionable intentions. She quickly discovers that her beauty is no protection against the peril she finds herself in, as this innocent young girl makes her way in the music halls and theatres of the big city....

London, 1941. The East End Angels - Frankie, Bella and Winnie - are settled into life as ambulance crew members at LAAS Station 75. Frankie's grandfather is unwell, and she promised him she would always look after Ivy, her step-grandmother, but things between the two women are becoming strained. Winnie is making the difficult decisions on call-outs and begins to wonder how much more war and destruction she can take. Bella starts driving the ambulances and is growing closer to James while her love for writing is opening up new doors.

Wer braucht Bücher, wenn die Butter fehlt fürs Brot? Alle, die vom Aufbruch träumen... Es geht ums Überleben, aber die junge Ruth, Tochter einer Buchhändlerfamilie, weigert sich, nur an die Butter fürs Brot zu denken. Der Vater hat für die Literatur gelebt und tüchtig war er auch. Er wollte den Namen der Familie großmachen. Die Buchhandlung erweitern. Schlimm, dass er mit ansehen musste, wie der altehrwürdige Laden am Rathaus Schöneberg ausbrannte. Das war, als würde das Feuer auch an ihm fressen. Friedrich war sein Hoffnungsträger, Ruths Ideen hat er nicht gehört.

London’s East End. Life for Hope Daniels in the public house run by her parents is not as it seems. Pa drinks and gambles, brother John longs for a place of his own, sister Violet dreams of a life on stage and little Alfie is being bullied at school. Silas Quirk, the charismatic owner of a local gentlemen’s club and disreputable gambling den her father frequents, has his own plans for Hope. When disaster strikes, the family lose everything and the future they planned is snatched away from them. Secrets are revealed that make Hope question all she’s ever believed in.

Rita Blackthorn’s heart was barren and hard. In all of her life, she had never truly loved. But she had hated. Beneath the loving gaze of her daughter’s soft green eyes, her heart swelled with dark and dangerous emotions. Young Cathy Blackthorn has never experienced any loving response from her mother. It is her beloved Aunt Margaret, with a heart as big and warm as the summer sky, who has been more of a mother than her own could ever be. And when Cathy’s father brings home a London street urchin, Cathy despairs of ever winning her parents’ love.

Minden 1951: Hanne wächst in bescheidenen Verhältnissen heran. Ihre Mutter Minna sorgt dafür, dass alles in geregelten Bahnen verläuft, sogar ein bisschen Glück scheint endlich wieder möglich. Als Hanne dem smarten, viel älteren Paul Wagner begegnet und sich zum ersten Mal verliebt, nimmt ihr Leben eine Wendung, die für immer alles verändert.

Progressing from the 1960s to the turbulent present, the novel begins on the island of O’ahu and centers on Ana, abandoned by her mother as a child. Raised by her extended family on the “lawless” Wai’anae coast, west of Honolulu, Ana, against all odds, becomes a physician. While tending victims of Hurricane ‘Iniki on the neighboring island of Kaua’i, she meets Nikolai, a Russian filmmaker with a violent and tragic past, who can confront reality only through his unique prism of lies. Yet he is dedicated to recording the ecological horrors in his motherland.

The daughter of Irish immigrants and the son of an African slave forge their own destiny in Boston, in this compelling sequel to Shanty Gold.

Bella is born into a life of comfort and privilege, with parents who adore her. They encourage her to travel and to speak her mind. But when she falls in love it reveals a long-buried secret at the very centre of her family. The layers of deception lead to tragedy, destroying all she holds so dear. However, change beckons for everyone as the threat of war looms. Bella and all around her must face a new beginning.

July, 1914: In their sunlit Hampshire workshop, Alice Dalton mixes paints for the stained-glass artwork she and Edmund are working on, pausing only to joyfully cradle the soft swell of her stomach. But the looming war threatens her hard-won happiness. A knock at the door announces the arrival of Victor, her estranged brother, returning after six long years in America. But her elation at being reunited is short-lived as she realizes he still hasn’t forgiven her for her part in the heartbreak that sent him abroad.

1931, Cornwall. Lynette Nicholls lost her brother exactly a year ago in a tragic air training accident. When she visits the coastal town where it happened, she begins to doubt everything she's been told about the incident and becomes determined to uncover the truth. Her investigation takes her deep into the community, where she meets Geordie Sargent, the leader of the miner's dispute. When sparks fly between them, and Lynette is drawn into his fight, she risks losing everything.

This is a fact-based novel that is a testament to the love and loyalty of one extraordinary family. Following the highly acclaimed story of the Sokolovskis’ first 70 years in South Africa, From Saratov to San Francisco II begins in Johannesburg the day after the Nationalist Party came to power and ends in the second decade of the 21st century, when democratic South Africa has been devastated by decades of cronyism, corruption, and crime. It encompasses international intrigue, conspiracy, tragedy, and no small amount of personal and professional success.

Sheffield, 1892. Patrick Halliday rules his family with a rod of iron. He’s hard on both his wife and his elder daughter, Flora, but he spoils his youngest, Mary Ellen, because she reminds him of his beloved mother. When Mary Ellen, aged seventeen, finds that she is pregnant, Patrick throws her out of the family home and Flora goes with her. After wandering the Derbyshire countryside for miles, they find shelter on a farm, working for their keep. When Flora must return to her job as a buffer girl in Sheffield’s cutlery trade, she is reunited with her friend, Evelyn Bonsor.

Beautiful Eva Bereton has two close friends: Patsy, whom she looks upon as a sister, and Bill, her childhood sweetheart, now married and living far away. So when a tragic accident turns Eva’s world upside down, Patsy is the only one she can turn to. A hated figure from the past comes to reclaim the farm and business that Eva had always believed belonged to her parents. And not even Bill, still in love with Eva, can stop her being thrown out onto the streets. With no choice but to leave, Eva and Patsy decide to build a new life elsewhere.

1939. The threat of war is looming over Blackpool, but Martha and Trisha are determined not to let it dampen their spirits. With two young evacuees for Martha to take care of, and Trisha's market garden business growing as Britain digs for victory, the friends have their hands full. Both are proud to see their daughters making their own way in the world, even in wartime. Sally has become a ballerina and Bonnie is training to become a doctor. The girls' friendship brings them all happiness and hope. But Martha is troubled by her visions for their daughters' futures.

With the outbreak of War, the fishing fleet is confined to port, bringing hardship to the families and businesses of Fishers Wharf. Ruth Evans awaits the safe return of her father’s last trawler carrying her wayward brother Henry, the future of the family business. But unbeknown to their father, Henry sees war as a chance to break free from the constraints of his privileged background and follow his heart. Much is expected of Ruth. Her marriage to Arthur Marshall will help realise her father’s dream uniting two of the largest trawler companies in Grimsby.

When their father loses their family fortune, and their mother locks herself away, sisters Grace and Clementine are left to raise themselves in a grand London house that is slowly falling apart around them. Each of them is determined to one day restore their fortunes and their family name and make a promise to do just that. Clementine dreams of being a star on stage, a celebrated ballerina who will tour the world, earning fame and fortune. She is adamant she won't put her fate into a man's hands but take charge of it herself. Grace, in contrast, sees security in a good marriage.

When Babby's dad is killed in a senseless bar room brawl it changes their family forever. She is sent away only to return home a few years later, unmarried and pregnant. Her mother is incandescent with rage and with Callum - Babby's sweetheart - nowhere to be found, persuades her daughter to go to a Mother and Baby Home. But does Babby have no option but to give her baby up.