Historical Fiction Well

It’s 1914. The Great War grips the world - and from the Western Front a strange story emerges...a story of St. George and a brigade of angels descending from heaven to fight beside the beleaguered British troops. But can there be any truth to it?

The Honorable Roberta Talbot is tired of being the practical one in her family. As the impoverished daughter of a reckless baron, she has spent years supporting her mother and siblings. When a chance meeting brings an opportunity for adventure her way, Birdie grabs hold and takes it… all the way to a haunted castle in Scotland and into the domain of its beastly lord.

When a druid resurrects her murdered king, she steals the soul of Hugh Cavendish, an English teacher, and takes him back to the land of the dead . . . or is it the land of the living? Hugh finds his killer sitting on his throne and invaders at his shore. He must raise an army and retake his throne or lose his kingdom to a power unseen in a thousand years, an immortal who will put an end to the cycle of living and dying forever. But he soon realizes he wasn't the only one who crossed the well between worlds. Someone has followed him here, and they are set on taking him back.

It is April 1939 and unaware that the German war machine is advancing towards the Channel Islands, seventeen-year-old Meg Colivet and her sister are enjoying a holiday in Oxford with their aunt. Here Meg meets charismatic German undergraduate Rayner Weiss and the couple fall passionately in love. But all too soon, Britain is at war with Germany, Guernsey has been occupied and Meg's family home requisitioned by the German army.

Liverpool 1942. Seventeen-year-old Frankie Franconi falls in love with charismatic British officer Nick Harper as quickly and certainly as the bomb that falls on their shelter. He is impressed by her good looks and intelligence, and the fact that, like him, she speaks fluent Italian. When she insists on staying to help rescue others who have been trapped he realises that she has courage, too. He gives her a business card with a Baker Street address, and suggests she put her skills to good use.

London, 1940. Sheila Phipps is orphaned after a devastating air raid claims her family and her home. She is evacuated to Bletchley to live with her aunt Constance, where she forms an unlikely friendship with Prudence Le Strange, who is working in the code breaking unit at Bletchley. As their friendship grows stronger, the war subjects Sheila and Prue to fresh tragedies as, one by one, those they love are called away to distant battlefields, only to join the growing ranks of the missing, the captured and the dead.

Lily Darling knew that marrying a con man was a risk, but her new husband swore those days were behind him. Then he disappears without a word, taking all of her money with him. So when her scoundrel of a husband mysteriously returns, years later, hoping to set things right, Lily guards her heart. But curse the man for being just as breathlessly handsome as the day she last saw him.

During the Thirty Year War (1618-1648), our fictitious Scottish hero and his real Scottish commanders join the triumphant Protestant champion, Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden, "the lion of the north." On the Catholic side, we meet the king's equally skilled foes, brutal General Tilly and vain, brilliant Prince Wallenstein. Filled with shifting battles, deadly plots, daring escapes, and loyalties put to the test, this is one of G.A. Henty's most popular books, and guaranteed to keep the entire family on the edge of their seats.

Wulf of Steyning, a young Saxon then in the service of Earl Harold, accompanies him on his fateful trip to Normandy, takes part in the Welsh wars, the Battle of Stamford Bridge, and the Battle of Hastings. Growing to manhood in such tumultuous times, Wulf's fidelity and honor earn him the respect of all he serves.

G.A. Henty's classic work, The Young Carthaginian, tells the story of this struggle and the attempt of Hannibal to conquer Rome, despite the formidable geographical barriers and the corrupt leadership in Carthage, which time-and-again undermined all his efforts. Malchus, the young hero, a cousin of Hannibal, becomes involved in political intrigue and joins Hannibal in Spain, sharing for a time in his adventures. Later, he suffers imprisonment and slavery and then escapes to Gaul, where he finally settles. This story is set around 220 B.C.

G.A. Henty weaves a rousing, yet poignant, adventure of the revolt of Palestine against the power of Rome, and the birth of Christianity. Follow John, a courageous young Jew, as he fights in the siege of Jerusalem, survives slavery in Alexandria and the dispersal of the Jews, wins the favor of the Emperor Titus, and returns triumphantly to Galilee.

In New York Times best-selling author Cathy Maxwell's new novella, beautiful Jennifer Tarleton has no lack of noble suitors, but the only man who captures her attention is the one her father will never let her marry: Fyclan Morris. He's a brash adventurer, witty, courageous...and Irish! Even worse, her father blames her for their reversal of fortune. And it's a fortune - or, rather, his grandmother the fortune-teller - who foretold that Fyclan would meet "the one", a love prophesied in the stars.

Iris Caldwell and Nell Ryland were never meant to be friends. From two very different backgrounds, one the heir to the Caldwell estate, the other a humble vicar's daughter. Both have their secrets, both have their pasts, but they each find solace with one another and soon their futures become irrevocably intertwined. Until May Day 1912, a day that haunts Missensham. The day two girls disappeared. The day the girls were murdered. Now, many years later, old footage has emerged which shows that Iris Caldwell may not have died on that spring morning.

This metaphysical novel incorporates mystery and problem-solving, but also adds a dash of spice. The prologue introduces an era just before Hitler has just been made the ruler of Germany, when Queen Mary of Teck christens her ship of the same name, and where a baby born in Louisiana faces an uncertain future without her mother. Fast forward to 2020, in the first chapter, some hours before a predicted apocalypse, when kindergartner Alana Miceli falls into a trance for the first time. In her vision, she's wrenched out of her familiar school setting and into the ship's Secret Spice Cafe.

It is the fall of 1896, and Miss Concordia Wells is hip-deep in the usual tumult of a lady professor's life: classes, clubs, student pranks, and the unending drama generated by the girls she lives with on campus. Events take a grave turn, however, when an ancient Egyptian amulet donated to the college mysteriously disappears, the donor is found murdered, and his daughter - Concordia's best friend - confesses to killing him.

'Tis the season when lovers' eyes shine by the light of a blazing Yule log, when a quick kiss is shared beneath the mistletoe, and when love is the most splendid gift of all. Savor the beauty and passion of Christmas with two heartwarming stories by outstanding Regency author Elizabeth Mansfield. From A Sneeze on Tuesday: A broken engagement and a miserable cold were not in Elinor's holiday plans. But her spirited heart found its own remedy: a true and lasting love.

Esme Silver has always taken care of her charming ne'er-do-well father, Ike Silver, a small-time crook with dreams of making it big with Bugsy Siegel. Devoted to her daddy, Esme is often his "date" at the racetrack, where she amiably fetches the hot dogs while keeping an eye to the ground for any cast-off tickets that may be winners. In awe of her mother, Dina Wells, Esme is more than happy to be the foil who gets the beautiful Dina into meetings and screen tests with some of Hollywood's greats. When Ike gets an opportunity to move to Vegas life takes an unexpected turn for Esme.

Late October, 1962. Wes Avery, a one-time Air Force tail-gunner, is living his version of the American Dream as loving husband to Sarah, doting father to seventeen-year-old Charlotte, and owner of a successful Texaco station along central Florida's busiest highway. But after President Kennedy announces that the Soviets have nuclear missiles in Cuba, Army convoys clog the highways and the sky fills with fighter planes. Within days, Wes's carefully constructed life begins to unravel.

Jonathan Beecher, a middle-aged widower and small-town store owner, has never asked for much. But lately, all too much is being asked of him. The bombing of Pearl Harbor plunges America into World War II and deeply fractures Jonathan's own family. His eldest son, a civilian contractor, is trapped on a Japanese-occupied island in the Pacific. Jonathan's feckless younger son ignores his father's pleas to stay home and joins the army.

Growing up with all of the modern comforts of Sydney in the 1950s and '60s, young Jocelyn joins the glamorous life of an Ansett hostess flying around Australia’s vast country. On a holiday with a friend on a cattle station in the Kimberley, Jocelyn is awestruck by the magic, color, and rugged remoteness of the Kimberley landscape. It is not only the Kimberley that captures Jocelyn’s attention; stockman Timothy Doran has ridden into her life.