Historical Homes

Alone and pregnant, she was following in the footsteps of more than a century’s worth of lost souls. Shunned by society for her sins and offered no comfort for her pain, Bridget gave birth to a boy, John, who died at the home in a horrendous state of neglect less than two years later. Her second child was once again delivered into the care of the nuns and was taken from her, never to be seen or heard from again.

When Amy's chosen as part of a programme to resettle displaced children in Canada, her life changes tack. Her great sadness is having to say goodbye to Ruth and Ellen, the friends who became family to her during the dark days at the orphanage. As she steps on board the ship to Montreal, the promise of a new life lies ahead. But during the long crossing, Amy discovers a terrifying secret.

Almost Home is the story of the pilgrims' journey to America and of God's providence and provision. Several of the characters in the story - Mary Chilton, Constance Hopkins, and Elizabeth Tilley - were actual passengers on the Mayflower. Mary Chilton was a young girl when she left her home in Holland and traveled to America onboard the Mayflower with her parents. The journey was filled with trials, joys, and some surprises, but when she reached the New World, she experienced a new life, new freedom, and new home.

Movie star Nicky Tallon selects architect Wren Fontaine to renovate Turnbull House, where he’ll be filming his next movie. Even to Wren, used to old homes, this one is special: a two-hundred-year-old federal-style home on a private island in New York harbor, designed by the most celebrated architect of the day. But Turnbull House hides many secrets, such as the disappearance of the sea captain who built it. That’s just a historical curiosity, until a studio executive no one likes is killed.

Once a wistful romantic, Opal Martin now simply aspires to scrub the remnants of the War Between the States from her tattered life. But when a nearly drowned soldier appears and asks if he can die on her porch, she must guard against the sudden revival of her heart’s hope for love. Haunted by the war, Tristan Stuart just wants to escape the pain. But when he wakes up at a house that looks too much like home, with a woman determined to mend him, he may discover a new life worth fighting for.

Spring 1940. As the war rages on, Vickers steelworks is busier than ever, which is proving tough for Nancy as she juggles working long hours and looking after two young children, all while waiting for her husband to return home safely. Betty is determined to roll up her sleeves and joins the Women’s Voluntary Service to keep busy and from fretting about her fiancé. But Patty is left worrying about someone closer to home. Sweetheart Archie has been keeping a secret from her, and one that puts him in great danger. Will it threaten to pull them apart for good?

It is 1940 and Staff Nurse Polly Brown has been granted a posting at Cliffehaven Memorial Hospital to be near her badly injured husband, Adam. But her decision has meant that she has had to part with their five-year-old daughter, Alice, who is travelling to safety in Canada. Polly's heart is torn in two as she says goodbye to Alice and heads to the Beach View boarding house, where she throws herself into her work. But as she confronts the fact that Adam may not survive his injuries, a shocking telegram arrives at Beach View.

The year is 1915, and the war is raging on.... The war was not 'over by Christmas' after all, and as 1915 begins, the Hunters begin to settle into wartime life. Diana, the eldest Hunter daughter, sees her fiance off to the front but doesn't expect such coldness from her future mother-in-law. David's battalion is almost ready to be sent to the front, but how will Beattie's fragile peace of mind endure?

Devastated by her father’s death days after her triumphant graduation from Oberlin College, Amanda Stewart is all alone in the world. Her father’s unscrupulous business partner offers her an indecent proposal to earn a living. Instead, to fulfill a promise she made to her father, she resolves to start a school to educate and uplift their race. Sorting through her father’s papers, she discovers he had carried on a mysterious correspondence with a plantation in Milford, Georgia. She determines to start her teaching work with the formerly enslaved.

The summer of 1939 turned out to be the last summer of author Lucy Lipiner's childhood. On September 1, when she was six years old, her parents roused Lucy and her older sister from their beds, and with other relatives in tow fled their town of Sucha and the invasion by Nazi Germany.

In the 1950s, the alluring Rebecca Blaine ruled Long Island’s Gold Coast from Cadieux House, a gift of love from the brilliant architect Marius Cadieux. Today, as architect Wren Fontaine restores the house, she becomes immersed in a seventy-five-year-old murder, as well as fresh killings that echo it. To make it even more complicated, Cadieux was an important mentor to Wren’s father, who isn’t happy about Wren “fixing” the home. Wren must think back to her childhood, when the elderly Cadieux gave her a riddle. She knows she must solve it to understand the house—and stop the killings.

It is 1933 inside a sweltering courtroom in Macon, Georgia. Fifteen-year-old Robert sits on a bench awaiting sentencing after being picked up for vagrancy and spending a night in jail. He left his home in Illinois with a neighborhood friend to ride the rails and find work to help their families. The friend turned back, too afraid to face the perils ahead. But going back empty-handed isn’t an option for Robert.

It's 1941, and Kate is living in Rangoon, Burma. A world away from her traditional English upbringing, she is bewitched by the country and the kindness of the Burmese people. When Edwin, a young teacher from London, starts working in the government office with her, a friendship develops between them. But Kate can sense that Edwin has secrets and is looking for a place to call home - something she shares. As their bond grows, Kate begins to understand Edwin's past and the tragic events that brought them both to Burma.

What begins as a pleasant holiday with a new friend in Brighton quickly turns to devastation for Anabelle Milton when she receives the tragic news: her parents are dead. Turned out of the only home she’s ever known, Anabelle is sent to live with an aunt and uncle who are strangers to her. Heartbroken, she arrives at Bellingham Cottage, a cozy home on the sprawling grounds of the Bellingham estate, to find an unexpectedly warm welcome - not only from her own family but also from the family of their aristocratic neighbors, Lord and Lady Bellingham.

August 1941: As war sweeps across Britain and millions of men enlist, women must fight the battle on the home front. Fran always thought she would marry her childhood sweetheart and live in Massingham, the beloved pit village she has always called home. But the opening of a munitions factory in the north-east of England presents a new opportunity. Against her father's wishes and with best friends Sarah and Beth by her side, Fran signs up to join the ranks of women at the factory. It's dangerous work, but the friends discover that their lives are only just beginning.

October 1940. Twenty-three-year-old Bobby Bancroft is working as a typist for a city newspaper, but she longs to be breaking the news herself. When she successfully applies for a junior reporter role at The Tyke, a magazine serving the Yorkshire Dales, she's thrilled – even if she only gets the position because so many men are away fighting. Bobby moves to the sleepy village of Silverdale, but she quickly discovers life in the countryside is a different world.

The first time Isabel meets her father-in-law, Omar, he’s already dead - an apparition appearing uninvited on her wedding day. Her husband, Martin, still unforgiving for having been abandoned by his father years ago, confesses that he never knew the old man had died. So Omar asks Isabel for the impossible: persuade Omar’s family - especially his wife, Elda - to let him redeem himself.

On a frosty morning sometime in the 14th century, in a village somewhere in England, a girl known only as Brat was sleeping in a dung heap. "You, girl. Are you alive or dead?" When she opened her eyes, she saw an important-looking woman with a sharp glance and a sharp nose and a wimple starched into sharp pleats. This woman was Jane the midwife, and she needed a helper....

Francis Joseph Cassavant is eighteen. He has just returned home from the Second World War, and he has no face. He does have a gun and a mission: to murder his childhood hero. Francis lost most of his face when he fell on a grenade in France. He received the Silver Star for bravery, but was it really an act of heroism? Now, having survived, he is looking for a man he once admired and respected, a man adored by many people, a man who also received a Silver Star for bravery. A man who destroyed Francis's life.

Alice's life is about to change. She's a skinny orphan. She's never been able to hear too well. And she can't speak too well, either. The only person who seems to care for her - one of the nuns at the orphanage - gets taken away from Alice in a freak accident. And then one day somebody calls Alice by the wrong name. Miami, she says. Miami Shaw. Miami Shaw, who may be Alice's twin sister. Who lives only a few miles away. Who has what Alice has always dreamed of - a whole wonderful family.