Historical Romance Families

Fifteen-year-old Maisy Mitcham and her twin brother, Duncan, lose their mother to an insane asylum one night in 1960. The twins are sent to their grandmother's country house, Nightingales. Cold and distant, she leaves them to their own devices, to explore and to grow. That is until the day Duncan doesn't come home from the woods. With their grandmother seeming to have little interest in her grandson's disappearance and the police soon giving up hope, it is left to Maisy to discover the truth.

Women rarely refuse the wicked Earl of Hepplewood, whose daring exploits are only whispered about. But when his new governess answers his proposition with a slap, then stalks out, references in hand, Hepplewood finds more than his face is burning. Isabella Aldridge has brains, bravado, and beauty - but the latter is no use to a servant. Her circumstances are desperate, and with Hepplewood's words ringing in her ears, Isabella realizes she must barter her most marketable asset - her body.

Leaving Liverpool behind, Libby Andrews embarks on a transformative journey to London with her newfound friend Suzy. Amidst the bustling city streets, they find Libby's parents' cherished stall on Petticoat Lane has been taken over and run into the ground by Libby's conniving uncle. Libby is determined to reclaim what rightfully belongs to her and with Suzy's support, she is able to bring the stall back to the way it used to be. But when they unravel a long-held family secret, unearthing the truth about her mother's past, will it shatter the bright future that lies ahead for Libby?

1949, County Durham. When Angie marries her sweetheart Quentin and moves into Cuthford Manor to begin their new life together, she feels like the luckiest woman in the world. But Quentin falls victim to a tragic accident and Angie's life is left devastated. Now, along with the prospect of rebuilding her life, she is faced with an impossible choice that will have far-reaching consequences for herself and those she loves most. Only with the help of her family, the community of Cuthford Manor and her old friends from the Shipyards, will Angie draw on the inner strength to find happiness again.

Camille St. Briac cares nothing for her own natural beauty, nor is she interested in the London ton. Instead, she bravely fights to save innocent birds from feather thieves who would kill them to decorate fashionable women’s hats. Brooding, rakish ornithologist Benedict Hawke travels the world in search of new species of birds... and the farther that takes him from England and his unforgivable father, the better.

Texas, 1934: Seit der Weltwirtschaftskrise sind Hunderttausende arbeitslos, und in den Ebenen der Prärie herrscht Dürre - zu viel wurde gerodet, nach Missernten droht das Land von Sandstürmen davongetragen zu werden. In dieser unsicheren, gefahrvollen Zeit muss Elsa Martinelli eine schwere Entscheidung treffen: Soll sie um das Land kämpfen, das sie liebt und das die Heimat ihrer Familie ist? Oder soll sie mit ihren Kindern wie so viele andere nach Westen ziehen? Irgendwann bleibt Elsa keine Wahl mehr, doch die Flucht nach Kalifornien birgt neue Gefahren in sich.

Maggie Bailey has not had an easy childhood. Her father, Michael, always too easy with his fists after spending the family’s rent money down the pub. Just sixteen, in love and blinded by promises, Maggie sees marriage to handsome Jack as her great escape. However, she soon finds herself abandoned with a beautiful baby when Jack disappears. Maggie is forced to seek a new life away from the East End of London and finds herself a job at a hotel in Yarmouth.

After Helgha meets Erik in the woods surrounding her home near Jorvik—modern-day York—she learns that he is lost, and helps him by taking him into her home for the night. In time, the two grow close, much to the anxiety of her parents as there is no message from his father suggesting a betrothal, but Erik behaves as though they are betrothed. Soon, they learn that there is another reason why Erik has not asked her to marry him. With the honor of their family at stake, Helgha's father takes drastic measures to rectify the situation.

1933. Hannah Snow is fleeing her unhappy marriage to an MP when she finds herself in a small hotel on the banks of Loch Ness. But when a monster is spotted in the depths of the waters, the press descends – and Hannah finds her hiding place is discovered. Someone has been looking for Hannah, and when they find her events will take a devastating turn. Present day. True crime podcaster Scarlett finds herself intrigued by the mystery of Hannah Snow, wife of a promising government minister who disappeared in 1933 – just months before her husband also went missing, presumed dead.

July 1941. As the war grinds on, Lady Joanna Harcourt knows that her time at Goodwill House is drawing to close. A new chapter awaits, one that she never expected to happen to her – she is going to be a wife and mother again! Excited with their new arrival and with her beloved Flying Officer John Sergeant back in her life, Joanna hopes that even though war clouds gather, love will prevail, and the future will look brighter than ever for the Harcourt family. John has just one last mission to complete, before they can be together.

Nine-year-old Olivia Friel is delighted to be spending the summer at Greyfriars House, a place where her parents, their family and friends are always happy. But this year there's an underlying tension that Olivia doesn't understand. Then one night she sees something she's not meant to, and accidentally lets slip a devastating betrayal. Charlotte Friel gets a call from her ailing mother, asking something she's never asked before: for Charlotte to come home. There are things Olivia needs to tell her daughter before it's too late, secrets to be shared about forgotten relatives and a mysterious house.

After being driven from home by their brutal father, the Willett sisters find themselves facing greater heartache in the wider world. Nell, the middle daughter, has left home to be with her lover, Cliff, fearing what reprisals might come from marrying against her father’s wishes. The couple head for Lancashire, but Nell’s happiness is short-lived.

Libby, a free spirit who can’t be tamed by her parents, finds solace with her neighbor Oliver, the son of Lord Croft of Ladenbrooke Manor. Libby finds herself pregnant and alone, when her father kicks her out and Oliver mysteriously drowns in a nearby river. Though theories spread across the English countryside, no one is ever held responsible for Oliver’s death. Sixty years later, Heather Toulson, returning to her family’s cottage in the shadows of Ladenbrooke Manor, is filled with mixed emotions.

Holding the letter in trembling hands, Daisy’s future crumbled before her – the words engraved on her heart forever. The village of Little Creek, the long winter of 1867. The first flakes of snow are falling when Daisy Marshall, secretly engaged to her master's son, finds herself jilted at the altar. Heartbroken, Daisy flees to the small village of Little Creek, nestled on the coast of Essex. There she is warmly welcomed – but the village is poverty-stricken, suffering under a cruel lord of the manor. And when cholera hits, the villagers are truly in dire straits.

In 1955, 18-year-old Janet Jones keeps the love she shares with her best friend, Marie, a secret. It's not easy being gay in Washington, DC, in the age of McCarthyism, but when she discovers a series of books about women falling in love with other women, it awakens something in Janet. As she juggles a romance she must keep hidden and a newfound ambition to write and publish her own story, she risks exposing herself - and Marie - to a danger all too real.

Christmas may be the season of goodwill and festive cheer, but not for the poor of 1950s Liverpool. And for St Angelus Hospital in Lovely Lane, it is frantically busy. There are the old, the dying, the children and the emergencies.

The nurses, known locally as the Angels of Lovely Lane, are run off their feet. Dana, Beth, Pammy and Victoria hardly have time to catch their breath, let alone have a Christmas of their own.

The end of World War II should have brought joy to Gwen Mullen. But on V-J Day, her worst fear is realized. As celebrating crowds gather in Times Square, a soldier appears on her doorstep to claim Mary, the baby abandoned to Gwen one year earlier. Suddenly Gwen is on the verge of losing the child she has nurtured and loves dearly.

It is 1944, and Anne Black is making the best of a new life in Somerset, but bringing up her daughters so far from their father; her mother, Peggy; and their real home of Cliffehaven isn't easy. The safety of Somerset makes separation bearable until danger strikes and rocks Anne's world. Back in Cliffehaven Peggy Reilly is running the Beach View Boarding House with her usual love and warmth. The war is taking its toll, however, and Peggy longs to have her scattered family home again.

A life of poverty in a cramped pit cottage is all that 17-year-old Ruby Dinsdale has known. Even with her father and younger brother working at the coal mine, money is tight. Her mother, Mary, is skilled at stretching what little they have, but the small contribution Ruby makes from her job at the local pub makes all the difference. So when Ruby is sacked, and Mary becomes pregnant again, the family's challenges are greater than ever. When charming Miner Gordon begins to court Ruby, it seems as though happiness is on the horizon.

Queenie is only 14 and has been deserted by her mother. Set in Liverpool and Wales at the outbreak of World War II, this story explores themes of female friendship and betrayal from the perspective of a group of women of widely different ages.