Historical Romance Families

Geteiltes Leid ist halbes Leid. London 1950: Peggy hat sich in ihrem Gästehaus in der Mulberry Lane wieder gut eingelebt und ist glücklich, das alte Leben wieder zurück und ihre lieben Freunde um sich zu haben. Alles scheint perfekt, doch dann geschieht das Unglück: Pip, ihr geliebter Sohn, liegt nach einem schlimmen Autounfall im Koma. Dann bricht auf dem Markt ein junges Mädchen zusammen, und Peggy entschließt sich, sie wieder gesund zu pflegen.

Drei Frauen auf der Suche nach ihrer Vergangenheit. In Ahrenshoop an der Ostsee kreuzen sich die Wege ihres Schicksals. Dritter Band der großen Ostsee-Trilogie. Berlin, 1989: Die junge Architektin Ylvi lernt in der Mauerfallnacht den Gärtner Theo kennen. Eine Begegnung, die ihr Leben auf den Kopf stellt, denn sie ist verheiratet – und jetzt ist sie schwanger. Als ihre Mutter, die auf Teneriffa lebt, stirbt, findet sie in deren Hinterlassenschaft einen Brief ihres Vaters. Er ist eine Beichte und eine Bitte. Ylvi reist nach Ahrenshoop an der Ostsee, um endlich zu erfahren, wer sie wirklich ist.

When Rosie’s parents were involved in a train accident, her mother was killed and her father left crippled, unable to earn a living and relying on Rosie to keep the wolf from the door. With her mother gone and her sweetheart Adam away in the army, Rosie is lonely. She eagerly awaits the letters from him, but they never come. As she grows more disillusioned, Adam’s best friend Doug goes out of his way to be charming and attentive. Alone and confused, Rosie blossoms under his evil influence.

Italy, 1964. Maria Domenica is the eldest daughter in the Carrozza family from the tiny southern village of San Giulio. At 16, Maria's life is limited to the confines of her mother's rural kitchen (where she bakes bread every morning, the way the Carrozza women always have), and the Caffe Angeli, a place of friendship, strong espresso and famous ricotta sfolgliatelle. Her parents have high hopes for their beautiful first-born, but she has other plans.

Alicia Woodman was born into a home that should have been filled with comfort and joy. Her mother Elizabeth was bright and vivacious, Humphrey Woodman was a prosperous businessman. But Alicia was not Humphrey’s child and he would have nothing to do with her, and before long Elizabeth, too, turned her back on her daughter. It was left to Polly Ford, widow of a dock labourer, to bring Alicia up, to teach her to say ‘Yes, Mama’ and to give the child the love she so desperately needed.

Liverpool, 1928. Fifteen-year-old Annie Anderson was adopted by Sylvia and Hugh after the death of their own daughter. Annie is told that her own mother died in childbirth and her father died before she was born. A chance encounter introduces Annie to local lad Andrew Fraser. Their friendship blossoms, but once Annie's adoptive parents learn of it they forbid her from seeing him. When Annie asks why, it sets her on a path to discover more about her origins - but will what she learns bring heartache or joy?

Nell Reece has never known her mother, and her father's burden of guilt about his wife has kept him cowed for years, working as a common labourer on his sister's farm. For all her aunt's spiteful attempts to break Nell's independent spirit, she has never succeeded. But now Nell, pregnant and alone, is forced to leave behind the men in her life, believing she might never be able to return. With little but the clothes she wears, she travels across the Bedfordshire countryside of 1890. When she encounters a scruffy urchin called Kit, she takes him under her wing.

India, 1902. When Lilly Myerson is summoned by her mother to spend one hot summer in Nainital, she leaps at the opportunity. It's the only way to escape her violent and controlling husband Royce, but in return, he forces her to leave behind her beloved son Teddy. In Nainital, Lilly meets Duffy, tiger tamer at the renowned Tiffert's Circus, and together they hatch a plan. She will join the circus, create a new identity, and earn her independence—and hopefully enough money to rescue her son.

In Iraq, Captain Matthew Duffy, recruited by British Intelligence, once more faces a German enemy. But Matthew is confused by his attraction to Diane, now working for the Germans, and finds himself having to make a hard decision. Just as he is coming to terms with his choice, he meets his estranged son, James Barrington Jnr. Back in Sydney, George Macintosh is determined to keep control of his business empire and to prevent his nephew David from taking a seat on the Board. Meanwhile, George’s son Donald is packed off to the family station Glen View.

Hull, 1856. James Ripley and his wife Moira have always looked out for the poor of Hull. When, during one stormy night, there is a flood in a nearby cellar—a popular shelter for the homeless—James rushes to help. Among those rescued is a dark-haired little girl who speaks a language no one can understand. Some say that she came to the cellar with her mother, but no one knows where the mother is now. Concerned for the child's safety, James is unsure of what to do.

Molly McKenzie is only eleven years old when her abusive father beats her to within an inch of her life. Escaping from the hovel she calls home, Molly is found by kind fisherfolk, sick and near death. With them she experiences the love of a family for the first time and, even though life is hard, she is content. Time passes and Molly’s looking ahead to a future with the boy she loves, but then a terrible tragedy rips her life apart. Once again she’s cast adrift in an uncaring world, but Molly is made of stern stuff and is determined to survive.

Dartmoor, 1952. When fifteen-year-old Lily Hayes loses her mother, she finds herself at a crossroads: go to a children's home or leave the bright lights of London to live with her estranged father in the wilds of Dartmoor. Lily moves from London to Dartmoor determined and excited to find out the truth about her family. Her dour father, Sidney, can be sullen and he has a temper on him. He seems to want nothing to do with her, but Lily vows to make the best of things. And there are some things she is grateful for—especially the handsome and charming Edwin Franfield.

Following a scandalous affair, wayward Emma Devaney is sent in disgrace from her home in Ireland to Ryhope, where she will live with her widowed aunt, Bessie Brogan, and help run her pub. Bessie is kind but firm, and at first, Emma rebels against her lack of freedom. Struggling to fit in, she turns to the wrong person for comfort, and becomes pregnant. Accepting she must embrace her new life for the sake of her baby, Emma pours her energy into making the pub thrive and he catches the attention of Robert, a gruff but sincere farmer, who means to win her heart.

The soldiers called her the Angel of Waterloo...Henrietta Bartlett, the esteemed surgeon's daughter who was born on a battlefield, lost her mother on a battlefield, and was widowed on the battlefield, where she worked alongside her father on that fateful day in June 1815. But after the carnage of war, Hen dreams of peace, and her own home, and a society that would allow a woman to practice medicine. The new and faraway colony of New South Wales seems a paradise, where even convicts have a chance of a good life.

After their dreams of starting a family are crushed, Philippa and her husband Marco need a fresh start. Focusing on repairing the crumbling walls and leaking roof of the Cotswolds house they impulsively bought seems easier work than repairing their relationship. When Philippa finds a hidden memorial hidden deep in the garden, the discovery only pushes them further apart. But as Philippa determines to uncover the truth behind the memorial, could the secrets it reveals be the key to finally putting their heartbreak to rest?

It's August 1917, and WW1 continues to take a toll. The villagers of Dorcalon try to keep hope alive, but every day brings fresh tragedy as more are killed on foreign battlefields. Elizabeth Meredith, daughter of mine manager Herbert, enjoys a privileged position in the village, but she longs to break free of society's expectations. Falling in love with miner Gwilym Owen brings more joy to her life than she's ever known...until she's forced to choose between her love and her disapproving family.

Sumatra, 1902. De rijke landeigenaar Paul ontmoet de knappe, veelbelovende violiste Rose. Het is liefde op het eerste gezicht, maar kort na het begin van hun ontluikende affaire verdwijnt Paul spoorloos. Dit heeft grote gevolgen voor het leven en de carrière van Rose: ze zal nooit meer vioolspelen. Berlijn, 2009. Lilly krijgt een prachtige oude viool in handen. Als ze op zoek gaat naar de geschiedenis ervan, blijkt die verbonden te zijn met haar eigen familiegeschiedenis.

Viktoriaanisen ajan Australia hehkuu rakkautta ja häikäilemättömyyttä. Kun 17-vuotiaan Nora Tamasinin isä kuolee etsiessään kultaa Australiasta, tämä jättää tyttärensä yhtiökumppaninsa, pahamaineisen Charles Herrickin huostaan. Nora jättää taakseen Englannin ja muuttaa Australiaan akaasioiden, eukalyptusten ja kultakuumeen maahan. Uudessa kotimaassaan Nora tuntee vetoa Herrickin poikaan Stirlingiin. Herrickillä on kuitenkin muita suunnitelmia hänen varalleen. Pian Nora saa huomata, että Charles Herrick on mies, joka haluaa kostaa kokemansa vääryydet – hinnalla millä hyvänsä.

It's the summer of 1982 in Blacksburg, Virginia - seven years after the suspicious death of a son and sibling - and the Sobel family is hungry. Francie dresses in tennis skirts and ankle socks and weighs her grams of allotted carrots and iceberg lettuce. Her semi-estranged husband, Tate, prefers a packed fridge and hidden doughnuts. Daughters Enid, 10, and Vivvy, almost 13, are subtler versions of their parents, measuring their summer vacation by meals had or meals skipped. But at summer's end, secrets both old and new emerge.

Marina is born of privilege. Her mother, Sveta, is the Soviet Union’s prima ballerina; an international star handpicked by the regime. But Sveta is afflicted with a mysterious second sight and becomes obsessed with exposing a horrific state secret. Then she disappears. Fearing for their lives, Marina and her father defect to Brooklyn. Marina struggles to reestablish herself as a dancer at the American School of Ballet. But her enigmatic partner, Sergei, makes concentration almost impossible, as does the fact that Marina shares her mother’s "gift"....