Historical War Saga

Set in the lush Big Band era of the 1940s and World War II, this spellbinding saga from beloved New York Times best-selling author Adriana Trigiani tells the story of two talented working class kids who marry and become a successful singing act, until time, temptation, and the responsibilities of home and family derail their dreams.

Peace has finally been declared in the Far East, but for those living at Beach View Boarding House, the news brings mixed emotions. Peggy Reilly is devastated that her husband, Jim, will not be coming home for Christmas. And Sarah and Jane, who have lived at Beach View throughout much of the conflict, dread what they will find when they go back to Singapore. Life in Cliffehaven is in a whirlwind of change as the men return from the war and Peggy’s evacuee chicks begin to spread their wings and start new lives in different corners of the world.

Epic in scope, Marge Piercy's sweeping novel encompasses the wide range of people and places marked by the Second World War. Each of her 10 narrators has a unique and compelling story that powerfully depicts his or her personality, desires, and fears. Special attention is given to the women of the war effort, like Bernice, who rebels against her domineering father to become a fighter pilot, and Naomi, a Parisian Jew sent to live with relatives in Detroit, whose twin sister, Jacqueline - still in France - joins the resistance against Nazi rule.

1942. Evie Sinclair has enlisted in the ATS to serve her country. Her mother disapproves, wanting her to stay and help run the household, but her father supports her bid for independence. Though conditions are austere and the training is intense, Evie is proud to become a qualified gunner girl, part of the team operating the anti-aircraft batteries. When she meets RAF bomber pilot Matt Goodwin at a dance, it's not long before they fall in love. But then tragedy strikes. Matt is killed on a mission, leaving Evie bereft - and expecting a child.

Russia, 1917. Petrograd is on the eve of revolution. For Countess Sophia Orlova, the city of her childhood—the only home she has ever known—has become her deadly enemy. The mob are ready to get rid of anyone connected to the old regime, including Sophia. When rebels threaten to shoot Sophia and her husband, they are saved by Nikolai, a fervent supporter of the revolution. Determined to help Nikolai’s cause, Sophia sets up a hospital wing in the house, nursing injured victims by his side.

The three sisters of Victory Walk in East London will face heartache and tears on the home front. As rationing, blackouts and bombs start to bite, life will change forever for the three sisters.

After five long years of endless warfare, Red Cross nurse Kitty Pattison has seen her share of heartbreak and loss. And now, with her beloved fiancé Dr Michael McCarthy recuperating from a head injury across the ocean in Canada, and her dear friends Trixie and Jo scattered to the four corners of the war effort, it’s harder than ever to battle through the heavy-hearted moments that mark the passing days. But as she tends to the lost and wounded, Kitty finds a resilience of spirit within herself she never thought imaginable

It is 1940s coastal Lincolnshire, and Carolyn Holmes is keen to do what she can for the war effort. Raised on the family farm, she battles with her mother to further her education, although nothing is too good for her brother. Phyllis Carter, a bitter widow from the Great War, lives close by with her son, who works on the farm. When Peter decides to volunteer, a distraught Phyllis blames Carolyn, who leaves to join the ATS where she meets Beryl. Carolyn and Beryl are posted to Beaumanor Hall in Leicestershire as ‘listeners’, the most difficult of signals intelligence gathering.

War and Peace is one of the greatest monuments in world literature. Set against the dramatic backdrop of the Napoleonic Wars, it examines the relationship between the individual and the relentless march of history. Here are the universal themes of love and hate, ambition and despair, youth and age, expressed with a swirling vitality which makes the story as accessible today as it was when it was first published in 1869.

Set in a luxurious grand hotel just outside Lisbon, at the height of the Second World War, Estoril is a delightful and poignant novel about exile, divided loyalties, fear and survival. The hotel's guests include spies, fallen kings, refugees from the Balkans, Nazis, American diplomats and stateless Jews. The Portuguese secret police broodingly observe the visitors, terrified that their country's neutrality will be compromised. The novel seamlessly fuses the stories of its invented characters with appearances by historical figures.

The year is 878 and Wessex is free from the Vikings.Uhtred, the dispossessed son of a Northumbrian lord, helped Alfred win that victory, but now he is disgusted by Alfred's lack of generosity and repelled by the king's insistent piety. He flees Wessex, going back north to seek revenge for the killing of his foster father and to rescue his stepsister, captured in the same raid. He needs to find his old enemy, Kjartan, a renegade Danish lord who lurks in the formidable stronghold of Dunholm.

A British nurse in WWI Egypt races to deliver explosive intelligence that could change the course of the war in this novel of suspense, adventure, and love.

When her husband returns shell-shocked and broken from the Great War and his mother makes her life a misery, Betty Wellow discovers how bitter and hard life can truly be. But it is not until a devastating storm sweeps through their small fishing village and endangers her life that she sees her chance to escape - and takes it. Fleeing to Bristol, she changes her name to Mabel Brook and takes a position as a maid. But tragedy strikes once more after the sudden death of her mistress, and she is cast back onto the streets.

1939. When the man Georgie has always loved is sent to France on a secret mission, every knock of the door fills her with dread. Beth is determined to do her bit for the war effort. Caught up in a whirlwind romance, she marries only to become a war widow. Desperately trying to make her way back from Paris to her family in England, a fateful and tragic encounter brings Hetty to Chateau de Faubourg, where she joins the resistance.

It is 1805 and Ensign Richard Sharpe, having secured a reputation as a fighting soldier in India, is on his way home to join the newly formed Green Jackets. The voyage should be a period of rest but his ship is riven with treachery and threatened by a formidable French warship, the Revenant, which is terrorizing British shipping in the Indian ocean. An old opponent of Sharpe's is aboard his ship, and the voyage is further disturbed by the Lady Grace Hale, apparently as unreachable as she is beautiful.

Abandoned when she was tiny, Maisie Reynolds was separated from her twin brother and forced to grow up in Holly Bush orphanage - a place where she has never known love or kindness. But with the world at war and Hitler’s devastating bombs coming ever closer, fate has other plans for Maisie, and a secret from her past changes everything. When she meets handsome Canadian paratrooper Cam, Maisie learns that love might not be lost to her after all - but not before her past life and D Day bring a tragic twist to her happiness.

Bianca Monroe knows one thing: No god or demigod is going to destroy her forest. Letum Wood is under her protection. When demigods and gods antagonize Alkarra, she's not about to step back and let the gods take control. Natural disasters, unexpected challenges, and crushing god magic threaten to tear apart her home.

1940, London. When Cordelia accepts the post of head librarian in Silver Town Library, her mother is more than a little disapproving. The East End has high levels of poverty and illiteracy, and her mother says it’s no place for a woman of her status. But Cordelia is determined to make a difference in these times of strife, and along with her colleagues, Jane and Mavis, she begins to help the local community, making sure everyone knows what the library can offer them. And maybe even a romance will blossom.

In Secrets at Bletchley Park by Margaret Dickinson, two young women from very different backgrounds meet in the Second World War and are plunged into a life where security and discretion are paramount. But both have secrets of their own to hide.

London 1917. As the Americans enter the war, there is renewed energy in the war effort. With husbands and sons fighting for freedom, the women of Harpers are left to tackle the day-to-day affairs at home and work. With Ben Harper away, Sally fears she is being followed by a mysterious woman. Who is she, and what does she want? Maggie Gibbs collapses seriously ill in the frontline hospitals and is brought back to England close to death. Can she be saved, and what does the future hold for her and her broken heart?