World War Saga

After 20 years away, Jo Devereux flies home to Ireland for her mother’s funeral—the mother she hasn’t spoken to for more than two decades. Every minute there reminds her of all the reasons she left, and she has no desire to reacquaint herself with her home village. Or with Rory O’Donovan, her lost love. Then she reads her mother’s will. Her inheritance is a chest full of letters and journals, written by her grandmother and great-aunt, that answer a long-held secret. Who murdered her great-uncle in the Irish Civil War...and why?

In the charnel house that was Europe in the Second World War, there were few instances of shining moral courage, let alone secular sainthood. Dietrich Bonhoeffer, the German theologian and Nazi resister, was the exception. This emblematic figure risked his life, and finally lost it, through his participation in a failed plot to assassinate Hitler and topple his regime.

When Hazel is given the chance to parachute into Nazi-occupied France, she seizes the opportunity to do more for the British war effort than file paperwork. Alongside her childhood friend, French-born Rose, she quickly rises up the ranks of the freedom fighters. For Rose, the Resistance is a link to her late husband, and a way to move forward without him. What starts out as helping downed airmen becomes a bigger cause when they meet Sophia, a German escapee and fierce critic of Hitler who is wanted by the Gestapo.

Renowned as FDR's favorite warship, the cruiser USS Houston was a prize target trapped in the far Pacific after Pearl Harbor. Without hope of reinforcement, her crew faced a superior Japanese force ruthlessly committed to total conquest. But the men of the Houston fought back with dignity, ingenuity, sabotage, willpower, and the undying faith that their country would prevail.

It's 1911, and Greta Goldbaum is forced to move from glittering Vienna to damp England to wed Albert, a distant cousin. The Goldbaum family are one of the wealthiest in the world, with palaces across Europe, but as Jews and perpetual outsiders, they know that strength lies in family. But World War I looms, and even the influential Goldbaums cannot alter its course. For the first time in 200 years, the family will find itself on opposing sides, and Greta will have to choose: the family she's created, or the one she left behind.

Alice is nursing an injured hand and a broken heart when she moves to the village of Churchwood at the start of WWII. She is desperate to be independent but worries that her injuries will make that impossible. Kate lives with her family on Brimbles Farm, where her father and brothers treat her no better than a servant. With no mother or sisters, and shunned by the locals, Kate longs for a friend of her own. Naomi is looked up to for owning the best house in the village. But privately, she carries the hurts of childlessness.

Loch Ewe, 1940. When gamekeeper's daughter Flora's remote highland village finds itself the base for the Royal Navy's Arctic convoys, life in her close-knit community changes forever. In defiance of his disapproving father, the laird's son falls in love with Flora, and as tensions build in their disrupted home, any chance of their happiness seems doomed.

War rages, but the women and children of Liverpool’s Dr Barnardo’s Home cannot give up hope.... Liverpool, 1943. Yorkshire is the place Lana has always called home, but it’s now filled with painful memories of her fiancé, Dickie, who was killed at sea. When she accepts the challenging position of headmistress at a school in Liverpool, she hopes a new beginning will help to mend her broken heart.

Cinco famílias, cinco países e cinco destinos marcados por um período dramático da história. Queda de gigantes, primeiro volume da trilogia "O Século", de Ken Follett, começa no despertar do século XX, quando ventos de mudança ameaçam o frágil equilíbrio de forças existente—as potências da Europa estão prestes a entrar em guerra, os trabalhadores não aguentam mais ser explorados pela aristocracia e as mulheres clamam por seus direitos.

Elise is a true daughter of the chateau. She’d die before anything happened to Sainte Madeleine–even if it means betraying her own family. Alexandre, Elise’s brother, is destined to inherit–yet a dangerous rift with their father puts his future, and the chateau, in jeopardy. And for distant cousin Laurent, his life-long love for Elise will always call him back to Sainte Madeleine. But the peace of Europe rests on a knife-edge, and history has bigger plans than them all.

June 1942. Grace Sinclair never meant to sign up to the ATS, but when her parents made it clear she had to marry a man she hated, Grace ran away to the safety of the army. But with her cut-glass accent and upper-class ways, Grace finds it hard to fit in with the other girls and begins to think she has made a terrible mistake. Things get worse for Grace when she meets dashing Squadron Leader Chris Holloway who shares sad and shocking news about Grace’s brother. Heartbroken, Grace confides in fellow ATS girl Ruth who offers her a shoulder to cry on.

From the time of William the Conqueror, the Beaumonts have enjoyed the privileges of wealth and position. Their pleasure is to be nothing more than farmers and knights of the realm. Nevertheless, with the dawn of the 20th century, a stray artillery shell slays the current baronet and Thomas Beaumont finds himself the new incumbent, but with no farming knowledge, his first instinct is to run. However, the family motto reads: Where there is a will, there is a way. Sir Thomas finds his way, and by the end of the war, the future looks brighter. Then another deadly crisis rears its head.

There are new residents at Goodwill House—WAAF drivers Camilla ‘Millie’ Cunningham and Diane Forsyth, both eager to do their bit for the war effort and excited to help the brave boys who fly. And when Millie meets dashing and heroic Spitfire pilot Ted Thorrington, they strike up an instant connection. But with Hitler gaining more ground in Europe, there is danger brewing across the Channel in Dunkirk and Ted is required to fly more and more dangerous sorties, risking his life every time. With their hearts and lives on the line, the courage of the girls in blue will be tested.

Scotland, 1942. The Lumberjills, the newest recruits in the Women’s Timber Corps, arrive in the Scottish Highlands to a hostile reception from doubtful locals. The young women are determined to prove them wrong and serve their country – but they’re also all looking for something more. Can the Lumberjills get through their struggles together – even when tragedy strikes?

As WWII rages, paratrooper Clyde Cooper sets sail for Panama. Expecting to be reunited with his cousin, Shawn, Clyde instead arrives to find his patriotic cousin missing. The Army brass share only scant information regarding Shawn’s last known whereabouts. Is he a casualty of war? Or is the military purposefully covering up his fate?

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.

Victory Girls is the sixth poignant saga in Helen Carey's much-loved Lavender Road series, set in south London during the Second World War. Not to be missed by fans of Katie Flynn, Annie Murray and Lilian Harry. August 1944. Allied troops are fighting their way across Europe. But rocket attacks on London are a chilling reminder that the war is far from over. Helen knows all too well how dangerous it is in war-torn France. But it's a long time since she heard from her French fiancé, Andre, and nothing is going to stop her going back to track him down before he is lost to her forever.

When journalist Ella Franks is unmasked as a woman writing under a male pseudonym, she loses her job. But having risked everything to write, she refuses to be silenced and leaps at the chance to become a correspondent in war-torn France. Already entrenched in the thoroughly male arena of war reporting is feisty American photojournalist Danni Bradford. Together with her best friend and partner, Andy, she is determined to cover the events unfolding in Normandy. And to discover the whereabouts of Andy’s sister, who has followed a lover into the French Resistance.

The phony war is over and Hitler is beginning his rampage through Europe. But back home Barbara Sinclair has troubles of her own. With her wedding to Spitfire Pilot Alex Everton imminent, Barbara is worried about a secret she is keeping from her new husband – one that could ruin everything. Determined to try and maintain some normality in her life, the wedding goes ahead, but Alex leaves almost immediately to continue fighting the Germans. Barbara fears for his safety and for the moment, her secret must wait. But when bombs fall on Barbara’s new home, the war feels closer than ever.

Spring, 1941. The families of Jubilee Row are still reeling from the loss of one of their own, and as the Blitz on Hull intensifies, it seems as if there will be more tragedies to come. As the street braces itself, capable mum Ruby Maguire takes charge as usual, bolstering spirits and lending a hand, as well as keeping her flighty sister Pearl on the straight and narrow. But the unexpected appearance of a face from her past threatens Ruby's future far more than Hitler's bombs. Meanwhile, the other inhabitants of Jubilee Row are finding love - and hope - in the most unexpected places.