Service Alert
Delay in delivery of Direct to Player materials
You may experience a delay in delivery of Direct to Player materials. All requests for materials will be delivered as soon as possible. Thank you for your patience.
You may experience a delay in delivery of Direct to Player materials. All requests for materials will be delivered as soon as possible. Thank you for your patience.
Showing 43501 - 43520 of 43962 items
If you like Catherine Cookson, Dilly Court and Katie Flynn, then you will love this breath-taking saga of one of…
love, passion, betrayal, tragedy and longing by much loved author Jess Foley. This unmissable and unputdownable saga is one you will never forget...'Compulsive and well-paced' -- Wiltshire Times'A gripping saga... What makes this particular novel such compelling reading is its expertly researched background... The author writes with exuberance and style, and the central characters are totally convincing.' -- Northampton Chronicle & Echo'A stunning read' -- ***** Reader review'Excellent read - I couldn't put in down' -- ***** Reader review'This book is really good: it's sad, exciting, tragic - you have it all in this book' -- ***** Reader review*******************************************************************ONE WOMAN'S STRUGGLE FOR HAPPINESSHaving spent her childhood with a cold, unfeeling stepmother, Lily Clair's life is changed for ever when she is sent as general maid to old friends of her family. When Joel - handsome son of a wealthy entrepreneur - enters her life, their meeting is for Lily, young and vulnerable, a revelation.Riding high on the crest of her new-found happiness she is in no way prepared for the violent attack that comes in the night, or for its devastating, life-changing consequences. But she must live with the consequences as, with a shattered heart, she deals with one hand of fate after another.In her search for happiness, Lily is a woman who will capture your heart and stay with you forever...By Katie Flynn. 1999
Set in Liverpool in the 1920s, this is a heartwarming tale of triumph over adversity, from the Sunday Times bestselling…
saga author, Katie Flynn.Dympna Byrnes lives a simple life with her family on the Connemara coast. She adores her father Micheál, and does her best to help her family by working hard and expecting little.But beneath the surface there are hidden secrets. Dympna’s mother idolises her clever eldest son, yet her attitude to Dympna is puzzling. So when her family find themselves in desperate need of money, it is Dympna who crosses the water to Liverpool to seek a better life. Immersed in the bustling streets of Liverpool, Dympna’s circumstances begin to improve. But it is a chance encounter with orphaned, half-starved Jimmy Ruddock that sets her on an extraordinary path she never could have predicted…By Val Wood. 2016
When Lucy’s parents are killed in a train crash, her kindly uncle steps in to look after the little girl…
– to the initial apprehension of his wife and her son. However, Lucy’s sweet, spirited charm slowly wins over her new family, and as she overcomes the trauma of her childhood, she grows up inspired to become a doctor, just like her father.But studying medicine in London takes Lucy far from her home in Hull and the people she loves, and she has to battle to be accepted in a man’s world.With the dark clouds of the First World War gathering on the horizon, an even greater challenge approaches. Can a woman find her place on the front line of battle? Will Lucy be able to follow her dreams – and find love – in a world shattered by war?Val Wood's wonderful historical sagas are perfect for readers of Dilly Court, Maggie Hope and Rosie Goodwin.Perfect for fans of Donna Douglas and Nancy Revell, a feel-good, uplifting and funny saga set in post war London…
from Sunday Times bestseller Pip Granger. "A colourful, deeply nostalgic evocation of Soho in the Fifties, drawing heavily on the author's own childhood." -- CHOICE"She brings the East End to life" -- BARBARA WINDSOR"Lovely book - enjoyed it immensely. Very funny and very accurate of London in the 1950s." -- ***** Reader review"A brilliant, amusing, unputdownable book." -- ***** Reader review**********************************************THE WAR MAY BE LONG OVER BUT LIFE IN SOHO IS ANYTHING BUT CALM...1956: Lizzy is working in Soho when Peace, the daughter of her employer Bandy Bunion's estranged sister, comes to stay. Peace is a beautiful sixteen-year-old part-Chinese girl who has run away from boarding school and who has no intention of going back. Having lost her own daughter - Rosie's best friend - to leukaemia two years previously, she feels a special bond with Peace. She also feels that life has been rather quiet recently; but things are about to change dramatically... When Peace goes missing a second time, and no one knows where she's gone, it looks as though there's only one thing to do. Lizzy asks TC - her new man and a policeman - to help her find Peace, and the first place they must visit is the dock area in Limehouse...No Peace for the Wicked paints a picture of 1950s Soho so authentic you feel as though you are there...A magical and emotionally powerful novel from the Sunday Times bestselling author Susan Sallis, perfect for fans of Maeve Binchy,…
Fiona Valpy and Rosamunde Pilcher.READERS ARE LOVING NO MAN'S ISLAND, THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER! "This is my first Susan Sallis book and it certainly won't be my last." - 5 STARS"Couldn't put it down." - 5 STARS "I loved the way the story had a twist at the end. Great book." - 5 STARS*********************ON A WILD AND WINDSWEPT ISLAND, THE SECRETS OF THE PAST UNRAVEL...When she hears the news of the death of her ex-husband, Binnie feels like her tranquil life in the West Country is over. To her surprise, she discovers that he has left her the island in the beautiful archipelago off the coast of Cornwall and the dilapidated house where he spent his childhood, and Binnie has to take her family to the island - revisiting it for the first time in years - and work out what to do. As she becomes involved in the life of the island, and its inhabitants, she has to embark upon a whole new life and discovers many things about her husband - and her own past - that will change everything forever...By Leifur Eiricksson, Robert Cook. 1997
Written in the thirteenth century, Njal's Saga is a story that explores perennial human problems-from failed marriages to divided loyalties,…
from the law's inability to curb human passions to the terrible consequences when decent men and women are swept up in a tide of violence beyond their control. It is populated by memorable and complex characters like Gunnar of Hlidarendi, a powerful warrior with an aversion to killing, and the not-so-villainous Mord Valgardsson. Full of dreams, strange prophecies, violent power struggles, and fragile peace agreements, Njal's Saga tells the compelling story of a fifty-year blood feud that, despite its distance from us in time and place, is driven by passions familiar to us all. This Penguin Classics edition includes an introduction, chronology, index of characters, plot summary, explanatory notes, maps, and suggestions for further reading.By Maggie Bennett. 2006
This gripping saga about midwives, on and off duty, is perfect for fans of Call the Midwife, Katie Flynn, Dilly…
Court and Catherine Cookson. Let much loved author Maggie Bennett take you on a heartfelt and passionate journey with a group of women whose emotions and reactions are ultimately no different from the women they serve...READERS ARE LOVING NIGHTS ON, NIGHTS OFF'Loved this book' -- ***** Reader review'Extraordinary' -- ***** Reader review'Didn't want to put it down' -- ***** Reader review******************************************************************************************SOMETIMES THINGS REALLY ARE A MATTER OF LIFE AND DEATH...In the heightened atmosphere of a busy maternity unit, there are inevitable tensions between modern technology and the demands by some mothers for a 'natural childbirth'. For widowed midwife, Shirley Pierce, there is no argument: the safety of the baby is always paramount. Feeling passionate about this, she is never afraid to speak her mind.Her strongly held views are further deepened when she meets a young man who has been irrevocably brain-damaged since birth - and friendship blossoms into love of a kind.Shirley's defiant attitude and her refusal to heed the warnings of her friends lead to her involvement in a horrific tragedy, and she soon discovers that there is a heavy price to be paid for resisting authority...By Donna Douglas. 2015
Christmas 1941 and the nurses at the Nightingale are facing their toughest winter yet.With shortages everywhere, and every news bulletin…
announcing more defeats and losses, the British people are weary and demoralised and The Nightingale Hospital is suffering too. Millie is recently widowed and dealing with the demands of her family’s estate. It’s not long before her old world of The Nightingale begins to beckon, along with a long-lost love…Jess is struggling with her move from East London to the quiet of the countryside.Effie finds herself exiled to a quiet village, but the quiet doesn’t last for long as she soon finds excitement in the shape of a smooth-talking GI. As Christmas approaches, even the shelter of the countryside can’t protect the girls from heartache.By Donna Douglas. 2014
From the author of The Nightingale Girls, The Nightingale Sisters and The Nightingale Nurses – perfect for fans of Call…
the Midwife1937 sees new challenges for the trainee nursesDora and her old enemy Lucy are paired up on the children’s ward for the final three months of their training. The two nurses couldn’t seem more different, but they may have more in common than they think, as each hides a secret heartache. … and new faces at the NightingaleJess is the feisty eldest daughter of a notorious East End family and determined to prove herself as a ward maid. And new trainee nurse Effie can’t wait to escape her small Irish village, and make her way as a nurse in London. But Effie’s sister Katie soon begins to worry that Effie’s behaviour is out of control.Nightingales on call and in crisis: have they got what it takes?By Donna Douglas. 2015
As the war takes its toll, the Nightingale nurses must do their bit for king and country…Dora is the devoted…
mother of twin babies but, determined to help the war effort, she goes back to work at the Nightingale Hospital.More used to nights out in the West End, Jennifer and Cissy volunteer in the hope of tending to handsome soldiers. They soon find out that nursing isn’t quite what they were expecting.For shy and troubled Eve, the hospital provides an escape from the pressures of home, but the life of a nurse is never easy, especially at wartime.Can the nurses rally together while war rages all around them? And will the Nightingale Hospital survive the Blitz?By Donna Douglas. 2013
To the student nurses at The Nightingale hospital, the ward sisters are heartless and frightening, with impossibly high standards. But…
the sisters have troubles of their own... VioletThe new night sister is not all that she seems. Who is she and what dark secret is she hiding? As the mystery deepens, Sister Wren is determined to find out the truth. DoraThe student nurse is struggling with her own secret, and with her heartbreak over Nick, the man who got away. A new arrival on the ward brings the chance to put a smile back on her face. But can she really get over Nick so easily?MillieDora’s fellow student is also torn between the two men in her life. But then an unexpected friendship with an elderly patient makes her question where her heart – and her future – really lies.As the nation mourns the death of King George V, it seems as if nothing is ever going to be the same again, especially for the women at the Nightingale.Exciting and dramatic but tender and heartfelt; this is a novel that you will return to again and again. From…
the million copy and Sunday Times bestselling author Charlotte Bingham, for fans of Louise Douglas and Dinah Jefferies.'A novel rich in dramatic surprises... will have you frantically turning the pages.' - DAILY MAIL'One of Britain's most bankable novelists.' - THE DAILY EXPRESS'I laughed and cried at this tale, could visualise the characters, scenery and the story' - ***** Reader Review'Great book, grabs you on the first page' - ***** Reader Review************************************************************************A DARING DECISION COULD COST HER EVERYTHING...When Cassie Rosse becomes the first woman to train an English Derby winner with her horse, The Nightingale, she has every right to believe that success is hers at last.But life will never be simple for Cassie Rosse, not just because she is unable to move out from the long shadows cast by the early death of her husband, Tyrone, nor because she has an indomitable will to win in the man's world of racing, but because she has integrity.Against all advice, therefore, she decides to keep The Nightingale in training and race him as a four-year-old, a decision that triggers a set of circumstances which quickly turn her brilliant triumph into a nightmare...By Donna Douglas. 2013
‘Pay attention please, nurses. The next six months will be the most important of your lives’It’s the final year of…
training for three young nurses at The Nightingale Hospital… Helen is at a crossroads in her life as she battles with her domineering mother over both her love life and her future career.Dora can't stop loving Nick, who is married to her best friend, Ruby. But Ruby is hiding a dark secret with the potential to destroy Ruby's marriage. Millie is anxious about her fiance, sent to Spain to cover the Civil War, and things only get worse when she encounters a fortune teller who gives her a sinister warning. With war looming in Europe, and the East End of London squaring up to the threat of Oswald Mosley's blackshirts, the women of the Nightingale have to face their own challenges, at work and in love.From the author of The Nightingale Girls and The Nightingale Sisters, this is the perfect read for fans of Call the Midwife.By Donna Douglas. 2012
Three very different girls sign up as student nurses in 1936, while England is still mourning the death of George…
V. Dora is a tough East Ender, driven by ambition, but also desperate to escape her squalid, overcrowded home and her abusive stepfather. Helen is the quiet one, a mystery to her fellow nurses, avoiding fun, gossip and the limelight. In fact she is in the formidable shadow of her overbearing mother, who dominates every aspect of her life. Can a nursing career free Helen at last? The third of our heroines is naughty, rebellious Millie an aristocrat on the run from her conventional upper class life. She is doomed to clash over and over again with terrifying Sister Hyde and to get into scrape after scrape especially where men are concerned. This utterly delightful novel brings a London pre-war hospital vividly to life.The beloved Sunday Times bestselling author is back with a new, long-awaited Nightingale novel._________________________It's 1957, and three young women are…
beginning their nursing training at the Florence Nightingale Hospital in London's East End...Winnie desperately wants to win her mother's approval - but will following in her footsteps and becoming a nurse help?Tearaway Viv has never been one to follow the rules, though the Nightingale may help her mend her ways.Beth is following her late sister's dream by training as a nurse. Will it be the right path for her?There's a steep learning curve ahead. But with friendship on their side, the Nightingale Daughters are ready to rise to the challenge.By Donna Douglas. 2014
As Christmas 1938 approaches, the staff at the Nightingale Hospital have their own wishes for the festive season. Ward sister…
Frannie Wallace is hoping she won’t have to live through another war like the one that claimed her beloved fiance. But with bomb defences going up all around London, it seems as if her hopes are in vain. Staff Nurse Helen Dawson wants to find happiness again after the death of her husband Charlie. A handsome stranger seems to offer the chance she wants. But is she looking for love in the wrong place? Matron Kathleen Fox struggles to keep up morale amongst her nurses as the hospital faces the threat of evacuation. But while everyone else worries about the future of the Nightingale, it’s for her own future that Kathleen truly fears.As the country prepares itself for war, one thing is for sure – by the time next Christmas comes, nothing at the Nightingale Hospital will be the same again…By Donna Douglas. 2017
THE BRAND NEW NIGHTINGALES NOVEL BY SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLING AUTHOR DONNA DOUGLAS. _______________________It is Christmas, 1945. The war is over,…
but its scars remain. Matron Kathleen Fox has the job of putting the Nightingale Hospital back together. But memories and ghosts of those lost fill the bomb-damaged buildings, and she wonders if she's up to the task.In the name of festive cheer Kathleen decides to put on a Christmas Show for the patients. The idea is greeted with mixed feelings by the nurses, who are struggling with their own post-war problems. And the newly-formed rivalry between newcomer Assistant Matron Charlotte Davis and ward sister Violet Tanner is not helping matters.As rehearsals begin however, it seems the show is not just a tonic for the patients - could the Nightingale Christmas Show be just what the doctor ordered for the nurses too?By Donna Douglas. 2016
All that Dora Riley wants is her husband home safe for Christmas… The Nightingale Hospital, London, 1944: With her husband…
Nick away fighting, Dora struggles to keep the home fires burning and is put in charge of a ward full of German prisoners of war. Can she find it in her heart to care for her enemies? Fellow nurse Kitty thinks she might be falling for a German soldier, whilst Dora’s old friend Helen returns from Europe with a dark secret. Can the women overcome their prejudices and the troubles of their past to do their duty for their country?By Catherine Johnson. 2021
'Characterful, page-turning drama and a vivid mixture of research and imagination' - The Sunday Times A gripping tale of a…
group of larger-than-life con artists who roam the streets of eighteenth-century London. Cato Hopkins is the youngest member of Mother Hopkins's 'family' - a group of skilled fraudsters and pickpockets. There's Addy, who can become a very convincing boy when she needs to; the beautiful Bella, who can charm any rich young man out of his fortune; Sam, an escaped slave and Cato himself, a young boy, who Mother Hopkins has taught everything she knows.But old age is slowing Mother Hopkins down, and she wants to carry out one last con, a con to outdo all the cons that have gone before. And so the gang set about bringing ruin upon Captain Walker, a proud and cruel slave captain, who deserves to be taught a lesson or two .This emotional and uplifting saga full of twists and turns by the Sunday Times bestselling author Ruth Hamilton is a…
must - read for fans of Catherine Cookson, Dilly Court and Josephine Cox."I believe that Ruth Hamilton is very much the successor to Catherine Cookson. Her books are plot driven, they just rip along; laughs, weeps, love, they've got the lot, and they're quality writing as well" -- SARAH BROADHURST, RADIO FOUR"Read this book several times now. Can't put it down. Keep going back to it." -- ***** Reader review"Love Ruth Hamilton books. Always a good read." -- ***** Reader review"Enjoyed the book very much, just couldn't put it down." -- ***** Reader review************************************************************************CAN SHE FIND THE COURAGE SHE NEEDS?Kate Murray's father had never forgiven her for being born a girl: scrawny, red-haired, under-weight, and the last child his wife would bear, his hatred for his younger child was intense.Growing up in a world of constant rejection and seeing the way her Lancashire 'respectable poor' family tried to hide the cracks of a bad and violent marriage, she determined to find a life - a world where she was loved, was successful and where people were proud of her.Will she find the courage and fortitude she needs to become the woman she wants to be - successful, warm, forgiving, and able to give the love she had so lacked in her own life?