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Return of the Native
By Thomas Hardy. 2020
'Tremendous...utterly absorbing' Independent Proud, passionate Eustacia Vye marries Clym Yeobright in the hope that he will help her escape her…
cramped rural existence. But when their relationship falters and her old lover Damon Wildeve reappears with an unexpected inheritance, Eustacia is faced with a series of decisions upon which multiple lives depend. In a world where misunderstandings can be fatal, Hardy’s atmospheric tragedy moves inevitably towards a disastrous climax on the brooding wilds of Egdon Heath. 'Hardy's novels hold a Shakespearean power of creating a unique world' John Bayley See also: Jude the ObscureThe Return Of Reginald Perrin: (Reginald Perrin) (Reginald Perrin #3)
By David Nobbs. 1977
Sometimes you just need to get away...'Warm and life-enhancing, I wanted to move to Spain with these wonderful characters' Katie…
Fforde'A fabulous read celebrating the good things in life - fun, friends, family and food' Jill MansellFrom the bestselling author of Escape to the French Farmhouse comes a deliciously feel-good new story...Eliza has a full house! When her three children grew up and moved out, she downsized to a smaller property... but now they're all back. Every room in the house is taken and Eliza finds herself sharing her bed with her eldest daughter and her daughter's pug. Combined with the online course she's trying to finish, plus her job to fit in, there just isn't the peace and quiet that Eliza needs.So when an ad pops up on her laptop saying 'house-sitters wanted', Eliza can't resist the chance to escape. She ends up moving to a rural finca in southern Spain, looking after the owner's Iberico pigs, learning about secret gastronomic societies ... and finding a new zest for life and love along the way.-------------------------------------Readers have fallen in love with Retreat to the Spanish Sun'Perfect for a summer holiday read''You'll be craving tapas, Flamenco and the southern Spanish sun after reading this 5-star book''A lovely read from Jo Thomas, her books never fail to make me happy''A lovely, warm and sunny read''Fabulous location, delicious descriptions of food & drink & wonderful characters, an all round feel-good book'If you love Jo's books, her newest summer novel, Summer at the Ice Cream Cafe, is available now!The Reluctant Virgin
By K Grahame. 1999
On the face of it, Katrina Devonside has everything that a young and beautiful girl should want. The daughter of…
immensely wealthy parents and soon to inherit a fortune of her own, she appears to have the world at her feet.But there is one thing missing in her life. Although nearly twenty-one, she is still a virgin. Constantly regaled by her college friends concerning their many and lascivious sexual adventures, her frustrations are increasing by the day. Fascinated by their tales of bizarre and extreme encounters, she vows to outdo them all before her birthday.Reflections: A summer full of secrets spent in Devon
By Marcia Willett. 2019
'Riveting, moving and utterly feel-good' Daily MailCara, Cosmo and Sam learn that for everything lost, there is something to be…
gained . . .After her husband dies, Cara no longer wishes to live in their London home. On impulse, she sells it and goes to stay with her brother in Salcombe, Devon, while she plans her next move. There, she begins to look back at her life and reflect on the choices that have led her to this moment.Cosmo has also escaped – temporarily – from his life in the city, finding the south-west a relaxing and appealing fit, especially when he meets local girl, Amy. But is he being entirely truthful about what he’s left behind?Just out of uni, Sam has passed the Admiralty Interview Board and is set to follow in his naval father’s footsteps. His future is secure – but he feels cast adrift. With doubts and loosening family connections worrying him, an impartial new friend could be just the thing he needs. Forging a bond across the generations, can he and Cara help each other find the way to a new, happy chapter?Praise for Marcia Willett:'A beautifully woven tale of families and their secrets...' Liz Fenwick, bestselling author of The Cornish House'Sweeping powers of description transport her readers to another time and place' Rosanna LeyThe Red House Mystery
By A. A. Milne. 1922
Classic crime, at its very best.With a new introduction by Gyles Brandreth.The Red House is a country residence far removed…
from the world of the Hundred Acre Wood but its story has much of the same charm and wit. There is, of course, a murder, and when the local police fail to solve the crime, an amateur sleuth readily steps in. What follows is a delightful whodunnit with humour, excitement and a suitably surprising twist at the end.A. A. Milne loved detective stories and pays homage to Sherlock Holmes in his detective - the clever and charismatic Anthony Gillingham- and his assistant, Bill Beverley. This is classic crime at its very best.'I love his writing' P.G.WodehouseCurl up with this delicious collection of bite-sized treats from the queen of feel-good fiction! A Recipe for Happiness takes…
you through a year with No.1 bestselling author Jo Thomas and includes seven heartwarming short stories, tons of mouth-watering new recipes and some personal family memories for an insight into Jo's life and loves, along with an extract of her most recent novel. It's perfect for fans old and new!**Jo Thomas' new novel COUNTDOWN TO CHRISTMAS is out now in ebook and paperback!**Your favourite authors love Jo Thomas:'Bursting with flavour, adventure and romance' Ruth Jones'Delicious and delightful - Jo sweeps you away to a better place with every book, which are always filled with warmth, love and a big spoonful of happiness' Veronica Henry'Heart-warming, moving and romantic, with beautiful settings - what could be better?' Katie FfordeRaising The Roof
By Jane Wenham-Jones. 2001
Cari is devastated when her husband Martin leaves her for another woman. Her friend, wide-boy Nigel, persuades her to get…
a bank loan and buy a house to do up for rental, but it soon becomes apparent that he's contravened every rule and regulation in the book. She's lumbered with an infuriating mother, a friend who's permanently pregnant, and a friend who may be pregnant - but not by her husband - and her neurotic sister Juliette is on the verge of a nervous breakdown.Her first tenant, Gary, turns out to be a drug addict on benefit. He moves in a dozen mates and barricades Cari in the flat while the police are battering the door down, ensuring that she's arrested along with the squatters. And then her estranged husband announces that he wants to sell the house she's living in.Could life get any worse? At least her love life begins to get interesting. Pursued by spinsterish Henry, she has a fling with TV interviewer Guy, and then there's closet opera fan Ben the Builder, reassuring and more than presentable.Cari writes a wish list: (a) Make some money (b) Lose some weight (c) Find someone to have a grand passion with and (d) Become so rich and successful that Martin is consumed with jealousy. And suddenly, all her wishes begin to be answered...Perfect for fans of Kitty Neale, Rosie Goodwin and Dilly Court, this is an emotional and powerful saga by multi-million…
copy seller Elvi Rhodes.READERS ARE LOVING THE RAINBOW THROUGH THE RAIN!"I cannot tell you how much I have enjoyed this book." -- ***** Reader review"Thoroughly enjoyed this book" -- ***** Reader review"Excellent read - I love all Elvi Rhodes books" -- ***** Reader review****************************AS THE STORM CLOUDS OF WAR GATHER, WILL HER LIFE BE THE ONE SHE DREAMED OF?The Brogdens are one of Chalywell's most important families: their antique business is famous for its beautiful furniture and pictures. But the most beautiful - and valuable - thing in Old Jacob Brogden's life is his granddaughter, Lois - for Lois reminds him of the daughter he had lost so tragically many years ago. When Lois falls in love with John Farrar, the whole family are dismayed, for between Jacob and the Farrars lies a deep and abiding feud that can never be mended. Lois, conscious of the storm clouds of war gathering over her future, determines that nothing and no-one should come between her and her beloved John. But as war breaks out and families are torn apart, Lois finds her life changing irrevocably.The Railway Girls: Their bond will see them through (The railway girls series #1)
By Maisie Thomas. 2020
The first novel in the wonderful new Railway Girls series, perfect for fans of Nancy Revell and Ellie Dean._____________________ 'Stunning…
writing [and] perfectly paced' Frost Magazine'A story of true friendship, love, loss and trust' Candis _____________________In February, 1922, at the western-most entrance to Victoria Station in Manchester, a massive plaque was unveiled. Beneath a vast tiled map showing the lines of the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway network, a series of seven bronze panels recorded the names of the men of the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway who gave their lives for King and Country in the Great War - a total of 1,460 names.In March, 1940, a group of women of varying ages and backgrounds, stand in front of the memorial, ready to do their bit in this new World War..._____________________Mabel is determined to make a fresh start as a railway girl where no one will know the terrible thing she did and she can put her guilt behind her... Or is she just running away?Meanwhile Joan will never be as good as her sister, or so her Gran keeps telling her. A new job as a station clerk could be just the thing she needs to forget her troubles at home.And Dot is further into her forties than she cares to admit. Her beloved sons are away fighting and her husband - well, the less said about him the better. Ratty old sod. She is anxious to become a railway girl just like her dear mam - anything to feel she is supporting the sons she prays for every night.The three women start off as strangers, but soon form an unbreakable bond that will get them through the toughest of times..._____________________ **Maisie's brand new novel THE RAILWAY GIRLS IN LOVE is available to pre-order now. Just search: 9781787463981**The Railway Children
By E Nesbit. 2012
'"Stand firm'" said Peter, "and wave like mad!"' They were not railway children to begin with. When their Father mysteriously…
leaves home Roberta (everyone calls her Bobbie), Phyllis and Peter must move to a small cottage in the countryside with Mother. It is a bitter blow to leave their London home, but soon they discover the hills and valleys, the canal and of course, the railway. But with the thrilling rush and rattle and roar of the trains comes danger too. Will the brave trio come to the rescue? And most importantly, can they solve the disappearance of their Father?BACKSTORY: Find out all about steam trains and learn what it was really like to be a child in Edwardian times.Rags to Riches
By Maggie Ford. 1997
In the 1920s, nobody is safe from scandal...Amy Harrington leads a privileged life out in London society. Her maid, Alice…
Jordan, lives in the poverty-ridden East End. But when a disgraced Amy is disowned by her parents and fiancé, Alice is the only person she can turn to…Forced to give up her life of luxury, Amy lodges with Alice’s friendly working class family. But while Amy hatches a plan to get revenge on her former love who caused her downfall, Alice finds herself swept into the glittering society her mistress has just lost. And when Amy meets Alice’s handsome older brother Tom, they can only hope that love can conquer all… Will the two girls ever lead the lives they dream of?The Rag Maiden: a new emotional and heartwarming family saga
By Libby Ashworth. 2024
One woman dreams of a better life for her family – but how do you find it when all you've…
ever known is poverty?Ireland, 1848 The potato famine has left the Cavanah family destitute. Kitty and Peter manage to secure tickets for America - seeking hope in an unknown land. But still fortune will not favour them. On a terrifying crossing of the Irish Sea, Peter vanishes, and with him their tickets.Now, Kitty and her young family are stranded in Liverpool - with not a penny to their name. Facing prejudice and distrust, they move to Blackburn, where the welcome is no warmer, but Kitty at least can gather rags and scraps to exchange for a coin or two. She refuses to give up hope - on finding Peter, on getting to America. Yet Kitty knows they are just one bad day away from the evils of the workhouse . . .The Rag Maiden is a powerful and enthralling tale of one woman's struggle to save her family.From the pen of multi-million copy seller and Sunday Times bestselling author Susan Sallis comes beautifully written, enthralling and captivating…
novel that asks whether friendships really can endure through thick and thin. Readers of Rosamunde Pilcher, Maeve Binchy and Fiona Valpy will not be disappointed.'Sallis's West Country novel has the feel of Mary Wesley and character insight that is all her own' -- Daily Mail'Sallis brings out the innate warmth and sometimes unpredictability of the human psyche. This compelling tale will not disappoint' -- Lancashire Evening Post'Excellent read, very enjoyable' - ***** Reader review'Wonderful' - ***** Reader review'I love her books and the way that she takes you right into the story...You can tell I am a big fan!' - ***** Reader review'Brilliant, I couldn't put it down.' - ***** Reader review*********************************************************************FRIENDS SINCE CHILDHOOD, THEY THOUGHT NOTHING COULD COME BETWEEN THEM...1943: two schoolgirls, Rachel and Meriel, best friends, amuse themselves by tracking down imaginary German spies. It all seems a harmless way of whiling away the long school holidays, until their game turns into a frightening reality, the consequences of which affect their whole lives.Rachel becomes a reporter on the local paper while Meriel, a GI bride, goes to live in Florida.But the bonds which hold them together can never be broken, as the secrets and scandals which first surfaced in those far-off wartime days eventually come to light.Queenie
By Jacqueline Wilson. 2013
It's 1953, the year Elizabeth is to be crowned Queen of England. Elsie Kettle can't wait to go to London…
to see the celebrations on Coronation Day. Elsie lives with her Nan - her mum works as a showgirl, so she's not around very often. Spirited and imaginative, but often lonely, Elsie longs for a best friend. Luckily, she and Nan are very close; Elsie just wishes she was allowed a cat to keep her company sometimes.Then tragedy strikes. Nan and Elsie both fall ill with tuberculosis, and Elsie finds herself whisked away to the children's ward of the hospital. Confined to bed for months on end, Elsie finds it very hard to adapt to the hospital's strict regime. But she invents astonishing ways of entertaining the other children on the ward, and for the first time finds herself surrounded by true friends - including Queenie, the hospital's majestic white cat.Finally, Elsie is well enough to leave hospital. But before she does, she has one very special, very unexpected visitor...A master storyteller - The Good Book GuideQuarter Tones
By Susan Mann. 2007
The most important things are hardest to find words for, her father once said. That's why people make music.When Ana…
returns to the ramshackle cottage of her youth in the seaside village of Noordhoek, near Cape Town, she does so with the intention of sorting out her father's affairs. It soon becomes clear that more is at stake. After a decade in London, where she has failed to find work as a musician, her return to South Africa puts further distance into an already strained marriage, not only because she is out of reach, but because Michael, her husband, has lost faith in the country.Quick to welcome her is her neighbour, Franz van der Veer, an architect searching for redemption. This is further complicated by the arrival of his eccentric brother, Daniel. Against a tangle of childhood memories, scarred histories and renewed hope, Ana finally starts to confront the death of Sam, her Irish luthier father, and with it, questions of guilt and belonging. Lyrical and beautifully told, Quarter Tones is a story about music and love and loss.Puckoon
By Spike Milligan. 1963
DISCOVER PUCKOON, SPIKE MILLIGAN'S CLASSIC SLAPSTICK NOVEL 'Pops with the erratic brilliance of a careless match in a box of…
fireworks' Daily MailIn 1924 the Boundary Commission is tasked with creating the new official division between Northern Ireland and the Irish Free State. Through incompetence, dereliction of duty and sheer perversity, the border ends up running through the middle of the small town of Puckoon.Houses are divided from outhouses, husbands separated from wives, bars are cut off from their patrons, churches sundered from graveyards. And in the middle of it all is poor Dan Milligan, our feckless protagonist, who is taunted and manipulated by everyone (including the sadistic author) to try and make some sense of this mess . . .'Bursts at the seams with superb comic characters involved in unbelievably likely troubles on the Irish border' Observer'Our first comic philosopher' Eddie IzzardFall in love with Jilly Cooper, one of Britain's most popular authors, in this fabulously frothy rom-com. Fans of Jojo…
Moyes, Marian Keyes, Dolly Alderton and Jane Fallon will love this witty and whimsical read - the perfect dose of laugh-out-loud escapism!'Unputdownable' -- Marian Keyes'Joyful and mischievous' -- Jojo Moyes'The funniest and sharpest writer there is' -- Jenny Colgan'Flawlessly entertaining' -- Helen Fielding'An absolute delight to read' -- ***** Reader review'The pages just whizzed by and I'm gutted to have finished it' -- ***** Reader review'Frothy, light, humorous.....loving it' -- ***** Reader review'Couldn't put it down' -- ***** Reader review'Wonderful writing from Jilly, she really grabs you and pulls in you the book' -- ***** Reader review****************************************************************************************The trouble with the Mulholland family, Prudence decided, was that they were all in love with the wrong people. She'd been overjoyed when Pendle, her super-cool barrister boyfriend, invited her home for the weekend to meet his family.But home turned out to be a decaying mansion in the Lake District, and family were his glamorous, scatty mother who forgot the mounting bills by throwing wild parties, and brothers, Ace, dark and forbidding, and Jack, handsome, married and only too ready to take over with Pru if Pendle didn't get a move on.It was only when she noticed the way Pendle looked at Jack's wife Maggie that it began to dawn on Pru that there was more to this weekend than met the eye.It looked like a non-stop game of changing partners . . .The Prophet (Penguin Modern Classics)
By Kahlil Gibran. 1923
A hugely influential philosophical work of prose poetry, Kahlil Gibran's The Prophet is an inspirational, allegorical guide to living, and…
this Penguin Modern Classics edition includes an introduction by Robin Waterfield.First published in the 1920's, The Prophet is perhaps the most famous work of religious fiction of the twentieth century, and has sold millions of copies in more than twenty languages. Gibran's Prophet speaks of many things central to daily life: love, marriage, death, beauty, passion, eating, work and play. The spiritual message he imparts, of finding divinity through love, blends eastern mysticism, religious faith and philosophy with simple advice. The Prophet became the bible of 1960s culture and was credited with founding the New Age movement, yet it still continues to inspire people around the world today. This edition is illustrated with Gibran's famous visionary paintings.Kahlil Gibran (1883-1931) was a poet, philosopher and artist, who stands among the most important Arabic language authors of the early twentieth century. Born in Lebanon, he spent the last twenty years of his life in the United States, where for many years he was the leader of a Lebansese writing circle in New York. He is the author of numerous volumes, including The Garden of the Prophet, The Storm, The Beloved: Reflections on the Path of the Heart, The Vision, Reflections on the Way of the Soul, and Spirit Brides. If you enjoyed The Prophet, you might like Herman Hesse's Siddhartha, also available in Penguin Modern Classics.'His work goes on from generation to generation'Daily Mail'To read it was to transcend ordinary levels of perception, to become aware ... of a more intense level of being'IndependentWartime memories evoke both pain and happiness in this heart-warming novel from multi-million copy seller and Sunday Times bestselling author…
Susan Sallis. Readers of Rosamunde Pilcher, Maeve Binchy and Fiona Valpy will not be disappointed.'Sallis's West Country novel has the feel of Mary Wesley and character insight that is all her own' -- Daily Mail'The thing about Susan Sallis's books - once you pick them up, it's very hard to put them down!' -- ***** Reader review'Brilliant' -- ***** Reader review'Excellent read, very enjoyable' - -- ***** Reader review'Wonderful' - -- ***** Reader review********************************************************************THE ONLY PROMISE WORTH MAKING IS THE ONE YOU KEEP...There were four of the Thorpe family in the Anderson shelter the night of the raid on Coventry. Mum and Dad, Florrie and little May....Jack was missing. He was one of those who had not come back from Dunkirk. And May had to promise to keep a terrible secret, a promise which affected the lives of all the survivors, until May herself was the only one left.Seventy years later Daisy and Marcus, sixth formers in a Gloucestershire School, are given an A Level project on the bombing of Coventry in 1940. They go to talk to May, now living in sheltered accommodation nearby.A friendship is forged which bridges the gap between them. The two youngsters have their own problems, but as their lives unfold they become involved in the strange history of May's missing brother and of the promise, made all those years ago, which still has its repercussions today.