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The dancer's promise
By Olivia Horrox. 2024
'Oh my gosh! What a beautifully written story!... I totally loved it... I literally could not stop reading... This is…
a must if you like historical fiction!!' Reader review 5 stars 'A beautifully written and evocative story of love and loss, of family and redemption, that swept me away.' Rachel Burton, author of The Last Party at Silverton Hall When their father loses the family fortune, and their mother locks herself away, sisters Grace and Clementine are left to raise themselves in a grand London house that is slowly falling apart around them. Each of them is determined to one day restore their fortunes and their family name and make a promise to do just that. Clementine dreams of being a star on stage, a celebrated ballerina who will tour the world, earning fame and fortune. She is adamant she won't put her fate into a man's hands but take charge of it herself. Grace, in contrast, sees security in a good marriage. Their eligible new American neighbour, with wealth, charm and looks, seems like the perfect match. But when Clementine falls unexpectedly in love, it throws both sisters' lives into turmoil and forces each of them to ask if they are prepared to break their promise for a chance at true love... A beautifully imagined historical novel about the bond between sisters and a changing world. Perfect for fans of Tracy Rees, Lucinda Riley and Kate Morton. Readers love The Dancer's Promise : ' Brilliant ... I loved the characters Grace and Clementine a true story of sisterly love and support in such difficult times... Truly memorable read ... touching and inspiring' Reader review 5 stars ' What a treat! With its mystery element thrown in to enhance the plot, I found the time sped by and I was lost in another time and place ' Reader review 5 starsSmall Pleasures: Longlisted for the Women's Prize for Fiction
By Clare Chambers. 2020
LONGLISTED FOR THE WOMEN'S PRIZE FOR FICTION 2021'A WORD-OF-MOUTH HIT' Evening Standard 'A very fine book... It's witty and sharp…
and reads like something by Barbara Pym or Anita Brookner, without ever feeling like a pastiche'David Nicholls'Perfect'India Knight 'Beautiful' Jessie Burton'Wonderful'Richard Osman 'Miraculous'Tracy Chevalier 'A wonderful novel. I loved it'Nina Stibbe 'Effortless to read, but every sentence lingers in the mind' Lissa Evans 'This is one of the most beautiful books I have ever read. I honestly don't want you to be without it'Lucy Mangan'Gorgeous... If you're looking for something escapist and bittersweet, I could not recommend more' Pandora Sykes'Remarkable... Small Pleasures is no small pleasure'The Times'An irresistible novel - wry, perceptive and quietly devastating'Mail on Sunday'Chambers' eye for undemonstrative details achieves a Larkin-esque lucidity' Guardian'An almost flawlessly written tale of genuine, grown-up romantic anguish' The Sunday Times 1957, the suburbs of South East London. Jean Swinney is a journalist on a local paper, trapped in a life of duty and disappointment from which there is no likelihood of escape. When a young woman, Gretchen Tilbury, contacts the paper to claim that her daughter is the result of a virgin birth, it is down to Jean to discover whether she is a miracle or a fraud. As the investigation turns her quiet life inside out, Jean is suddenly given an unexpected chance at friendship, love and - possibly - happiness. But there will, inevitably, be a price to pay.Book of the Year for: The Times, Daily Telegraph, Evening Standard, Daily Express, Metro, Spectator, Red Magazine and Good HousekeepingVoices of war: stories of service from the home front and the front lines (The library Of Congress Veterans History Project)
By Veterans History Project. 2004
Personal accounts of American soldiers and medical personnel active in World War I, World War II, the Korean and Vietnam…
wars, and the Persian Gulf conflicts. Extracts from interviews, letters, and diary entries collected by the Library of Congress Veterans History Project are grouped by themes: Answering the Call, Under Fire, Coming Home. 2004Summer of the war
By Gloria Whelan. 2006
Michigan, 1942. With their parents working for the war effort, Mirabelle and her siblings travel to live with their grandparents…
on Turtle Island. Fourteen-year-old Belle is resentful when her more sophisticated fifteen-year-old cousin Caroline joins them, but during the summer they become real family. For grades 6-9. 2006The Wednesday wars: A Newbery Honor Award Winner
By Gary D. Schmidt. 2007
Long Island, 1967. Seventh-grader Holling Hoodhood knows that Mrs. Baker "hates his guts" because she would have Wednesday afternoons free…
if he went to catechism or Hebrew school like his classmates. Mrs. Baker worries about her husband in Vietnam and introduces a reluctant Holling to Shakespeare. For grades 5-8. Newbery Honor. 2007A troubled peace (Under A War-Torn Sky #2)
By Laura Elliott. 2009
1945. World War II pilot Henry Forester from Under a War-Torn Sky (DB 68311), returns home to Virginia and struggles…
with nightmares. Henry ventures to France to find a boy who saved his life and is shocked at the lingering devastation. Some violence. For senior high readers. 2009Eagles Cry Blood
By Donald E. Zlotnik. 1986
While too many soldiers are fighting for the brass in the midst of the bloody Vietnam battles, Lt. Paul Bourne…
is compelled to fight the enemy for his country&’s freedom. But when he comes up against his captain--a man driven by selfishness and a desire for recognition and glory, Bourne is even more determined to destroy the enemy--even if this means sacrificing his life.Goshawk Squadron
By Derek Robinson. 2005
1918. Twenty-three-year-old Stanley Woolley, the disillusioned commander of a British flight squadron on the Western Front during World War I,…
trains his younger, inexperienced pilots to fly biplanes in combat--knowing they will all soon be dead. Some violence and some strong language. 1971Dash (Dogs Of World War Ii Ser.)
By Kirby Larson. 2014
When her family is forced into a Japanese internment camp, Mitsi Kashino is separated from her home, her classmates, and…
her beloved dog, Dash. Heartbroken, Mitsi clings to her one connection to Dash: the letters from the kindly neighbor who is caring for him. For grades 3-6. 2014Liberty (Dogs Of World War Ii Ser.)
By Kirby Larson. 2016
New Orleans, 1940s. Polio-survivor Fish Elliot and his neighbor Olympia team up in order to save a starving stray dog…
they call Liberty, and they find other unlikely allies willing to help. For grades 3-6. 2016Farewell to The Little Coffee Shop of Kabul
By Deborah Rodriguez. 2023
THE LONG-AWAITED SEQUEL TO THE LITTLE COFFEE SHOP OF KABUL, THE BESTSELLER THAT CAPTURED THE HEARTS OF MILLIONS WORLDWIDE Kabul,…
August 2021 Sunny Tedder is back in her beloved coffee shop. After eight years away, she's thrilled to reunite with her Kabul 'family': Yazmina now runs a pair of women's shelters from the old cafe, and dreams of a bright future for her two young daughters. Her sister Layla has become an outspoken women's rights activist and, thanks to social media, is quite the celebrity. Kat, Sunny's friend from America, is wrapping up her year-long stay in the land of her birth, but is facing some unfinished business. And finally there's elderly den mother Halajan, whose secret new hobby is itself an act of rebellion. Then the US troops begin to withdraw - and the women watch in horror as the Taliban advance on the capital at ferocious speed...Set against the terrifying fall of Kabul in 2021, Deborah Rodriguez concludes her bestselling Little Coffee Shop trilogy with a heart-stopping story of resilience, courage and, most importantly, hope.Praise for Deborah Rodriguez'Eye-opening and uplifting' - Grazia 'Restores belief in humanity' - Daily Telegraph 'Heart-warming' - Cosmopolitan'Beguiling' - Woman 'Captivating and addictive' - Take a Break'Full of heart and intelligence' - Look MagazineFarewell to The Little Coffee Shop of Kabul
By Deborah Rodriguez. 2023
THE LONG-AWAITED SEQUEL TO THE LITTLE COFFEE SHOP OF KABUL, THE BESTSELLER THAT CAPTURED THE HEARTS OF MILLIONS WORLDWIDE Kabul,…
August 2021 Sunny Tedder is back in her beloved coffee shop. After eight years away, she's thrilled to reunite with her Kabul 'family': Yazmina now runs a pair of women's shelters from the old cafe, and dreams of a bright future for her two young daughters. Her sister Layla has become an outspoken women's rights activist and, thanks to social media, is quite the celebrity. Kat, Sunny's friend from America, is wrapping up her year-long stay in the land of her birth, but is facing some unfinished business. And finally there's elderly den mother Halajan, whose secret new hobby is itself an act of rebellion. Then the US troops begin to withdraw - and the women watch in horror as the Taliban advance on the capital at ferocious speed...Set against the terrifying fall of Kabul in 2021, Deborah Rodriguez concludes her bestselling Little Coffee Shop trilogy with a heart-stopping story of resilience, courage and, most importantly, hope.Praise for Deborah Rodriguez'Eye-opening and uplifting' - Grazia 'Restores belief in humanity' - Daily Telegraph 'Heart-warming' - Cosmopolitan'Beguiling' - Woman 'Captivating and addictive' - Take a Break'Full of heart and intelligence' - Look MagazineApricots: A War Novel
By John E. Holloway. 2019
Apricots is a novel that tells the story of Marines in combat?the comradery, humor, and sacrifice of the men on…
the ground thousands of miles from home. We generally experience overseas military operations in real time through the media of newspaper and television news accounts. These reports are generally superficial sketches of the action and rarely reveal the depth of the drama unfolding on the ground. This novel tells the story of Marines in combat?the comradery, humor, and sacrifice of the men on the ground thousands of miles from home. You go with the Marines out on the ship, ashore for the invasion of Grenada (the last combat of the Cold War), and then on to Beirut where the Marines fight Muslim militia (the first combat of the War on Terror). Throughout, newspaper excerpts track events that provide the setting of this fictional story. But this fictional story is framed by real events, including true accounts of the terrorist attack on the marine headquarters in Beirut and the coup in Grenada that triggered the invasion. In all, this story shows the reader what it was like to be there.Lord of the Sea Castle: The Invader Series (The Invader Series #2)
By Edward Ruadh Butler. 2017
It is 1170 – a tumultuous time for the people of Wales, England and Ireland. Raymond de Carew is in love,…
but the woman he desires is an earl's daughter and so far above his station that he has no hope of ever winning her.However, Raymond’s lord has a mission for him: one that if it succeeds will put an Irish king back on his throne and prove Raymond worthy – for in Norman society, a man can rise as high as his skill with a sword can take him.With only a hundred men at his side, Raymond must cross the ocean to Ireland ahead of his mercenary lord's invasion. There he will face the full might of the Viking city of Waterford... and either his deeds will become legend or he will be trampled into dust.A day for rememberin': inspired by the true events of the first Memorial Day
By Leah Henderson, Floyd Cooper. 2021
Today is a special day. Eli knows it's important if he's allowed to miss one second of school, his "hard-earned…
right." Inspired by true events and told through the eyes of a young boy, this is the deeply moving story about what is regarded as the first Memorial Day on May 1, 1865. Eli dresses up in his best clothes, Mama gathers the mayflowers, Papa straightens his hat, and together they join the crowds filling the streets of Charleston, South Carolina, with bouquets, crosses, and wreaths. Abolitionists, missionaries, teachers, military officers, and a sea of faces Black, Brown, and White, they march as one and sing for all those who gave their lives fighting for freedom during the Civil War. With poignant prose and celebratory, powerful illustrations, A Day for Rememberin' shines light on the little-known history of this important holiday and reminds us never to forget the people who put their lives on the line for their country. For grades K-3Dam Buster: Barnes Wallis: An Engineer’s Life
By Richard Morris. 2023
'A stunningly good and surely definitive biography of one of the most fascinating British engineers ever to have lived' JAMES…
HOLLANDBarnes Wallis became a household name after the hit 1955 film The Dam Busters, in which Michael Redgrave portrayed him as a shy genius at odds with bureaucracy. This simplified a complicated man. Wallis is remembered for contributions to aviation that spanned most of the 20th century, from airships at its start to reusable spacecraft near the end. In the years between he pioneered new kinds of aircraft structure, bombs to alter the way in which wars are fought, and aeroplanes that could change shape in flight. Later work extended to radio telescopy, prosthetic limbs, and plans for a fleet of high-speed cargo submarines to travel the world's oceans in silence. For all his fame, little is known about the man himself - the confirmed bachelor who in his mid-30s fell hopelessly in love with his teenage cousin-in-law, the enthusiast for outdoor life who in his eighties still liked to walk up a mountain, or the rationalist who dallied with Catholic spiritualty. Dam Buster draws on family records to reveal someone thick with contradictions: a Victorian who in his imagination ranged far into the 21st century; a romantic for whom nostalgic pastoral and advanced technology went together; an unassuming man who kept a close eye on his legacy.Wallis was last in a line of engineers who combined hands-on experience with searching vision. Richard Morris sets out to locate him in Britain's grand narrative.Dam Buster: Barnes Wallis: An Engineer’s Life
By Richard Morris. 2023
'A stunningly good and surely definitive biography of one of the most fascinating British engineers ever to have lived' JAMES…
HOLLANDBarnes Wallis became a household name after the hit 1955 film The Dam Busters, in which Michael Redgrave portrayed him as a shy genius at odds with bureaucracy. This simplified a complicated man. Wallis is remembered for contributions to aviation that spanned most of the 20th century, from airships at its start to reusable spacecraft near the end. In the years between he pioneered new kinds of aircraft structure, bombs to alter the way in which wars are fought, and aeroplanes that could change shape in flight. Later work extended to radio telescopy, prosthetic limbs, and plans for a fleet of high-speed cargo submarines to travel the world's oceans in silence. For all his fame, little is known about the man himself - the confirmed bachelor who in his mid-30s fell hopelessly in love with his teenage cousin-in-law, the enthusiast for outdoor life who in his eighties still liked to walk up a mountain, or the rationalist who dallied with Catholic spiritualty. Dam Buster draws on family records to reveal someone thick with contradictions: a Victorian who in his imagination ranged far into the 21st century; a romantic for whom nostalgic pastoral and advanced technology went together; an unassuming man who kept a close eye on his legacy.Wallis was last in a line of engineers who combined hands-on experience with searching vision. Richard Morris sets out to locate him in Britain's grand narrative.Last Flag Flying: A Novel
By Darryl Ponicsán. 2017
Now a major movie starring Steve Carell, Bryan Cranston, and Laurence Fishburne, directed by Richard Linklater!Darryl Ponicsan's debut novel The…
Last Detail was named one of the best of the year and widely acclaimed, catapulting him to fame when it was first published. The story of two career sailors assigned to escort a young seaman from Norfolk to the naval prison in Portsmouth, New Hampshire—and of the mayhem that ensues—was made into an award-winning movie starring Jack Nicholson. Last Flag Flying, set thirty-four years after the events of The Last Detail, brings together the same beloved characters—Billy Bad-Ass Buddusky, Mule Mulhall, and Meadows—to reprise the same journey but under very different circumstances. Now middle-aged, Meadows seeks out his former captors in their civilian lives to help him bury his son, a Marine killed in Iraq, in Arlington National Cemetery. When he learns that the authorities have told him a lie about the circumstances of his son's death, he decides, with the help of the two others, to transport him home to Portsmouth. And so begins the journey, centered around a solemn mission but, as in the first book, a protest against injustice and celebration of life too, at once irreverent, funny, profane, and deeply moving.Last Flag Flying is now a major movie from Amazon Studios, directed by Richard Linklater and starring Bryan Cranston, Steve Carell, and Laurence Fishburne.When I Come Home Again: A beautiful and heartbreaking WWI novel, based on true events
By Caroline Scott. 2020
**From the highly acclaimed author of The Photographer of the Lost, a BBC Radio 2 Book Club Pick** &‘A superb…
and quietly devastating novel about grief, hope and the horrific aftershocks of war&’ The Times, Book of the MonthThey need him to remember. He wants to forget. 1918. In the last week of the First World War, a uniformed soldier is arrested in Durham Cathedral. When questioned, it becomes clear he has no memory of who he is or how he came to be there. The soldier is given the name Adam and transferred to a rehabilitation home. His doctor James is determined to recover who this man once was. But Adam doesn&’t want to remember. Unwilling to relive the trauma of war, Adam has locked his memory away, seemingly for good. When a newspaper publishes a feature about Adam, three women come forward, each claiming that he is someone she lost in the war. But does he believe any of these women? Or is there another family out there waiting for him to come home?Based on true events, When I Come Home Again is a deeply moving and powerful story of a nation&’s outpouring of grief, and the search for hope in the aftermath of war. Praise for When I Come Home Again: &‘A heartbreaking read which reveals the far-reaching tragedies of war… I highly recommend it&’ Anita Frank &‘Caroline Scott&’s quietly devastating second novel insightfully explores the impact of the Great War on returning soldiers and their families' S Magazine &‘A powerful story that&’s achingly moving and most beautifully written. Readers of Maggie O&’Farrell and Helen Dunmore are likely to enjoy&’ Rachel Hore &‘Powerful… A carefully, nuanced, complex story&’ Woman & Home 'Page turning, mysterious, engrossing and compelling' Lorna Cook 'A compulsive, heart-wrenching read' Liz Trenow &‘Caroline Scott evokes the damage and desolation of the Great War with aching authenticity' Iona Grey 'This beautiful and moving book drew me in from the first line and held me enthralled until the very end' Fiona Falpy 'Wonderful and evocative' Suzanne Goldring &‘A beautifully written novel – immersive, poignant, intricately woven&’ Judith Kinghorn &‘Scott litters her tale with clues and red herrings in the best mystery-writer way so we are kept guessing as to where the truth really lies&’ The BookBagThe Honour of Rome (Eagles of the Empire #106)
By Simon Scarrow. 2021
A stunning novel of courage, camaraderie and deadly enemies from the Sunday Times bestselling author of Centurion and The Emperor's…
Exile.AD 59. BRITANNIA. TENSION IS SIMMERING. DANGER LIES ROUND EVERY CORNER FOR ROME'S BRAVE SOLDIERS ...Fifteen years after Rome's invasion of Britannia, centurion Marco is back. The island is settled now, bustling with commerce. Macro's goal is to help run his mother's Londinium inn, and exploit his land grant. He's prepared for the dismal weather and the barbaric ways of the people. But far worse dangers threaten all his plans. A gang led by an ex-legionary rules the city, demanding protection money and terrorising those who won't pay up. The Roman official in charge has turned a blind eye. Macro has to act. He needs the back-up of the finest soldier he knows: Prefect Cato. But Cato is in distant Rome. Or is he? As the streets run red with blood, the army's heroes face an enemy as merciless and cunning as any barbarian tribe. The honour of Rome is in their hands ...For readers of Bernard Cornwell, Conn Iggulden and Ben Kane - unputdownable fiction from an author who knows the Roman world like no other. IF YOU DON'T KNOW SIMON SCARROW, YOU DON'T KNOW ROMEPraise for the Eagles of the Empire novels: 'Scarrow's novels rank with the best' Independent'Blood, gore, political intrigue' Daily Sport'Always a joy' The Times(P) 2021 Headline Publishing Group Limited