The Workhouse Girl

Dilly Court grew up in North-east London and began her career in television, writing scripts for commercials. She is married with two grown-up children and four grandchildren, and now lives in Dorset on the beautiful Jurassic Coast with her husband. She is the bestselling author of more than thirty novels.

Sarah Scarse may be young but life in the notorious St Giles and St George’s workhouse has forced her to grow up fast. 
 
And after her mother’s untimely death, Sarah’s fighting spirit becomes her only defence against the workhouse master, Trigg, and his cruel wife. 
 
Sarah’s fate appears to change, however, when a sugar mill owner takes her into his home. 
 
But just as Sarah starts working towards a brighter future, dangerous figures from the past threaten to catch up with her. 
 
Can she draw on her determined resolve to finally confront her problems and free herself from the shackles of the workhouse, once and for all?

The Best of Daughters

A classic family saga from Sunday Times Bestseller Dilly Court 
 
Despite her privileged upbringing, Daisy Lennox has always longed to make something of her life. 
 
She is drawn to the suffragette movement, but when her father faces ruin they are forced to move to the country and Daisy's first duty is to her family. 
 
Here she becomes engaged to her childhood friend - a union both families have dreamed of. 
 
But, on the eve of their wedding, war is declared, and Daisy knows her life will never be the same again... 
 
 
Dilly Court, Number 1 Sunday Times bestseller, February 2024

The Lady's Maid

In the quiet of a warm summer's evening, two young mothers are forced to give up their babies. 
 
As the years have passed, Kate has grown up knowing only poverty and servitude, whilst Josie's world is one of privilege and luxury. 
 
Despite the differences in their circumstances, Kate and Josie have been friends since childhood. But their past binds them together in ways they must never know. 
 
Until a chance meeting forces Kate and Josie to confront the truth of that night nearly twenty years before - a truth that turns both worlds upside down and threatens to destroy their friendship forever. . .

A heartwarming and gripping novel from the no.1 Sunday Times bestseller

A Mother's Trust

A Classic Family Saga from Sunday Times Bestseller Dilly Court 
 
Phoebe Giamatti lives with her Italian family in the heart of London's East End. With her father killed by a notorious gang years earlier, Phoebe is now responsible for keeping her loved ones out of trouble. 
 
But just as the Giamatti family are about to go to Italy for the winter, Phoebe discovers a secret 
about her mother that could tear them all apart. Determined not to betray her mother's trust, Phoebe faces an impossible decision. 
 
Can she confront a dangerous past in order to protect her family's future? 
___________________ 
 
READERS LOVE DILLY COURT 
 
‘Truly riveting… It has everything to keep you spellbound. What a talented author. I read until my eyes drooped.’ 
 
‘Full of wonder, drama and romance. A very easy and enticing read with a wonderful ending.’ 
 
‘So touching and gripping… amazing where love takes you. Could not stop reading.’ 
 
‘Twists and turns on every page, drawing me into the heartaches and dilemmas…’ 
 
'Her characters are like old friends'

A heartwarming historical saga from Sunday Times bestselling author Dilly Court

The Ragged Heiress

A classic story from the No. 1 **Sunday Times bestseller** Dilly Court. 
 
London, 1874 
 
When Lucetta Froy awakes in a hospital bed, she remembers nothing of the events that brought her to her present state. 
 
She is taken home by two rough-speaking individuals who claim to be her brothers. However, as her health improves and her memory returns, she realises she has been kidnapped... 
 
The men hope to claim Lucetta's fortune as a ransom, for she is the daughter of a prosperous importer whose ship went down at sea. Her parents tragically drowned, but Lucetta survived. 
 
Abandoned and destitute, it seems as though the world is against her. But Lucetta's spirit will never be broken, and so she sets out to reclaim what is rightfully hers.

Cinderella Sister

A CLASSIC FAMILY SAGA FROM BESTSELLING AUTHOR DILLY COURT 
 
East London, 1880 
 
Lily Larkin is the youngest and least important member of her family. When tragedy strikes, she is left at home to look after the house whilst her older siblings go out to work. As she goes about her daily chores, her head is full of dreams, and she longs for the day she might have a life of her own. 
 
When a fire threatens to destroy the nearby docks, Lily's act of kindness towards a handsome foreigner has disastrous consequences for the whole family. Losing their home, the family struggle to make ends meet. And just when things might finally be looking up for them, Lily makes a terrible error of judgement. Forced onto the streets, Lily wonders if she'll ever see her family again . . .

A Mother's Secret

When seventeen-year-old Belinda Phillips falls in love with a handsome Anglo-Indian officer, she knows that he is a man she can never hope to marry. When he is reported missing, believed killed in action, Belinda discovers that she is pregnant. Facing disgrace and ruin, she has no option other than to accept an arranged marriage with a middle-aged widower, knowing she must keep the secret of her child's birth for ever. 
 
Reluctantly she sends her beloved daughter to a foster mother in Cripplegate, little realising she has entrusted Cassy's care to Biddy Henchard, a woman who runs a notorious baby farm in an area full of poverty and disease. Despite her terrible upbringing, Cassy survives the old woman's cruel neglect. All the while she dreams of a mother she has never known, hoping she will come and save her from her dreadful fate. But when Biddy dies suddenly, ten-year-old Cassy finds herself destitute and with little hope of ever finding the mother she so longs for...

The Cockney Angel

A stunning reissue of Dilly Court's gripping saga set in turn-of-the-twentieth-century London.

A must-read for lovers of Dilly Court's books - she describes what's happening so vividly you can feel and smell what she writes and draws you into the everyday life of her characters

East London, 1865 
 
Eighteen-year-old Irene Angel lives with her parents in a tiny room above the shop where her mother ekes out a living selling pickles and sauces while her father Billy gambles away their earnings. It is all Irene can do to keep the family together. 
 
Billy’s addiction soon leads him into trouble. Despite having been brought up by her father to fear and distrust the police, Irene finds herself forced to collaborate with them to save him from ruin. But Billy’s errant ways finally catch up with him and he is imprisoned in Newgate jail. With her mother away from home, Irene has little choice but to seek help from Inspector Edward Kent – her sworn enemy. Only she can clear her father's name and unite the family once more...

A Mother's Wish

A MOVING, HEARTFELT AND FAMILY DRIVEN SAGA SET IN TURN-OF-THE-CENTURY LONDON FROM THE BESTSELLING SAGA AUTHOR

A great story that keeps you interested from the start

A MOVING, HEARTFELT AND FAMILY DRIVEN SAGA SET IN TURN-OF-THE-CENTURY LONDON FROM THE BESTSELLING SAGA AUTHOR 
 
Effie Grey has fallen on hard times since the death of her husband. Forced to live on a narrowboat owned by her tyrannical father-in-law, Jacob, Effie must put aside her own despair in order to protect her brother, Tom, and her young son, Georgie. 
 
Life becomes even more unbearable when Jacob hires the villainous Salter and his vile wife Sal to run the barge. When Tom is sent away without a penny, Effie is forced to make a choice to protect her family. Driven by desperation, Effie steals Jacob’s hidden cache of money and flees with her son in search of Tom. No matter what, she will make a home for little Georgie and keep him safe from harm.

A Mother's Promise

An enthralling new saga set in turn-of-the-twentieth-century London from the author of The Constant Heart.

When Hetty Huggins made a promise to her dying mother that she would look after her younger sister and brothers, little did she know how difficult this would be. But despite the threat of being turned out onto the streets by the unscrupulous tallyman and the never-ending struggle just to exist, Hetty is determined her family will never starve or want for a roof over their heads. 
 
Longing for something better out of life than the daily grind of making matchboxes for a pittance, she dreams of setting up her own business. With the help of friends she sells hot potatoes on the streets and things begin to look up for them all. But when the tallyman comes calling, they are faced once more with a future full of hardship and despair ...

The Constant Heart

The compelling new saga set in turn-of-the-century London by the author of A Mother's Courage.

Despite living by the side of the Thames, with its noise, disease and dirt, eighteen-year-old Rosina May has wanted for little in life. Until her father's feud with a fellow bargeman threatens to destroy everything. To save them all, Rosina agrees to marry Harry, the son of a wealthy merchant. But a chance encounter with a handsome river pirate has turned her head and she longs to meet him again. 
 
When her father dies a broken man, Harry goes back on his promise and turns Rosina out onto the streets. She is forced to work the river herself, ferrying rubbish out of London and living rough. In spite of her hardships, she cannot forget her pirate and when tragedy threatens to strike once more she is forced to make a choice. But is she really prepared to risk everything for love?

A Mother's Courage

A captivating new saga set in turn-of-the-twentieth-century London by the author of The Cockney Sparrow.

There's a depth to her characters, and the locations are vividly drawn

_________________________________ 
A sweeping tale of loss and love set in turn-of-the-century London, from beloved bestselling author Dilly Court 
 
When Eloise Cribb receives the news that her husband's ship has been lost at sea she wonders how she is ever going to manage. With two young children, the rent overdue and almost nothing to live on, she has no alternative but to turn to his estranged family for help. 
 
She sets off on the long and arduous journey to Yorkshire, but is met with hostility and soon realises she has little choice but to return to London. Virtually destitute and desperate, Eloise is faced with her worst nightmare: she must either go to the workhouse, or abandon her children at the Foundling Hospital. But she is determined to keep them safe and under her protective wing at all costs...

Mermaids Singing

A GRIPPING AND ULTIMATELY UPLIFTING SAGA SET IN TURN-OF-THE-CENTURY LONDON FROM A WONDERFUL TALENT ...

A GRIPPING AND ULTIMATELY UPLIFTING SAGA SET IN TURN-OF-THE-CENTURY LONDON FROM A WONDERFUL TALENT ... 
 
Born into poverty and living under the roof of her violent and abusive brother-in-law, young Kitty Cox dreams of working in a women's dress shop in the West End - a million miles away from the reality of her life as a mud-lark, scavenging on the banks of the Thames. 
 
Fate soon intervenes and Kitty finds herself working as a skivvy for Sir Desmond and Lady Arabella Mableton in Mayfair. Bullied by the kitchen maids, Kitty is soon taken under Lady Arabella's wing and for the first time in her life Kitty dares to hope. 
 
But Lady 'Bella' has a secret and unable to live with her domineering husband she decides to leave, fighting for custody of their daughter, Leonie. Kitty will do anything for her mistress but her loyalty is severely tested as all their lives are thrown into turmoil and Kitty faces a life of poverty and hardship in the slums of the East End once more ...

The Best of Sisters

The compelling new saga set in turn-of-the-century London by the author of Mermaids Singing

This is a wonderful book from a brilliant new writer

The Thames carried him away from her, but would it bring him home...? 
 
Twelve-year-old Eliza Bragg has known little in life but the cold, comfortless banks of the Thames. Living above her uncle's chandlery she has grown accustomed to a life of penury and servitude, her only comfort the love and protection of her older brother, Bart. 
 
But one day Bart accidentally kills a man and is forced to flee to New Zealand. Alone, barefoot, beaten down and at the mercy of her cruel uncle, Eliza realises that her very survival is at stake...

Tilly True

A compelling saga set in turn-of-the-century London by the author of Mermaids Singing

'I aint always going to be poor, I made me mind up to that.' 
 
Dismissed from her position as housemaid under a cloud of misunderstanding, Tilly True is forced to return home. But Tilly is determined to make something of her life and, rather than admit the truth to her poverty-stricken family, she sets out once more in search of employment. 
 
Her journey takes her to the London law courts, a grim parsonage in one of the most notorious parts of the East End and a house of ill-repute. But when she falls for the dangerous charms of Barnaby Palgrave, Tilly soon finds that her troubles have only just begun ...

The Cockney Sparrow

The enthralling saga set in turn-of-the-twentieth-century London from the Sunday Times bestselling author.

The enthralling saga set in turn-of-the-twentieth-century London from the Sunday Times bestselling author. 
 
Gifted with a beautiful soprano voice, young Clemency Skinner is forced to work as a pickpocket in order to support her crippled brother, Jack. 
 
Their feckless mother, Edith, has fallen into the clutches of unscrupulous pimp, Todd Hardiman, whose evil presence threatens their daily existence. 
 
Befriended by Ned Hawkes and his kindly mother, Nell, Clemency struggles to escape from life in the slums of Stew Lane. She finds work with a troupe of buskers run by larger than life Augustus Throop, and is spotted by the manager of the Strand Theatre. 
 
Clemency looks set for operatic stardom, but a chance meeting with the mysterious Jared Stone brings danger and intrigue and threatens to change her life forevermore.

The Dollmaker's Daughters

A powerful saga set in turn-of-the-twentieth-century London from the Sunday Times bestselling author.

A powerful saga set in turn-of-the-twentieth-century London from the Sunday Times bestselling author. 
 
For Ruby and Rosetta Capretti life in the slums of the East End holds little promise. 
 
Although very similar in looks they dream of very different futures. Coquettish, flamboyant Rosetta is desperate to leave the claustrophobic confines of the sewing sweatshop to follow in her wayward aunt's footsteps and work under the bright lights of the music hall. Ruby, quieter and more modest, has always longed to train as a nurse, a pipe-dream for a girl from her humble background. 
 
And then, by the side of their father's grave, they meet handsome Jonas Crowe. But little do they know how much one man will affect both their lives for ever.

The Orphan's Dream

The heartwarming and nostalgic new novel from the Sunday Times Top Ten bestselling author of The Beggar Maid. 
 
 
Motherless since she was five, Mirabel Cutler was raised by her father to be a lady. But when he dies suddenly, Mirabel finds herself cast out on the street by her ruthless stepmother. 
 
She is taken to a place of refuge by charismatic sea captain, Jack Starke. But the safe haven turns out to be a house of ill-repute. Here she becomes a parlour maid and catches the eye of an elderly, retired army officer, Hubert Kettle. 
 
Mirabel has fallen in love with Jack Starke but when she hears that his ship has foundered and all were lost, she has little choice but to accept Hubert’s offer of a home and marriage. Although desperately unhappy, Mirabel is determined to make the best of her life. 
 
Until she receives unexpected news and her life is thrown into turmoil once more.

A Place Called Home

The wonderfully nostalgic and heartwarming new novel from the Sunday Times Top Ten bestselling author of The Beggar Maid.

The wonderfully nostalgic and heartwarming new novel from the Sunday Times Top Ten bestselling author of The Beggar Maid. 
 
Born out of wedlock when her mother was only fourteen, Lucy Pocket has spent all her life in the care of her disreputable but charming grandmother, Eva. They dodge from one poor lodging house to another, always in debt and resorting to theft in order to exist. 
 
Until her wealthy paternal grandfather buys her from Eva, determined to bring Lucy up to be a lady. When her grandfather dies, his despicable nephew cheats Lucy out of her inheritance, except for a run-down lodging house in Whitechapel, where she is forced to look after his three illegitimate children. 
 
Jilted by her would-be fiancé, Lucy is determined to make a life for herself and the children, and to search for her long lost grandmother, creating the family she has always longed for.

The Beggar Maid

The heartwarming new novel from the Sunday Times top five bestselling author of A Loving Family.

Dilly Court

The gripping saga from the Sunday Times top ten bestselling author of The Workhouse Girl. 
 
At just eleven years old, Stella Barry is torn from her poverty-stricken mother and thrust into service. 
 
One Sunday, she returns home for a longed-for visit to find her family have been evicted from their lodgings. And have vanished without a trace. 
 
Seven years later, plucky, determined Stella has thrived. But when terrible circumstances force her to flee, with no references and only a few personal possessions, she knows she'll need all her strength to survive. 
 
Setting out on her own, can Stella finally find her family, and the loving home she’s always dreamed of? 
 
READERS LOVE DILLY COURT: 
 
‘Truly riveting… It has everything to keep you spellbound. What a talented author. I read until my eyes drooped.’ 
 
‘Full of wonder, drama and romance. A very easy and enticing read with a wonderful ending.’ 
 
‘So touching and gripping… amazing where love takes you. Could not stop reading.’ 
 
‘Twists and turns on every page, drawing me into the heartaches and dilemmas…’ 
 
'Her characters are like old friends'

Dilly Court

Books by Dilly Court

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