Adam Thirlwell was born in London in 1978. The author of three previous novels, his work has been translated into thirty languages. His essays appear in the New York Review of Books and the London Review of Books, and he is an advisory editor of the Paris Review. His awards include a Somerset Maugham Award and the E. M. Forster Award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters; in 2018 he was made a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature. He has twice been selected by Granta as one of their Best of Young British Novelists.

Adam Thirlwell

Adam Thorpe was born in Paris in 1956. His first novel, Ulverton, appeared in 1992 and he has published two books of stories and ten further novels, most recently Missing Fay (2017), and six poetry collections. 
 
 
www.adamthorpe.net

Adam Thorpe

Adam Tooze is the author of the highly praised Crashed, The Deluge and The Wages of Destruction, all published by Allen Lane. He has been the recipient of the Wolfson Prize for History, the Longman-History Today Book of the Year Prize and the Lionel Gelber Prize. Tooze has taught at Cambridge and Yale and is now Kathryn and Shelby Cullom Davis Professor of History at Columbia University.

Adam Tooze

Adam Usden

Adam Wagner

Adam Wasson

Adam Weymouth's work has been published widely, including in Granta, The Atlantic, The Observer and the BBC. His first book, Kings of the Yukon, won the Sunday Times Young Writer of the Year, the Lonely Planet Adventure Travel Book of the Year and the Prix Paul-Emile Victor. He has been named by the National Writing Centre as one of ten writers shaping the UK's future.

Adam Weymouth

Adam Wisniewski-Snerg (1937-95) was born on the outskirts of Warsaw. His science fiction writing is largely focused around the consequences of totalitarianism. Although largely unread during his lifetime, after his suicide in 1995 his work began to receive major critical attention. He is now considered to be, along with Stanislaw Lem, one of Poland's greatest science fiction writers.

Adam Wisniewski-Snerg

Ade Edmondson

Adele Lang

Adele Nozedar is an author and photographer. Previously, she was in a cult indie band, then ran her own indie record label and became A&amp;R Director/General Manager of a major record company. 
 
Her wide-ranging passions are reflected in her books, which include The Hedgerow Handbook (2012), The Signs and Symbols Sourcebook (2011), The Secret Language of Birds (2006), and The Element Encyclopedia of Native Americans (2013).

Adele Nozedar

Adele Puhn

Adeline Yen Mah

Adelle Waldman is a freelance writer and book critic. She worked as a reporter at the New Haven Register and the Cleveland Plain Dealer, and wrote a column for the Wall Street Journal's website. Her articles also have appeared in The New York Times Book Review,The New Republic,Slate,The Wall Street Journal, and other national publications. She lives in Brooklyn, New York.

Adelle Waldman

Aditi Kakade Beaufrand is an Indian illustrator based in France. She likes experimenting with bright, happy colours. She grew up reading fairytales, watching animated films and imagining adventure stories, and her style is an embodiment of her Indian heritage and western culture. She loves animals and taking long walks on the beach, but she is never too far away from a pencil and a paper to draw her perception of the world.

Aditi Kakade Beaufrand

Aditya Chakrabortty

Adiva Geffen is a bestselling writer and playwright. Her plays have appeared on major stages in Israel, she lectures and leads numerous writing workshops and she is a board member of the Israeli Writers’ Association. 
 
 Geffen started out as a special-education teacher, before serving as the spokesperson for the Habima National Theatre for more than a decade. She founded and subsequently led the Israeli Theatre Award for ten years, and now serves as head of The Gnazim Institute of the Hebrew Writers Association, the largest Hebrew literature archive in the world. 
 
 Born in Haifa, Israel and the mother of three sons, Geffen now lives in Tel Aviv with her partner Aharon Meidan.

Adiva Geffen

Adnan Sarwar, 35, is a former British soldier who served in the Iraq War.  He has since worked as a military consultant to film and is a writer based in London.  Read more at www.adnansarwar.com / @adnansarwar

Adnan Sarwar

Adolf Hitler

Adolf Loos (1877-1933) was a leading Austro-Hungarian architect, perhaps most famous for the revolutionary 'Loos House' opposite the Hofburg Palace in Vienna, which caused outrage when it was built in 1912, and the wonderful American Bar, also in Vienna. He wrote extensively on architecture and design, working in reaction to the elaborate mass of decoration celebrated by the Vienna Secession movement.

Adolf Loos

Adolfo García Ortega

Adomnan of Iona

Adonis

Adriaan Van Dis

Adrian Bean

Adrian Bliss is a creator, writer and performer from London, best known for his comedy sketches which, explore everything from history to natural science to religion. Adrian's work has earned him nearly 20 million followers across social media and has been featured in CNN, The Times and Vogue. Adrian was named one of the New Faces of Comedy at Just For Laughs, and his one-man play Inside Everyone sold out its debut run at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival prior to opening.

Adrian Bliss

Adrian Desmond

Adrian Edmondson

Adrian Fort

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Jack Sheffield

It's 1979: Dallas is enthralling the nation on TV, Mrs Thatcher has just become prime minister, Abba is top of the pops, and in the small Yorkshire village of Ragley-on-the-Forest, Jack Sheffield returns for his third year as headmaster of the village school. 
 
Jack and his staff struggle to keep a semblance of normality throughout the turbulence of the school terms, as once again the official School Log fails to record what is really going on beneath the seemingly quiet routine. Ruby the caretaker discovers her Prince Charming; Vera the school secretary gets to meet her hero, Nicholas Parsons; and Jack, to his astonishment, finds himself having to stand in as a curiously skinny Father Christmas. 
 
Jack also finds himself, at last, having to choose between the vivacious sisters Beth and Laura Henderson ... 
 
Praise for Jack Sheffield 
'Wry observation and heartwarming humour in equal measure' Alan Titchmarsh 
'Overflowing with amusing anecdotes' Daily Express 
'Amusing adventures at the North Yorkshire village school' Choice 
'Jack Sheffield's in a class of his own' York Press

Dear Teacher

Mary Jane Staples

If you like Katie Flynn, Kristin Hannah and Fiona Valpy, you will love this enthralling, heart-wrenching page-turner of a romantic adventure from multi-million copy seller Mary Jane Staples. 
 
READERS ARE LOVING THE SUMMER DAY IS DONE! 
"I couldn't put it down" - 5 STARS 
"A good and entertaining read" - 5 STARS 
"Perfect" - 5 STARS 
 
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WILL WAR DEAL THE CRUELLEST BLOW OF ALL? 
 
Russia 1911: Young British agent John Kirby comes to Russia to work and to explore a new and exciting country - not to fall in love. But an invitation to the Tsar's ball changes all that. After an evening of dancing and romance, John and the Tsar's eldest daughter, Olga, are totally captivated by one another. 
 
Summers of tennis parties and picnics with Olga follow - life could not get any better. Until a cruel blow is dealt in 1914: John is forced to return to England and Olga and her family are caught up in the bitter and bloody war. 
 
Will John and Olga ever be reunited? Can their love survive the odds? Or will tragedy, pain and longing destroy them both? 
 
The Summer Day is Done was previously published as Woman in Berlin.

The Summer Day is Done

a magical and captivating romantic wartime saga that will keep you gripped

Iris Gower

Perfect for fans of Dilly Court and Rosie Goodwin, this is the powerful next instalment of the Cordwainers series from bestselling author Iris Gower. 
 
READERS ARE LOVING THE CORDWAINERS! 
"I have really enjoyed reading this whole series...I would recommend the reading of any of the books by this author." - 5 STARS 
"Loved these books [-] definitely recommend this series: once you start you will want to read them all" - 5 STARS 
"You finish one book and you just have to start the next one." - 5 STARS 
"The best book I've read in a long time..."-Reader review 
"A great read - hard to put down" - 5 STARS 
 
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WILL SHE CHOOSE PRISON OR A LOVELESS MARRIAGE? 
 
Arian - spirited and unconventional - had always shocked the residents of World's End with her wild behaviour. As she begins to make a name for herself in the leather and shoe-making trade, she is overjoyed when the intriguing and charismatic Calvin Temple decides to back her. Yet this backing proves disastrous when her venture with a French company fails and it looks as though all their money will be lost. 
 
When Arian sets out for France in desperation to try to salvage their investment, she falls foul of the law and is given a grim alternative to prison - a loveless marriage with a man she despises. 
 
Will she ever be able to find fulfilment with the man she loves, or will she be forced to face a life sentence of unhappiness? 
 
Arian is the fourth title in Iris Gower's Cordwainers series. Have you read The Shoemaker's Daughter, The Oyster Catchers and Honey's Farm, the previous three titles?

Arian (The Cordwainers: 4)

A heartbreaking and emotional Welsh saga you won’t be able to put down...

Elvi Rhodes

A heartrending but uplifting story unfolds in the Yorkshire Dales when a promising new life instead demands the utmost of Cara Dunning. From multi-million copy seller Elvi Rhodes, this is perfect for fans of Rosamunde Pilcher and Maeve Binchy. 
 
READERS ARE LOVING CARA'S LAND 
 
'A fabulous writer, and this Book is brilliant' - 5 STAR REVIEW 
 
'The first Elvi Rhodes book I have read but I've already bought more!' - 5 STAR REVIEW 
 
'EXCELLENT' - 5 STAR REVIEW 
 
'A brilliant story; I couldn't put it down.' - 5 STAR REVIEW 
 
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CAN SHE FIND HAPPINESS IN HER NEW LIFE? 
 
Cara Dunning first came to the wild and remote Beckwith Farm in the Yorkshire Dales as a young land girl during the Second World War. 
 
When Cara fell in love with Edward Hendry, whose family owned Beckwith, it was not what her family had intended. Edward was fifteen years older than Cara, a pacifist, and a widower with two children, one of whom bitterly resented her new stepmother. 
 
Cara was determined to make the marriage work, in spite of the hard life on the farm, in spite of Edward's reserved personality and the shadow of Nancy, his former wife. 
 
Her greatest friend on the farm was Edward's mother. Edith Hendry, a loyal and wise Dales-woman, was to see the young bride through many tragedies and vicissitudes. 
 
And as Cara's life began to change, so Cara changed too, finding a complete and utter happiness where she had never expected to...

Cara's Land

engross yourself in this captivating and moving novel set in the Yorkshire Dales

The war is only into its second year, but already it has claimed one victim from the Adams family. Emily, Boots's cherished wife, has died in an air-raid,and the whole family mourns her. But for Polly Simms the prospect of a new life dawns, while the members of the younger generation who are in uniform, and doing their bit for King and Country, have their own problems to contend with. Tim has been posted to Scotland, to train as a Commando, and has met the lovely young officer Felicity; Eloise, now a sergeant in the ATS, is enjoying her new job as driver to the formidable Major Lucas. And has Rosie, now commissioned, lost her heart at last? 
 
The Blitz all but destroys the factory in Shoreditch, but Sammy and Tommy Adams manage to find some alternative accommodation. And love is in the air - for young and old alike - as the Adams family refuse to let Hitler get the better of them.

Fire Over London

A Novel of the Adams Family Saga

There was a double wedding planned in Walworth. Sally Brown was marrying Horace Cooper, and her brother, Freddy, was at last getting hitched to his childhood sweetheart, Cassie Ford. But the wedding wasn't the only thing being planned, for Ginger Carstairs and Dusty Miller were working out a bank robbery and, unbeknown to the inhabitants of Walworth and Denmark Hill, both Freddy Brown and the Adams family were to be deeply involved and put in considerable danger. 
 
It took much ingenuity on Boots's part to come up with a scheme that would foil the plans of the raiders. And all this was happening at a time when Boots had other worries in his life, and when the unity of his own little family was being threatened.

The Camberwell Raid

A must read for fans of Cecila Ahern, Fiona Valpy and Lucinda Riley - this is an evocative and exciting romantic adventure from the multi-million copy seller Mary Jane Staples. 
 
READERS ARE LOVING KATERINA'S SECRET! 
"Loved it - you feel like you are part of the storyline" - 5 STARS 
"I couldn't put this book down and read it in two days." - 5 STARS 
"You will not be disappointed with this book." - 5 STARS. 
"As always Mary Jane Staples has written a very good book that takes you back in time." - 5 STARS 
 
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A WARTIME HERO AND A MYSTERIOUS WOMAN... 
 
1928: Edward Somers, passing the winter at the Hôtel de Corniche on the French Riviera, happens upon a nearby villa within which lives the elusive and beautiful Countess Katerina. Despite the fact she does not seem to be allowed visitors, he manages to forge a friendship and the pair grow closer and closer. 
 
But Edward cannot help but wonder: why is she confined to the villa, guarded by a man with a rifle? Who is observing her with a telescope? Why is she so reluctant to be photographed? 
 
A sinister chain of events unfolds: is Katerina's life in danger? Must she always be on the run and forced into hiding? Will she ever be allowed to find the love she craves? 
 
Katerina's Secret was previously published as Shadows in the Afternoon.

Katerina's Secret

Young Charlotte Mortimer loves her job teaching the poor children in the local school and she is happy with her steadfast fiancé Luke. 
 
Then, one day, a terrible mining explosion rocks the town and suddenly everything Charlotte thinks she knows is thrown into doubt.The arrival of wealthy businessman Justin Weatherby complicates things further.Charlotte must marry him to save the school she loves even if it means sacrificing everything else that is dear to her.There are secrets and lies at every turn to challenge her; will she ever make it as a bargain bride?And can she ever love the austere man who has married her and saved her beloved school from certain destruction?

Bargain Bride

Susan Sallis

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 
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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.

Rachel's Secret

an engrossing and heartwarming novel of friendship and the bonds which tie us together from bestselling author Susan Sallis

Danielle Steel

From Manhattan high-society to warn-torn France, Mirror Image is a compelling story about the mysterious bond between twin sisters. 
For twins Olivia and Victoria, their bond was mysterious, marvellous, and often playful – a secret realm only they inhabited. Shy, serious Olivia, born eleven minutes before her sister, had taken over the role of mother in their lush New York estate. Free-spirited Victoria wanted to change the world, and embraced the women’s suffrage movement, dreaming of sailing to war-torn Europe. 
Then, in the girls’ twenty-first year, as the First World War escalates overseas, a fateful choice changes their lives forever . . .

Mirror Image

The moving historical tale of love, family and conflicting destiny from the bestselling author Danielle Steel

Catherine Cookson

Dr Rodney Prince has never seen a girl look more out of place in the grime of the Fifteen Streets than Kate Hannigan. Her beauty and intelligence far outshine that of his hard, brittle, calculating wife. And as their paths continue to cross, Rodney cannot fail to be drawn towards her. 
 
But as an unlikely romance blossoms, the union fuels vicious gossip amongst the denizens of the Fifteen Streets. For it is a love that opposes all the concepts of Edwardian society . . . 
 
Kate Hannigan is the partly autobiographical, enthralling story of a controversial love affair, from one of the most talented storytellers of the 20th century.

Kate Hannigan

Mary Walton is the apple of her father's eye; his only comfort during the dark years of the Depression when he is faced with both unemployment and a nagging, ambitious wife. 
 
His only hope is that Mary will one day find a way to escape the grinding poverty of the Tyneside slums. But when a secret is revealed these dreams are shattered and the lives of the Walton family change forever. . . 
 
Spanning Mary's life from the 1930's to the 1970's, Pure as the Lily is a spellbinding, unforgettable tale from one of Britain's most cherished novelists.

Pure As The Lily

Vanessa Ratcliffe is just sixteen, daughter of one of the town's richest men. And in spite of her social standing and convent education Vanessa's provocative manner often draws envious eyes in her direction. 
 
Angus Cotton is a rough diamond, living in filthy Ryder's Row, but as engineer at Affleck and Tate he's worth his weight in gold. Angus has ambitious plans for his future, plans that had never included Vanessa - until now . . . 
 
The Round Tower is a beautifully imagined story of power, love, honour and greed and an award-winning novel from one of Britain's most popular novelists.

The Round Tower

South London in the 1930s ...and Mrs Hilda Jones is fed up with her dull husband. She thought marrying would liven him up, but after twenty-five years he's just as boring as the day she married him , and now she wants to lead her own life. Her newly-married daughter, Olive, is shocked, but Hilda is adamant. 
 
Meanwhile, a heavy East End gang has moved into the area from Shoreditch, and has established a lucrative protection racket, bringing drama and anxiety to this closely-knit neighbourhood.

The Price Of Freedom

Young Maisie Gibbs is a conscientious young woman, though life is harder since both her parents passed away. She is relieved when she finds a position as a housemaid in Kensington, under the watchful eyes of the formidable housekeeper, Mrs Carpenter, and she quickly settles in. 
When she meets a handsome young soldier, she is tempted to give him his marching orders. But gradually Corporal Daniel Adams starts to win her over. 
When tragedy strikes the Fairfax household, Maisie is lucky she has Daniel to rely on - a good sign of things to come? 
A delight for fans of the Adams family - the heartwarming story of Daniel and Chinese Lady.

The Soldier's Girl

Ruth Hamilton

This emotional and uplifting saga full of twists and turns by the Sunday Times bestselling author Ruth Hamilton is perfect 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 
 
"Another first class read" -- ***** Reader review 
 
"Absolutely loved this book. Ruth Hamilton is possibly my favourite author..." -- ***** Reader review 
 
"Another great read, didn't want it to end. [I] always feel bereft when I've finished one of Ruth's books" -- ***** Reader review 
 
"A very good read. I couldn't put this book down and go to bed. Had to read it all in one go" -- ***** Reader review 
 
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ONE WOMAN'S FIGHT FOR FREEDOM AND LOVE... 
 
Born into the First World War, Dorothy has a bleak childhood under the iron fist of an implacable mother and the silent compliance of a browbeaten father. 
 
Her escape is achieved just before the disastrous advent of Hitler, and there is further tragedy to come. 
 
Follow her through childhood and adolescence, then on into her twenties. Can she win her own battle for freedom, for love and for her own place in the world?

Dorothy's War

a powerfully atmospheric, heart-warming and compelling coming of age saga set in the North-West from bestselling author Ruth Hamilton

Set in Europe through the World Wars, three generations of women share a story that will echo across time. 
The summer of 1915 was a time of prosperity and unease for the Wittgenstein family, and for eldest daughter Beata it was a time of awakening. By the glimmering waters of Lake Geneva, she met a young French officer and fell in love. 
As the years pass, Beata must watch in horror as Europe is once again engulfed in war. Her daughter Amadea is forced into hiding, and family and friends are swept away without a trace. Taking on daring missions behind enemy lines, Amadea discovers her place in an unbreakable chain between generations . . . between her lost family and the family of her future.

Echoes

Pip Granger

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 
 
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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...

No Peace For The Wicked

The East-End is brought to life in this heart-warming Cockney saga

Boots Adams celebrates his 60th birthday in style with an old-fashioned Cockney knees-up, even if Gemma, James and the rest of the younger people insist that the music has to be rock and roll. The new generation of the family are growing up quickly - Philip and Phoebe are spending a lot of time together, and Maureen has ambitions to become a model, having her picture taken for the newspapers as she hopes for fame and fortune. Meanwhile, there are changes on the way. A local company wants to take over Adams Fashions, and Boots and Sammy have difficult decisions to make. Rosie and Matt are thinking about selling the farm, but worry about Joe and Hortense, their loyal workers. While Felicity has resigned herself to never regaining her sight, Polly sees a familiar face that she can't place - a mysterious stranger who is being sheltered in Walworth. Anneliese encounters someone she never wished to see again, and turns to Boots for help.

A Girl Next Door

An Adams Family Saga Novel

Perfect for fans of Maeve Binchy and Rosamunde Pilcher, this is an emotional and moving novel about fresh starts and new beginnings by multi-million copy seller Elvi Rhodes. 
 
READERS ARE LOVING THE APPLE TREE! 
"The descriptive style...leads you into the story, and you feel as if you know the characters" - 5 STARS 
"A most entertaining book and different from the usual "I have moved house" story." - 5 STARS 
"A brilliant story" - 5 STARS 
"What an emotional book, could not put [it] down" - 5 STARS 
"Very descriptive and sensitively written" - 5 STARS 
 
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A FRESH START IN UNCHARTERED TERRITORY; THE CHANCE TO REBUILD HER LIFE... 
 
When Frances changes her unsettled life in Brighton and buys an old farmhouse in the Yorkshire Dales to run as a guesthouse, she finds herself in uncharted territory. 
 
The villagers seem very friendly and talk about the previous owners of Beck Farm but there seems to be some mystery about them. What had happened to the wife of the previous owner - and why was she still resented? 
 
Can Frances find out while at the same time rebuilding her own life?

The Apple Tree

get swept away by this captivating, heart-warming and uplifting novel set in the Yorkshire Dales

The 1950s are in full swing, and the Adams family is blessed with many new additions. Chinese Lady now has so many grandchildren that even she can sometimes scarcely remember them all. Boots and Sammy are kept up-to-date by the Adams youngsters , some of whom are now working in the family business. But they also welcome newcomers , including the lovely Anneliese, whose German ancestry makes her less than popular with some of her South London neighbours, and Joe and Hortense , newly arrived from the West Indies and working hard for Matt and Rosie on their farm in Kent. 
 
Sammy, meanwhile, has trouble with the newly-formed trade union at his factory, and the shadows of the war continue to haunt the family when Felicity's hopes for an operation which will save her sight are threatened by an extraordinary revelation. 
But the Adams family is still full of hope and promise for the future.

Family Fortunes

Sammy Adams is always on the look-out for a new business opportunity. When he hears from his son David about the new-fangled supermarkets that are becoming all the rage in America, he immediately starts looking for a suitable site in South London. 
 
Meanwhile, legacies of the last war continue to haunt the Adams family. The mystery of Katje Galicia, the Polish woman who knows something of Sir Edwin Finch's past, becomes a major police enquiry while a beautiful German girl appears, bringing wartime memories back to Tim Adams and his wife Felicity. 
 
Tim and Felicity have much to rejoice over, while the younger members of the Adams family are starting to spread their wings.

Spreading Wings

Perfect for fans of Donna Douglas and Nancy Revell, a feel-good, colourful and comic saga set in post war London from Sunday Times bestseller Pip Granger. 
 
"Packed with sharp authentic detail, this tale told through a child's eyes brings to life a colourful world of great characters from a bygone age." -- HOME &amp; COUNTRY 
"Loved this book. Could not put it down, read it in two sittings..." -- ***** Reader review 
"I enjoyed every minute of it and was sad when I finished it..." -- ***** Reader review 
 
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ALL WAS CALM AND NORMAL...UNTIL A STRANGER CAME INTO TOWN... 
 
1954, Soho, London. Rosie, and her beloved Auntie Maggie are opening up their café in Old Compton Street for Uncle Bert's breakfast special when the Widow Ginger comes to call. 
 
The Widow Ginger, an ex-GI with ice-cold blue eyes, is especially scary. He has unfinished business with Uncle Bert- business that includes being cheated on his share of a 'liberated' lorry-load of guns and explosives during the War - and he intends to make sure he now gets paid in full. 
 
And this isn't all: the lovely Luigi appears to be suffering from a severe case of unrequited lust; Bert and the local Mafioso Maltese Joe have had an acrimonious falling-out; and, most worrying of all, Rosie's best friend Jenny has begun to keel over mysteriously in the school playground.... 
 
The Widow Ginger continues Rosie's story (started in Not All Tarts Are Apples) and paints a picture of 1950s Soho so authentic you feel as though you are there...

The Widow Ginger

A heart-warming and upliftingly funny saga from the East End

It is 1953 - Coronation year - and like all of Cockney London the members of the Adams family are looking forward to the celebrations. Chinese Lady, now Lady Finch, worries that her friends will think she is too grand to mingle with them . But her husband has a more pressing worry - the sudden appearance of the lovely but mysterious Katje Galicia, who knows more than she should about his own chequered past. 
 
Young Jimmy Adams, meanwhile, is enjoying working at the family clothing factory, where at the retirement party for two of the oldest employees, Bert and Gertie Roper, he meets their lively granddaughter Clare. Before long he has offered her a job on the switchboard, and has hopes of seeing her after working hours as well. And brave Felicity, blinded in the blitz, thinks she notices a glimmer of light appearing in her dark world - but dare not tell her husband, in case it is just her imagination... 
 
With the young Queen now on the throne, times are changing for the Adams family.

Changing Times

This treasure trove of talent is set against the background of places already familiar to Catherine Cookson's countless readers - the North-East, the South Coast and London, with a time-scale stretching from the 1920's to the present day. 
 
In the title story, a disillusioned husband decides to call on an office colleague he has always slightly despised, and finds himself having to re-evaluate his own family relationships in the light of what he discovers in the other's home. In the three stories that make up 'The Forbidden Word', the first set in the 1920s, the second in the 1950s and the third in the1980s, Catherine Cookson traces the changes in attitudes to marriage and pregnancy that have taken place in the last eighty years. 
 
In other stories a shy bachelor begins to make friends for the first time in his life among the people who like himself have taken refuge from the Blitz in the London Underground, and a much put-upon young woman who makes up her own mind to escape from her family's domestic exploitation of her. The reader catches a glimpse behind the scenes in a large department store, and learns of the havoc that a husband's passion for cricket can cause.

The Simple Soul And Other Stories

Excitement is running high in the Adams family. Mr Finch, after a long career in secret government work, is to be knighted - which means that Chinese Lady will become a real 'Lady'! What with having to find a new outfit suitable for the occasion, and worrying about whether she'll have to curtsey to the King, the redoubtable matriarch of the Adams family scarcely knows if she's coming or going. 
 
Her grandson Paul, meanwhile, working for the Young Socialists, is worried at what his fiery colleague Lucy will say if she learns that he has titled connections. And Sammy, trying to rebuild his clothing business after the War, is horrified at the growing fashion for denim jeans, which even the young ladies of the family seem to be wearing. Should he forsake his beliefs that girls should dress like girls and start stocking these objectionable garments? 
 
All differences are resolved, as the great day dawns when the Adams family goes to the Palace for their proudest moment.

Appointment At The Palace

The woman who presented herself at the offices of the respectable firm of London solicitors was, the receptionist decided, clearly a vagrant who had been sleeping on the streets. The clothes that hung on her frail body were filthy, and she seemed unable to speak. When she asked to see the firm's senior partner, Alexander Armstrong, she was at first shown the door - but when Mr Armstrong learned the name of his visitor, all the office staff were amazed at his reaction. For Irene Baindor was a woman with a past, and her emergence from obscurity was to signal the unravelling of a mystery that had baffled the lawyer for twenty-six years. 
What Irene - the silent lady of the title - had been doing, and where she had been, gradually emerged over the following weeks as Armstrong met the unlikely benefactors who had befriended her and helped her to build a useful and satisfying life in a sheltered environment. Now, at last, she was able to confront her tortured and violent past and find great happiness and contentment with the help of old friends and some newer ones.

The Silent Lady

Val Wood

Rosa grew up an orphan in a remote, watery island fastness on the wild East coast of Yorkshire. Taken in as a small child by the motherly Mrs Drew, she realised as she grew up that this large and seemingly close farming family contained many troubled souls. Mr Drew, whose religious fervour held a dark secret; Jim, the eldest son, who was terrified of something from his past; Delia, longing to escape from the island; and tall, handsome, confident Matthew, who wanted only one thing - Rosa herself. 
 
But Rosa's background was one of mystery. Her mother, before she drowned in the dyke near their home, had always promised that one day Rosa's father would return to her - a handsome Spaniard, with jewels and silks in treasure chests, sailing in on a ship with golden sails. Mr Drew knew the secret of Rosa's past - and so did the two mysterious Irishmen, who came back to the island after many years and who threatened everything which Rosa held most dear. 
 
Other novels by Valerie Wood include: The Hungry Tide, winner of the Catherine Cookson Prize for Fiction, Annie, Children of the Tide, The Romany Girl, Emily, and Going Home.

Rosa's Island

Volume 2 opens with a seventeen-year-old Mary Ann struggling with the painful business of growing up as her first love, Corny Boyle, leaves for America. It follows her through her eventual marriage to Corny, and the joys and trials of being a wife, and a mother to six-year-old twins, Rose Mary and David.

Mary Ann Omnibus (2)

Volume 1 follows Mary Ann, a young girl living in poverty in a dockland tenement on Tyneside, from the ages of eight to thirteen. She is determined to bring about a better way of life for her family and, to the amazement of the gentle parish priest, Father Owen, and the rage and consternation of her arch-enemy, Sarah Flanagan, Mary Ann's tenacity eventually pays off.

Mary Ann Omnibus (1)

By Hand

Byrne & Balzano

Described by his creator as 'short, fat and primitive', Evert Bäckström is a rather unique homicide detective but he is undeniably the real deal with it comes to modern policing. 
 
This series is blackly comic, thrillingly compelling and utterly real.

Bäckström

CAMP GOLD

Caedmon Aisquith

Cairo Trilogy

Can You Solve the Murder?

Capital

Care Bears

Cartoon Kid

Cath Kidston

A crime-fiction series with a twist - private investigator Catherine Berlin, is a damaged soul struggling with a heroin addiction, but she still manages to do her best, even when her own neck is on the chopping block.

Catherine Berlin

Celeste Express

Central Intelligence

Chaos and Flame

Charles Hayden

Charles Paris Dramatisations

Charlie Bass

Charlie Changes Into a Chicken

Charlie and Lola

Cherry Blossoms After Winter

Chevalier

Chinese Cinderella

Life at Tanglewood isn't all sleepovers, picnics and beach parties. Cherry, Summer, Skye, Coco and Honey all face some tough life challenges in this delicious series from bestselling girls' favourite Cathy Cassidy. Every sister has a secret to share. Which one will be your favourite?

Chocolate Box Girls

Christmas

Chronicles of Vladimir Tod

Churchminister

Welcome inside the violent, treacherous world of Roman politics, and learn how one man - clever, compassionate, devious, vulnerable - fought to reach the top.

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