Showing titles in Historical Fiction

The Revolutionary War is seen through the eyes of a British family to whom an American prisoner of war has been entrusted. Technically the young prisoner is in Uncle Lawrence's custody, but the children soon forge a forbidden friendship with him. He becomes the Reb and they his Redcoats.

It's 1780 and the struggle for American independence is raging. In New York, twelve-year-old Aiden Blaise is sure that the British will win soon. How can a few rebel colonies hold out against the might of the British crown? And anyway he's more concerned with somehow managing to rise above his lot in life and make his fortune. But New York is a powder keg of soldiers and spies, and soon Aiden will be drawn into the fight for freedom in a way he could never have predicted.

Mary has a gift for languages and codes that has brought her to the attention of the adults working at Bletchley Park. She finds herself drawn into their undercover operations, learning Japanese in order to decode enemy messages - but the operation she's a part of remains cloaked in mystery. As tensions on the Home Front escalate, Mary is forced to face the realities of warfare - the enemy is operating amongst them. Posing as a waitress amidst the glamour and bustle of the Ritz Hotel, Mary uncovers secrets and lies amongst the people she's working mostly closely with.

From much-loved author Shirley Hughes comes a thrilling World War II novel for children aged 10 and up. It is 1944, and Florence, Italy, is occupied by Nazi German forces. The Italian resistance movement has not given up hope, though - and neither have Paolo and his sister, Constanza. Both are desperate to fight the occupation, but what can two siblings do against a whole army with only a bicycle to help them? In extraordinary circumstances, people are capable of extraordinary things.

Morgan Freeman reads this story, accompanied by music by Taj Mahal. Based on the traditional American folksong, this compelling tale recounts the daring adventures of one family's escape from slavery via the Underground Railroad. This touching story captures all the drama of a perilous flight to freedom, told through the experience of a young girl.

The story of Jim: a very lucky, very special, very grubby dog, who lives, improbably, in the Victoria and Albert Museum. Emma Thompson magically weaves the real-life tale of Jim—beloved dog of Sir Henry Cole who created the first Christmas card—with a fantastically warm and heartfelt Christmas romp.

It's the end of August 2005, and a big hurricane is blowing in to New Orleans, Louisiana. Barry's family plans to evacuate the Ninth Ward with everyone else, but when Barry's little sister gets violently ill, they must return to their home and stick out the storm. At first, everything seems fine. But then the levees break, the water rises, Barry is swept out of his home, and everything changes. Stranded in the floodwaters with no idea where he is and only a stranded dog by his side, Barry must find the courage to survive the storm of the century.

It’s a cold winter during the Great Frost of 1683. Thomasina and Anne are the best of friends, one running her father’s sweet shop and the other the apprentice at the family apothecary—together they sell their goods on the frozen River Thames. When a family tragedy turns Thomasina’s world upside down, she is drawn to a mysterious conjuror and the enchanted frost fair. But soon the world of Father Winter threatens to claim everything she holds dear. Will they be able to solve the magical mysteries that surround them?

World War II has begun. Brigit has been evacuated to Wales from her home near the aeroplane factories of Coventry. But when it's revealed that her father is German, Brigit runs away to join her mother in a very special training camp, where Churchill is building a secret army of spies and saboteurs known as the Special Operations Executive. Brigit and her mother soon find themselves on the front line in Nazi-occupied France, where they search for double agents and meet with danger at every turn in their efforts to support the French resistance.

In 1939, the Germans invaded the town of Lodz, Poland, and moved the Jewish population into a small part of the city called a ghetto. As the war progressed, 270,000 people were forced to settle in the ghetto under impossible conditions. At the end of the war, there were about 800 survivors. Of those who survived, only twelve were children. This is the story of one of the twelve.

Brought to you by Puffin. A fun, thriller of an adventure told in words and pictures from master storyteller, Philip Pullman, including beautiful cover illustration by Peter Bailey and sumptuous illustrations throughout by David Mostyn. Rose and Lily and their little brother Ned live in an...

Alfred the Great is one of the most iconic rulers in British history and the only one to be known as "Great". Not only did he mount a fierce resistance against Viking invaders, he was also a keen scholar and collector of stories. He welcomed travellers with a tale to his court, which brings in the intrepid sailor Wulfstan. Wulfstan dazzles Alfred's court with a story of shipwrecks, horse-racing and a ruler buried in ice.

Wangari lives in the lush, green land of rural Kenya, where the soil is perfect for planting, the trees tower into the sky and the streams are full of mysterious creatures. All day, she plays beneath her favourite fig tree, and at night, she gathers around the fire with her family to listen to her mother's stories. Then Wangari grows up and goes away to school, and things start changing at home. Farmers chop down the trees. Landslides bury the stream. The soil becomes overworked and dry, and nothing will grow. People go hungry.

The #1 bestselling Magic Tree House series is ready to whisk you away through time with Jack and Annie! Magic Tree House #35: Camp Time in California The magic tree house whisks Jack and Annie to the Yosemite National Park in 1903. They are surprised to join John Muir and President Theodore...

In Anne of Green Gables by L. M. Montgomery, you meet Anne Shirley—a young orphan whose spirit is far too big for the life she’s been given. When she’s mistakenly sent to live with Matthew and Marilla Cuthbert at Green Gables, her boundless imagination and dramatic flair begin to reshape every life she touches. Suddenly, the quiet village of Avonlea bursts with new color: sunlit roads become adventure paths, simple chores turn into stories, and ordinary days brim with possibility. Yet beneath Anne’s charm lies a tender heart longing for belonging, friendship, and a place to finally call home.

'Warm and funny, this tale of a pint-size pig and the family he saves will take up a giant space in your heart' — Kiran Millwood Hargrave, author of The Girl of Ink & Stars ‘What a consummate storymaker Nina Bawden is’ — Michael Morpurgo, author of Kensuke's Kingdom Winner of The...

England, 1605. Twelve-year-old Tom must save his father from being hanged. He falls in with a mysterious stranger, the Falcon, who promises to help him in exchange for his service. But on the long journey to London, Tom discovers the Falcon's true mission - a plot to blow up king and Parliament with barrels of black powder! Now Tom faces a terrible decision: secure his father's release or stop the assassination of the king....

If an entire nation could seek its freedom, why not a girl? As the Revolutionary War begins, thirteen-year-old Isabel wages her own fight...for freedom. Promised freedom upon the death of their owner, she and her sister, Ruth, in a cruel twist of fate become the property of a malicious New York...

Fly By Night, read by actress Lesley Sharp, is a breathtaking adventure story, set in reimagined eighteenth-century England, and is the stunning debut novel from Frances Hardinge, author of the Costa Award winning The Lie Tree. As the realm struggles to maintain an uneasy peace after years of...

. With the rise of the Berlin Wall, 12-year-old Gerta finds her family divided overnight. She, her mother, and her brother, Fritz, live on the eastern side, controlled by the Soviets. Her father and middle brother, who had gone west in search of work, cannot return home. Gerta knows it is dangerous to watch the wall, to think forbidden thoughts of freedom, yet she can't help herself. She sees the East German soldiers with their guns trained on their own citizens; she, her family, her neighbors, and her friends are prisoners in their own city.