Showing titles in 20th Century

Set off the coast of Wales between the 1940s and present day, The Last Song of Winter is a beautiful, romantic story from the author of The Winter Children. 'Completely unputdownable, every Lulu Taylor novel grips you to the very end' – Lisa Jewell, author of None of This is True 'A book to...

Brought to you by Penguin. The haunting love story that turned Murakami into a literary superstar. When he hears her favourite Beatles song, Toru Watanabe recalls his first love Naoko, the girlfriend of his best friend Kizuki. Immediately he is transported back almost twenty years to his student...

Bletchley Park, 1942. When teacher Hana Phillips is unexpectedly recruited to Bletchley Park she's determined to do her bit for the war effort. A talented linguist, she's soon put to work cracking Japanese naval codes and her newfound talents make her confidence soar, even as her work puts pressure on her already fracturing marriage. Then Hana is tasked with a secret mission. There is a mole in her team, sharing secrets with the enemy, and Hana must search them out.

The third novel in the brand new Backshaw Moss series by beloved million-copy bestselling author Anna Jacobs Lancashire, 1936. With her son Gabriel finally married, and her youngest following his dreams of becoming a doctor, Gwynneth Harte finds herself with an empty nest - until a fire forces...

A compelling wartime drama from the author of The Street, perfect for fans of Pam Weaver and Kitty Neale. The Windmill Theatre was one of the most famous clubs of the 20th century. Its heyday was during WWII when it famously ‘never closed' and it became famous for its ‘tasteful' nude performances. Dawn is a pretty and feisty blonde. Losing her job as a chambermaid, she goes to work as a dancer at The Windmill Theatre.

‘That time is upon us. I can feel it coming. That evil barbarian will not be satisfied until he has engulfed the whole world in war and death. I fear for us all.’ In a triumphant return to his much-loved Courtney series, Wilbur Smith introduces us to the bravest new member of the famed...

Rising singer-songwriters Jane Quinn and Jesse Reid looked untouchable. Captivating crowds in festival meadows, lighting up turntables, intoxicating fans from coast to coast. It was a connection that inspired the greatest love songs. But nothing lasts forever. Beneath the hits that made them, a dark secret threatened to break them. Now it’s time to hear the whole story, finally revealed in Jane’s iconic album, Songs in Ursa Major....

Autumn, 1942. The Blitz has come to an end, but for many families, it's not over yet. As the residents of Jubilee Row begin to rebuild their lives, twins Sybil and Maudie Maguire decide to go off and do their bit by joining the WAAFs. But what starts off as a great adventure soon forces the girls to grow up as they are confronted with the harsh realities of war. Will they stick together, or will their experiences drive them apart? Back in Hull, their older sister Florence is a typing pool supervisor who has resigned herself to a life without love.

Germany, 1944. Taken from the camps to serve the Fuhrer himself, Anke Hoff has been assigned as midwife to one of Hitler’s inner circle. If she refuses, her family will die. Torn between her duty as a caregiver and her hatred for the regime she’s now a part of, Anke is quickly swept into a life unlike anything she’s ever known - and she discovers that many of those at the Berghof are just as trapped as she is. Soon, she’s falling for a man who will make her world more complicated still.

After the death of their mother, Mollie and Annemarie decide to escape from their tiny Irish village and head to Liverpool to board a ship to New York. But in a cruel twist of fate, the girls are separated when the boat leaves without Mollie.

Summer, 1945. The nation rejoices as the Second World War comes to an end, but Banbury Street matriarch Eva Parke foresees trouble ahead. Her daughter, Mildred, awaits the return of her fiancé from overseas duty, and doubts begin to seep into her mind about how little she knows of the man she has promised to marry. Meanwhile new neighbour, dancer Cissie Cresswell, hides a terrible secret. Can the two young women unite to face the doubt and uncertainty of the future?

When German forces invade the Channel Islands and the citizens of Jersey are cut off from the rest of the UK, the islands’ residents bond together to resist the enemy. East London native Helen Bowman was never meant to be here, but when she found herself alone and pregnant her beloved aunt’s home in Jersey was the only place she could go. But now, as the enemy start rounding up anyone not born on the island to be sent to a camp on the continent, Helen is forced to rely on the kindness of strangers, like her new friend Peggy Hamel, to keep herself and her son hidden.

Widowed Lessie Hamilton lives with her young son and her brother Davie. To make ends meet, Lessie works in the local grocery shop supporting Davie as he works on the docks and attends night school, hoping to become an engineer, much to the scorn of their reformed alcoholic father. With her mother's drinking spiralling, putting their vulnerable younger sister Thomasina at risk, brother Joseph frequently in trouble with the police and sister Edith thinking herself above them all – Lessie has much to contend with.

It's 1940, and for newlywed Daisy Turner, Kew Gardens is a haven away from the bombs that are falling nightly on her East End home. She grew up around plants - her parents met when they were gardeners at Kew in the last war. And her work on the Dig for Victory campaign at Kew keeps her occupied while her husband, Rex, is away in the RAF. Beth Sanderson works with Daisy at the gardens, but she dreams of being a doctor while juggling her gardening job with nursing shifts. And there's the added complication of her forbidden romance with her colleague, Gus Campbell.

Sons and Lovers, Lawrence's third published novel, was written by the author at the height of his literary powers. The story of class differences (the relationship between a middle-class woman and a miner) in the tough world of coal mining brought a refreshing realism to literature. It remains a challenging text and is studied widely. It is particularly effective on audiobook in the hands of Nottinghamshire reader Paul Slack.

Eleanor Lyndon was minding her own business when a lord of the realm fell—quite literally—into her life. When Charles Wycombe, the dashing and incorrigible Earl of Billington, toppled out of a tree and landed at Ellie's feet, neither suspected that such an inauspicious meeting would lead to marriage. But Charles must find a bride before his thirtieth birthday or he'll lose his fortune. And Ellie needs a husband or her father's odious fiancée will choose one for her. And so they agree to wed.

Liverpool, 1946: the blackout blinds may be coming down, but one family is about to face devastating misfortune. Dora Evans is finally marrying the love of her life, and her dreams of opening a dressmaking business look as if they might come true. With twin daughters on the way, Dora has everything she's ever wanted. But then tragedy strikes: one of Dora's babies dies in infancy, and a catastrophic fire changes their lives forever. Can Dora save herself, her marriage and her daughter?

Brought to you by Penguin. London, 1939 When tragedy strikes, Libby Andrews is left homeless and destitute, fending for herself on the capital's most dangerous streets. Desperate times call for desperate measures, and Libby is on the cusp of making a decision that could jeopardise her future...

1940, Liverpool: Alice Turner and her best friend, Millie Markham, work for the war effort at Rootes munitions factory, making shell caps and Halifax bombers. Alice’s sweetheart, Terry, is home from the front for a brief period of leave. But the honeymoon is soon over. Terry must go back to the dangers of Nazi-occupied France, and the ever-present air raid sirens quickly bring Alice back down to earth. 

1838: when a terrible storm blows up off the Northumberland coast, Grace Darling, the lighthouse keeper’s daughter, knows there is little chance of survival for the passengers on the small ship battling the waves. But her actions set in motion an incredible feat of bravery that echoes down the century. 1938: when 19-year-old Matilda Emmerson sails from across the Atlantic to New England, she faces an uncertain future. Sent away in disgrace, she must stay with her reclusive relative, Harriet Flaherty, a lighthouse keeper on Rhode Island.