Showing results by author "Mary-Anne O'Connor" in All Categories

1939. Australian-born Carl Smith loves his country, but he never meant to go to war. He is training to be a doctor and wants to protect lives, not take them. But if enlisting is the only way he can save his German-born father from an internment camp, he will. 1941. Athena Papandrakis has grown up on the island of Crete, swimming in jewelled waters and exploring ancient ruins. Now her home is under threat and she is ready to fight to defend it from the hated Nazi invaders.

A fight for love and freedom in a harsh land...will the stakes prove too high? From the emerald hills of Ireland to a wild colonial land comes an epic story of love, brotherhood and the fight for liberty. 1851: After the death of her father, young Eve Richards is destitute. Her struggle to survive sees her deported in chains to the colony of New South Wales, penniless and alone. But here in this strange new world fortune smiles on the spirited, clever Eve in the shape of a respectable job offer that will lead to a quiet, secure life.

At 17, Veronica O'Shay is happier running wild on the family farm than behaving in the ladylike manner her mother requires, and she despairs both of her secret passion for her brother's friend Jack Murphy and what promises to be a future of restraint and compliance. But this is 1913 and the genteel tranquillity of rural Beecroft is about to change forever as the O'Shay and Murphy families, along with their friends the Dwyers, are caught up in the theatre of war and their fates become intertwined.

Sydney, Christmas, 1901. Federation has been achieved but Australian women are yet to gain the right to vote in their new nation's elections and have a say in the laws that govern them. Bolshy, boisterous Frankie Merriweather is a fervent advocate for women's rights, determined to dedicate herself to the cause, never marrying or becoming a mother. She can't understand her artistic sister Ivy, who wants a life of ease and beauty with her soon-to-be fiancé, law student Patrick Earle.

An epic and lyrical tale of love, adventure and gambled fortunes that ranges from the wild cloaked woodlands of Ireland to the Victorian Alps of colonial Australia from a best-selling Australian author. For fans of Nicole Alexander, Colleen McCullough and Fiona McIntosh. 1879: 'Invisible' Anne Brown fears she'll never escape the harshness and poverty of her life in County Donegal, Ireland. Until, one dramatic Beltane night, her life is changed forever and she leaves to seek her fortune in far-flung Australia.

Eighteen-year-old Junie Wallace is a smart girl and, with two brothers away at war and a third recently killed in action, she knows there is only one way to save the family farm for her grieving parents. Unfortunately, that solution involves marrying the unscrupulous Ernest, and breaking the heart of the young drover she loves, Michael. But the war is looming ever closer, and when Pearl Harbour brings the threat of Japanese aggression to Australian shores, the fates of many becomes inextricably interwoven.

1930. Seventeen-year-old Iris Mitchell dreams of designing clothes, but there's little spare cash for fashion in their shanty-town home. By day, Iris scrubs the floors at Caron's, an upmarket department store. By night, she designs and sews in her family's tiny, crowded house. When John reappears, passions are reignited, and Iris must face not only their religious divide, but the apparent impossibility of having a career once married.

The 1960s are beating a fresh pulse of political and cultural upheaval through Sydney. For sheltered convent schoolgirl Poppy Flannery such changes seem irrelevant. But it doesn't stop her from longing to join in, especially if it means spending time with the popular boy she secretly loves, Ben Williamson. So when a dream escape to Surfers Paradise arrives, Poppy and her twin sister Rosemary seize it and find themselves in the midst of the swinging 60s at last.

1930. Seventeen-year-old Iris Mitchell dreams of designing clothes, but there's little spare cash for fashion in their shanty-town home. The gift of a single purple ribbon from her would-be boyfriend John Tucker, however, creates an unexpected opportunity...and when Iris's brother joins the Sydney Harbour Bridge construction, the Mitchell family move to the city. Iris is torn away from John, but he's Protestant and she's Catholic, so perhaps it wasn't meant to be.

1851. After the death of her father, young Eve Richards is left destitute. Her struggle to survive sees her deported in chains to the colony of New South Wales, penniless and alone. But in this strange new world, fortune smiles on the spirited, clever Eve in the shape of a respectable job offer that will lead to a quiet, secure life. Then fiery, charismatic Irishman Kieran Clancy crosses her path ... For Kieran and his brother Liam, the promise of free passage and land in this brave new world is a chance to leave the grief and starvation of County Clare behind.

1879. 'Invisible' Anne Brown fears she'll never escape the harshness and poverty of her life in County Donegal, Ireland. Until, one Beltane night, her life is changed forever and she leaves to seek her fortune in Australia. Upon the death of their father, charismatic Will Worthington and his sister Mari are stunned to find he has left all their money and a ticket to Australia to an enigmatic painted woman, the mother of his unborn child. Their only hope for a brighter future also lies in Australia, where together with Will's best friend, the artist Charlie Turner, they seek their fortunes.

At the most magical time of the year, will Mary choose independence or love? It's 1909 and Mary Richards has worked hard to gain an education and become a teacher in her close-knit, picturesque village in the Cotswolds, but not everyone approves of her modern ways. When her sister Emily becomes...