As the Depression hits N.E. England, Hannah Casey's life is turned upside down. Since her father's death, Hannah and her mother Miriam have lived with her aunt and uncle. Aunt Aggie has been bedridden for years and Miriam is now mistress of the house. But as Hannah's beauty develops, she catches her uncle's roaming eye. Escaping to her friend Naomi's house whenever she can, she begins to court Naomi's handsome brother. But when she finally flees from home, it is the taciturn Jake, Naomi's older half-brother, who shines through as her protector.
It is 1916 and Edith Mellor is one of the few female surgeons in Britain. She travels to the Somme, where she is confronted with the horrors at the front. Yet amongst the bloodshed on the battlefield, there is a ray of light in the form of the working class Albert, a corporal from the East End of London. Meanwhile in Bradford, strong-minded Ada is left heartbroken when her only remaining son Jimmy heads off to fight in the war. She then discovers that her mentally unstable sister Beryl is pregnant with her husband Paddy's child. Can Edith help her to turn her life around?
Hilary Napier's life is turned upside-down when a French woman, knocks on her door and. Hilary is struck by Robert, the young boy with her. She soon realises Robert is her brother’s son. Hilary worries about her future – if Robert is the heir to Burracombe, where does that leave Hilary? And is this young boy ready for all that it means?
Liverpool, 1936. Molly Penelope Hardwick has been abandoned in Haisborough Orphanage. Desperate to discover her background, she befriends another orphan, Lenny Smith. Together they sneak out to roam the city of Liverpool, and hatch plans for their escape. But when Molly is forced to leave the orphanage, Lenny has no idea where she's gone. And when war is declared, he soon forgets about his childhood best pal to focus on his posting with the RAF in Scrimpton. What Lenny doesn't know is that Molly is desperate to join the war effort, and with her sights set on joining the WAAF, chances are they will see each other again. But will things ever be the same after all this time?
Laura Collins is struggling to make a good life for her daughters, Tess and Tina. So when she is offered a good job she is delighted. Life is very different for the Brewsters who live on Manor Farm in Herefordshire. Danny plans to marry one day whilst his cousin, Phil, longs to escape the world of farming. War changes all their plans. Tina is evacuated and Tess joins the Land Army. Danny and Phil join the RAF and end up on the same airfield, falling in love with the same girl.
A gritty, emotional tale of 1930s Blackpool from bestselling saga author Mary Wood, writing as Maggie Mason. Blackpool, 1932. When Grace's Ma passes away and her Da's ship sinks with all hands, Grace is utterly alone in the world. She's sent to an orphanage in Blackpool, but the master has an eye for a pretty young lass. Grace won't be his victim, so she runs, destitute, into the night.In Blackpool, she finds a home with the kindly Sheila and Peggy - and meets a lovely airman. But it's 1938, and war is on the horizon. Will Grace ever find the happiness and home she deserves?
Back in 1950 the author became one of the first policewomen in the country. But the force's new female recruits faced a sceptical public in rural Yorkshire and even before they stepped out on the beat there were the prejudices of older male officers to overcome. This title tells his tales of life as a copper.
Dot, a young health visitor, has her black bag, a map and a long list of families who all need her help...It's the end of the 1950's and the war's long shadow is fading. Dot has taken a job as a health visitor working from an inner city clinic. Her beat is a maze of streets and alleyways, overflowing with families trying to survive any way they can.
Fiona, the rector's new wife, is beautiful, flashy, and disliked by the congregation, but Fiona is keeping a secret from her husband that the church rumor mill is about to make public.
It's the late 1950s and change is in the air. For the Napier family, the old ways are shifting. Hilary must discover if reaching out for a chance of happiness must mean breaking away from the life expected of her, while Patsy, their young housekeeper's help, is facing motherhood without her own family around her. Down the hill from the Napiers, villagers young and old are setting out on adventures.
1939. Eve Armstrong is being evacuated to Devon. As the train pulls out of London she takes a last look at the crowded platform, the shabbily dressed evacuees, and a rude little boy sticking his tongue out. At first Eve is happier than ever at Drake's Farm. It's a different world that invites fresh starts, and so when Eve runs into the boy from the station, Johnny Durrell, they call a truce and soon become firm friends. The war might be a distant reality, but the arrival of Connie Hale makes every day a battle. Connie is stuck up and spiteful - and Johnny's new best friend. Will Eve fight for Johnny or concede defeat?
A few days before Christmas Tess Williams rushes into Albert Payne's tobacconist shop, with two boys in hot pursuit, saying she's a thief. Albert chases the boys away, and though Tess does not realise it, this incident changes her life.
When artist Maddie inherits a house in Cornwall shortly after the death of her husband, she hopes it will be the fresh start she and her step-daughter Hannah desperately need. As she discovers the stories of generations of women who've lived there before, Maddie begins to feel her life is somehow intertwined within its walls. And as Maddie and Hannah pull at the seams of Trevenen's past, the house reveals secrets that have lain hidden for generations.
When her reclusive grandmother Jaunty becomes too frail to live alone, Gabriella Blythe moves into her remote waterside cabin on Frenchman's Creek. Once a celebrated artist, Jaunty's days are coming to a close but she is still haunted by events in her past, particularly the sinking of a ship during the war. Everything is fine until a handsome stranger arrives in a storm, seeking help.
Sophia Seddon and Grace Thompson are poles apart - one a member of the notorious Seddons of Plover Street, the other the spoilt only child of the local vicar. But after Grace rescues Sophia following a run-in with her judgemental father, their friendship quickly blossoms. Fourteen years later, at the turn of the twentieth century, Sophia and Grace's childhood friendship is revived when they find themselves fighting a common cause: women's rights. Joined by rebel suffragette Vinnie, and Ada, who is still searching for her purpose, they begin their fight for votes and freedom. The ties of friendship prove stronger than any, even in the face of danger.
When Dot McCann, playing with her pals, decides to hide in Butcher Rathbone's almost empty dustbin, she overhears a conversation which could send one man to prison and the other to the gallows - and suddenly finds herself in possession of stolen goods. Dot lives with her aunt and uncle, abandoned after her parents died. She feels very alone, until she meets up with Corky who has run away from a London orphanage. They join forces with Emma, whose jeweller's shop has been burgled, and Nick, a young reporter who is investigating the crime. The four of them begin a plot to catch the thieves. But Dot and Emma have been recognised, and soon both are in very real danger.
On her deathbed, Lucy Fallow's mother makes her promise to look after her younger siblings and keep house for her father and older brothers. When the Fallow menfolk lose their jobs, it's not long before they are working on the wrong side of the law. Lucy begins to form a relationship with Jacob McKenzie and know that they will marry. However, as their love grows so does the resentment from Jacob'ss older brother Tom. What follows is a chain of heart-breaking events where Jacob and Lucy are torn from each other's arms.
After inheriting a countryside estate in Cornwall, John Mitchell moves with his wife and two-year-old Abigail into their new home. The family’s new life seems idyllic with the exception of the wrath of the Gaisfords, a powerful local family. Abigail eventually marries Luke Gaisford in spite of her father's warning and soon uncovers Luke's terrifying secret life.
When a couple renovate a beautiful 17th century house in the Cotswolds, they discover the ghosts of the Civil War are still in residence. As Guy and Ruth delve into the property's history, uncovering both joy and sorrow, the house finally relinquishes its secrets revealing how closely the family from the past is intertwined with the present-day owners. Why do they seem so familiar? Have they perhaps met before?
Angela O’Rourke is six years old when she is passed over to the care of her aunt and uncle. Angela’s new home is peaceful enough but when she’s 16 her uncle takes to drink. She sets off to train as a nurse in Liverpool. After a disastrous love affair she heads home to Ireland, where she makes an astonishing discovery.
