20th Century

Meredith and Nina Whitson are as different as sisters can be. One stayed at home to raise her children and manage the family apple orchard; the other followed a dream and traveled the world to become a famous photojournalist....

Pino Lella wants nothing to do with the war or the Nazis. He's a normal Italian teenager - obsessed with music, food, and girls....

Tasmania, 1874. Growing up in the impoverished tenements along the Hobart Rivulet, Harriet Brown is used to doing whatever it takes to survive. Including, at just twelve years old, shearing off her hair and pretending to be a boy to secure a job.

Germany, 1941: “We live together, or we die together.” A novel that will stay with you forever, The Girl Who Survived tells the inspiring true story of Ilse Stein, a German Jew who was imprisoned in a ghetto - and who fell in love with the man she was supposed to loathe....

After Jimmy's shocking departure, Nellie Castle is feeling bereft. And with Rodney being elusive, she's determined to do all she can to help her youngest son Bert get back on his feet following the terrible injuries he sustained in the bombing.

Breakout at Stalingrad is a stark and terrifying portrait of the horrors of war, and a profoundly humane depiction of comradeship in adversity....

Ariella Bannon has no choice: she must put her precious children, Liesl and Erich, on that train or allow them to become prey for the Nazis....

As the clouds of war begin to gather in Europe, the Talbot family of rural Blackberry Farm will be torn apart, just as so many families all over the world will be. Life will never be the same again....

It's 1937. Fear and suspicion stalk the Continent. A million have died in Stalin's Great Purge and the Nazi terror grips Germany. But British intelligence is still trying to work out who the enemy is.

The war is over; Hitler is dead - and yet his evil legacy lives on. Saffron Courtney and her beloved husband, Gerhard, only just survived the brutal conflict, but Gerhard's Nazi-supporting brother, Konrad, is still free and determined to regain power....

Millions of people walked through Auschwitz’s gates, but she was the first woman who escaped. This powerful novel tells the inspiring true story of Mala Zimetbaum, whose heroism will never be forgotten, and whose fate altered the course of history....

Based on the incredible true story of two unsung heroines who defied the odds to save countless lives, this powerful novel reveals how acts of extraordinary courage by ordinary women saved so many in the countdown to WW2.

From the bestselling author of The Secret Midwife comes a story of bravery, sacrifice and resilience in war-torn Berlin—and two sisters who will risk it all to make a difference....

When twenty-one-year-old Nita Bineham is offered the chance of independence, away from the high walls of her family’s Surrey estate, she grasps it with both hands. But her new role at a local newspaper coincides with the emergence of a sinister rumour in their quiet village.

Erin O'Byrne returns to Ceann Mara, her family's remote property on the Darling River, seeking peace after a painful marital breakup. Camping by the tranquil billabong, she hopes the solitude of the Australian bush will help her heal.

Home again at Ceann Mara Station, Roisin O'Byrne, a young lawyer with a passion for protecting the Darling River where her family has lived for almost two hundred years, finds herself embroiled in a battle.

Penny is hell-bent on revenge on the man who caused her to flee France as a fourteen-year-old with little more than the clothes on her back. She lost everything, her friends, her home and her family....

Paris, 1940: As the German soldiers march down the Champs-Élysées, the Bélanger twins know there is no escape – their lives are about to change forever.

Paullina Simons's internationally bestselling blockbuster The Bronze Horseman told the heart-soaring tale of a young Russian woman's transcendent love affair with a Red Army soldier during the siege of Leningrad in the dark days of World War Two. The epic story continues in Tatiana and Alexander....

Berlin, 1945: Ester Pasternak walked out of the gates of Auschwitz barely alive. She survived against devastating odds, but her heartbreaking journey is only just beginning. In the camp, Ester gave birth to a tiny fair-haired infant....

Berlin, 1942. "All I know is we will survive this together," he says before kissing the tears away from my cheeks. But I know if the Nazis discover what we’ve done, how we’ve conspired against them, we will die together.

France, 1942: With Europe struggling under German occupation, Sophie Bélanger, grieving the deaths of her brother, fiancé and friends, is no longer prepared to stand on the sidelines.

As Spring blossoms, it seems love is in the air. 21 year-old, John Talbot dreams of a world not at war, where he can be a father to his young son Jonny and have a wife by his side. But is nurse Lucy Ross the woman for him?

Christmas time is fast approaching at Mary Vale and newcomer Libby is ready to start a fresh chapter working alongside the Wartime Midwives. When she discovers that the local primary school is struggling, Libby rallies the midwives to band together and work with the local community....

For fans of The Rose Code and The Paris Library, The Librarian of Burned Books is a captivating WWII-era novel about the intertwined fates of three women who believe in the power of books to triumph over the very darkest moments of war....

La magnifica festa del 30 gennaio 1933 sarebbe stata ricordata negli anni a venire come l'ultima occasione in cui si erano ritrovati tutti insieme. Fu un momento scintillante e al tempo stesso un commiato: la Berlino della comunità ebraica, con la sua vivacissima, brulicante polifonia, era perduta per sempre. Dopo il grande successo de Gli Effinger, Gabriele Tergit narra le vicende di cinque famiglie berlinesi sradicate dalla ferocia della storia del Novecento.

Das Glück in der glänzenden Metropole Berlin zu finden, davon träumt die junge Clara, als sie 1928 ihr Dorf verlässt. Im Alten Eierhäuschen in Treptow lernt sie den feschen Friseur Otto kennen, die Liebe zieht in ihr Herz. Doch die Weltwirtschaftskrise lässt die jungen Eheleute mit ihrem Salon in Kreuzberg scheitern. Als Otto 1940 zum Wehrdienst eingezogen wird, brechen für Clara harte Zeiten an. Sie muss allein Friseursalon, Haushalt und Kinder bewältigen, bis sie im Bombenhagel nur noch den Ausweg der Flucht sieht …

München, im Herbst 1918: Die Geschwister Hermann und Hilde Hartmann erleben das Ende des ersten Weltkriegs und den Zerfall des Königreichs Bayern. Die Welt, in der sie aufwuchsen, liegt nun in Scherben. Doch wo Hermann als heimgekehrter Offizier schockiert von den Ereignissen ist, wird Hilde von der Euphorie der Revolution und des Neubeginns mitgerissen. Sie verliebt sich in Paul Ludwig, einen glühenden Kommunisten, der Hilde in seiner Begeisterung für diese neue Ära ansteckt. Nach den langen Jahren des Kriegsschreckens keimt in Hilde Hoffnung für die Zukunft auf.

Ein bewegender Roman um das Vermächtnis einer großen Liebe und einen Neuanfang auf Island. Von #1-Kindle-Bestsellerautorin Karin Lindberg. Nach einem Schicksalsschlag braucht die Tischlerin Sofie Berger Zeit für sich und übernimmt einen Job in Island: Drei Monate lang wird sie dort sein, um ein größeres Renovierungsprojekt zu übernehmen. Zu Sofies Überraschung muss sie sich das Holzhaus, das ihr zur Verfügung gestellt wird, mit dem Neffen der Vermieterin teilen. Die Wohngemeinschaft mit dem schweigsamen, aber attraktiven Björgvin bietet einiges an emotionalem Zündstoff.

Estella Ecker has returned to Rockfall House, the last place on earth she wants to be. Years after she ran away from her overbearing father, she has been forced back home to walk in his footsteps, teaching at the college he dominated and living in the fabulous home where he entertained artists and scholars for decades—and perhaps she owns it now, because her mercurial mother has disappeared. At the center of everything—the whispers, the rumors, the secrets—is her father’s library of rare books, which she had been forbidden to touch while he was alive to stop her.

The good weather has finally arrived, and the empires of Europe are ready to hurl their armies and fleets at each other in a fight of titanic proportions. The stakes are high, with Austria-Hungary and France reeling on the brink of disaster.

Stretching from the late-nineteenth century to the present day, The Lost Masterpiece is wrapped around an enigmatic and powerful painting, Party on the Seine. Stolen by the Nazis. Believed to be destroyed for almost a century. Possibly haunted by the anguished spirit of Impressionist painter Berthe Morisot. Survivor of a flood, an earthquake and a fire when all the other artworks around it were destroyed. What secrets does it hold? What power?

Historische fictie voor de lezers van Corina Bomann, Marie Lamballe en Marie Lacrosse Berlijn, 1923. De Berlijnse verloskundige Hulda Gold wordt opgeroepen om te helpen bij een bevalling. Hoewel het Joodse gezin volgens zijn eigen strikte regels leeft, wint Hulda het vertrouwen van de jonge moeder. Als de pasgeborene na een paar dagen op mysterieuze wijze verdwijnt, raakt ze dan ook betrokken bij de zoektocht. Hoe kan een pasgeboren baby verdwijnen in deze hechte gemeenschap?

Occupied Norway, 1944. While the war rages on, Anni is surviving as best she can, contributing to the resistance whenever possible and standing firm without her sailor husband Lars, who she hasn't heard from in three years. Her daughter Ingrid is the bright spot in her life and Anni is determined to keep her safe and happy. However, when a German official is billeted at their house, the situation for them both becomes far more dangerous, and Anni faces an impossible choice. London, 1952.

The isolated Monkshill Park boarding school seems a world away from the violence that has engulfed Europe. Yet its eerie ground have witnessed a murder. Annabel Warnock, a teacher with a checkered past, disappeared during the holidays. The teachers and girls assume she has left the school, but the truth is quite different. Her body is lying at the bottom of the Maiden’s Leap, along the dangerous and overgrown Gothic Walk. Annabel’s ghost is trapped at Monkshill, unable to move on whilst the mystery of hear death remains unsolved.

Set against the harsh landscape of World War I-era Europe, this hauntingly beautiful tale of love and loss follows American ambulance driver Frederic Henry as he embarks on a romance with British nurse Catherine Barkley. Narrated with Hemingway's signature economy and power, the book navigates the brutal realities of war and the sacrifices one makes for those they love.

In the heart of the US capital, Dinah Kendall's role for the Office of Strategic Services isn't the thrilling espionage career she dreamed of. Instead, she spends her days crafting rumors aimed at undermining Axis morale. As Dinah navigates her duties, she uncovers a startling revelation: Her mother, Lillian, was once a codebreaker, cracking military ciphers during the Great War alongside some of the nation's most brilliant minds. The deeper Dinah dives into her mother's past, the more secrets come to light—including the heavy cost of high-stakes codebreaking.

Though unexceptional in every way, Klaus Barbie, a mid-level Gestapo chief, ruled Lyon, France, like a medieval tyrant from 1942-44. Crowds parted to let him pass; a table was permanently reserved for him at Le Lapin Blanc, Lyon' s raciest nightclub; and pretty young women slipped him notes inscribed with their phone numbers. But his glory days represented only a thin slice of his life. What prepared him for his role as the so-called Butcher of Lyon, and what became of him after the war ended?

Sarah Willis longs to free herself from the expectations of a privileged upbringing, while Winston Keller can't afford the luxury of a dream. Despite their differences, the pair are drawn together in a whirlwind romance that defies the boundaries of class. But when a dark family secret pulls the young lovers apart, and WWII plunges the world into chaos, it seems impossible they will ever find their way back to each other—or even hold onto the dream of what might have been.

De zussen Viann en Isabelle hebben altijd een goede band gehad, ondanks hun verschillen. Isabelle, de jongste en brutaalste van de twee, woont in Parijs, terwijl Viann op het platteland van Frankrijk een rustig bestaan leidt met haar man Antoine en hun dochtertje. Maar dan breekt de Tweede Wereldoorlog uit en Antoine moet meevechten. Met het voortduren van de oorlog wordt niet alleen de relatie tussen de zussen zwaar op de proef gesteld, maar ook hun moed en hun gevoel voor goed en fout. Kan Viann haar beste vriendin verraden als het leven van haar kind op het spel staat?

Sitting bolt upright, Ella rubs at her eyes and concentrates on the music. Is she dreaming? She’d fallen for Luka’s voice the first time she heard him singing on the street corner near her house, with his kind smile and joyous laugh. He was her first love, and the pain of being torn apart still slices at her. He’s alive. But even as hope swells in Ella’s heart, terror threatens to swallow it. Luka is Jewish. If he’s here, he’s in grave danger—even more than Ella faces for sneaking into the ghetto to see him back in Warsaw… But she will never regret it.

Juin 1940. L’armistice a été signé, marquant le début de l’occupation allemande. Si l’avenir semble incertain, Albane est toute à la joie de retrouver Raphaël Wendling, qui lui a redonné goût à la vie et à l’amour. Elle chérit d’autant plus ces moments qu’elle sait qu’ils ne dureront pas, Raphaël ayant décidé de rejoindre les Forces françaises libres dirigées par le général de Gaulle.

Finalist for Best New Fiction at the American Fiction Awards 2024 Aniela Majewska, beautiful daughter of one of Kraków's most respected families, is ready to marry her dashing childhood sweetheart, Henryk Bartosz. But the Nazi invasion of Poland separates the young lovers, as Henryk chooses to fight for their country's freedom as part of the underground resistance and Aniela uses her beauty, wit, and indomitable spirit to navigate the Reich's brutal occupation centralized in her home city, doing whatever it takes to keep her family and her sanity intact.

Gemma Sullivan lands a coveted office job in the summer of 1943, only to discover that she’s been hired to work in a top-secret codebreaking office in an unsuspecting house along the lake in Mimico, Ontario. The ‘Cottage’–run by the brilliant, eccentric Miss Fearing, who was trained at England’s Bletchley Park–pulls Gemma in with its urgent lure and mystery. But along with this job comes a lifelong oath of secrecy.

This captivating coming-of-age novel follows James Hartley, a boat builder's son from Walton-on-the-Naze, as he navigates the tumultuous years leading up to World War II. Beginning in 1926, we meet eleven-year-old James, whose passion for boats and the sea shapes his dreams of joining the Royal Navy. The narrative chronicles James's journey from a bright-eyed schoolboy earning a coveted spot at Colchester Grammar School to a skilled marine engineer working at the British Power Boat Company.

The war is nearly over, but the wounds are still fresh, and for​ the picturesque village of Larkwhistle in the New Forest, it’s a time of​ great change and great sorrow.  Jill Metcalfe receives the news of her brother Henry’s death from his friend, US Army Officer Jack Stafford.  Henry had been on a mission in France and had discovered some vital information, but it was information he was unable to give to Jack before he was killed at the rendezvous point.   Jack has come to the village in the hopes that Henry’s cryptic last note will lead to a clue to the traitor he was searching for.

Born to a groom at the elegant manor house Foxden Hall, the Dudley sisters never imagined the impossible choices World War II would force upon them. When London’s bombs destroy her teaching dreams, Bess returns to Foxden Acres as a Land Girl, watching on as the man she’s always loved plans a life with another, until tragedy violently changes everything. In the glittering West End, her sister Margot grasps stardom on the stage, only to be trapped between her ambitions and falling bombs. And in Nazi-occupied France, Claire gambles her life as an undercover agent.

Drei Frauen, drei Generationen, ein Schicksal? 1898. Die siebenjährige Minna muss schon früh erfahren, wie hart das Leben sein kann. Nach dem Verlust der Eltern und der Trennung vom Bruder vertraut sie niemandem mehr. Jahre später glaubt sie, in Otto einen liebevollen Ehemann und Familienvater gefunden zu haben. Doch die Realität belehrt sie eines Besseren... Minnas persönliche Erfahrungen sowie die Kriegsjahre prägen nicht nur ihr eigenes Schicksal, sondern auch das ihrer Kinder - insbesondere ihrer Tochter Eleonore und ihrer Enkelin Franka.

In the heart of war-torn France, Isabelle Seauve's resolve is tested after her father sacrifices his life to protect her involvement in the French Resistance. Heartbroken, Isabelle becomes more dedicated to hiding Jewish children in and near the village of Sisteron despite the growing danger when she discovers a traitor within the Resistance ranks.

Paris, 1923. Lily Levin boards a train with her baby daughter Mimi and American husband, leaving behind her beloved mother Chloe for a new life across the ocean. Carrying her mother’s precious diamond pin and the Yiddish lullabies she sings to Mimi, Lily faces an uncertain future in a country she’s never seen. In New York, as Lily struggles to fit in, she finds an unexpected ally in Gloria, a young mother hired to care for Mimi. The two women forge a friendship deeper than blood as they share dreams, fears, and their fierce love for their children. Then tragedy shatters their world.