Showing titles in Historical Fiction

In the deadly chaos of the First World War, one horse witnesses the reality of battle from both sides of the trenches. Bombarded by artillery, with bullets knocking riders from his back, Joey tells a powerful story of the truest friendships surviving in terrible times. One horse has the seen the best and the worst of humanity. The power of war and the beauty of peace. This is his story.

Adventures, friendships, and faith-testers...all under the watchful eye of a great big God. The Tree Street Kids live on Cherry, Oak, Maple, and Pine, but their 1990s suburban neighborhood is more than just quiet, tree-lined streets. Jack, Ellison, Roger, and Ruthie face challenges and find adventures in every creek and cul-de-sac - as well as God’s great love in one small neighborhood. In the first audiobook of the Tree Street Kids series, 10-year-old Jack is shocked to discover his parents are moving from their rural homestead to the boring suburbs of Chicago.

Based on the extraordinary true story of America's first-ever female detective, this fast-paced adventure recounts feats of daring and danger...including saving the life of Abraham Lincoln! Eleven-year-old Nell Warne arrives on her aunt's doorstep lugging a heavy sack of sorrows. If her Aunt Kate rejects her, it's the miserable Home for the Friendless. Luckily, canny Nell makes herself indispensable to Aunt Kate...and not just by helping out with household chores. For Kate Warne is the first-ever female detective employed by the legendary Pinkerton Detective Agency.

Michael Morpurgo’s wonderful storytelling and Jim Broadbent’s compelling performance combine to tell this true story against the epic backdrop of World War Two. Francis Cammaerts, Jim Broadbent and Michael Morpurgo happen to be all part of the same family, so this production is a very special collaboration bringing family members' voices to life. Francis and Pieter are brothers. As the shadow of one war lingers and the rumbles of another approach, the brothers argue. Francis is a fierce pacifist while Pieter signs up to fight.

There's great excitement when an unexpected parcel arrives for Selina. A beautiful long evening dress and shiny satin party shoes - the best present a girl could ever wish for! She can hardly wait for a special occasion to wear them, but there's still a war on and all the grown-ups are far too busy to arrange a party. So Selina and her cousins decide to organise a pageant with acting, singing, dancing and dressing-up. Will Selina find the perfect role in which to put on her amazing new clothes?

The thrilling story of a young girl who stows away onboard the Titanic and as she explores, attempting to find answers to her many questions about the ship, suddenly finds herself caught up in the desperate struggle to survive after it strikes an iceberg. Hazel Rothbury is traveling all alone from her home in England aboard the celebrated ship Titanic. Following the untimely death of her father, Hazel's mother is sending her to the US to work in a factory, so that she might send money back home to help her family make ends meet.

A spy in the Sons of Liberty threatens to crush the patriot cause on the eve of war, but who will fire the first shot at Lexington and launch the American Revolution? The Marquis de Lafayette commits his sword to fight as France seeks to secretly support the American cause with spies on both sides of the Atlantic. Following Bunker Hill, George Washington faces the impossible task of driving the British from Boston with an undisciplined army and no gunpowder or cannons.

The Second World War has ended, but Henry is fighting his own battles. He misses his father, who died a war hero, and his only distraction is the cinema. But everything is about to change. When Henry develops an old camera film he uncovers a mystery and events spiral until his life resembles the drama of the big screen. Like a bomb waiting to explode, Henry's discovery will shatter his world. A powerful, gripping and truly epic story that won the Costa Children's Book Award 2008.

Lily has lots of worries. She's struggling to compete in her fell-running races and, worse, she's losing her gran to Alzheimer's. But then she discovers her great-great-grandfather's diaries from the First World War. Could his incredible story of bravery help her reconnect with her gran and even give her the inspiration she needs to push through and win?

Adrift in the Mediterranean Sea, Ben falls captive to a band of slave traders and their leader, Al Misurata. With his faithful dog, Ned, at his side, Ben must plot escape as the ship of scoundrels sails up the Libyan coastline toward Italy, where a trap awaits. Ruthless enemies and hard times appear around every bend, but Ben and Ned have quick wits to rely on and, just as important, one another.

Twelve-year-old Nathan Bannister fantasizes about never having to go to class again. But his dreams never included a crazy wizard and a hot air balloon waiting inside his bedroom! Nathan is cold, scared, and still in his pajamas when the mad magician abandons him in medieval London. Desperate to return to his Granny's house in the modern world, Nathan falls in with a ragtag crew of street kids. As he attempts to find friends and allies, the young boy must escape a wicked baron and rescue the girl if he wants any chance of returning home.

It's 1883 - only a few months after Molly Pepper; her mother, Cassandra; and her friend, Emmett, saved New York from an attack by the megalomaniacal Ambrose Rector while managing to preserve the reputations of Alexander Graham Bell and Thomas Edison, whose technology was manipulated in Rector’s scheme. Their selfless heroism will finally earn them a place in the Inventors’ Guild, alongside the greatest minds of their generation. Unless, of course, no one knows that they did any of that.

When Charlie’s longed-for brother is born with a serious heart condition, Charlie’s world is turned upside down. Upset and afraid, Charlie flees the hospital and makes for the ancient forest on the edge of town. There Charlie finds a boy floating face-down in the stream, injured, but alive. But when Charlie sets off back to the hospital to fetch help, it seems the forest has changed. It’s become a place as strange and wild as the boy dressed in deerskins.

Set on a farm in rural Devon, Farm Boy is a collection of Grandpa's reminiscences and stories, touchingly told to his grandson. Joey was the last working horse on the farm, and the apple of Grandpa's eye. In War Horse, Joey was sent away from the farm to be a warhorse in World War I. Grandpa had joined the cavalry in order to find, and fight, with Joey. Farm Boy brings us forward 50 years....

The BBC radio adaptations of Judith Kerr's internationally acclaimed trilogy - plus bonus documentary. Based on her own childhood experiences, Judith Kerr's When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit is a timeless classic loved by children and adults alike. This story of a Jewish family that escapes Germany just as the Nazis come to power is seen through the eyes of their young daughter, Anna, and traces their perilous journey. Also includes adaptations of Bombs on Aunt Dainty and A Small Person Far Away.

One of the finest storytellers of her time, Joan Aiken wrote over 100 books for both adults and children. Among her best-known works are the 'Wolves Chronicles', a sequence of novels set in an alternate 19th-century England ruled by Stuart kings. Included here are three tales from that magical, wolf-infested world - The Wolves of Willoughby Chase, Black Hearts in Battersea and The Story of Is.

Growing up poor but proud on the Dorset coast, Mary follows after her father, hunting for fossils of ancient creatures. Ignoring other's taunts, Mary faces danger to bring back valuable treasures to help feed her family. But tragedy and despair are never far away. Mary must depend upon her unique courage and knowledge to fulfil her dream of becoming a scientist, in a time when girls have no opportunities for such ambitions. What will happen when she makes her greatest discovery of all?

Set in a richly rendered 15th-century Paris, Victor Hugo's powerful drama focuses on a beautiful gypsy girl named Esmeralda, the two men (including an obsessed and manipulative priest) who love her, and the pitiful hunchback Quasimodo who tries to save her. With this simplified yet spellbinding version, kids can enjoy all the excitement of Hugo's masterful story.

The Magic Tree House whisks Jack and Annie back to the eve of the first Thanksgiving. There, they meet the Pilgrims as well as Squanto, a Native American who helped them. The story offers an age-appropriate, in-depth picture of what life was really like for early settlers, as well as the usual Magic Tree House adventure and excitement.

It's 1919. Henry has moved to the countryside with her parents and her baby sister, Piglet - all still scarred by the death of her brother. Alone in her head, she begins to explore her surroundings, encouraged by her only friends - characters from her favourite books. Nobody much notices when she wanders into the woods at the bottom of the garden and meets Moth, a striking witchlike woman. Together they form a bond that could help Henry save her family.