Showing results by publisher "Orion" in Historical Fiction

Ely, 1643. England is convulsed by civil war, setting king against parliament and neighbour against neighbour. As the turmoil reaches her family home in Ely, 19-year-old Bridget Cromwell finds herself at the heart of the conflict. With her father's star on the rise as a cavalry commander for the rebellious parliament, Bridget has her own ambitions for a life beyond marriage and motherhood. And as fractures appear in her own family with the wilful, beautiful younger sister Betty, Bridget faces a choice.

The world is burning. Rume is under attack. The Autumn Lords, rulers of the Tchinee Empire, have had their true nature revealed. The Emperor descends into madness. And Fisk and Shoe - unlikely heroes, very likely mercenaries - must find their way to Fisk's wife and child, whom he has never seen. There might be quite a lot in their way. A war, for one thing. But Livia is as determined as Fisk to be reunited. And Shoe may have a plan....

Paris, June 1940. The Nazi occupation of Paris begins. Detective Eddie Giral - a survivor of the last World War - watches helplessly on as his world changes forever. But there is something he still has control over. Finding whoever is responsible for four murdered refugees: the unwanted dead, forgotten amid the headlines. To do so, he must tread carefully between the Occupation and the Resistance, all the while becoming whoever he must be to survive in this new and terrible order descending on his home.

September 1940. As the skies split apart and bombs rain down on London, it's all the staff at the famed Buckingham Hotel can do to keep their guests in the luxury they're accustomed to, and evoke the magic of the Grand ballroom for them each night. Home on leave and still reeling from the tragic events at Dunkirk, the dashing Raymond de Guise struggles to define his role in this new world, and to do his duty both to his country, and his beloved wife Nancy- who needs him now more than ever.

There have been many bad days in Edinburgh police's secret subdivision 'The Commission for the Elucidation of Unsolved Cases Presumably Related to the Odd and Ghostly'. But today is surely the worst. Because the exiled English Inspector Ian Frey, and his Scottish boss 'Nine-Nails' McGray are summoned to a meeting in the middle of the night with the Prime Minister himself. And he tells them that Queen Victoria - the most powerful person in the world - wants them both dead.

France, 1977. Baptiste is an intelligent but somewhat naive detective, sent to work in Clermiers, a town filled with corruption. A girl goes missing, presumed dead after bloody clothes are found close to an illicit party near an abandoned chateau. Baptiste believes he's nailed the culprit, the eccentric Gilles Mailloux. When he appears in court, the public call for the guillotine - and that's the sentence Mailloux gets. But as Mailloux awaits an appeal for clemency, he asks to see Baptiste, who's still haunted by the fact the girl's body remains missing.

Eliza Altairsky-Lointaine is the toast of Moscow society, a beautiful actress in an infamous theatre troupe. Her love life is as colourful as the parts she plays. She is the estranged wife of a descendant of Genghis Khan. And her ex-husband has threatened to kill anyone who courts her. He appears to be making good on his promise. Fandorin is contacted by a concerned friend - the widowed wife of Chekhov - who asks him to investigate an alarming incident involving Eliza.

The Postmaster looked over my shoulder. As I turned to look I saw a flicker of movement from across the street. I felt unseen eyes peer at me. He walked away without another word. I watched as he climbed onto his bicycle and sped away down the street. I turned back and looked over my shoulder. Someone had been watching us.

Italy, 1935. Alessandra Durante is grieving the loss of her husband when she discovers she has inherited her ancestral family home, Villa Durante, deep in the Tuscan Hills. The terms of the will are that she must live in the Villa Durante for at least 12 months, so, longing for a new start, she moves to Italy and sets about rebuilding her life. But the shadow of war hangs heavy over the Tuscan hills, and life will never be the same again.

1657. The youngest daughter of Oliver Cromwell, 18-year-old Frances is finding her place at England's new centre of power. Following the turmoil of Civil War, a fragile sense of stability has returned to the country. Her father has risen to the unprecedented position of Lord Protector of the Commonwealth, and Frances has found herself transported from her humble childhood home to the sumptuous palaces of Hampton Court and Whitehall, where she dreams of romance.

From the author of Caligula comes a new stand-alone novel in the Damned Emperors series: Commodus. AD 162. Rome is enjoying a period of stability and prosperity. The Empire's bounds are increasing, and two sons are born into the imperial succession for the first time in nearly a century. But all is not as it appears - cracks are beginning to show. The wars have rumbled on too long, and there are whispers of a sickness in the East. Just 30 years later, the Empire will be caught up in civil war, the imperial dynasty ended and Rome burned.

1905. A year after 'the affair' in Dinas Powys, Thomas Bexley has become a drunkard and recluse, haunted by terrible visions of the dead. But when news of a spate of extraordinary kidnappings reaches him, Thomas is shocked to learn that his dear friend and former mentor, Professor Elijah Hawthorn, is the lead suspect. Discovering a plea for help from Hawthorn claiming to have unearthed a gruesome conspiracy at the heart of the Metropolitan Police, Thomas embarks on a journey to prove Hawthorn's innocence.

Rome, 1659. Months after the plague has ravaged Rome, men are still dying in unnatural numbers, and rumour has it that their corpses do not decay as they should. The Papal authorities commission prosecutor Stefano Bracchi to investigate, telling him he will need considerable mettle to reach the truth. To the west of the Tiber, Girolama and her female friends are at work, helping other women with childbirths and foretelling their futures. Elsewhere in the city, a young wife, Anna, must find a way to escape her abusive husband. But in a city made by men for men, there are no easy paths out.

London, 1920. There's a killer on the streets of Camden Town, and no woman is safe. When a woman's body is dragged from the Regent's Canal on a freezing January night, eminent forensic pathologist and criminal sleuth Dr Bernard Spilsbury immediately detects foul play. And when a second woman washes up dead under similar circumstances, police realise they are looking for a dangerous predator. Is someone luring lonely spinsters to their deaths through a newspaper Lonely Hearts column? And can they be stopped before they strike again?

September 1920. A young bride is discovered dead at a country house on her wedding day. Has she fallen victim to the deadly Withington curse, which strikes down any woman who marries into the family? Forensic Pathologist Dr Bernard Spilsbury doesn't believe in such superstitions, and suspects a more earthly reason for Theodora Tupper's death. But as he and his trusty assistant Violet investigate, they soon discover that there are indeed ghosts at Withington Hall. And they, too, have a story to tell.

On the cusp of World War II, a young mother is faced with an impossible choice. Vera is a Russian Jewish émigré to France, newly wed - but her marriage cannot protect her or her four-year-old daughter, Lucie, once the Nazis occupy the country. After receiving notice that all foreigners must report to an internment camp, Vera must decide: does she subject Lucie to the horrid conditions of the camp or put Lucie into hiding with her beloved and trusted governess, safe until Vera can retrieve her? Surely the war will end soon.

Chalfont Hall, Dorset, 1936, and as the dressmaker puts the last pins in her dress, 13-year-old Kit is wondering why she has to go through the charade of seeing her sister, Lily, presented at Court. With her waves of auburn hair and her piercing green eyes, Kit knows that her sister's place on the social scene is guaranteed regardless of her dress, and as the door to a life of parties and eligible young men opens for Lily, Kit must make do with tiptoeing around the gallery of Chalfont, eavesdropping on the conversations of the grown-ups.

A priceless flower. A dangerous past. A terrible secret. On the eve of the Second World War, the last surviving specimen of a prized camellia plant lies secreted away on an English country estate. When amateur botanist Flora Lewis is employed to infiltrate the household and acquire the coveted bloom, she embarks on a perilous journey of discovery that leads her to a blossoming romance, and into terrible danger.

Mia Ferris' heart has always belonged in Spain. Every childhood summer was spent at her grandfather's hacienda, riding together amongst the olive trees or listening to his stories of the past. So when she learns that he has fallen from his horse, she knows that she belongs by his bedside - even if it means leaving behind her life in London, and her new fiancé. But as Leonardo fights for his life, and Mia to save the family home from financial ruin, secrets begin to emerge that tell a different story of the past.

1952. In the fragile atmosphere of post-war Paris, Sophie Bernot is training as a heart surgeon. A young woman in a man's world, Sophie is determined to bury her past and forge her medical career, whatever the costs. Across the channel, Sebastian Ogilvie is burning with ambition for his first architectural project. As his schemes lead him to France, and to a chance encounter with Sophie, his future seems full of promise.