Showing results by publisher "Hodder & Stoughton" in Historical

It's 1848, and preparations are underway for Annie Gibson's wedding to Bilsden's wealthy millowner, Frederick Hallam. But not everyone is as pleased as they are. Frederick's daughter, Beatrice, is horrified at the prospect of a new attractive stepmother arriving at the house on Ridge Hill. Even Annie's own family feels threatened. The only person who seems pleased is Tom, Annie's brother. Soon, however, real troubles begin to pile up for the Gibsons.

Lancashire, 1936. With her son Gabriel finally married, and her youngest following his dreams of becoming a doctor, Gwynneth Harte finds herself with an empty nest—until a fire forces her to move in with Gabriel and his wife, Maisie, at their home on Daisy Street. Arthur Chapman has been at a low ebb ever since the death of his wife. Turning to drink in his grief, he lost both his job and contact with his grandchild, Beatie—but now the inheritance of a house from a distant relative is the fresh start he needs.

Lancashire, 1930s. When her mother dies, leaving her an old sewing box and a clue to her father's identity, 22-year-old Maisie Bassett is determined to make a fresh start. Changing her name and moving to the small town of Rivenshaw, she finds a respectable job in a grocery store. But unwanted attentions from a man at her new church make life increasingly difficult - until the shy, handsome Gabriel Harte comes to her rescue.

Lizzie Kershaw is an independent spirit; ever since her father's death she has had to be a survivor. Home life is harsh, though, and desperate to escape it, she makes an ill-advised marriage. But she discovers that she's married a selfish and violent man. His beatings never seem to stop, and, with the help of some suffragettes, she escapes to Manchester, where she finds work in a munitions factory - she is finally the independent woman she has always longed to be. But her husband, whose cruelty knows no bounds, tracks her down and drags her back home to more beatings than ever....

1945 - the war in Europe is over. It should be a time of utter joy and celebration. Most women can't wait for their men to return, but in the small town of Rivenshaw in Lancashire, Judith Crossley fears having her husband back in the house. He'd grown into a bully and a drunkard, and on the occasions he'd come home from leave, he'd hit her. He wasn't a good father, either. Luckily Judith has found an unlikely ally, a friend to turn to - Maynard Esher, from an old aristocratic family on the other side of town.

The first book in Anna Jacobs' wonderful Backshaw Moss series. 1935. At 36, Bella Porter is dependent on her abusive cousin, acting as an unpaid servant. When a kind relative leaves her a house in the village of Backshaw Moss, Thomas tries to take it from her, but she defies him and grasps this chance of a new start in Lancashire. It is not going to be easy, though.

Bram Deagan dreams of bringing his family from Ireland to join him in Australia, where he now runs a successful trading business. But when a typhus epidemic strikes Ireland, it leaves the Deagan family decimated. And, with other family members scattered round the world, it is left to Maura Deagan to look after her orphaned nieces and nephew. Forced to abandon her own ambitions, and unsure whether she is ready to become a mother-figure to three young children, Maura recognises that their only hope is to join Bram in far away Australia.

Recently widowed, Hannah Firth is still young - young enough to dream of a new life. When her spiteful daughter-in-law uses her as an unpaid servant, Hannah tries to leave, but she is unaware of the depths that Patty's spite will lead her to. Nathaniel King's life is ruined when his landlord's son lays waste to his market garden for a prank - and the resulting feud puts Nathaniel's livelihood at stake.

The new Anna Jacobs saga continues the story of the younger sisters of Keara Michaels, the heroine of A Pennyworth of Sunshine, following their fortunes from 19th-century Ireland to the brave new world of Australia. In 1863 the authorities send Irish orphans Ismay and Mara to Australia against their will. Just when they thought it couldn't get any worse, on arrival they're separated from one another. While Ismay is forced to take a job as a maid miles away in the country, Mara must stay in the care of the Catholic mission.

1866. Three Blake sisters remain in the Swan River Colony and two are quite happy to forge new lives for themselves there. The third, Xanthe, yearns to see the world. But even if she could afford to travel, could she persuade her beloved twin to let her go? Maia has fallen in love with their employer, and would surely be happiest staying behind with him. Xanthe's opportunity comes in the form of a handsome Irishman bringing some of the sisters' inheritance from England. But for Maia, the same man brings trouble in his wake: someone who has the power to make her life a misery.

Little Billy, Polly's son, is the light of her life. It's for his sake that she puts up with an unkind mother-in-law and life on an isolated farm. When Billy is knocked down by a car, his father is killed attempting to save his life, and Polly, cast off by her husband's family, is left with a child who may never walk or talk again. Polly turns to her own family for support, but they are unable to outmanoeuvre the malicious Dr Browning-Baker, who is determined to have Billy taken away from his mother, depriving him of the exercises and stimulation that are his only hope.

1871. When Fergus Deagan's wife dies in childbirth, she makes him promise to take their family to Western Australia to join his brother Bram, also to marry again. She's right. His young sons and newborn daughter do need a mother's love, and he needs something different. Disowned by her father for becoming pregnant, Cara Payton bears a stillborn baby. She's in deep despair until a plea to wet-nurse a motherless baby gives her life new purpose.

1910. With the disappearance of her mother and the sudden death of her father, Lena instantly loses any security she has within the circus she has known all her life. She is advised to sell the carousel her father cared for like a child and look for a husband, or a job in a factory. Until flame-haired Violet, known to all in the fairgrounds as 'the greatest trapeze artist that ever lived', suggests they go it alone with their own, all-female act. With her outspoken ways and her refusal to marry, Violet is as much an outcast as Lena. What do they have to lose?

It's the summer of 1822, and Edinburgh is abuzz with rumours of King George IV's impending visit. In botanical circles, however, a different kind of excitement has gripped the city. In the newly installed Botanic Garden, the Agave Americana plant looks set to flower - an event that only occurs once every few decades. When newly widowed Elizabeth arrives in Edinburgh to live with her late husband's aunt, Clementina, she's determined to put her unhappy past in London behind her. As she settles into her new home, she becomes fascinated by the beautiful Botanic Garden.

Poland, 1942. After witnessing the destruction of her hometown in Warsaw, Anna Kowalski joins the Polish Resistance. She is tasked with smuggling as many children as possible out of the Warsaw Ghetto through the sewers and relocating them to safety. Through her work, Anna meets Johnnie Nowak, an RAF pilot who had managed to escape from a prisoner of war camp. He's not safe in Warsaw, so Anna leads him out of the city to protect him...

Eva Kershaw thought she would never marry and is happy living a quiet life with her dear friend Alice. But Alice is ill, and her nephew, Gus, has thrust himself into their household. Alice's dearest wish is that Eva should not make the same mistakes she did, and she alters her will so that Eva and Gus are strongly compelled to marry. Eva obliges to fulfil her dead friend's wishes. But Gus is not all he seems to be: he is not Alice's kind nephew but a robber, a confidence trickster, and not even Gus Blake. And Eva is in terrible danger....

For millennia, two women have been blamed for the fall of a mighty civilisation - but now it's time to hear their side of the story.... As princesses of Sparta, Helen and Klytemnestra have known nothing but luxury and plenty. With their high birth and unrivalled beauty, they are the envy of all of Greece. Such privilege comes at a high price, though, and their destinies are not theirs to command. While still only girls they are separated and married off to legendary foreign kings Agamemnon and Menelaus, never to meet again.

She thought the worst was behind her.... Life is tough in Lancashire in 1905 - and especially so for 15-year-old Mary Ann, who was born out of wedlock. When her new stepfather begins to abuse her, Mary Ann doesn't know how much more she can take - until the worst happens and she is sent away to bear his child. After the birth, she manages to escape to Blackpool with the help of her new friend Gabriel. Years later, the Great War brings Mary Ann many new opportunities, and brings Gabriel back into her life - but circumstances mean they can never be together.

Jayne is quiet. She keeps to herself and has no grand expectations for her days. But after a chance encounter with her elderly neighbour, Meredith, Jayne is forced to reevaluate her determination to keep the world at a distance. Meredith's dust-covered home is chaotic and neglected. And slowly, Jayne starts to grasp that Meredith herself is quite lost. She can't seem to remember anything: what she last ate, when she last went out or saw her daughter, or even Jayne's name, despite what are becoming frequent visits. But most alarmingly, Meredith can't remember where her husband is.

When Charlotte Lucas chooses security over romance, her eyes are wide open to the decision she is making. Marriage to Mr Collins offers stability, if not passion, and she is determined to make the best of it. While Elizabeth Bennet turns away in judgement of her choice, Charlotte builds a life in Kent—one of duty, routine and quiet contentment. But everything changes when an unexpected visitor arrives at Rosings Park. A spark is lit, an impossible longing awakened.