Showing results by publisher "QUEST from W. F. Howes Ltd" in 20th Century

Italy, 1937. In a tiny village in rural Lombardy, Graziella Ponti is born into a loving family. Though they are not rich and life is full of challenges, Graziella and her family are content and safe, surrounded by the tightly knit community of Pieve Santa Clara. But when the shadow of World War Two falls across the village with the arrival of Nazi soldiers, nothing in young Graziella’s life will ever be the same again.

2019: Bethany Kristensen faces her toughest challenge to date, skippering the family charter business. With rivals doing their utmost to undercut her prices and reputation, the Kristensens' operation hangs by a thread. Winning the tender for a new scientific research program headed out to the farthest edge of the reef is her last chance to keep the business going. But when rumour and vandalism turn to outright sabotage, things take a drastic turn...

Carey is immediately attracted to the handsome yet reserved cattle station owner. But Oliver seems more interested in a practical business arrangement than a true love match. Oliver's bossy sister, Millicent, doesn't help matters. She soon makes it clear that the young new bride doesn't match up to her expectations. Glamorous Jane Newbold adds to Carey's insecurities. Jane and Oliver have a history. But does she still have a place in Oliver's heart?

The 1950s are a carefree time for a young woman like Grace. The war is over and when her family moves to Brisbane, plans are made for her to complete her studies at the University of Queensland. Ewan is also studying the same course and when he meets the beautiful, head-strong Grace, the differences in their backgrounds are pushed aside as they plan their future together. However, not everyone is happy with the romance and when the young couple are forced to separate, decisions are made that will determine their path in life.

In 1941, Queensland drover Michael McTavish leaves behind his young daughter Gracie and joins the 2/22 AIF, his destination, Rabaul, New Guinea, a small town surrounded by impenetrable jungles and steep jagged mountains, its shores lined by tranquil bays and active volcanos. Joanie has also arrived in New Guinea, with a chance to manage a trading store with her father, Reg, too exciting an opportunity to pass up.

Italy, 1950. The dawn of a new decade brings with it the promise of lasting peace and prosperity as the hardships of war are consigned to the past. In Pieve Santa Clara, a tiny village in rural Lombardy, Graziella Ponti, now a teenager, lives a simple life with her widowed mother and aunt. But Italy is transforming around Graziella at great speed and, as her childhood gives way to the start of her womanhood, she must learn to navigate this ever-changing new world.

1944 - The Isle of Wight: 16 year-old Constance’s life on the island is sheltered until the death of her brother, brings the reality of war crashing down around her. He leaves behind his pregnant widow, Ginny. When Constance meets a handsome Canadian airforce man, she’s eager to escape her grief and be swept up by first love. It’s a love which has ramifications she could never envisage. Present day: When young British backpacker, Isabel Stark happens across a car accident on a lonely stretch of road in the South Island of New Zealand her life changes forever.

Angela and Nellie plan to live with a family friend in Western Australia. When their ship from England docks, they learn that she has died in a tragic accident. What will the future hold for the young sisters?

Sara's employer sends her to work as temporary secretary to his cousin, Greg Camden. But the master of Ransome station has little time for his new secretary. Meanwhile, the beautiful and sophisticated Julia has no problem getting Greg's attention. Through hard work Sara shows Greg how indispensable she is. But she is shocked when he suddenly proposes a marriage of convenience. Will the arrangement be enough for a young girl with romantic dreams? And how will Julia react to their union?

The third installment of Francesca Scanacapra's gripping and emotional Paradiso saga.

Jenny's family think pastoral agent John Downing would make the perfect husband for her. But Jenny knows that she is not in love with him and never will be. Thanks to her childhood friend Geoff Hallam, Jenny gets a job on an opal safari. It's an ideal opportunity to get away for the pressures of home in Yaraandoo. Safari boss Drew Carey has a magnetic effect on Jenny. Yet it seems the beautiful and wealthy Nicole Armstrong has already staked her claim on him. Then Jenny makes a discovery that changes everything for the safari party.

Molly wants to fight Hitler by using her skills as a pilot. But the USA says no to female pilots. America is at war and Molly, a qualified pilot, is determined to use her skills in the air against the Nazis. The American Air Force isn't ready to admit female pilots just yet but the British are desperate for pilots following their devastating losses in the Battle of Britain.

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. Stifled by the restrictions of her father's family, she aches to contribute more to the war effort. A brush with death puts her face all over the newspapers and almost breaks her heart in the process. 

1976. Rushing out of the University Library, undergraduate Alice Kenzie bumps straight into PhD student Tristan Somers. There begins a whirlwind romance, and Alice falls pregnant and gives birth to a baby girl. Then Tristan is killed in a car accident. Unable to cope, Alice takes her baby to Summer House, Tristan's family home in Suffolk, leaves her there and disappears. 2018. Olivia Somers has always been told that her mother died in the same accident as her father. When she finds old letters in Summer House, everything she ever believed about her mother is called into question.

Siobhan Clough and her children are enjoying a holiday on the English coast. With them is Mary McCarthy and her volatile son, Liam. All is well until the arrival of Siobhan’s husband, George. A man of strong views and temper, he browbeats his wife, belittles his daughter, Christine, and treats Liam like a servant. A year later, Liam unexpectedly comes face to face with the father he has never known. Liam wants nothing to do with him, but when George Clough throws him out, he has little choice but to enter his father’s dangerous world of Irish politics. 

Cathy Kotsikas is as unsettled as anyone in postwar Britain. A hasty marriage has become an exhausting clash of personalities. Leon, her Greek husband, as charming as he is ruthless and self-centred, understands neither her mildly eccentric character nor her need for freedom. Cathy’s sanctuary is Sandlings, a remote cottage on the barren Suffolk coast left to her by her grandfather. For Leon, however, his business in London and the restoration of his family home in Greece are of paramount importance.

Artist, lover, wife, mother: can one woman be them all? Born in 1924, Jennet Mallow grew up with a disillusioned mother and a father haunted by memories of war. But Jennet has a talent - and a passion - for art. When she meets the handsome painter David Heaton, they begin a tempestuous affair which takes them from the dank terraces of London to a bohemian artistic community in St Ives. But as Jennet's career flourishes, her relationship with David suffers - with potentially tragic consequences.... 

Poppy Brookes receives a troubling letter. A decade after her sister Isobel eloped with an artist, she pleads with Poppy to visit their neglected country estate a few miles from the ancient and beautiful city of Siena. When Poppy arrives, she finds a disturbing undercurrent in Isobel and husband Kit’s relationship, then accidentally uncovers a terrible secret. Against the backdrop of a verdant 1920s Tuscany, Poppy’s own journey into love is overshadowed by the insanity of a war long ended and a desire for revenge that, with tragic consequences, inevitably damages the innocent.