Showing results by author "Wendy Holden" in All Categories

Marion Crawford was 22 when she became governess to the young princesses Elizabeth and Margaret in 1933. A working-class girl with progressive ideas, she had intended to teach children in the Edinburgh slums. Instead, she had a ringside seat at some of the most seismic events of the 20th century. The castles and palaces housed a family frozen in time. But outside the royal gates, poverty and unemployment were breeding unrest in 1930s Britain. Hitler was on the rise in Europe. If royalty was to survive, it must draw closer to the people.

At the dark heart of the Holocaust, there was a wooden hut whose walls were painted with cartoons; a place where children sang, staged plays and wrote poetry. Safely inside, but still in the shadow of the chimneys, they were given better food, kept free of vermin, and were even taught meditation to imagine full stomachs and a day without fear. The man who became their guiding light was a young Jewish prisoner named Fredy Hirsch. Historian and biographer Wendy Holden tells the inspirational and uplifting true story of Fredy Hirsch: The Teacher of Auschwitz.

'I came to realise my mother was a lioness. She was soft and strong at the same time and had the gentlest of hearts.' – Sean Hepburn Ferrer The deeply personal, official biography of Audrey Hepburn, full of untold stories exclusive photos and cherish memories from her son Sean Hepburn Ferrer...

Among millions of Holocaust victims sent to Auschwitz II-Birkenau in 1944, Priska, Rachel and Anka each passed through its infamous gates with a secret. Strangers to each other, they were newly pregnant and facing an uncertain fate without their husbands. Alone, scared and with so many loved ones already lost to the Nazis, these young women were privately determined to hold on to all they had left: their lives and those of their unborn babies.

Laura Lake longs to be a journalist. Instead she's an unpaid intern at a glossy magazine, sleeping in the fashion cupboard and living on canapés. But she's just got her first big break: infiltrate three society weddings and write a juicy exposé. Security will be tighter than a bodycon dress, but how hard can it be? Cue disappearing brides, demanding socialites and a jealous colleague determined to bring her down.

The Duchess, the second novel in Wendy Holden's trilogy about royal outsiders, fictionalises the unknown London life of Wallis Simpson.

Two couples meet in an antenatal class and loathe each other on sight. Flashy Hugo and Amanda plan a five-star birthing experience with private hospitals and maternity nurses. Right-on Alice and Jack want a home delivery with whale music. But baby Theo has barely arrived before Hugo and Amanda hit problems: Hugo fails miserably to bond with his son and Amanda decides motherhood is boring.

Best-selling author Goldie Hawn offers parents a practical guide for helping their children to learn better and live more happily. Based on the MindUP programme, supported by the Hawn Foundation, 10 Mindful Minutes outlines short, practical exercises for parents and children - taking less than 10 minutes - to help young children and teenagers reduce stress and anxiety, improve concentration and academic performance, effectively manage emotions and behaviour, develop greater empathy for others and the world, and be more optimistic and happy.  

Britain, 1961. A beautiful blonde baby is born to Viscount Althorp, heir to the Spencer earldom. But Diana grows up amid the fallout of her parents’ messy divorce. She struggles at school. Her refuge throughout is romantic novels. She dreams of falling in love and being rescued by a handsome prince. In royal circles, there is concern about the Prince of Wales. Charles is nearing 30, and the right girl needs to be found fast. She must be young, aristocratic and completely free of past liaisons. Pure and innocent.

London's most glamorous glossy magazine is in trouble. Advertising revenues are nonexistent, and if editor Laura Lake can't pick them up, she's out of a job. According to those in the know, Scotland is having a fashion moment. Haggis tempura is on Michelin-starred menus, smart spas are offering porridge facials and a chain of eco-hotels is offering celebrity bagpipe lessons. 

‘The Muslim Mother Teresa’ Huffington Post Winner of the 2023 Templeton Prize Imprisonment. Mutilation. Persecution. Edna Adan Ismail endured it all – for the women of Africa. Imprisonment. Mutilation. Persecution. ‘The Muslim Mother Teresa’ Huffington Post Edna Adan Ismail endured it...

Wild and Free is the festival du jour. Everyone piles through its gates - and Cupid lies in wait. Teacher Ginnie is desperate to forget her crush on headmaster Mark and hopes glamping might do the trick. But Mark is also heading for Wild and Free to reform his college band...desperate not to be recognised. Mark's bandmate, James, dreams of a festival blowout with his son, Guy...until his wife, Victoria, kills the dream.

Kate, a journalist in a small northern town, is fed up with covering black-pudding championships for the Slackmucklethwaite Mercury and living with Mum, Dad, and Gran in a semi called Wits End. When evil tycoon Peter Hardstone takes over the paper, slashes budgets, and sacks staff, Kate's career hits an all-time low. However, gloom turns to glamour once Hardstone's sexy son arrives to work on the Mercury.

Ambitions clash when the village launches an allotment project. Morag wants to plough hers with a horse; Beth buys a gleaming mini-tractor; Alexandra arrives with a Chanel spade & film crew, while Mary endures the advice of a champion vegetable-grower.

'I am in awe of Wendy Holden' Heather Morris 'As exquisitely-rendered as a Holbein masterpiece, this vivid and compelling novel breathes new life into one of the most dramatic stories in English history' Tracy Borman In her dazzling new novel, No. 1 Sunday Times bestseller Wendy Holden presents...

It's the new university term among the dreaming spires. The start of a whole new life. Meet Isabel, beautiful, clever, shy - and leaving home for the first time. Meet Olly, recently graduated, idealistic and a little hopeless, a man whose heart leads his brain and for whom opportunity just hasn't come knocking - yet. Meet Amber, the It girl who is soon partying with the fast set - and no-one is faster than Jasper de Borchy, glamorous leader of the notorious Bullinger club.

Scheming social climber Alexa may be humbly born. But only a title, mansion and family tiara will do. Befriending feckless aristo Florrie (three surnames plus black hole where her brain should be) means the grandest doors swing open and the prince of her dreams is in sight. But has Florrie’s mother, the formidable Lady Annabel, rumbled what Alexa is up to? Beautiful but penniless student Polly, meanwhile, is in love.

Laura Lake, editor of glossy magazine Society, is always on the hunt for scandalous scoops to fill her pages. Now she's discovered a top-secret village in the English countryside where the rich and famous own weekend retreats. Where film stars, Turner-prize winners and billionaires park their helicopters outside the gastropub and buy £100 sourdough loaves from the deli. Outsiders are strictly forbidden. But luckily Laura's best friend Lulu, a logo-obsessed socialite with a heart as huge as her sunglasses, suddenly fancies a quiet life in the country....

The deeply personal official biography of Audrey Hepburn, full of untold stories, exclusive photos, and cherished memories from her son Sean Hepburn Ferrer, one of the people who knew her best. To those who appreciate her work and legacy, Audrey Hepburn was many things. She was a child survivor...

"Readers are transported to 1961 Britain in this fascinating tale about beloved Princess Diana....What follows is an astonishing story of Diana's route to the altar and beyond."—Woman's World The whole world saw Diana Spencer step from a gilded carriage for her wedding. But before that...