Showing titles in Historical Fiction

Ireland, 1588. Rafael de Silva washes ashore on an Irish beach after a catastrophic shipwreck, carrying only his secret Jewish faith and a golden hamsa. He is starving and desperate when he meets Aisling O’Rourke, a local chieftain’s niece, and experiences a blinding desire he has never felt before. But their love is impossible, and when Rafael’s precious hamsa is discovered, he faces a terrible choice: admit to a secret that could see him nailed to a cross or watch an innocent man die in his place.

Despite the title, Dickens's portrayal of early industrial society is less relentlessly grim than that in novels by contemporaries such as Elizabeth Gaskell or Charles Kingsley. Hard Times weaves the tale of Thomas Gradgrind, a hard-headed politician who raises his children Louisa and Tom without love and to have no empathy, their lives completely devoid of beauty, culture, or imagination. Only after a series of crises does their father realise that the manner in which he raised his children has ruined their lives.

The grand master of gripping fiction is back. International No.1 bestseller Ken Follett returns to Kingsbridge with an epic tale of revolution and a cast of unforgettable characters. Revolution is in the air 1792. A tyrannical government is determined to make England a mighty commercial empire...

Now a major new Channel 4 series starring Brenda Blethyn (Vera) and Jessica Reynolds (Outlander) from OBE‑honoured, award‑winning author Barbara Taylor Bradford One girl. One secret. One unstoppable ascent. In 1905 a young kitchen maid leaves Fairley Hall. Emma Harte is sixteen, single and...

Read by Richard Armitage (The Hobbit, Missing You) The Man From St Petersburg is a dark tale of family secrets and political consequences. Ken Follett's masterful storytelling brings to life the danger of a world on the brink of war. A Secret Negotiation 1914. Tensions are rising as Europe finds...

Taita is a humble slave, an expert in art, poetry, medicine and engineering as well as keeping important secrets. He is the most treasured possession of Lord Intef. Yet when Intef's beautiful daughter, Lostris, is married to the Pharaoh, Taita is commanded to follow her and swiftly finds himself deeper than he ever could have imagined in a world of deception and treachery. But outside the palace, the great kingdom of Egypt is divided and in even greater danger. Enemies threaten on all sides, and only Taita holds the power to save them all....

And now, her uncle wants to marry her off to the fallen son of her arch-enemy. But Jael is a battle-hardened warrior, trained to kill since she was 10-years-old. She doesn’t plan on being anyone’s wife. Eadmund Skalleson is drunk. His father is threatening him with a wife again. And this time he’s given him an ultimatum. Marry Jael Furyck or your brother returns from exile. But if Eadmund was ever going to choose a wife, it wouldn’t be Jael Furyck. Not her. Not ever.

WAR. POLITICS. REVOLUTION. THE AGE OF MADNESS HAS ARRIVED . . . 'Funny and sardonic, violent and compelling' Guardian 'A tale of brute force and subtle magic on the cusp of an industrial revolution ... Buckle your seat belts for this one' Robin Hobb * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * On the...

In 1782, a ghost ship ran aground in a secluded cove in Cornwall. To this day, no one knows what became of the Aurora’s crew or the shadowy woman rumored to be onboard. In 2021, when Kyle inherits his aunt’s historic house in Cornwall, all Nicole anticipates is a few idyllic days in a beautiful setting—until she discovers that not only is the house connected to the centuries-old legend of the Aurora and the woman at the center of the mystery, but it also hides its own dark past.

When Mr Darcy discovers Elizabeth Bennet's true feelings, he's grateful the ill-fated proposal he had planned to make in Kent was stopped. But as the London Season drags on, he realizes the truth: he cannot be happy without her. Determined to become the man worthy of her regard, he returns to Hertfordshire with a singular purpose—to win her heart. If only it were that simple. Darcy has indeed reformed himself, tempering his pride and learning humility, but Elizabeth's wounded feelings and lingering resentment cannot be overcome in a day.

Told with exceptional grace and read beatifully by Indira Varma, The Light Years is a modern classic of twentieth-century English life and is the first novel in Elizabeth Jane Howard’s extraordinary, bestselling family saga, The Cazalet Chronicles. 'Compelling, moving, unputdownable...

Before the Corleones, before the Lannisters, there were the Borgias. One of history’s notorious families comes to life in a captivating novel from the author of The Birth of Venus. NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY COSMOPOLITAN (UK) AND THE TIMES (UK) “In the end, what’s a...

Brought to you by Penguin. FROM THE SUNDAY TIMES NUMBER ONE BESTSELLING AUTHOR Summer 1914. A world on the brink of catastrophe. In London, 26-year-old Venetia Stanley – aristocratic, clever, bored, reckless – is having a love affair with the Prime Minister, H. H. Asquith, a man more than...

When disaster strikes, Marianne Bray finds herself in quite a mess, and the most important things in the world are at stake: her family name and her reputation. Desperation leads to a solution she cannot bear, but she has no choice. She must bind herself to a man who can protect her, save her, and, more importantly, tolerate her. Unfortunately for her, that man is Kit Gerrard.

Jane Austen's most popular novel, originally published in 1813, some 17 years after it was first written, presents the Bennet family of Longbourn. Against the background of gossipy Mrs. Bennet and the detached Mr. Bennet, the quest is on for husbands for the five daughters. The spotlight falls on Elizabeth, second eldest, who is courted by Darcy, though initially she is more concerned with the fate of her other sisters.

Dunwich, 1346. Petra’s world shattered the day the Church took her beloved Avery, forcing him into holy orders and leaving her to face a brutal arranged marriage. Twelve years later, Petra is a widow struggling to care for her three children when Father Avery returns. But religious hysteria is sweeping through their crumbling port town, and when Petra’s son’s violent seizures mark him as cursed, can she turn to the only man she ever loved for help, or will a terrible secret she hid condemn them all?

Jamie Fraser knows from his time-traveling wife Claire that, no matter how unlikely it seems, America will win the Revolutionary War. But that truth offers little solace, since Jamie realizes he might find himself pointing a weapon directly at his own son - a young officer in the British army. And Jamie isn't the only one with a tormented soul - for Claire may know who wins the conflict, but she certainly doesn't know whether or not her beloved Jamie survives.

The Seven Sisters is the story that began it all. An epic tale of love and loss, it tells the stories of the D’Aplièse sisters, all adopted as babies by the enigmatic billionaire they affectionately call Pa Salt. Read by Tuppence Middleton (Thirty Days in Paris, The Doll Factory). This is...

By all accounts, Simon Basset is on the verge of proposing to his best friend's sister - the lovely and almost-on-the-shelf - Daphne Bridgerton. But the two of them know the truth - it's all an elaborate ruse to keep Simon free from marriage-minded society mothers. And as for Daphne, surely she will attract some worthy suitors now that it seems a duke has declared her desirable. But as Daphne waltzes across ballroom after ballroom with Simon, it's hard to remember that their courtship is a sham. 

Newly crowned Margaret knows exile, estrangement and terror all too well. When William the Conqueror invaded England in 1066, Margaret and her family fled to Scotland, where she was hurriedly wed to Malcolm, King of the Scots. She’d craved the quiet life of a nun but now finds herself thrust into the public sphere with a duty to save souls—and lives—in the bloody aftermath of the Norman conquest.