Showing titles in 20th Century

Connie Fitzwalter never imagined that her passion for music would lead her into a world of danger and intrigue. When her old family friend, Stephen, who works for the foreign office, tells Connie the true scale of the violence against Jewish people in Germany and Austria, she can stand aside no longer. Together, Stephen and Connie devise a daring mission to help families escape the clutches of Nazi persecution. Under their cover as music enthusiasts traveling to high-society concerts in Europe, Connie and her sister Dottie begin by smuggling money and valuables for families over the border.

London, 1969: The Kray twins, the nemeses of Charles Holborne, barrister, are finally convicted of multiple murders and sent away for the longest prison terms ever imposed by a British court. But with London in the grip of a housing crisis and unscrupulous landlords hiking rents, there are new ruthless enforcers terrorizing destitute East Enders. When a tenant dies during a violent altercation with bailiffs, Charles is instructed to represent the businessmen charged with conspiracy to murder.

June, 1943. In Lyon, the capital of the French resistance, a secret meeting is held under orders from General de Gaulle. The objective is to unite all resistance factions. The future of France is on the line. But when the meeting is raided by the Gestapo under Klaus Barbie, the 'Butcher of Lyon', the plan disintegrates and the leaders are captured. The movement has been betrayed. There is a traitor in Lyon.

'This impeccably researched wartime thriller had me gripped from the opening pages – I loved it.' Eliza Graham 'A nail-biting read from start to finish … a must for WW2 fiction fans' Tessa Harris Holland, 1944: Undercover British agent Nancy Callaghan has been given her toughest case yet. A...

Berlin, 1941. Felix Thalberg, a printer’s apprentice, has the weight of the world on his shoulders. His beloved city is changing under Nazi rule, and at home things are no better - Felix’s father hasn’t left the house since he was forced to wear a yellow star, and his mother grows thinner every day. Then one night, Felix meets a mysterious young woman in a crowded dance hall, and his life is changed forever. Hannah is like a rush of fresh air into his gloomy, stagnant life, and Felix finds himself instantly, powerfully infatuated with her.

In the year leading up to the First World War, four people’s lives intertwine, only to be pulled apart. A landmark of gay and pacifist literature, Rose Allatini’s story foregrounding conscientious objectors and queer love amidst wartime turmoil was banned months after its publication. At a...

Best friends Jana and Eva are carefree eight-year-olds in Prague – until Nazi occupation tears them apart. As their mothers are taken away and the girls face the horrors of war, survival becomes all that matters. In Theresienstadt, two desperate women make unimaginable sacrifices to one day find their children. But will love and hope be enough to help them reunite?

As the end of the Second World War in Europe looms, a new conflict is in its early stages: who will control Europe when the war ends? Soviet double-agent 'Archie' is now a British diplomat in the United States, feeding information on the Special Relationship back to Moscow Centre. Meanwhile...

'Brilliantly written and researched . . . I loved it.' Rosie Goodwin The third book in a moving and heartwarming World War II saga series. Perfect for readers of Ellie Dean and Annie Groves and for fans of the Home Fires series. Dover, 1940 As firebombs fall on Dover, Edie Castle's life is...

"No matter how devoted, dedicated, conscientious and altogether noble a teacher is, I feel pretty sure that each and everyone feels the same sense of freedom and relief from her chains when the end of term arrives..." So it is for Miss Read - but on the very first day of the long summer holiday...

In Secrets at Bletchley Park by Margaret Dickinson, two young women from very different backgrounds meet in the Second World War and are plunged into a life where security and discretion are paramount. But both have secrets of their own to hide . . . In 1929, life for ten-year-old Mattie Price...

As the war turns in Britain’s favour, Brin confronts old and new enemies and discovers someone close to him is a British traitor. Jameson finally breaks free of the torturer, Anton Ziegler, but is he walking into even greater danger when the SS takes him captive and extradites him to Berlin? MI5 continues to groom its double-cross agents in the lead up to Britain’s greatest deception against Germany, while the Germans use a legion of British traitors in their propaganda war against Russia.

Brought to you by Penguin. This new audio edition of Ian McEwan’s beloved modern classic is narrated by Olivier Award winner and Emmy nominee Harriet Walter, who starred as Emily Tallis in the Academy Award-winning film adaptation of Atonement. Her recent credits range from The Crown to...

England, 1905 At Ashmore Castle, scandal is never far away... When a train crash rocks Ashmore, unlikely heroes emerge - and old secrets begin to stir. Kitty is still finding her feet at the castle, though her sharp-tongued mother-in-law and the old earl's dark secret threaten her newfound...

Brought to you by Penguin. Consisting of four novels - Some Do Not..., No More Parades, A Man Could Stand Up and The Last Post - Parade's End is the story of Christopher Tietjens and his progress from the secure world of Edwardian England into the First World War and beyond. Both a portrait of a...

'A magnificent novel' Belinda McKeon, author of Solace and Tender 'Truly unforgettable' Fíona Scarlett, author of Boys Don't Cry 'Everything I love in a novel' Jennie Godfrey, bestselling author of The List of Suspicious Things A heart-swelling beauty of a debut novel of love, trauma and found...

Munich, 1935 - The Bavarian capital is a magnet for young, aristocratic Britons who come to learn German, swim in the lakes and drink beer in the cellars. What they don't see - or choose to ignore - is the brutal underbelly of the Nazi movement which considers Munich its spiritual home. When a...

Beautifully read by Indira Varma and poignantly told, Marking Time is the second novel in Elizabeth Jane Howard’s bestselling family saga The Cazalet Chronicles, set during the onset of World War II. 'Compelling, moving, unputdownable . . . Maybe my favourite books ever' - Marian Keyes...

Brought to you by Penguin. Every life is both ordinary and extraordinary, and Logan Mountstuart's - stretching across the twentieth century - is a rich tapestry of both. As a writer who finds inspiration with Hemingway in Paris and Virginia Woolf in London, as a spy recruited by Ian Fleming and...

Brought to you by Penguin. The fifth brilliantly heart-warming novel in the Wartime Bookshop series, perfect for fans of Maisie Thomas and Elaine Everest. Victoria is astonished when she discovers an abandoned newborn baby on her doorstep, along with a note begging her to 'take care of little...