Enid Elliot Linder was the daughter of a butler and a lady's maid in service in some of England's grandest country houses. Evoking the lost world of a childhood 'below stairs', Linder's touching memoir describes how her life changed as Britain headed towards war.

Growing up in a poverty-stricken, fatherless household, Dorothy Jordan overcame her humble beginnings to become the most famous comic actress of her day. This title tells the story of the rise and fall of an extraordinary woman born into extraordinary times.

The gripping, epic new historical family saga from the author of A Woman of Substance. From Victorian London to the vibrant port cities of England and France, from gracious stately homes in Gloucestershire to the decadence of Paris, Master of his Fate launches an unforgettable new historical series.London 1884: Queen Victoria is Empress of India and Britain is at its peak of worldwide power. James Falconer works as a barrow boy in a flourishing London...

It's 1939, and three ten-year-old girls meet on a station platform. Imogen, Rita and Debby all missed the original evacuation and now the authorities are finding it difficult to place them. When Auntie and her niece, Jill, who run the Canary and Linnet Public House, offer to take them in, the billeting officer is greatly relieved. The countryside is heaven to the three little townies, especially after they meet Woody and Josh, also evacuees. They...

1935. At 36, Bella Porter is dependent on her abusive cousin, acting as his 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. The house is on the edge of a slum and in a state of disrepair. As kind people help her find her feet, however, her confidence grows and when she meets struggling, widowed father-of-three...

October 1604. Plague has hit London, and the theatres are closed. But the capital's loss is Plymouth's gain, when a London theatre troupe, the Company, arrive on their 'Plague Tour'. Country physician Gabriel Taverner is bewitched and unnerved by the Company's sexually charged staging of Othello. But when Gabriel's friend tells him of a dangerous, whispered conversation overheard during a brief break, he is relieved the Company will soon be on their...

London, October 1941. Freddie Hackett, a message runner for a government office, witnesses an argument that ends in murder. Hiding in the doorway of a bombed-out house, Freddie waits until the coast is clear. But when he arrives at his next delivery address, he's shocked to come face-to-face with the killer. Dismissed by the police when reporting the crime, Freddie turns to private investigator Maisie Dobbs. While Maisie believes the boy and wants...

Orphaned and alone, thirteen-year-old Blackie O'Neill must leave North Kerry to find work and put food in his mouth. His only chance of survival lies with his mother's brother, far away in Leeds. There, amid the noise and bustle, the mills and manufactories of the clothing industry that have made Leeds one of England's most prosperous cities, Blackie's spark of ambition becomes a flame. Working in his uncle's business, he nurtures a dream of throwing...