Hodder & Stoughton Hallam Square Jacobs Anna

It's 1848 and preparations are underway for Annie Gibson's wedding to Bilsden's wealthy millwoner, Frederick Hallam. But not everyone is as pleased as they are • Frederick's daughter, Beatrice, is horrified at the prospect of a new attractive stepmother arriving at the house on Ridge Hill. Even Annie's own family feels threatened. The only person who seems pleased is Tom, Annie's brother • Soon, however, real troubles begin to pile up for the Gibsons. Tom's happiness is jeopardised by the news that he is father to a child he never knew about. Annie's son, William, is devastated to find out that his real father is not the man who brought him up. And even Annie's joy cannot last. Because someone has uncovered the secrets she has fought so hard to keep hidden

In 1845 Annie Gibson can finally leave Salem Street. Her dreams of being able to open an elegant dressmaking salon in the High Street of Bilsden, a Lancashire mill town, have come true. And she is going to take her father and his second family with her, away from poverty, away from the Rows • But Annie has not left trouble behind. Someone is trying to undermine her business. Her family have their own ideas about what they want to do with their lives. And several men are persistently trying to win favour with the beautiful young widow - including Frederick Hallam, the mill owner, and Daniel O'Connor, her childhood friend • As Annie gets better acquainted with both, she becomes increasingly confused about her feelings. Can she really be in love And can she risk trusting any man again

It is 1860 in Bilsden, the Lancashire mill town, and Frederick Hallam is dying. But first he makes secret plans to smooth the future path for his beloved wife Annie. Her sister, Joanie, is fed up with everything until a dshing new admirer crosses her path. But a spurned suitor is determined that Joanie will be his, whatever the cost. And he is not the only one who wants to harm the Gibson family • Meanwhile the Civil War in America cuts off cotton supplies, so that times are hard in Bilsden and unemployment is rife. Annie had to rebuild her life after her husband's death and plans to create Spinners Lake, an extraordinary project that will keep her workers from destitution and assuage her own grief • Tian Gilchrist is caught up in the American war and nearly dies there

Calico Road runs through a tiny Lancashire hamlet up on the edge of the moors, miles from anywhere. Its folk are an independent breed - and in 1827 they are a thorn in the side of the vicious mill owner in the valley below • Toby Fletcher's father ignored his bastard son while alive. Now Toby is the new owner of the rambling old inn, an unwitting keeper of its secrets. Then Meg Staley comes to Calico, a woman who was strong enough to survive one tragedy, but found it harder to withstand a second blow. Toby finds her wandering the moors, cold and starving, and brings her back to the inn • Working there, Meg starts to rebuild her life and find a fragile happiness. But then the secrets of Calico Road come crashing down on her and those she has grown to love

In 1820 Salem Street is sparkling and new: eight small terraced houses built by a Lancashire mill owner for his best workers. Annie Gibson's family is one of the first to move in - a step up in the world for them. But when her mother dies, Annie's happy childhood ends and she is left to bring up her brother and sister • Red-haired, intelligent and startlingly pretty, Annie soon finds herself banished from home by a jealous stepmother. She finds work in the local doctor's household where she learns about the fascinating world outside Salem Street. And when her adored childhood friend Matt asks her to marry him, Annie thikns her dreams are coming true • But suddenly everything turns upside-down. Abandoned and pregant, Annie returns to Salem Street, where an unexpected offer gives her independence

In 1863 the authorities send Irish orphans Ismay and Mara to Australia against their will. Worse, on arrival they're separated from one another. While Ismay is forced to take a job as a maid, miles away in the country, Mara must stay in the care of the catholic mission. Desperate to be reunited, they both run away but Ismay soon runs into danger out in the bush. She is saved by Malachi Firth, but although he's attracted to her, he doesn't want to be encumbered with a wife • Meanwhile, their elder sister Keara has not forgotten them. However, she has had her own struggles to face and by the time she reaches Melbourne she finds that the trail is cold. Danger continues to threaten all three sisters. Will they ever find one another again

Recently widowed, Hannah Firth is still young - young enough to dream of a new life. When her spiteful daughter-in-law uses her as an unpaid servant, Hannah tries to leave, but she is unaware of the depths that Patty's spite will lead her to • Nathaniel King's life is ruined when his landlord's son lays waste to his market garden for a prank - and the resulting feud puts Nathaniel's livelihood at stake • Hannah has only a few coins and dreams of a happier future to sustain her as she tramps the roads and evades pursuit. When she meets Nathaniel, the attraction between them cannot be denied and they join forces. But their enemies have money and powerful allies on their side and will stop at nothing to get rid of them

Lizzie Kershaw is an independent spirit; ever since her father's death she has had to be a survivor • She makes an ill-advised marriage in order to escape her harsh home life. However, she quickly discovers that she has married a selfish and violent man. His beatings are ceaseless and she finds herself compelled to run away. With the help of some suffragettes she escapes to Manchester, where she finds work in a munitions factory for a while. Sam manages to find her and drags her home. It is only when his violence causes her to lose their unborn baby that Lizzie really finds the strength to make things change, and to find happiness with a man who loves her

Вошедшие в данный сборник рождественские рассказы Энид Блайтон по праву считаются нестареющей классикой детской литературы. Эта книга - отличный подарок для тех, кто насладился этими историями в детстве и хочет познакомить с ними новое поколение читателей • Книга «Enid Blyton`s Christmas Stories» оказалась столь популярной, что издательство Hodder & Stoughton по просьбам читателей выпустило второй праздничный сборник, и именно его вы держите в руках! Энид Блайтон передаёт атмосферу Рождества с несравненным мастерством, какой бы аспект праздника она ни описывала: колядки, ожидание подарков, праздничный стол и, конечно, посиделки с родными и близкими… Да, в историях Блайтон, как обычно, нашлось место для озорства и хаоса, но добро и веселье в них всегда на первом месте! • Рассказы из этой книги ранее не публиковались в «Enid Blyton`s Christmas Stories»

The heartwarming third instalment of the Rivenshaw series from bestselling saga writer Anna Jacobs • After a stray bomb scored a direct hit on his childhood home in Hertfordshire, the only thing that has kept Francis Brady going while he works day and night salvaging what he can from the rubble is the thought that soon he'll be joining war-time friends Mayne, Daniel and Victor as electrician in their new dream building firm in Lancashire • But things are not going to plan: Mayne isn't answering any of his letters; Francis' wife is having a change of heart about moving up north - and her parents seem set on destroying his reputation • A lot of marriages are breaking up in these times of change, and Francis is loathe for his to be one of them

When Karen Drew is found sitting in her wheelchair staring out to sea with her throat cut one chilly morning, DI Annie Cabbot, on loan to Eastern Area, gets lumbered with the case. Back in Eastvale, that same Sunday morning, 19-year-old Hayley Daniels is found raped and strangled in the Maze, a tangle of narrow alleys behind Eastvale's market square, after a drunken night on the town with a group of friends, and DCI Alan Banks is called in. Banks finds suspects galore, while Annie seems to hit a brick wall - until she reaches a breakthrough that spins her case in a shocking and surprising new direction, one that also involves Banks • Then another incident occurs in the Maze which seems to link the two cases in a bizarre and mysterious way. As Banks and Annie dig into the past to uncover the deeper connections, they find themselves also dealing with the emotional baggage and personal demons of their own relationship

Someone is killing couples just as they start their lives together • Newlyweds Lincoln Rhyme and Amelia Sachs are on the hunt • The first victims, William and Anna, were collecting her engagement ring • 1.5 carat, almost flawless • But the Promisor had other ideas for their future • Their murder - and that of the diamond cutter they were visiting - is only the first of a series of macabre attacks • The killer is hunting down any witnesses who might lead to his capture. He has promised one thing: to destroy • But Rhyme and Sachs will do whatever it takes to break his vow