Sphere The Halfpenny Girls at War Mason Maggie

Will their prayers be answered at the most wonderful time of the year? • As Christmas approaches, Alice, Edith and Marg continue to face hardships growing up on one of the poorest streets in Blackpool. Penniless, their friendship has helped them survive this far, but it'll take more than that to see them through the dark days that lie ahead • Newly married Alice receives shocking news about her pregnancy that threatens the future she's always dreamed of, Marg is struggling to care for her ailing mother and ensure her little sister receives the education she deserves, and Edith is grieving the loss of her family while preparing to marry her sweetheart • The Halfpenny Girls once again are faced with a struggle, but with the festive season upon them will family, friendship and Christmas spirit see them through? • The second in a brand new series from reader favourite Maggie Mason, The Halfpenny Girls is the perfect heart-warming family saga about overcoming hardship and the value of friendship

Down on their luck, all the have left is friendship • It is 1937 and Alice, Edith and Marg continue to face hardships every day, growing up on one of the poorest streets in Blackpool. Penniless, their friendship has helped them survive this far, but it'll take more than that to see them through the dark days that lie ahead • Alice is coping with a violent father and the weight of the duty she carries to support her family, Marg is left reeling after a dark secret about her birth comes to light and threatens to destroy the life she knows, and Edith is fighting to protect her alcoholic mother from the shame of their neighbours and keep her brother on the straight and narrow • A chance encounter at the Blackpool Tower Ballroom promises to set their lives on a new path, one filled with love and safety and hope for a brighter future

Home is where the heart is • Beryl was the first Farley clan bride, finding a home in the arms of loving, attentive, elder son Tony. Yet even now, wrapped in Tony's embrace, Beryl has never quite been able to forget the past she ran away from, nor the shocking family secret she tried to bury • With Tony away fighting the Jerries alongside his brothers, it's up to Beryl and her sisters-in-law to keep the family afloat. Hard, gruelling work doesn't faze her, but the sudden arrival of a devastating letter does • Will Beryl be able to hold her family together and face up to her past? Or will the war take away the one thing she holds most dear - the one person she never thought she deserved? • The perfect family saga, set on the Newcastle streets that inspired Catherine Cookson's bestselling classic The Fifteen Streets - This is the second in brand new series for fans of Nancy Revell, Elaine Everest and Daisy Styles

Can friendship get them through the struggles of war? • 1940, Liverpool: Alice Turner and her best friend, Millie Markham, work for the war effort at Rootes munitions factory, making shell caps and Halifax bombers. Alice's sweetheart Terry is home from the front for a brief period of leave. She's been in love with him since school, and the women are excitedly planning a whirlwind wedding • But the honeymoon is soon over. Terry must go back to the dangers of Nazi-occupied France, and the ever-present air raid sirens quickly bring Alice back down to earth. When a terrible explosion at the factory leads to a tragic death, Millie receives devastating news, and a loved one is announced missing in action, the heartbreak of war is suddenly all too real

На пороге дома Лотти стояла незнакомая женщина. Она держала за руку маленького мальчика. "Помогите мне", - сказала она. "Пожалуйста, помогите мне" • Однажды утром в понедельник обнаружено тело молодой беременной женщины. В тот же день мать и ее сын посещают дом детектива Лотти Паркер, умоляя о помощи в поисках потерянной подруги • Может ли это быть та же самая девушка? • Когда обнаружена вторая жертва, убитая таким же образом, Лотти нужно выяснить, как эти двое были связаны. Затем пропадают еще две девушки • Детектив Лотти Паркер - женщина на грани, преследуемая своим трагическим прошлым и изо всех сил пытающаяся сохранить семью в трудные времена. Сможет ли она побороть своих собственных демонов и поймать убийцу до того, как он заберет еще одну жертву? • Роман Патрисии Гибни "Украденные девушки" - захватывающий триллер, от которого вы не сможете оторваться

1941: it takes strength to work on the docks, but the war demands all hands on deck and the women are doing their best to fill the gap • Rosie is flourishing in her role as head-welder while still keeping her double life a secret. But a dashing detective is forcing Rosie to choose between love and her duty • Gloria is hiding her own little secret – one that if found out, could not only threaten her job, but her life • And the shipyards are proving tougher than Polly ever imagined, while she waits for her man to return home safely • Join the shipyard girls as they journey through the hardships of life, love and war

It's 1940 and for newlywed Daisy Turner, Kew Gardens is a haven away from the bombs that are falling nightly on her East End home. She grew up around plants - her parents met when they were gardeners at Kew in the last war. And her work on the Dig For Victory campaign at Kew keeps her occupied while her husband Rex, is away in the RAF • Beth Sanderson works with Daisy at the gardens, but she dreams of being a doctor while juggling her gardening job with nursing shifts. And there's the added complication of her forbidden romance with her colleague, Gus Campbell. Gus is from Jamaica and it seems impossible for he and Beth to be together. But can they overcome the prejudice they're facing and build a life together? • Meanwhile Louisa Armitage, who worked at Kew Gardens during the First World War, is feeling old and useless, having retired to the countryside

'Calling All Women!' • It's 1941 and as the Second World War rages on, girls from all over the country are signing up to the Women's Land Army. Renowned for their camaraderie and spirit, it is these brave women who step in to take on the gruelling farm work from the men conscripted into the armed forces • When Yorkshire mill girl Una joins the cause, she wonders how she'll adapt to country life. Luckily she's quickly befriended by more experienced Land Girls Brenda and Grace. But as Christmas draws ever near, the girls' resolve is tested as scandals and secrets are revealed, lovers risk being torn apart, and even patriotic loyalties are called into question • With only a week to go until the festivities, can the strain of wartime still allow for the magic of Christmas? • A wonderful, festive tale of friendship, romance and triumph over adversity that fans of Daisy Styles, Donna Douglas and Call the Midwife will adore

In celebration of the 70th anniversary of The Archers hitting the radio waves • It’s 1940 and war has broken out. It is midnight at the turn of the year, and Walter Gabriel speaks the same line that opened the very first radio episode – 'And a Happy New Year to you all!' For Ambridge, a village in the heart of the English countryside, this year will bring change in ways no one was expecting • From the Pargetters at Lower Loxley to the loving, hard-working Archer family at Brookfield Farm, the war will be hard for all of them. And the New Year brings the arrival of evacuees to Ambridge, shaking things up in the close-knit rural community • As the villagers embrace wartime spirit, the families that listeners have known and loved for generations face an uphill battle to keep their secrets hidden

The Mitfords at War • It's 1941, and the Mitford household is splintered by the vicissitudes of war. To bring the clan together - maybe for one last time - Deborah invites them to Chatsworth for Christmas, along with a selection of society's most impressive and glamorous guests, as well as old family friend Louisa Cannon, a private detective • One night, a psychic arrives, and to liven things up Deborah agrees she may host a seance. But entertainment turns to dark mystery as the psychic reveals that a maid was murdered in this very same house - and she can prove it • Louisa steps forward to try to solve the cold case. But with a house full of people who want nothing more than to bury their secrets, will she be able to unmask the murderer? And how deep does the truth lie?

The year is 1140 and England is torn by the strife of civil war. Oliver Pascal chances upon a village raided by mercenaries and rescues the survivors: an orphaned boy, who is the illegitimate son of the old king, and his mother's maid, a young widow named Catrin. After escorting them to Bristol Castle, they are accepted into the household of Robert of Gloucester and while Catrin finds herself falling in love with Oliver she suffers a deep boredom at the frivolity of court life. Thus when the old midwife Etheldreda offers to teach her the secrets of her ancient art, Catrin agrees • But the midwife's life is fraught with dangers, not least Oliver's own personal fears which threaten their relationship, but also in the shape of two men, both killers and both of whom threaten the couple's lives

In the wild, windswept Welsh marches a noble young lord rides homewards, embittered, angry and in danger. He is Guyon, lord of Ledworth, heir to threatened lands, husband-to-be of Judith of Ravenstow. Their union will save his lands - but they have yet to meet • For this is Wales at the turn of the twelfth century. Dynasties forge and fight, and behind the precarious throne of William Rufus political intrigue is raging. Caught amidst the violence are Judith and Guyon, bound together yet poles apart. But when a dark secret from the past is revealed and the full horror of war crashes over Guyon and Judith, they are forced to face insurmountable odds. Together