Showing titles in Historical

Something moved at an upstairs window.... Nothing ever happens in the tiny village of Coney Cley. At least, that's what eleven-year-old Josh and his sister, Jinty, think. Until their trip down Shadows Lane. For there, within the walls of an isolated, crumbling cottage, something - someone - is hiding. Josh and Jinty are about to discover a shocking secret, which they must keep hidden at all costs.... A tense, fantastically gripping tale from Carnegie Award-winning author Robert Swindells.

When pirates attacked her town and the captain took a liking to her, she saw a way out. Zheng Yi Sao agreed to marry him only if she got an equal share of his business. When her husband died six years later, she took command of the fleet. Over the next decade, the pirate queen built a fleet of over 1,800 ships and 70,000 men. On land and sea, Zheng Yi Sao's power rivaled the emperor himself. Time and again, her ships triumphed over the emperor's ships.

Lambeth, South London, 1894. Meet the New Cut Gang - Sharky Bob, Benny, Thunderbolt, Bridie and the Peretti twins: the greatest detectives since Sexton Blake. They inhabit the streets around Lambeth Walk and the New Cut, in 1894, a place bristling with gangsters, bookies, pickpockets, horse thieves and the occasional policeman. But who's passing counterfeit coins 'round Lambeth? Surely not Thunderbolt's dad, who's just been arrested.

It's 1944 and the world is at war. Hideki lives peacefully with his family on the island of Okinawa, near Japan. Until the day WWII reaches their door. Hideki is drafted into the "Blood and Iron Imperial Corps" to fight for the Japanese army. He is handed two grenades and a set of instructions: go off into the jungle, and don't come back until you've killed an American soldier. Meanwhile, young American soldier Ray Majors has just landed on the beach in Okinawa. He doesn't know what to expect, or if he'll make it out alive, but he knows he must keep moving forward.

In 1707, eight-year-old Sarah travels with her father to build a new home in the Connecticut wilderness. Sarah is afraid when she hears animals in the night. She is afraid when she meets her Indian neighbors. She is especially afraid when she is left with an Indian family while her father goes back to get the rest of their family. But when Sarah remembers her mother’s parting words, “Keep up your courage, Sarah Noble,” she learns to be brave even when she’s afraid.

It's 1918, and the Great War is entering its final phase. In Northern France, young Aimee has just found out that her mother is part of a spy network working with the British. After reluctantly befriending Marius, a German boy who has been left behind by his countrymen, she must try to help him get back behind German lines while evading traitor she has helped to discover.

Rose and Lily and their little brother, Ned, live in an orphanage - a terrible place where the porridge is thin and cold and nobody smiles. One dark and stormy night, they decide enough is enough and run away. But hiding in the shadows, as they make their way through the dangerous back streets of London, is Mack the Knife: the most villainous of villains.... Hiding above the streets, leaping through the air, is Spring-Heeled Jack.

It's 1940, and Britain is on the brink of invasion. Londoner George has been sent to live in the countryside while his brother and guardian, Charlie, trains to be a pilot - but he's very far from safe. An ancient burial ground nearby contains a priceless treasure, a magical Anglo-Saxon crown Hitler is desperate to possess. Alongside Kitty, the granddaughter of a Jewish archaeologist, George must find and protect the crown from the Nazi invaders before it’s too late.

Cat Sparrow is on the road. She's following her sister, Meg, who was torn from their convent home and sent to London. But Cat isn't like other people - she thinks differently - and for a girl like her the world holds many perils. Luckily she befriends a young actor, Jacques, and together they follow Meg's trail to a wondrous place called the Field of Cloth of Gold. But here, they discover that the kingdoms of England and France are both in terrible danger....

L'histoire commence en 1787. La frégate HMS Bounty, commandée par William Bligh, est affrétée par l'Amirauté Anglaise pour rallier Tahiti afin d'y récolter des plants d'arbre à pain. L'Amirauté prévoit d'acclimater cette plante dans les colonies anglaises des Indes Occidentales pour nourrir les esclaves. Le voyage est rendu difficile par le caractère exigeant du capitaine Bligh. Il punit sévèrement l'équipage et fait donner le fouet avec beaucoup trop de générosité au goût de ses hommes. L'escale tahitienne est donc bienvenue, et les six mois passés sur l'île à récolter les plants d'arbre à pain, seront pour ces hommes sévèrement tenus un avant-goût de paradis.

Un nouveau défi de taille à relever pour Astérix et ses amis : gagner les Jeux Olympiques !

When that shrewd conniver, Tom, the infamous Great Brain, is sent to school in Salt Lake City, his favorite victim, J.D., figures he can step into his brother's shoes as town hustler. Nothing's wrong with his technique - it's just that he hasn't got the instincts of a real con man. But when outlaws kidnap J.D.'s four-year-old adopted brother, Frankie, J.D.'s talents find their proper inspiration. And if everybody thinks it looks like curtains for Frankie, it's because they haven't counted on what a "little brain" combined with a big heart can do.

In 1894, 12-year-old Matilda flees the city slums to find her unknown father and his farm. But drought grips the land, and the shearers are on strike. Her father has turned swaggie, and he's wanted by the troopers. In front of his terrified daughter, he makes a stand against them, defiant to the last. "You'll never catch me alive," said he....

In the summer of 1916, 10-year-old Chet Roscow is captivated by the local news: A great white shark has been attacking and killing people up and down the Atlantic Coast, not far from Chet's hometown of Springfield, New Jersey. Then one day, while swimming with his friends, Chet sees something in the water....

It's 1718. Pirate ships sail the oceans and brutal slave masters control the plantations. Eleven-year-old Abigail Buckler lives with her father in the Caribbean. Her clothes are made of finest muslin, so she can't play in them - not that there's anyone to play with anyway. She isn't even allowed to go out alone. But when pirates attack, Abigail's life will change forever. Suddenly her old certainties about right and wrong, good and bad, start to unravel. And maybe she doesn't have to be so ladylike after all.

Thirteen-year-old New Yorker Rory Hennessy can see things no one else can. When a magician's trick opens his eyes to Mannahatta, Rory finds an amazing spirit city coexisting alongside modern-day Manhattan. But Rory's power to see Mannahatta brings danger, and he is pursued by enemies, chasing history and trying to free those who have been enslaved. And when he is given the chance to right Mannahatta's greatest wrong, seeing Mannahatta may not be a gift after all....

Deryn’s father is the lighthouse keeper on Featherstone Island, keeping the lantern lit to protect passing boats from the treacherous rocky coastline. But when an emergency arises and Deryn is left alone to keep watch over the lighthouse, she finds herself in a terrible situation when the lamp runs out of oil during a wild storm. With a fishing boat in peril on the sea, Deryn has to seek help from an unusual source. Will she be able to keep the lantern lit through the dark, dangerous night?

The Titanic is meant to be unsinkable, but as it begins its maiden voyage, there’s plenty of danger waiting for four of its young passengers. Paddy is a stowaway, escaping a deadly past. Sophie’s mother is delivered to the ship by police - after she and Sophie have been arrested. Juliana’s father is an eccentric whose riches can barely hide his madness. And Alfie is hiding a secret that could get him kicked off the ship immediately.

Dido is reconciled to leaving the racing track and staying at home to train horses with Scorpus and Parmenion. But a storm is brewing. It brings with it a fiery black stallion, uncannily like Dido's beloved Porcellus. Word arrives from Rome that her cousin, Abibaal, a talented young charioteer, has been recruited to compete for the evil emperor Caligula. To save Abibaal, Dido must return to the great Circus Maximus track where she once drove to glory herself, confront her enemy Caligula, and face the toughest, most dangerous race of her life.

Island of Stars will take you on an old-fashioned adventure, building like an ocean wave as nautical mysteries and historical intrigue are blended together in a fairy tale that resolves itself in a fantastical climax. This story was written primarily for ages 9-12, but is a perfect family book and one that will keep adult listeners entertained and engaged as well.