Showing titles in Historical Fiction

A spellbinding adventure from the best-selling, award-winning author of The Last Wild trilogy. Jewel Hastings doesn't know who she is. But she is about to discover that she is one of the most remarkable people to have ever walked the earth. On the run from school bullies, Jewel tumbles through the door of a mysterious old bookshop and falls headlong into Folio, the world of the imagination. There, she must begin a quest to rescue her missing aunt, helped only by her rude pet hamster Fizz and a malfunctioning copper robot.

Lissadell House, Sligo, 1913. Lily and her friend Nellie are young housemaids in service in the Big House - they work for Lady Mary and Sir Josslyn Gore-Booth at Lissadell. As well as her housework and duties, Lily helps out in the local school of needlework - she hopes it might be a step on the way to her dream of being a teacher. Though they work hard, there’s lots of fun to be had at Lissadell - like friendship, fun and madcap bicycle rides with Sir Josslyn’s niece Maeve, daughter of the famous Republican Constance Markievicz.

Emma Woodhouse is pretty, clever and rich and sees no reason why she would ever need to get married. But she loves matchmaking for her neighbours, despite the advice of her friend Mr Knightley, who warns her against meddling. Her latest success - the wedding of her governess - makes her certain that she can find the right match for anyone. Can Emma's lucky streak continue? Or will best laid plans unravel...as they always seem to do?

Lily has lots of worries. She's struggling to compete in her fell-running races and, worse, she's losing her gran to Alzheimer's. But then she discovers her great-great-grandfather's diaries from the First World War. Could his incredible story of bravery help her reconnect with her gran and even give her the inspiration she needs to push through and win?

This latest instalment in the popular series sees Lily finally on her way to realising her dream of becoming a teacher. Nellie's older sister, Johanna, starts walking out with Harry the footman, and is extremely worried when he enlists and goes off to fight in World War I. He send letters to the girls from the front and tells them all about the Christmas Day truce in 1914...but then a telegram comes. Harry is missing, presumed dead. Will he return to Lissadell, safe and sound?

"Keep calm and carry on." That's what Katherine Bateson's father told her, and that's what she's trying to do: when her father goes off to the war, when her mother sends Kat and her brother and sister away from London to escape the incessant bombing, even when the children arrive at Rookskill Castle, an ancient, crumbling manor on the misty Scottish highlands.

Liverpool, 1940: 13 year old Joan's home is under threat from the Nazi's terrifying nightly air-raids. It is not an easy time to be a teenager, especially with the sweet rationing, strict curfews and blackouts. Joan and best friend Doreen love going to the cinema until the bombings intensify and then even that becomes too dangerous, especially when an army deserter is found lurking near their home. Who is he and why does he think Joan can help him?

Summer, 1941. When a German plane is shot down over the woods, Peter rushes to the crash site to find something exciting to keep. But what he finds instead is someone: a young and injured German airman. The enemy. Here. And in trouble. Suddenly, helping him seems like the right thing to do.

It’s summer in 1880 Stockholm, and the city bakes in the heat—but the heat on twelve-year-old Mika is lifting. After lying low following the dramatic blast at the jail, Mika’s relieved to learn her name is finally cleared. And it’s not a moment too soon—because Detective Hoff has a perplexing case involving the disappearance of a local teen. The girl’s wealthy family wants to make sure things stay quiet. Why would a girl who has everything want to run away? And why is her family so afraid to go public?

It’s Christmastime, and searching for magic, Maya finds herself transported back 200 years to the banks of the frozen river Thames. A boy called Eddie shows Maya the bustle of the glittering frost fair, filled with music, sweet stalls and thrilling rides. Is this all a dream, or can Maya bring a piece of the beautiful frost fair home with her after all?

A prizewinning novel for listeners of age 8 - 12, told through the voice of a contemporary child as she weaves a story about a secret child of Hitler.... The bombs were falling, the smoke was rising from the concentration camps, but all Hitler's daughter knew was lessons with Fraulein Gelber, the hedgehogs she rescued from the cold and infrequent visits from her beloved Duffi, her father. Was it just a story? Did Hitler's daughter really exist? If you were Hitler's daughter, would it all be your fault? Could you still love your own father if he had done what Hitler did?

In The Secret Explorers and the Jurassic Rescue, dinosaur expert Tamiko and geology expert Cheng travel back to the age of the dinosaurs in an effort to rescue a dinosaur egg from destruction. However, to save the egg, the Secret Explorers first have to use all their courage and skills to outsmart a fierce Allosaurus, rescue a baby Stegosaurus and find a way to attract an Archaeopteryx. Tamiko and Cheng soon find that, to succeed, they need to come up with some unusual solutions....

The Philippines, 1899. Ten-year-old Samkad thinks he knows everything about the world. He knows that home is in the mountains. He knows who his friends and his enemies are. And he knows that he will grow up to become a warrior like his dad, with his own shield, spear and axe. His best friend is Little Luki and she too wants to become a warrior—though there's little chance of that because she is just a girl. Then strangers arrive: a boy with many languages in his throat... and weird-looking men called Americans who bring war and death.

Bill is a 15-year-old runaway evacuee, and he’s finding that surviving on the streets of London is pretty easy. Things get more complicated for Bill with the arrival of Julie. She's a runaway too, and although she’s a bit posh, she’s just as determined as Bill to stay free of interfering parents and 'the social'. But although it’s fun for a while to duck Jerry missiles and camp out in bombed-out houses, the reality of living through the Blitz quickly begins to set in.

Danger is never far from Audra’s family farm in Lithuania. She always avoids the occupying Russian Cossack soldiers, who insist that everyone must become Russian - they have banned Lithuanian books, religion, culture, and even the language. But Audra knows her parents are involved in something secret and perilous. When Cossacks arrive abruptly at their door, Audra’s parents insist that she flee, taking with her an important package and instructions for where to deliver it. But escape means abandoning her parents to a terrible fate.

When pickpocket Danny accidentally bids for Maharajah the elephant at an Edinburgh auction, he's swept up on an unforgettable journey. His new employer, a zookeeper, transforms Danny into a bejewelled Indian prince. As he rides Maharajah from Scotland to his new home in England, even Queen Victoria follows their journey with delight. But as a rival zookeeper wagers on their failure, Danny's shady connections threaten to overturn the mission....

In a fractured realm, struggling to maintain an uneasy peace after years of civil war and religious tyranny, a 12-year-old orphan and her loyal companion, a large and homicidal goose, are about to become the unlikely heroes of a revolution.

As the Revolutionary War begins, 13-year-old Isabel wages her own fight...for freedom. Promised freedom upon the death of their owner, she and her sister, Ruth, in a cruel twist of fate, become the property of a malicious New York City couple, the Locktons, who have no sympathy for the American Revolution and even less for Ruth and Isabel. When Isabel meets Curzon, a slave with ties to the Patriots, he encourages her to spy on her owners, who know details of British plans for invasion.

When Teddy, a young sorcerer, offers to send Jack and Annie on a dream vacation, they can't wait to go. The brother-and-sister pair wish for a trip to a beach paradise, and the magic tree house whisks them off to the coast of Mexico. Everything starts out perfectly as they raft around a coral reef. But then a hungry shark attacks! And their dream vacation turns into a nightmare!

The New Cut Gang is a group of urchins ranging from six-year-old Sharky Bob to 13-year-old Bridie Malone. They inhabit the streets around Lambeth Walk and the New Cut, in 1892. In this second adventure, £10,000 worth of silver is stolen from the Gas-Fitters' Hall and the New Cut Gang are immediately on the case. They enlist the help of Orlando, the strongest man in the world, and the Gas-Fitters' Ball provides them with the perfect opportunity to expose the villain.

In commemoration of the 75th anniversary of D-Day, author Lauren Tarshis shines a spotlight on the story of the Normandy landings, the largest seaborne invasion in history and foundation for the Allied victory in World War II.

Anne is growing up and leaving the Island to spend four years of her life at Redmond College. She meets a wonderful new friend in Philippa Gordon, offspring to an old and exclusive "bluenose" family. Phil's family ties, combined with her beauty and charm, open the gates of all the social cliques and clubs at Redmond. And where Phil went, Anne went. Thus, Anne found her social pathway at Redmond made very easy while other freshettes were doomed to remain on the fringe of things.

Morgan Freeman reads this story, accompanied by music by Taj Mahal. Based on the traditional American folksong, this compelling tale recounts the daring adventures of one family's escape from slavery via the Underground Railroad. This touching story captures all the drama of a perilous flight to freedom, told through the experience of a young girl.

1945. They have survived the Blitz, but when Simon, Patricia, Evelyn and Larry step through a mysterious library door, it is the beginning of their most dangerous adventure yet. They discover the magical world of Folio, where an enchanted kingdom of fairy knights, bears and tree gods is under threat from a sinister robot army. The many stories of the Library are locked in eternal war, and the children's only hope is to find their creator - a magician who has been lost for centuries. What they find will change not just their own lives, but the fate of the world, for ever....

A knight left for dead. A country on the verge of ruin. And an evil lord rising to conquer. Sir Rowan is the most decorated tournament knight in Cameria, but when he is attacked and left for dead, his world collapses. Betrayed and lingering at death’s door, only a bizarre vision of his Prince and the help of a woman dedicated to the King keeps him alive. As Rowan heals, he finds new purpose in life through service to his King. But his beloved land of Cameria has fallen victim to the tyranny of the Dark Knight.

Many years ago, the storytellers say, the great King Arthur brought justice to England with the help of his gallant Knights of the Round Table. Of these worthy knights, there was never one so fearless, so chivalrous, so honorable, so...shiny as the dashing Sir Lancelot, who was quite good at defending the helpless and protecting the weak, just as long as he’d had his afternoon nap. Behold the very exciting and very funny adventures of Lancelot the Great, as only the acclaimed Arthurian author Gerald Morris can tell them.

The Timekeepers are a secret organisation of kids who keep the course of history on track – and history needs them – a villain called DeLay is causing chaos! When the hands on their watches start to spin backwards, the Timekeepers know that DeLay has been up to no good, and it’s up to them to put things right…

In Where the River Begins, a confused and misguided youngster stays with a Christian family while his mother is institutionalized. They help him discover the source of the nearby river and the source of the Christian life.

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.

It’s 1871 and prospectors are flooding California to mine for gold. When two strange men show up with bags of gemstones, everyone is ready to start mining for diamonds. What happens when no one can find the secretive field of gems? Is it all just a hoax? How will geology help miners find diamonds?

A desperate quest begins in the Romano-Egyptian port of Alexandria - site of the great lighthouse, the library, and the tomb of Alexander the Great. Codes, riddles, anagrams, and hieroglyphics lead the search parties down the Nile to pyramids and sphinxes, temples and tombs, crocodiles and hippos. But what lies at the end of the journey? Treasure? Or death?

Sixteen-year-old Leinad thought he was a common farmer's son, nothing more. He wondered why his father had trained him for years to master the sword, not exactly a tool of the trade for farmers. But one tragic event initiates a world of revelation. Only then does he begin to understand his calling, a calling no other man in the entire kingdom of Arrethtrae can fulfill - a calling given him by the King himself.