Showing titles in Historical Fiction

Dodger is a tosher – a sewer scavenger living in the squalor of Dickensian London. Everyone who is nobody knows Dodger. Anyone who is anybody doesn’t. But when he rescues a young girl from a beating, suddenly everybody wants to know him. And Dodger’s tale of skulduggery, dark plans and even darker deeds begins….

Laura Ingalls Wilder is beginning life with her new husband, Almanzo, in their own little house. Laura is a young pioneer wife now and must work hard with Almanzo, farming the land around their home on the South Dakota prairie. Soon their baby daughter, Rose, is born, and the young family must face the hardships and triumphs encountered by so many American pioneers. And so Laura Ingalls Wilder's adventure as a little pioneer girl ends, and her new life as a pioneer wife and mother begins.

Enemy bombers. Gas masks. Evacuation. What was World War Two really like? Five modern children have the chance to find out. They are taking part in Strictly Evacuees, a brand-new reality show.

Rupert, the young Earl of Westerholme, returns home from the war - and Anna, a housemaid, falls hopelessly in love with him. But they can never be together - Rupert is engaged to the snobbish and awful Muriel. And anyway, Anna is only a servant. Or so everybody thinks.

A brilliant debut brimming with secrets, mystery and friendship, set against a backdrop of the First World War in the walled gardens of Ickworth estate. ​October 1916. Clara is sent to stay with her formidable aunt and uncle in the grounds of a country estate. Clara soon discovers that her new surroundings hold secrets: a locked room and a hidden key, and a mysterious boy who appears in the gardens only at night.... But can Clara face up to her own secrets and a war she's desperate to forget?

Maisie has always loved horses. She is also a talented artist. When the opportunity arises for her to study in Paris, her two worlds collide. There, in the heart of the city, Maisie finds the childhood diary of famous horse artist Rose Bonifait and meets the beautiful black stallion Claude. As the two girls’ stories emerge, tragedies unfold - both past and present - and Maisie realises that she can’t begin to imagine life without her forever horse.

A body washed up on the beach. An evacuation to an old house with forbidden rooms and dark secrets. An animal rescue service. Set in World War Two, Emma Carroll explores the resilience, resourcefulness and inventiveness of children when their lives fall to pieces. Introducing some compelling new characters, as well as revisiting some familiar settings, these adventures are sure to win over new listeners as well as fans of old favourites such as Letters from the Lighthouse and Frost Hollow Hall.

When a large diamond goes missing from Silvershell Manor, who better to get to the bottom of the mystery than detective Violet Veil and her dog Bones. But nothing is quite as it seems when it comes to the missing heirloom and when a trail of origami birds leads them to Elizabelle Crane, a young casino owner and debt collector, Violet realises that it’s all just turned into a game of high stakes . . .

Jason lives with his big brother, Richie, trying their best to make ends meet so they can stay together. They've got supportive neighbours and some great friends, but there's always the threat that someone will think they can't manage on their own since their parents died. It’s February 1974 and working-class families have been hit hard by the three-day week. The reduced power usage means less work, and less money to get by on. Richie is doing his best, but to make enough money, he’s been doing favours for the wrong people.

It's the turn of the 20th century in New York's Lower East Side and a sense of adventure and excitement abounds for five young sisters. Follow along on their adventures and experience their holiday fun.

Kit Tyler must leave behind shimmering Caribbean islands to join the stern Puritan community of her relatives. She soon feels caged, until she meets the old woman known as the Witch of Blackbird Pond. But when their friendship is discovered, Kit herself is accused of witchcraft!

India, 1855. There are two kinds of magic in Chompa's world. The kind her mother favours: writing-magic, which anyone can do if they take the time. Write a spell in Farsi, and wait. It's calm, controlled, safe, says Ammi. It's slow, frustrating, boring, thinks Chompa. Then there's finger-magic, which only those descended from ancient djinn are born with. Immediate, powerful - and dangerous, for every act of finger-magic leaves a trace, and comes at a price.

6,000 years ago, the land is one dark forest. Its people are hunters and gatherers. They know every tree and herb and they know how to survive in a world steeped in enchantment, menace, and powerful magic.

You have heard, no doubt, the tale of Master Oliver Twist - that rags-to-riches boy; the parish orphan who became heir to the Brownlow fortune. But what few know is that there was a second Twist - a girl, brought into this world moments ahead of her brother. This is the story of Twill Twist - and her journey through the gambling dens and workhouses of London, as she attempts to make a life for herself, rescue her friends and uncover the mystery of her past - while meeting some familiar faces along the way....

The festive season has come to Sinclair’s, and Sophie and Lil are spending the holidays at snowy Winter Hall. But it turns out that this is no ordinary house party.... As sinister secrets come to light, our intrepid heroines find themselves faced with a more baffling mystery than ever before! With the help of their friends, can they uncover the truth in time to foil a truly diabolical plot? Or will Mr Sinclair’s New Year’s Eve Midnight Peacock Ball spell disaster for the dauntless young detectives?

Before the war starts, Ned is resigned to a future working in the family funeral parlour. Then the covert operations at Bletchley Park begin and his life is transformed. Ned and his mother leave Bletchley Park on a vital wartime mission into the remote Welsh countryside. Their task: to protect the priceless artwork that is being stored in a slate mine in the village of Manod. As long as its whereabouts are secret, they'll keep the national treasures out of the hands of the enemy. But when it appears that someone in the village is trying to expose the truth, suspicion turns to the newcomers.

Britain, 1962. Nothing ever happens in World's End Close. So when Stevie discovers a runaway girl in her coal shed, the first thing she does is fetch her best friend, Ray. Both are dying for a bit of adventure, and when the girl begs for help, they readily agree. Yet they soon realise they've taken on more than they bargained for. The girl, Anna, reveals she's on the run from people who are trying to poison her. Meanwhile, on the news, the Americans and Russians are arguing over missiles in Cuba.

There's a murderer on the loose - but that doesn't stop the girls of St. Etheldreda's from attempting to hide the death of their headmistress in this rollicking farce. The students of St. Etheldreda's School for Girls face a bothersome dilemma. Their irascible headmistress, Mrs. Plackett, and her surly brother, Mr. Godding, have been most inconveniently poisoned at Sunday dinner.

This uplifting chronicle of a boy’s recovery from blindness is a moving reflection of the ways that friendship can permanently join the lives of two very different people. Master storyteller Theodore Taylor traces the lives of two friends - an American boy and a old West Indian - after they are rescued from a deserted island.

Evie couldn't be angrier with her mother. She's only gone and got married again and has flown off on honeymoon, sending Evie to stay with a godmother she's never even met in an old, creaky house in the middle of nowhere. It is all monumentally unfair. But on the first night, Evie sees a strange, ghostly figure at the window. Spooked, she flees from the room, feeling oddly disembodied as she does so. Out in the corridor, it's 1814, and Evie finds herself dressed as a housemaid.