Showing results by publisher "Isis Publishing Ltd" in Historical Fiction

The South Wales village of Hen Carw Parc is a haven of rural peace. But times are changing and, although Nelly Luke and the older villagers stick resolutely to tradition, the younger ones have caught tantalising glimpses of a world beyond their quiet valley. For Fay Cartwright the lure of a career strains her marriage to home-loving Johnny, while Amy, the happy-go-lucky shopkeeper, is saddened when her son is given Army leave but fails to return to his family home. And there are other, more serious intrusions, not least a spate of robberies.

New South Wales, 1972. Following the death of her beloved Aunt Hilda, widow Clare Barclay inherits Bellevue, an historic property in the Blue Mountains township of Numbulla, Australia. Giving up her teaching job to move there, Clare plans to restore the house to its original glory. She also hopes to track down a box of missing documents that may shed light on why her husband Jack secretly second-mortgaged their home. Clare makes friends with the locals, including a boy named Joe. She soon hears of plans to redevelop Numbulla, and to exploit the land bordering the protected wilderness area.

When Fan's mum Agnes announces that the family is moving to Western Australia to take care of Agnes's father—a man they've never spoken of before now—Fan finds herself a stranger in a new town, living in a home whose currents and tensions she cannot read or understand. Resentful of her mother's decision to move, Fan forms an alliance with her grandfather, Edwin Salt, a convict transported to Australia in 1861. As she listens to memories of his former life in England, Fan starts snooping around the house, riffling through Edwin's belongings.

When Pearl’s grandmother Nell dies unexpectedly, she and her family - mother Diana, sister Lucy - return to Kangaroo Island to mourn and say farewell to her. Each of them knew Nell intimately but differently, and each woman must reckon with Nell’s passing in her own way. But Nell had secrets, too; and as Pearl, Diana and Lucy reflect on their feelings about the island, Pearl starts to pull together the scraps Nell left behind - her stories, poems, paintings - and unearths a connection to the island’s early history.

Dupin needs Poe’s help solving a deadly crime. Poe agrees and soon becomes enmeshed in Dupin’s quest to bring down the man who single-handedly ruined his family. This rival now wishes destruction upon Poe’s head too. Caught in a deadly cat-and-mouse game within Paris’ famous necropolis, Poe and Dupin must use their wits to survive. And they discover that when venturing down into the Empire of the Dead, it’s not so easy to return from the darkness.

For two people who run competing arts centres in Cornwall, Sybill Helyer and Coren Penhaligon get on rather well. So well, in fact, that Sybill often wishes the owner of Pencradoc Arts Centre would look up from his spreadsheets for a minute and notice her. Unfortunately, even that is too much to ask from workaholic Coren. However, when the pair join forces to run an exhibition on the wild and wonderful life of Elsie Pencradoc, a talented artist who lived at Coren’s estate in the early 20th century, they’re in for a surprise.

As 1954 draws to an end, the village of Hen Carw Parc is changing. The post-war boom brings a creeping lethargy as the villagers stay in watching their new TV sets, instead of going out to enjoy each other's company. As usual, however, Nelly is busy keeping tabs on the villagers' comings and goings. There's Griff, whose thieving and dishonesty have long-lasting repercussions; Sheila, whose pregnancy sets tongues wagging; and George, whose helpfulness masks a deeper problem.

Cockney born Nelly Luke is an essential part of the community. Yet not even Nelly, with her shrewd eye, can predict the surprises in store for her family and friends. A new year brings new faces: Maurice Davies is back from the army, and Sheila Powell, a shopgirl, is eager to help him make up for lost time. But for some there's no escaping the past, and widow Prue Beynon finds herself confronted by a legacy she'd rather forget. . .

The Weston family have always pinned their hopes for creating a dynasty on their glamorous granddaughters. But Joan and Megan - confident and eligible though they are - regularly set tongues wagging with their outrageous behaviour. Their grandmother Gladys decides she must organise a party to find them suitable husbands - and that's when everything really goes wrong. Meanwhile, fortunes are shifting in Pendragon Island.

Roisin O'Byrne, a young lawyer with a passion for protecting the Darling River where her family has lived for almost two hundred years, finds herself embroiled in a battle. Her commitment to environmental justice pits her against formidable adversaries within the corporate landscape, working with her enigmatic boss Seth Brodie. As her family continue their quest to uncover the history of the settlement of Ceann Mara and the hidden life of one of its first settlers, Samuel O'Byrne, Roisin plunges deeper into the murky waters of corporate interests and corruption.

When Maisie Vasey leaves her husband and brings her daughter to live on Pendragon Island, she causes unrest within more than one family. Underneath the happy surface of this Welsh seaside town, relationships can seem fragile and easily destroyed. When Maisie comes to work for Edward Jenkins at Montague Court, he soon makes his intentions clear, but she has very different ideas about where their friendship is heading. Lewis and his fiery wife Dora continue to row with each other, even though they both know that love still binds them together.

Janet and Hywel Griffiths dream of seeing their son Frank happily married, but Mair, the daughter of the local police constable, does not seem to be the wisest choice. And anyway, she is far more interested in the secretive Carl Rees, who refuses to even be seen with her in public. Elsewhere in Pendragon Island, Jennie Francis must rethink her life as she is forced to say goodbye to her business and her marriage. All she ever wanted was to run a successful shop, but now she will have to start again. How can she manage if she is completely alone?

Edward Jenkins dreams of opening a sports shop in the Welsh town of Pendragon Island. Then his ambitions become a possibility through his and his sister Margaret's inheritance, but Margaret has plans of her own. Can Edward stand up to her for the very first time? Rhiannon and Charlie Bevan want to start a family, but her father Lewis is living with them, refusing to accept the happiness of their marriage. If only they could find a way to reunite him with her mother Dora, they could finally have the home they've dreamed of.

Being female means that Charlotte Dovedale's dreams are likely out of reach. Her mother is eager to support Charlotte's brother in his quest to join the newly formed Royal Flying Corps, but Charlotte is left to channel her energy into the suffragette movement. When she meets upper-class Scott Fanshawe, though, he opens a door for her: teaching her to fly. It soon becomes clear that Charlotte has not only the skill, but the bravery required for aviation. However, when she finally earns her pilot's license, the Great War breaks out and threatens to keep her grounded.

Norfolk, 1944. Phylly is a Land Girl on Catchetts Farm. She and her friend Gracie are doing their bit to support the war effort. But times are changing at Catchetts—there's an evacuee and two POWs on their way. And then Phylly meets an American airman from the base up the road. As the War rages on the Continent, Phylly and Gracie's world will be changed forever.

When Olivia Sheridan arrives in the Whitsundays as spokesperson for a big mining company, it should be a straightforward presentation to the town about their proposed project. But when a handsome local fisherman shows her what ecological impact the proposal will have, Olivia is forced to question her father's motives for the scheme. Struggling with newly divided loyalties, Olivia is thrown further into turmoil when she is mistaken for a woman who disappeared more than 60 years before.

Jimmy Kokupe is a miracle: he's been cured. But he still carries the stigma, which makes life back on the mainland dangerous and lonely. To find a refuge, he's returned to the camp to care for his friend, fellow patient old Will, and disturbed young Charley. Healed of his physical ailments and dreaming of the girl he once planned to follow to a new life in Australia, Jimmy meets 'the lady', the island caretaker's beautiful but troubled wife who brings their food.

1931. Frances Palmer is overjoyed when her brother, Rob, returns to Adelaide as a racecourse veterinarian. But all is not well on the turf, and when a man is murdered, there's only one suspect - Rob. Frances and her boyfriend, charming night-club owner Jack Sullivan, along with ex-vaudevillian Uncle Sal and their friends, have only one chance to unmask the real murderer by infiltrating the racecourse. The odds are against them...luckily, putting on a dazzling show where everything depends on sleight of hand is what they do best. But nothing is a dead cert against a cold-blooded killer.

Glasgow, 1898. A man is found stabbed to death in a tenement block. Juan Camerón, photographer-cum-sleuth, is drafted in in the hope he can bring to light what the eye may overlook. Yet Juan has problems of his own. Following the tragic death of his father in Cuba some months before, the man’s legacy is threatened by a plagiarism suit from a mysterious señora, and Juan’s hoped-for happiness with his fiancée, Jane, might be over before it’s even begun - even more so when a visiting professor is murdered and Jane is witnessed fleeing the scene.

1898. When Juan's father is killed while working as a photographer in Cuba, the young man is left with nothing but his last photos amid the chaos as the war between Spain and America escalates. But the images reveal a sinister truth to his father's last moments, and Juan soon realises his death was no accident. The young man travels to Scotland to grieve with his surviving family and soon immerses himself in the study of photography and pioneers a self-timer. When this technology inadvertently solves a crime, it is not long before the device draws the attention of law enforcement.