Showing results by publisher "W. F. Howes Ltd" in Women's Fiction

Meet the women in love with the very different Jones brothers: Izzy is determined to escape her troubled past, but flirtatious Charlie is causing complications. Alicia’s been happily married to loyal Hugh for years but secretly craves excitement. Emma’s relationship with David was once fun and romantic but trying for a baby has taken its toll. As the future of the family’s B&B becomes uncertain, Izzy, Alicia and Emma are thrown together unexpectedly.…

They call them the custard tarts - the girls who work at Pearce Duff's custard powder factory in Bermondsey before the First World War. Conditions are hard but nothing can quench the spirit of humour and friendship. But the shadow of the coming war looms over them; it will pull London's East End together as never before - even while it tears the world apart.

Lizzie has always had bad luck. Losing her heart to her boss leads to her losing her job, and with no money in the bank Lizzie finds herself forced to move back home with her parents. Now in her 90s, Mrs Dallimore is also coming to terms with her situation. Old age is finally catching up with her. As they form the bond of unexpected friendship, Lizzie begins to realise that she's not the only person to attract bad luck and that sometimes life has a way of surprising you....

A lighthearted, fun and romantic romp from the much-loved classic author Jilly Cooper. Prudence had been overjoyed when Pendle invited her home for the weekend to meet his family. Then she met his brother, Jack - handsome, married and only too ready to take over with Pru if Pendle didn't get a move on. It was only when she noticed the way Pendle looked at Jack's wife, Maggie, that it began to dawn on Pru that this weekend looked like a nonstop game of changing partners....

Sydney Wells’ perfect, golden life vanishes when her devoted husband dies suddenly in an accident. Widowed at 49, she discovers that he has failed to include her in his will. Sydney is removed from the beautiful house that has been her home for 16 years. Despite warnings from her own daughters, Sydney returns to the world of fashion she’d enjoyed as a talented young designer. Her girls only want the best for their mother, but they are concerned she’s back in a world she is no longer familiar with.

Frustrated that she spends all her time as either a mum to a football-obsessed teenager or a wife to a workaholic husband, Hannah wants something for herself. When the chance comes to take over the post office in Little Maudley, a charming Cotswold village, Hannah grabs it with both hands. She’ll have a career at last and also get her son, Ben, away from his trouble-making mates. But village life is not so picture-perfect after all.

Three years on from her fairy-tale country wedding to the deliciously handsome Charlie Wellbeloved, Bella's life is far from the 'happily ever after' she dreamed of. Now, heading for the big three-oh at horrifying speed she has gained a couple of stone from boredom and comfort eating, her fledgling interior design business is succumbing to infant mortality, she talks to her black Labrador Dolly more than she does her own husband, and now her close friend Maddy has announced that she's expecting a baby. How can Bella be happy for them when she pines for a family of her own?

Emma and her friends are about to turn 30, and for Emma it's a defining moment. Defined, that is, by her having achieved none of the things she'd imagined she would. She's never jumped out of a plane, hasn't met the man she's going to marry or snogged anyone famous. As Emma hurtles towards her thirtieth, she discovers, with hilarious consequences, that some of them are trickier to tick off than she'd thought....

Nell is 26 and has never been to Paris. She's never even been on a romantic weekend away before. Travelling abroad isn't really her thing. But when Nell's boyfriend fails to show up, she has the chance to prove to everyone, including herself, that she can be independent and intrepid. Alone in Paris, Nell finds a version of herself she never knew existed. In this collection of 11 unmissable short stories, Jojo Moyes introduces us to a cast of strong, relatable women in the midst of their everyday lives.

Arethusa Clayton has always been formidable, used to getting her own way. On her death, she leaves unexpected instructions. Instead of being buried in America, on the wealthy East Coast where she and her late husband raised their two children, Arethusa has decreed that her ashes be scattered in a remote corner of Ireland, on the hills overlooking the sea. All Arethusa ever told Faye was that she grew up in a poor farming family and left Ireland, alone, to start a new life in America, as did so many in those times of hardship and famine.

It is 1925, and the war is long over. But much has been lost, and life will never be quite the same. Castle Deverill, cherished ancestral home to the Deverill family in the west of Ireland, has burned to the ground. Young and flighty Celia Deverill is determined to restore the sad ruins to its former glory. But dark shadows are gathering once more as the financial markets start to shake, and everything that felt so certain is thrown once again into doubt....

Gina was forced into marriage with Camden, the Duke of Girton, at an age when she'd have been better off in a schoolroom than a ballroom. Directly after the ceremony, her spouse promptly fled to the continent, leaving the marriage unconsummated and Gina quite indignant. Now she is one of the most well-known ladies in London and living on the edge of scandal....

Sarah Yates is a thirty-something history teacher, divorced, disillusioned and desperate to have more excitement in her life. Then one evening the doorbell rings and the handsome and mysterious John Needler brings more excitement than Sarah could ever have imagined. John wants Sarah to go back in time trying to make sure people find their happy endings. The question is, will she ever be able to find hers?

Laurel Ferrara wouldn’t know a happy ending if she fell over it; of course her whirlwind wedding was always going to end in disaster. But she can’t just walk away. From the moment she is summoned back to Sicily the shivers of unease set in. The command comes from legendary billionaire Cristiano Ferrara, the husband she can’t forget - but it might as well have come from the devil himself.…

As the head of a prestigious movie studio for nearly two decades, Andy Westfield has had every professional luxury: a stunning office, a loyal assistant who can all but read his mind, access to a private jet and company cars. Andy always put his career before his marriage, and now, besides his daughter and young grandchildren, it's the only thing he truly loves. But then Andy's world is upended. The studio is sold, and the buyer's son demands the top seat. Out of a job and humiliated, Andy knows he needs to get as far away from Los Angeles as possible.

As Alexandra Winslow climbs the ladder of publishing success, she resolutely adheres to her father's caution: men only read crime thrillers written by men. She publishes under the pseudonym of brilliantly successful Alexander Green, her true identity known only to those closest to her. This creates an isolating double life, but the right time to open up always seems just out of reach and the price of the truth always too high....

Lisa Edwards, top London magazine editor, has been fantasizing about promotion to New York. Instead, she's asked to launch a new women's magazine in Dublin. She thinks nothing could be worse - until she meets her new staff. They're friendly, helpful, and enthusiastic - in other words, they wouldn't last two minutes in London!

Becky's life is blooming! She's working at London's newest fashion store The Look, house-hunting with husband Luke (her secret wish is a Shoe Room)...and she's pregnant! She couldn't be more overjoyed—especially since discovering that shopping cures morning sickness.

Six children - Bernard, Susan, Rhoda, Neville, Jinny and Louis - meet in a garden close to the sea, their voices sounding over the constant echo of the waves that roll back and forth from the shore. The book follows them as they develop from childhood to maturity and follow different passions and ambitions; their voices are interspersed with interludes from the timeless and unifying chorus of nature.

Douglas Petersen’s family is on the brink of dissolution. His marriage of twenty-one years to Connie is almost over. When autumn comes around, their son Albie will leave for college. Connie has decided to leave soon after. But before everything falls apart, there's still the summer holidays to get through - a Grand Tour of Europe's major cities - and over the course of the journey, Douglas devises a plan to win back the love of his wife and repair his troubled relationship with his son.