5ive Guys FC

82ASK

A A Gill

Andrew Swanston read law at Cambridge, but was inspired to write by his lifelong interest in early modern history. His Thomas Hill novels – The King’s Spy, The King’s Exile and The King’s Return – are set against the backdrops of the English Civil War, Cromwell’s Commonwealth and the early Restoration respectively. He is also the author of Waterloo: The Bravest Man and Beautiful Star and Other Stories. His first historical thriller set during the reign of Elizabeth I – Incendium (published in paperback as The Incendium Plot) – introduced readers to the academic, lawyer and intelligencer Dr Christopher Radcliff, whose adventures continue in Chaos. Andrew Swanston lives in Surrey.

A D Swanston

A E Langsford

A G Hopkins

A. J. BAIME is the New York Times best-selling author of The Arsenal of Democracy: FDR, Detroit, and an Epic Quest to Arm an America at War and Go Like Hell: Ford, Ferrari, and Their Battle for Speed and Glory at Le Mans. Both books are in development for major motion pictures. Baime is a longtime regular contributor to the Wall Street Journal, and his articles have also appeared in the New York Times, Popular Science, and Men’s Journal. He lives in Granite Bay, California. Visit him at facebook.com/ajbaime and trumanbook.com.

A J Baime

A J Jacobs

A J P Taylor

Anthony James Pollard is a British medieval historian, specialising in the fifteenth century and in particular the Wars of the Roses. A leading authority in the field, he is profesor emeritus of Teesside University. His books include North-Eastern England during the Wars of the Roses, Richard III and the Princes in theTower, Imagining Robin Hood: the Late Medieval Stories in Historical Context and Warwick the kingmaker: Politics, Power and Fame.

A J Pollard

A J Rochester

A K Benjamin is a clinical neuropsychologist and the author of Let Me Not Be Mad: A Story of Unravelling Minds.

A K Benjamin

A. L. Berridge read English at Oxford, and taught for ten years before moving into television, where her production credits range from period drama and thrillers to long-running soaps. She has written two previous novels, Top Ten besteller Honour and the Sword and In the Name of the King. Into the Valley of Death is her third novel.

A L Berridge

Alison Gaylin's first job was as a reporter for a celebrity tabloid, which sparked a lifelong interest in writing about people committing despicable acts. More than a decade later, she wrote and published her Edgar-nominated first novel, HIDE YOUR EYES. 
 
She's since published nine more books, including the USA Today and international bestselling Brenna Spector suspense series, which has been nominated for the Edgar, Anthony and Thriller awards and won the Shamus award. 
 
She lives in upstate New York with her husband, daughter, cat and dog.

A L Gaylin

A Maxwell-Hyslop

A McArthur

A P Wavell

A.S. Webb is the Sunday Times bestselling author of Daughter of Chaos, the first instalment of The Dark Pantheon Trilogy. She is inspired by stories rooted in history and mythology, that push the boundaries of imagination and urge us to reflect on what it means to be human.

A S Webb

A. A. Dhand is the author of six previous novels, and has been shortlisted for the CWA Steel Dagger Award. His DI Harry Virdee novels are currently being adapted for TV by the BBC. He was raised in Bradford and spent his youth observing the city from behind the counter of a small convenience store. After qualifying as a pharmacist, he worked in London and travelled extensively before returning to Bradford to start his own business and begin writing. The history, diversity and darkness of the city have inspired all his novels. For more information about A. A. Dhand and his books, follow him on X @aadhand, and on Instagram @aa_dhand.

A. A. Dhand

A. A. Gill

A. A. Milne

A. Anatoli

A. B. Poranek grew up sharing her time between Ontario, Canada and rural Poland, and eventually completed a veterinary degree at the Warsaw University of Life Sciences. A lover of mythology and history, she enjoys exploring both in her writing. Her debut novel, Where the Dark Stands Still, an instant New York Times bestseller, is an ode to Poland's folktales, while A Treachery of Swans transports readers to a world inspired by 17th century France.

A. B. Poranek

A. Bradley

Professor A. C. Grayling is Principal of the New College of the Humanities at Northeastern University, London, and a Supernumerary Fellow of St Anne's College, Oxford. He has written and edited over thirty books on philosophy, history, science and current affairs. For several years he wrote columns for the Guardian newspaper and The Times and was the chairman of the 2014 Man Booker Prize.

A. C. Grayling

A.D. Miller is the author of Snowdrops, The Earl of Petticoat Lane and The Faithful Couple. Snowdrops was a bestseller and was shortlisted for many prizes including the Man Booker and the CWA Gold Dagger. It was translated into 25 languages. As Moscow Correspondent of The Economist A.D. Miller has travelled across the former Soviet Union and covered the Orange Revolution in Ukraine; he is now the magazine’s Culture Editor based in London. 
 
admillerbooks.com

A. D. Miller

A. E. Ellis

A. E. W. Mason

A. Humphreys

A. Igoni Barrett was born in Port Harcourt, Nigeria, in 1979 and lives in Lagos. He is a winner of the 2005 BBC World Service short story competition, the recipient of a Chinua Achebe Center Fellowship, a Norman Mailer Center Fellowship, and a Rockefeller Foundation Bellagio Center Residency. His short story collection, Love is Power, or Something Like That, was published in 2013. In 2014 he was named on the Africa39 list of sub-Saharan African writers under 40. Blackass is his first novel.

A. Igoni Barrett

PublicationStatus

Brand

Format

AgeRange

Series

Imprint

CategoryLabel

M L Stedman

Discover the sweeping Sunday Times bestselling and prize-winning novel, made into a major motion picture starring Alicia Vikander, Michael Fassbender, and Rachel Weisz. 
 
NEARLY FIVE MILLION COPIES SOLD 
'An extraordinary book…Unforgettable' Guardian 
'A moving tale . . . prepare to weep' New York Times 
'Irresistible . . . a high concept plot that keeps you riveted from the first page' Oprah Magazine 
'A love story that is both persuasive and tender' Sunday Times 
‘A moving tale. One of this year's must-reads’ Stylist Magazine 
‘Delicate and imaginative . . . beautifully written . . . deserves every single bit of its success.’ Scotsman 
____________________ 
After experiencing the horrors of The Western Front, Tom moves to Janus Island to work as a lighthouse keeper. He hopes that life on the remote island with his wife Izzy will bring him peace following the war. 
The two of them are happy together, although frustrations arise the longer they try for a child that never comes. 
But then, one day, a boat washes up on the shore of their little island. In it, lies a dead man - and a crying baby. 
 
Faced with an impossible decision, Tom and Izzy do what they think is right and follow their hearts. What happens next will break yours. 
____________________ 
 
READERS ADORE IT: 
***** 'A beautiful, poignant story' 
***** 'By far, one of the best books I've ever read' 
***** 'A stunning and enjoyable read, one you won't forget' 
 
**Cover may vary** 
 
PRE-ORDER M L STEDMAN'S BRAND NEW NOVEL, A FAR-FLUNG LIFE, COMING MARCH 2026

The Light Between Oceans

Joanne Harris

'A feel-good book of the first order. One to curl up with... Read it' OBSERVER 
 
In the small French village of Lansquenet, nothing much has changed in a hundred years. Then an exotic stranger, Vianne Rocher, blows in on the changing wind with her small daughter, and opens a chocolate boutique directly opposite the church. Soon the villagers cannot keep away, for Vianne can divine their most hidden desires. 
 
But it's the beginning of Lent, the season of abstinence, and Father Reynaud denounces her as a serious moral danger to his flock. Perhaps even a witch... 
 
'Sensuous and thought-provoking... subtle and brilliant' DAILY TELEGRAPH 
 
'Is this the best book ever written? Truly excellent' LITERARY REVIEW 
 
'Moody and atmospheric... a richly textured tale' INDEPENDENT

Chocolat

(Chocolat 1)

the enchanting bestseller from international multi-million copy seller Joanne Harris

THE THIRD NOVEL IN THE BESTSELLING CHOCOLAT SERIES 
 
'Expertly crafted, typically mouthwatering' DAILY MAIL 
 
When Vianne Rocher receives a letter from beyond the grave, she allows the wind to blow her back to the village in south-west France where, eight years ago, she opened up a chocolate shop. But Lansquenet is different now: women veiled in black, the scent of spices and peppermint tea, and, on the bank of the river Tannes, facing the church: a minaret. 
 
Nor is it only the incomers from North Africa that have brought change. Father Reynaud, Vianne's erstwhile adversary, is disgraced and under threat. Could it be that Vianne is the only one who can save him now? 
 
'A brave and grippingly confected story' SUNDAY TIMES 
 
'Like Chocolat, this book is a feast for the senses. Every page is steeped in scents, colours and tastes' LITERARY REVIEW 
 
'Prepare to be transported by Joanne Harris as she revisits the characters and setting of her first bestseller, Chocolat' GOOD HOUSEKEEPING

Peaches for Monsieur le Curé (Chocolat 3)

the enchanting third novel in the beloved Chocolat series from master storyteller Joanne Harris

THE SECOND NOVEL IN THE BESTSELLING CHOCOLAT SERIES 
 
'A delicious urban fairytale' DAILY MAIL 
 
Seeking refuge and anonymity in the cobbled streets of Montmartre, Vianne Rocher &ndash; disguising herself as 'Yanne' &ndash; and her two daughters live peacefully, if not happily, above their little chocolate shop. Nothing unusual marks them out, and the wind has stopped &ndash; at least for a while. Then into their lives blows Zozie de l'Alba, the lady with the lollipop shoes, ruthless, devious and seductive. 
 
With everything she loves at stake, Yanne must face a difficult choice: to flee, as she has done so many times before, or to confront her most dangerous enemy. 
 
'Chocolat was a hard act to follow but Harris has managed it in style' DAILY EXPRESS 
 
'She is terrific, she can write about anywhere, anything, anyone' DAILY TELEGRAPH 
 
'Harris is as good at portraying the agonies of motherhood as she is at evoking the scent of bitter chocolate laced with cinnamon and chilli' SUNDAY TIMES

The Lollipop Shoes

(Chocolat 2)

Hallie Rubenhold

'A thrilling novel of female intrigue, betrayal and revenge. Read it!' LUCY WORSLEY 
'Dark and delicious' Red Magazine 
'Utterly gripping and highly relevant' SIMON SEBAG-MONTEFIORE 
_____________________ 
Fear your neighbour. Praise the Republic. Preach liberty. Hate monarchy. Speak in whispers. Trust no-one. 
 
Revolutionary Paris, 1792: As the city spirals into bloodshed, Henrietta Lightfoot a young Englishwoman runs for her life to the extravagant home of Grace Dalrymple, notorious courtesan to the aristocracy. 
 
But loyalties are tested when she befriends Grace's arch rival, a committed revolutionary and mistress of the most powerful man in France. Trapped in a terrifying game of wits between these two dangerous women, Henrietta is about to learn the most brutal lesson of her life. 
 
A tale of friendship and betrayal, The French Lesson is an eye-popping drama of power and manipulation, as the women written out of the French Revolution tell their own story of smarts and sacrifice. 
 
PERFECT FOR FANS OF HARLOTS and BRIDGERTON 
___________________ 
 
'A gleefully modern retelling of a juicy chapter in history' The Times 
'Rubenhold unfolds a complicated plot with great dexterity' Sunday Times

The French Lesson

By the award-winning and Sunday Times bestselling author of THE FIVE

Rachel Rhys

SHORTLISTED FOR THE CAPITAL CRIME AWARDS MYSTERY BOOK OF THE YEAR 
 
 
Beneath the beauty of Havana, she will find a bed of lies... 
 
'Transports us to another time and place. I loved it' PRIMA MAGAZINE 
 
'Iris is a heroine you'll absolutely root for in this gripping tale of murder, intrigue and romance' RED MAGAZINE 
 
London 1957: Iris Bailey is bored to death of working in the typing pool and living with her parents in Hemel Hempstead. A gifted portraitist with a talent for sketching party guests, she dreams of becoming an artist. So she can't believe her luck when socialite Nell Hardman invites her to Havana to draw at the wedding of her Hollywood director father. 
 
Far from home, she quickly realizes the cocktails, tropical scents and azure skies mask a darker reality. As Cuba teeters on the edge of revolution and Iris's heart melts for troubled photographer Joe, she discovers someone in the charismatic Hardman family is hiding a terrible secret. Can she uncover the ugly truth behind the glamour and the dazzle before all their lives are torn apart? 
______________________________ 
 
 
OUTSTANDING PRAISE FOR RACHEL RHYS: 
 
'Intoxicating' SANTA MONTEFIORE 
'Tantalising' DINAH JEFFRIES 
'Heart-pounding' GOOD HOUSEKEEPING 
'Transporting' SUNDAY TIMES 
'A fabulous summer read' DAILY EXPRESS 
 
READERS ADORE RACHEL RHYS: 
 
'I absolutely adore Rachel Rhys' books, historical mystery with so much added glitz and glamour' 
'Unputdownable. Wonderful characterization and very well researched' 
'A captivating and fascinating read' 
'Recommended for anyone who loves historical fiction with a bit of mystery and a dash of romance' 
'Oh my goodness, I absolutely adored this book!'

Island of Secrets

Escape to Cuba with this gripping beach read

Anne Youngson

**As read on BBC Radio Four** 
 
Uplifting, joyous, hopeful - a novel about late love and second chances, shortlisted for the Costa First Novel Award and winner of the Paul Torday Memorial Prize 
 
'A moving tribute to friendship and love, to the courage of the ordinary, and to starting again' RACHEL JOYCE, author of Miss Benson's Beetle 
'Full of grace and humanity' Sunday Times 
________________________ 
 
This story begins with a letter 
From a housewife 
to the gentle curator 
Of an extraordinary museum 
Where lies peacefully 
An ancient exhibit 
That holds the key 
To Everything 
We are. 
 
Meet Me at the Museum tells of a connection made across oceans and against all the odds. Through intimate stories of joy, despair, and discovery, two people are drawn inexorably towards each other, until a shattering revelation pushes their friendship to the very edge. 
 
This deeply affecting debut novel by seventy-three year-old Anne Youngson won the Paul Torday Memorial Prize and was dramatized on BBC Radio 4 Woman's Hour 
 
******************************* 
'Tender, wise and moving, Meet Me at the Museum is a novel to cherish.' JOHN BOYNE 
 
'Insightful, emotionally acute and absorbing' DAILY EXPRESS 
 
'Beautiful and affecting' NINA STIBBE 
 
What readers are saying: 
'I loved this book. It was so different from anything else I have read'***** 
'I just loved this book and read it in one sitting. There were times when I felt like underlining the sentences that resonated with me'***** 
'I read this book one letter at a time, just to let the contents sink in. Tears came to my eyes'*****

Meet Me at the Museum

Shortlisted for the Costa First Novel Award 2018

Laura Madeleine

In the dead of night, with blood on her hands, she made her escape. 
 
Accused of murder, Alejandra flees her home, escaping to the southern edge of Spain, where she faces a life of poverty and destitution. 
 
Seduced by the power of the rich and the anonymity that waits across the water in Tangier, Ale makes a bid for a new start. But it will come at a cost: a life of deception. Because Ale's new friends want to know what she is running from, they want to know who she is and whether they can trust her. 
 
Fifty years later, a young American writer wanders the streets of Tangier, searching for inspiration. When he stumbles across a trace of Ale's life, he finds himself tangled in a story of scandal, love and danger that has not yet reached its end.

An Echo of Scandal

A STUNNING, ATMOSPHERIC NOVEL SET IN 1940S SOUTH OF FRANCE. YOUR PERFECT ESCAPIST READ. 
 'Perfect. Both gripping and dripping with glamour' RED MAGAZINE ONLINE 
 __________ 
 
 London 1948: Eve Forrester is trapped in a loveless marriage, in a gloomy house, in a grey suburb. 
 Out of the blue, she receives a solicitor's letter. A wealthy stranger has left her a mystery inheritance but in order to find out more, she must travel to the glittering French Riviera. 
 
 Eve discovers her legacy is an enchanting villa overlooking the Mediterranean sea and suddenly, life could not be more glamorous. 
 
 But under the heat of the sun, all is not as it seems. Now, Eve must unlock the story behind her surprise bequest - before things spiral out of control... 
 
 A Fatal Inheritance is an intoxicating story of glamour, intrigue and desire, set against the razzle-dazzle of the French Riviera. 
 ______________________ 
 
 'Utterly tantalising' DINAH JEFFRIES 
 
 'GLORIOUS! Hugely enjoyable escapism. I enjoyed it ENORMOUSLY.' MARIAN KEYES 
 What readers are saying about Fatal Inheritance: 
 ***** 'One to savour and enjoy and be utterly immersed in.' 
 
***** 'This book captured my attention from the first page.' 
***** 'A wonderful story of beauty, mystery and finding yourself.' 
 
 RACHEL RHYS' NEW NOVEL, ISLAND OF SECRETS IS AVAILABLE NOW

A Fatal Inheritance

‘A sizzling beach read’ HEAT MAGAZINE

Kate Atkinson

The PRIZE-WINNING BESTSELLER, now a major BBC1 DRAMA SERIES starring Thomasin McKenzie, Sian Clifford and James McArdle, directed by BAFTA award-winning John Crowley. 
 
'Dazzling, witty, moving, joyful, mournful, profound... one of the best novels I've read this century' Gillian Flynn, bestselling author of GONE GIRL 
 
'A box of delights ... it grips the reader's imagination on the first page and never lets go.' HILARY MANTEL, author of THE MIRROR AND THE LIGHT 
___________________________________ 
 
What if you had the chance to live your life again and again, until you finally got it right? 
 
During a snowstorm in England in 1910, a baby is born and dies before she can take her first breath. 
 
During a snowstorm in England in 1910, the same baby is born and lives to tell the tale. 
 
What if there were second chances? And third chances? In fact an infinite number of chances to live your life? Would you eventually be able to save the world from its own inevitable destiny? And would you even want to? 
 
Life After Life follows Ursula Todd as she lives through the turbulent events of the last century again and again. With wit and compassion, Kate Atkinson finds warmth even in life's bleakest moments, and shows an extraordinary ability to evoke the past. Here she is at her most profound and inventive, in a novel that celebrates the best and worst of ourselves. 
 
____________________ 
 
'Merging family saga with a fluid sense of time and an extraordinarily vivid sense of history at its most human level. A dizzying and dazzling tour de force' Daily Mail 
 
'Absolutely brilliant...it reminded me a bit of her first book Behind the Scenes at the Museum, which is one of my most favourite books ever.' Marian Keyes, author of Rachel, Again 
 
'An exceptional writer' Guardian 
 
'[A] magnificently tender and humane novel' Observer 
 
'A ferociously clever writer...a big, bold novel that is enthralling, entertaining' New Statesman 
 
'Exceptionally captivating' New York Times 
 
'Truly brilliant...Think of Audrey Niffenegger's The Time Traveler's Wife or David Nicholl's One Day.. a rare book that you want to start again the minute you have finished.' The Times

Life After Life

The global bestseller, now a major BBC series

WINNER OF THE 2015 COSTA NOVEL AWARD AND BESTSELLING LITERARY PAPERBACK OF THE YEAR 
 
'Atkinson's finest work, and confirmation that her genre-defying writing continues to surprise and dazzle' Observer 
 
A God in Ruins relates the life of Teddy Todd – would-be poet, heroic World War II bomber pilot, husband, father, and grandfather – as he navigates the perils and progress of the 20th century. For all Teddy endures in battle, his greatest challenge will be to face living in a future he never expected to have. 
 
This gripping, often deliriously funny yet emotionally devastating book looks at war – that great fall of Man from grace – and the effect it has, not only on those who live through it, but on the lives of the subsequent generations. It is also about the infinite magic of fiction. Few will dispute that it proves once again that Kate Atkinson is one of the most exceptional novelists of our age. 
 
'A dazzling read...ends on one of the most devastating twists in recent fiction' DAILY TELEGRAPH

A God in Ruins

Costa Novel Award Winner 2015

A gripping mystery with a heart-breaking revelation, The Secrets Between Us is a sublimely satisfying story of lost love, betrayal and the dangers of war. 
 
Perfect for fans of Kate Morton's The Lake House and Dinah Jeffries' Before the Rains. 
 
High in the mountains in the South of France, eighteen-year-old Ceci Corvin is trying hard to carry on as normal. But in 1943, there is no such thing as normal; especially not for a young woman in love with the wrong person. Scandal, it would seem, can be more dangerous than war. 
 
Fifty years later, Annie is looking for her long-lost grandmother. Armed with nothing more than a sheaf of papers, she travels from England to Paris in pursuit of the truth. But as she traces her grandmother’s story, Annie uncovers something she wasn’t expecting, something that changes everything she knew about her family – and everything she thought she knew about herself… 
 
* 
 
Laura Madeleine's writing is... 
 
‘Sublimely satisfying’ Veronica Henry, author of The Forever House 
‘Mouth-watering and mysterious’ Leah Fleming, author of The Glovemaker's Daughter 
‘Delightful and delicious’ Nina George, author of The Little Paris Bookshop

The Secrets Between Us

'An exquisite tale of intrigue and dark secrets' LISA JEWELL 
'A gripping atmospheric read' RUTH WARE 
 
A GRIPPING HISTORICAL WHODUNNIT ON THE SEAS DRIPPING WTH HIGHSMITH-ESQUE GLAMOUR, INTRIGUE AND MURDER 
 
********** 
England, September 1939 
Former chambermaid Lily Shepherd boards a cruise liner for a new life in Australia and is plunged into a world of cocktails, jazz and glamorous friends. But as the sun beats down, long-hidden secrets begin to surface. As tension mounts in the enclosed space of a liner at sea, it's soon clear a killer is on board ... 
 
********** 
Readers are totally gripped by DANGEROUS CROSSING: 
***** 'Full of luxurious and decadent detail, bringing the five-week sea voyage from England to Australia bursting to life' 
*****'I enjoyed every single page. Rich, evocative and intriguing from start to finish' 
*****'Delicious, dark and completely compelling' 
 
Also try Rachel Rhys' other unputdownable historical mysteries: A FATAL INHERITANCE and ISLAND OF SECRETS 
 
****Coming soon by Rachel Rhys*** 
 MURDER IN BLACK ROCK CASTLE

Dangerous Crossing

Escape on a cruise with this gripping Richard and Judy holiday read

Rafel Nadal Farreras

A huge international bestseller, this heartbreaking tale of a tiny Italian village during two World Wars will stay with you forever. 
 
Among the olive groves and vineyards of southern Italy, a boy and a girl are born, moments apart. Far away in the trenches of World War I, their fathers have just died. Now all the men in Vitantonio’s family have been wiped out – all twenty-one. All except him. 
 
Growing up together, war seems far away for the two children. But Vitantonio’s mother will do anything to protect her son from the curse of death that seems to hang over the family – and so she tells a lie. It is a lie that will bind Vitantonio and Giovanna, the girl who shares his birthday, together over the years. But as the clouds of another war begin to gather on the horizon, it may ultimately drive them apart...

The Last Son's Secret

Peter Gardos

An uplifting true story of finding love after the horrors of war. For fans of THE TATTOIST OF AUSCHWITZ, SCHINDLER'S LIST and THE BOY IN THE STRIPED PYJAMAS 
 
 
'Dramatic, compassionate and deeply moving.' Jennifer Clement, author of award-winning novel PRAYERS FOR THE STOLEN 
 
It's 1945, and Miklos is looking for love... 
 
He whistles up a list if 117 Hungarian women from his village, and in his beautiful handwriting, he writes to each of them. 
 
But what's the catch? 
 
Miklos has just emerged from Belsen, and is recovering in a refugee camp in Sweden. He is so weak that he has only six months to live. 
 
But Miklos is not going to allow a small thing like that stand in the way of love... 
 
 
Spoiler Alert: FEVER AT DAWN is inspired by the true story of the author's parents, which may give you an idea of how Miklos' plan unfolds... 
 
 
'A magnificent novel, tonally flawless, its humour defiant in the face of vast tragedy.' Joan London, author of GILGAMESH

Fever at Dawn

The heartbreaking true story of a boy from the concentration camp of Belsen

Jo Baker

BY THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF LONGBOURN 
 
SHORTLISTED FOR THE WALTER SCOTT PRIZE FOR HISTORICAL FICTION 2017 
 
SHORTLISTED FOR THE JAMES TAIT BLACK PRIZE 2017 
 
'Skilful . . . daring . . . extraordinary' The Guardian 
 
'A fascinating fictional account of Samuel Beckett's wartime years' IAN RANKIN 
 
'Beautifully written, empathetic and unflinching, it is very, very good' Daily Mail 
 
'Marvellous, spare, moving' FRANCIS SPUFFORD 
 
'Insightful . . . beautifully paced . . . authentic’ The Irish Times 
 
Paris, 1939: The pavement rumbles with the footfall of Nazi soldiers marching along the Champs Elysees. A young writer, recently arrived from Ireland to make his mark, smokes one last cigarette with his lover before the city they know is torn apart. Soon, he will put is own life and those of his loved ones in mortal danger by joining the Resistance... 
 
Spies, artists, deprivation, danger and passion: this is a story of life at the edges of human experience, and of how one man came to translate it all into art. 
 
Sunday Express Book of the Month 
 
Praise for Jo Baker's LONGBOURN: 
'Intoxicating' Guardian 
'Engrossing' Sunday Times 
'Audacious' New York Times

A Country Road, A Tree

Shortlisted for the Walter Scott Memorial Prize for Historical Fiction

Sara Crowe

Life isn’t an exact science. Things can be troublesome. Like pregnant step-mothers, the ins-and-outs of French existentialism . . . having an unexceptional name. 
 
In 1988, seventeen-year-old Sue Bowl has a diary, big dreams and £4.73. What she wants most of all is to make it as a writer, as well as stop her decadent aunt Coral spending money she doesn't have. 
 
Living in their crumbling ancestral home should provide plenty of inspiration, but between falling in love, hunting for missing heirlooms and internship applications, things keep getting in the way. 
 
So when a young literary professor moves in and catches Sue's eye, life begins to take an unexpected turn . . . 
 
From the author of Campari for Breakfast, a witty and enchanting novel about what happens after you think you’ve grown up and fallen in love, perfect for fans of I Capture the Castle, Love, Nina and Where’d You Go Bernadette.

Martini Henry

Anna Hope

The unputdownable historical novel by the acclaimed and bestselling author of WAKE and EXPECTATION: a devastating story of love and madness at the brink of the Great War. 
 
'Absolutely heart-breaking. One of the best books I’ve ever read' DINAH JEFFERIES, author of The Tea-Planter's Wife 
 
'Compelling, elegant, insightful' OBSERVER 
 
1911: Inside an asylum at the edge of the Yorkshire moors, where men and women are kept apart by high walls and barred windows, there is a ballroom vast and beautiful. For one bright evening every week they come together and dance. When John and Ella meet it is a dance that will change two lives forever. 
 
Set over the heatwave summer of 1911, the end of the Edwardian era, THE BALLROOM tells a rivetting tale of dangerous obsession, of madness and sanity, and of who gets to decide which is which. It is a love story like no other. 
 
***************************************** 
 
Praise for Anna Hope's The Ballroom: 
 
'Beautifully wrought, tender, heartbreaking' Sunday Express 5/5 
 
'Moving, fascinating' Times 
 
'A tender and absorbing love story' Daily Mail 
 
'Unsentimental and affecting' Sunday Times 
 
'Exquisitely good' Metro 
 
'Absolutely fantastic . . . I'm in real awe of her writing' ELIZABETH MACNEAL, author of The Doll Factory 
______________

The Ballroom

A Richard and Judy book club pick

Annie Barrows

By the co-author of the book behind the new film The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. 
 
The New York Times no. 1 bestselling author 
 
'Utterly enthralling' Daily Express 
 
WHAT READERS SAY: 
 
'Definite echoes of Harper Lee! Very well written, using different styles of delivery that really help develop the characters. I enjoyed this book thoroughly' 
 
'An unexpected gem' 
 
'I couldn't put this book down from the moment I started reading it. The characters are so real that one longs to spend some time in the Romeyn household in the company of these warm, colourful and complex people' 
 
********************** 
 
 
Miss Layla Beck despises small-town life 
 
After refusing to marry the man her rich father has picked for her, Layla is banished to the remote town of Macedonia, West Virginia, a place where nothing important ever happens - or so she thinks. 
 
 
Tasked to write down the history of the town, Layla meets the seductive Romeyn clan. As she peels back the layers of family feuds and deceit, she discovers to her cost an unknown story far darker than she could ever have imagined. 
 
The smallest towns have the biggest secrets.

The Truth According to Us

Lynne Kutsukake

WINNER OF THE KOBO EMERGING WRITERS PRIZE FOR LITERARY FICTION 
 
LONGLISTED FOR THE HWA AWARDS DEBUT CROWN 
 
"The Translation of Love is sweepingly gorgeous book about two little girls, and their heart-stopping search for a lost sister in the underbelly of Tokyo. From the desperate clutch of friendship in the time of tumult, to the bustling night markets and brothels - every brutal, moving moment is beautifully wrought. An incredible debut." Lisa Gabriele, author of 'Tempting Faith DiNapoli' 
 
"An epic tale of defeat, despair and redemption ... a beautiful debut." Toronto Star 
 
"Conjures the voices of an agonised time with elegant simplicity and moments of indelible poignancy." New York Times 
 
"Kutsukake’s moving debut focuses on the intertwining stories of several protagonists in post–World War II Tokyo… The result is a memorable story of hope and loneliness with a cathartic ending." Publisher's Weekly 
 
During the American occupation, the citizens of Japan were encouraged to write to General MacArthur – “if you have a problem, write a letter, this is what democracy means” – and so write they did. MacArthur received over 500,000 letters, letters of entreaty, rage, gratitude, complaint, even adoration. 
 
Twelve-year-old Fumi Tanaka has a problem – her beautiful and beloved older sister, Sumiko, has disappeared. Determined to find her, Fumi enlists the help of her new classmate Aya, forcibly repatriated with her father from Canada after the war. Together, they write to MacArthur and deliver their letter into the reluctant hands of Corporal Matt Matsumoto, a Japanese-American GI whose job it is to translate the endless letters. 
 
When weeks pass and they hear nothing from Matt, the girls take matters into their own hands, venturing into the dark and dangerous world of the black market and dancehalls. They're unaware that their teacher, Kondo Sensei, moonlights as a translator of love letters, and that he holds the key to Sumiko's safe return.

The Translation of Love

At the famous Patisserie Clermont in Paris, 1909, a chance encounter with the owner’s daughter has given one young man a glimpse into a life he never knew existed: of sweet cream and melted chocolate, golden caramel and powdered sugar, of pastry light as air. 
 
But it is not just the art of confectionery that holds him captive, and soon a forbidden love affair begins. 
 
Almost eighty years later, an academic discovers a hidden photograph of her grandfather as a young man with two people she has never seen before. Scrawled on the back of the picture are the words ‘Forgive me’. Unable to resist the mystery behind it, she begins to unravel the story of two star-crossed lovers and one irrevocable betrayal. 
 
'Delightful and delicious: a must read' Nina George, bestselling author of The Little Paris Bookshop 
 
'Mouth-watering and mysterious . . . a compelling read' Leah Fleming, bestselling author of The Girl under the Olive Tree 
 
Take a moment to savour a bittersweet love story that echoes through the decades – perfect for fans of Kate Morton, Santa Montefiore and Victoria Hislop.

The Confectioner's Tale

Nigel Farndale

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 
From the Costa Prize shortlisted author of The Blasphemer, a novel of survival, redemption and forbidden love from World War II to today's Afghanistan. 
 
1939: In a hotel room overlooking Piccadilly Circus, two young men are arrested. Charles is court-martialled for ‘conduct unbecoming’; Anselm is deported home to Germany for ‘re-education’ in a brutal labour camp. Separated by the outbreak of war, and a social order that rejects their love, they must each make a difficult choice, and then live with the consequences. 
 
 2012: Edward, a diplomat held hostage for eleven years in an Afghan cave, returns to London to find his wife is dead, and in her place is an unnerving double – his daughter, now grown up. Numb with grief, he attempts to re-build his life and answer the questions that are troubling him. Was his wife’s death an accident? Who paid his ransom? And how was his release linked to Charles, his father? 
 
 As dark and nuanced as it is powerful and moving, The Road Between Us is a novel about survival, redemption and forbidden love. Its moral complexities will haunt the reader for days after the final page has been turned.

The Road Between Us

Robert Edric

Autumn 1919. Elizabeth Mortlake, companion to her widowed sister-in-law, meets Jameson and Hunter, two ex-officers striving for some new measure of peace and order amid the ever-lengthening shadows of the war - one still hospitalized and awaiting the judgement of a court martial, the other seeking a more personal atonement for his unimaginable sins. Drawn increasingly into their lives here at the calm centre of the changing world, she gradually understands what a fragile peace they now inhabit, and how the ideals and bonds which once sustained and kept the two men alive, now threaten to destroy them completely.

In Desolate Heaven

1891. London is simmering in the oppressive summer heat, the air thick with sexual repression. But a wave of morality is about to rock the capital as the puritans of the London Vigilance Committee seek out perversion and aberrant behaviour in all its forms. 
 
Charles Webster, an impoverished photographer working at the Lyceum Theatre, has been sucked into a shadowy demi-monde which exists beneath the surface of civilized society. It is a world of pornographers and prostitutes, orchestrated by master manipulator Marlow, for whom Webster illicitly provides theatrical costumes for pornographic shoots. 
 
But knowledge of this enterprise has somehow reached the Lyceum's upright theatre manager, Bram Stoker, who suspects Webster's involvement. As the net tightens around Marlow and his cohorts and public outrage sweeps the city, a member of the aristocracy is accused of killing a child prostitute...

The London Satyr

Readers of Kate Atkinson, Kate Mosse, Stacey Halls and Eve Chase will love this powerful, atmospheric and blackly gothic depiction of Victorian artistic life from international multi-million copy seller Joanne Harris. Death, love, obsession, sex, murder and magic combine to make a compelling and haunting read... 
 
'A hauntingly evocative laudanum-dream of a novel' -- Time Out 
'A very compulsive read' -- ***** Reader review 
'Tremendous' -- ***** Reader review 
'Real gothic page turner' -- ***** Reader review 
'A truly dark, ghostly and powerful read' -- ***** Reader review 
'The tension is gripping and kept going to the very end. I read it in one sitting!' -- ***** Reader review 
********************************************************************************************************** 
Henry Chester, a domineering and puritanical Victorian artist, is in search of the perfect model. In nine-year-old Effie he finds her. 
 
Ten years later, lovely, childlike and sedated, Effie seems the ideal wife. But something inside her is about to awaken. 
 
Drawn into a dangerous underworld of prostitution, murder and blackmail, she must finally plan her revenge...

Sleep, Pale Sister

a consuming Gothic tale set in 19th century London from the bestselling author of Chocolat

A gripping page-turner set in occupied France from international multi-million copy seller Joanne Harris. With the sensuous writing we come to expect from her, this book has a darker core. Perfect for fans of Victoria Hislop, Fiona Valpy, Maggie O'Farrell and Rachel Joyce, this fascinating and vivid journey through human cruelty and kindness is a gripping and compelling read. 
 
'Her strongest writing yet: as tangy and sometimes bitter as Chocolat was smooth' -- Independent 
'Harris indulges her love of rich and mouthwatering descriptive passages, appealing to the senses... Thoroughly enjoyable' -- Observer 
'Outstanding...beautifully written' -- Daily Mail 
'Very thought provoking. I read the book in two days and am still thinking about it a few days down the line' -- ***** Reader review 
'Absolutely gripping from the very first page' -- ***** Reader review 
'Joanne Harris at her very best!'-- ***** Reader review 
'Superb' -- ***** Reader review 
'I just couldn't put this one down'-- ***** Reader review 2 
 
********************************************************* 
 
THE PAST WILL ALWAYS CATCH UP WITH YOU... 
 
Beyond the main street of Les Laveuses runs the Loire: smooth and brown as a sunning snake - but hiding a deadly undertow beneath its moving surface. This is where Framboise, a secretive widow, plies her culinary trade at the crêperie - and lets her memory play strange games. 
 
As her nephew attempts to exploit the growing success of the country recipes Framboise has inherited from her mother - a woman remembered with contempt by the villagers - memories of a disturbed childhood during the German Occupation flood back, and expose a past full of betrayal, blackmail and lies...

Five Quarters Of The Orange

from Joanne Harris, the bestselling author of Chocolat, a powerful drama about the dark repercussions of Nazi occupation in a rural French village

SHORTLISTED FOR THE COSTA NOVEL AWARD &amp; A RICHARD &amp; JUDY BOOK CLUB PICK 
 
He had always been scared of flying. Now, the fear is real. A plane crash. The water is rising over his mouth. In his nostrils. Lungs. As Daniel gasps, he swallows; and punches at his seat-belt. Nancy, the woman he loves, is trapped in her seat. He clambers over her, pushing her face into the headrest. 
It is a reflex, visceral action made without rational thought... 
 
But Daniel Kennedy did it. And already we have judged him from the comfort of our own lives. 
 
Almost a hundred years earlier, Daniel's great-grandfather goes over the top at Passchendaele.A shell explodes, and he wakes up alone and lost in the hell of no-man's-land. Where are the others? Has he been left behind? 
 
And if he doesn't find his unit, is he a deserter? 
 
Love; cowardice; trust; forgiveness.How will any of us behave when we are pushed to extremes? 
 
'A great achievement...To take on the First World War as so very many have done and make it fresh is remarkable.' MELVYN BRAGG 
 
'A book that won't leave your fingernails intact...a terrifically exciting and thought-provoking must-read' DAILY MAIL

The Blasphemer

SHORTLISTED FOR THE COSTA NOVEL AWARD & A RICHARD & JUDY BOOK CLUB PICK

Susan Barker

BY THE ACCLAIMED AUTHOR OF THE INCARNATIONS AND SAYONARA BAR 
 
Malaya 1951, a jungle resettlement camp: young colonial adventurer Christopher Milnar falls passionately in love with a Chinese nurse Evangeline - a fierce flame that ends in tragedy when their camp is attacked by Communist guerrillas and Christopher is violently beaten up. 
 
London: half a century later the ghosts of that time return to haunt Christopher, triggering vivid memories of colonial misconduct and lost love. Forced to confront his past, Christopher agonises over the fate of his beloved Evangeline and the disappearance of their daughter. 
 
Moving from present day London to the heart of the Malayan jungle in colonial times, THE ORIENTALIST AND THE GHOST is a stunning portrayal of human frailty and lost love.

The Orientalist And The Ghost

David Ebershoff

Jordan returns from California to Utah to visit his mother in jail. As a teenager he was expelled from his family and religious community, a secretive Mormon offshoot sect. Now his father has been found shot dead in front of his computer, and one of his many wives - Jordan's mother - is accused of the crime. 
Over a century earlier, Ann Eliza Young, the nineteenth wife of Brigham Young, Prophet and Leader of the Mormon Church, tells the sensational story of how her own parents were drawn into plural marriage, and how she herself battled for her freedom and escaped her powerful husband, to lead a crusade to end polygamy in the United States. 
Bold, shocking and gripping, The 19th Wife expertly weaves together these two narratives: a pageturning literary mystery and an enthralling epic of love and faith.

The 19th Wife

The gripping Richard and Judy bookclub page turner

David Wilson

'Only two big facts are known for certain: you are on a large spinning rock hurtling through space at about 67,000 mph, and one day your body is going to die. Will a new pair of shoes really help?' Worth's 12th Rule of Shopping 
 
George Worth is a grumpy lifestyle columnist who works in a woman's world. He hates fashion, mobile phones, computers and Young People. At night he goes home to a borrowed Labrador and feelings of guilt about his dead wife. 
 
Justin Smith is a Young Person. A bright newcomer, he's always on his mobile to his girlfriend, surfing the Net and keeping abreast of the latest trends. 
 
Then comes the day when Justin's girlfriend throws him out and he finds himself having to share a flat with George. As the women around them watch and wonder both men start to work out what really matters among the obsessions and distractions of modern life. 
 
Laugh-out-loud funny, moving and revealing, This Age We're Living In is a novel that confronts the big questions: Can shopping solve everything? Why are boxers better than Y-fronts? Are lifestyle writers secretly in the same mess as everyone else? And if life is a journey, who the hell changed all the signposts?

This Age We're Living In

The year is 1Q84. This is the real world, there is no doubt about that. But in this world, there are two moons in the sky. Discover the 1Q84 Trilogy by Haruki Murakami.

1Q84

365 Days of Art

A BBC Christmas

A Black Book Thriller

A Box Full of Murders

A Cal Leandros Novel

A Christmas Mystery

The intelligent and capable police commissioner Guido Brunetti confronts crime in and around his home town of Venice.

A Commissario Brunetti Mystery

A DC Smith / Kings Lake Investigation Series

A Daisy Story

Chronicling the lives of over three hundred characters, unrivalled for its scope and humour, this is a unique evocation of life in twentieth-century England.

Filters

Category

Publication Date

Format

Imprint

Follow penguin

Follow ladybird

Follow puffin

Sign up to the Penguin newsletter