Showing results by publisher "W. F. Howes Ltd" in Historical Fiction

Queen Victoria wrote this charming story, about the adventures of Alice Laselles at Miss Duncombe’s school for girls and the mystery of who put the cat in Miss Duncombe’s kitchen, when she was just 10¾. This tiny gem in its little red notebook is now kept safe in the Royal Archives. It is told here for the very first time and is a delightful children’s story that will enchant and captivate every little princess today.

It's 1919. Henry has moved to the countryside with her parents and her baby sister, Piglet - all still scarred by the death of her brother. Alone in her head, she begins to explore her surroundings, encouraged by her only friends - characters from her favourite books. Nobody much notices when she wanders into the woods at the bottom of the garden and meets Moth, a striking witchlike woman. Together they form a bond that could help Henry save her family.

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....

For two summers Torak and Renn have been living in the Forest with their faithful pack-brother, Wolf. But their happiness is shattered when Renn realises Torak is in danger – and she's the threat. When she mysteriously disappears, Torak and Wolf brave the Far North to find her. At the mercy of the Sea Mother and haunted by ravenous ice bears, their quest leads them to the Edge of the World. There they must face an enemy more evil than any they've encountered.

Twelve-year-old Dido dreams of becoming the first female charioteer at the great Circus Maximus. She's lost her heart to Porcellus, a wild, tempestuous horse she longs to train and race. But such ambitions are forbidden to girls and she must be content with helping her father Antonius - the trainer of Rome's most popular racing team, The Greens - and teaching the rules of racing to Justus, the handsome young nephew of the Greens' wealthy owner. When her father is brutally murdered, she is forced to seek refuge with an unlikely ally.

In the Dark Time of midwinter, disaster strikes the Forest. Chaos rules. Bears woken from their dens prowl the shadowy valleys. Desperate clans battle for survival. Only demons thrive. With their world in turmoil, Torak, Renn and Wolf are tested as never before. And as a new evil haunts the devastated land, Torak must risk his sanity, his life and even his souls to save everything he loves.

Tomas hates school, hates books and hates stories. Forced to visit the library, he stops to listen to magical tales that the Unicorn Lady spins. These tales draw him in and are about to change the course of his life for ever.... Set against the backdrop of war-torn Europe, I Believe in Unicorns explores the power of stories to transform lives.

Marina's father, a naval captain, has been away for most of her life - certainly since her mother died - and yet Marina feels the pull of an ocean she's never known. When sent to boarding school to learn to be a lady, Marina decides instead to stow away on her father's ship. A perilous voyage awaits - but where are they sailing to and why, and what has it to do with the dark shape in the deep that seems to be following them?

The second instalment in the Taylor and Rose Secret Agents series from best-selling children’s author Katherine Woodfine. With Sophie still missing in action after their explosive mission in Paris, Lil decides to take matters into her own hands. On a new mission for the Secret Service Bureau, can Lil find Sophie in misty, mysterious St Petersburg? Can they uncover the identity of their true enemy and can they trust anyone - even the Bureau? It's time for Sophie and Lil to put their spy skills to the test.

Danny works at Belle Vue Zoo, where - alongside training the famous elephant Maharajah - he helps out with the day-to-day tasks of caring for the animals. But when animals start escaping, Danny is the prime suspect: after all, he was a former street urchin and pickpocket. When a man turns up claiming to be his father, the plot thickens. Can Danny untangle the mystery of the animal escapade - and find out where he really belongs - in order to clear his name? 

Mel Foster has always been told that he'd come to a bad end - he just never thought it would be as a meal for a giantess! But looking monstrous doesn't make you a monster. Eve Frankenstein has no interest in eating Mel. She wants to protect him. While Eve and Mel become firm friends in the Arctic, far away in London, Queen Victoria's strange new butler is hatching a plan...and only Mel has the power to stop him.

"In sixteen hundred and sixty-six, London burned like rotten sticks." Left alone and homeless by the Great Plague, Sam struggled to survive. He was lucky to get a job working for the Giraud family. But Andre, the son of his boss, doesn't make life easy. Then a fire breaks out on Pudding Lane. Before anyone fully realises what's happening, London's burning... and this fire can't be put out. Now it's time for Sam to prove what he's really worth. If he can get out alive....

My name is Hanna. I am 15. I am Latvian. I live with my mother and grandmother. My father is missing, taken by the Russians. I have a boyfriend, and I'm training to be a dancer. But none of that is important any more. Because the Nazis have arrived, and I am a Jew. And as far as they are concerned, that is all that matters. This is my story.

Spring 1665, London. Sam was just a young boy when his master took him out of the orphanage. When he was old enough, he was going to become his master’s apprentice. But that was before the plague arrived. Now, Sam finds himself nailed into his workshop home with only his dying master and pet dog Budge for company. Can Sam escape? And even if he does, will he be able to survive?

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.

Germany, 1941. Twelve-year-old Karl Engel is looking forward to joining the Hitler Youth, like all boys his age. But when his father is killed, his rebellious older brother, Stefan, shows him things that leave his faith in the Fuhrer shaken. What does it mean to be a good German? What does it mean to wear the mysterious flower sewn inside his brother's jacket? Who is the real enemy?

Dark alleys linger with the shadows of unknown figures and the air is thick with whispers and plots. What is going on? What can be done to put a stop to it all? Two girls stumble across a terrifying plot to destroy the House of Lords, taking countless lives along the way. Can they find out who is behind this terrible plan? Will there be enough time to try and put stop to it?

As a young child Eponine never knew kindness, except once from her family's kitchen slave, Cosette. When at sixteen the girls' paths cross again and their circumstances are reversed, Eponine must decide what that friendship is worth, even though they've both fallen for the same boy. In the end, Eponine will sacrifice everything to keep true love alive.

Rose's granddad takes her on a trip to Ypres, Belgium, to visit the graves of those who died in the Great War. It's the day before Valentine's, but Rose can sense the old city beneath the new. And it seems that it can sense her, too. When she goes up to her room that night, she hears the sound of marching feet and glimpses from her window a young soldier on his way to the front line.

In the aftermath of World War One, everyone is trying to rebuild their lives. If Ben is to avoid being sent back to the orphanage, he needs to find his brother Sam, wounded in action and is now missing. Lotti's horrible aunt and uncle want to send her away to boarding-school (when she has just so successfully managed to get expelled from her last one!). And Clara, their young teacher, is waiting for news of her missing fiancé.