Showing titles in 20th Century

From the bestselling author of The Chilbury Ladies’ Choir comes an unforgettable story inspired by the true events of a BBC-sponsored wartime cooking competition. ‘A gorgeous novel about making the best of things during difficult times, whilst celebrating the importance of sisterhood and...

September, 1942. Jo Hardy, a 22-year-old ferry pilot, is delivering a Spitfire when she has the unnerving experience of someone shooting at her aircraft. A few days later, she hears that another ferry pilot has been killed when her aircraft crashed in the same area of Kent. Although the death has been attributed to ‘pilot error’, Jo is convinced there is a link between the two incidents. Jo takes her suspicions to Maisie Dobbs.

“Skillfully researched and powerfully written, The German Wife will capture you from the first page.” —Madeline Martin, New York Times bestselling author of The Last Bookshop in London For fans of All the Light We Cannot See and The Tattooist of Auschwitz—from the New York Times...

For fans of The Nightingale and All the Light We Cannot See, a spellbinding story of impossible love set against the backdrop of the Nazi regime. She must choose between loyalty to her country or a love that could be her destruction… As the dutiful daughter of a high-ranking Nazi officer...

Three days in a maternity ward at the height of the Great Flu. The Pull of the Stars is the Sunday Times Bestseller from the acclaimed author of The Wonder and Room. 'An immersive, unforgettable fever-dream of a novel' – The Times The old world dying on its feet, a new one struggling to be...

In the heat of the French summer, young Englishman Stephen Wraysford travels to France and falls in love with his host's wife, Isabelle Azaire. When the world stops, their affair falters, and Stephen signs up. In a maze of tunnels under the trenches, Stephen finds the courage this war demands from the men in his command. And it is here that he will fight for everything he has ever known and loved.

Brought to you by Penguin. The mesmerising new novel from Ian McEwan, the bestselling author of Atonement. The world is forever changing. But for so many of us, old wounds run deep. Lessons is an intimate yet universal story of love, regret and a restless search for answers. While the world is...

Chosen for Simon Mayo's Radio 2 Book Club, this is the chilling new ghost story from the bestselling author of Dark Matter. The Himalayas, 1935. Kangchenjunga. Third-highest peak on earth. Greatest killer of them all. Five Englishmen set off from Darjeeling, determined to conquer the sacred...

One of Hemingway's most acclaimed novels, "A Farewell to Arms," narrated by Mike Vendetti. Set during World War I, this poignant love story draws upon Hemingway's own experiences as an ambulance driver. Within the backdrop of war's brutality, the narrative balances moments of humor with the profound horrors of battle. Hemingway, a master of literary expression, skillfully captures the complex emotions of love, fear, and the occasional levity that can emerge even in the darkest of circumstances, offering listeners a deeply immersive experience.

In the early hours of 5 June 1944, Captain Rob Collins, played by Benedict Cumberbatch, who is languishing in hospital, receives a call that will take him on a journey through England that will change his life. Mike Walker's play is an epic journey across England poised on the edge of a historical moment. It is set on June 5th, the day before the invasion. It is a portrait of England waiting for the invasion that will change the course of history, but an invasion only a very few know that is about happen. Starring Benedict Cumberbatch, Juliet Stevenson and Claudia Harrison.

For fans of The Rose Code and The Paris Library, The Librarian of Burned Books is a captivating WWII-era novel about the intertwined fates of three women who believe in the power of books to triumph over the very darkest moments of war. Berlin 1933. Following the success of her debut novel...

Legendary fashion designer Coco Chanel is revered for her sophisticated style - the iconic little black dress - and famed for her intoxicating perfume Chanel No. 5. Yet behind the public persona is a complicated woman of intrigue, shadowed by mysterious rumors. The Queen of Paris, the new novel from award-winning author Pamela Binnings Ewen, vividly imagines the hidden life of Chanel during the four years of Nazi occupation in Paris in the midst of WWII - as discovered in recently unearthed wartime files.

Read by Anna Popplewell, known for her role in The Chronicles of Narnia. Richard & Judy Book Club Pick Sunday Times Bestseller Set during London's blitz and filled with warmth, wit and heartbreak, Dear Mrs Bird by AJ Pearce is a wartime story about the power of friendship, the kindness of...

The New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of The Huntress and The Alice Network returns with another heart-stopping World War II story of three female code breakers at Bletchley Park and the spy they must root out after the war is over. Award-winning narrator Saskia Maarleveld’s...

Brought to you by Penguin. Peter and Paul, the two sons of German businessman Harald Winter, are bonded together by a childhood trauma. But as they grow up the brothers also grow apart. When the shadow of the Third Reich falls they become divided by war and their differing ideals - only to meet...

A superbly controlled emotional thriller of passion, betrayal and conscience, set in post-War Germany, soon to be made into a major film. Hamburg, 1946. Thousands remain displaced in what is now the British Occupied Zone. Charged with overseeing the rebuilding of this devastated city and the...

Read by Fenella Woolgar, known for her role as Sister Hilda in BBC series Call the Midwife. Three women united by their love of books. One library that has the power to change lives, even in wartime . . . When Juliet begins work ats Bethnal Green Library, she discovers it is far from the...

From the bestselling author of Auschwitz Lullaby and The Teacher of Warsaw, Mario Escobar's "powerful portrait of a woman fighting to preserve knowledge in a crumbling world" (Publishers Weekly) is based on a true story of an inspiring librarian who risked everything to save her community and...