Showing results by narrator "Penelope Freeman" in All Categories

When novelist Sophie Carr rescues a man from a group of paparazzi, she finds that her new neighbour is ageing pop star Jez Winter. She has loved his music for years and knows he has had a tough time lately, with a violent intruder and then a car accident putting his ability to play music at risk. Life’s not been easy for Sophie either, losing her husband just as she was taking off as a novelist and having her hands full with her children. While Jez and Sophie’s families continue to complicate their lives, Sophie also has a secret to hide.

It's 1957, and three young women are beginning their nursing training at the Florence Nightingale Hospital in London's East End. Winne desperately wants to win her mother's approval - but will following in her footsteps and becoming a nurse help? Tearaway Viv has never been one to follow the rules, though the Nightingale may help her mend her ways. Beth is following her late sister's dream by training as a nurse. Will it be the right path for her? There's a steep learning curve ahead. But with friendship on their side, the Nightingale Daughters are ready to rise to the challenge.

Cornwall, 1801. In the wake of her mother's death, Pandora Woodville is desperate to escape her domineering father and finally return to Cornwall. Posing as a widow, she safely makes it across the Atlantic, bright with the dream of working at her Aunt Harriet's school for young women. But as...

Laugh-out-loud women's fiction from the NUMBER ONE bestselling author of The Old Ducks' Club! 'I've loved all of Maddie Please's books but this is my favourite so far - superb characters and a warm, wonderful story. Bravo!' Judy Leigh Clover Harrington might be sixty-one, but she’s still...

Teacher Charlotte Kingston is sent to close a school on an isolated Scilly Isle where she used to spend holidays with her grandparents. But when two visiting children find themselves in need of a place to stay, Charlotte agrees to care for the boys, and decides to keep the school open a little longer. Hearing about her family from the islanders, Charlotte starts decoding her grandmother's old letters from WWII, and a story emerges of forbidden love and a brave man who would risk everything for his country, even giving up the woman he loved.

When Ellie Roberts inherits a cottage on a remote Scilly Isle, she's shocked. She's never heard of the previous owner, Patience Ellis, so why did she leave Ellie her legacy? Overwhelmed with unanswered questions, Ellie travels to the isolated island. The house feels strangely familiar, and she has a memory of her beloved mother in the window seat overlooking the sea. The mother she lost when she was only a child. Determined to find out more, Ellie meets enigmatic local Branok Shore.

The new novel from the #1 bestselling author of The Old Ducks' Club! 'I've loved all of Maddie Please's books but this is my favourite so far - superb characters and a warm, wonderful story. Bravo!' Judy Leigh Newly single at sixty, Elin Anderson decides it’s finally time for an adventure of...

In 1972, Michelle Pearson gave up her son for adoption. As ‘one of those girls’, she was expected to hide her shame with secrecy. No one should ever find out she’d had a child. But she never forgot the son who was taken from her. In the years that followed she struggled with PTSD...

Bristol 1927 Ten year old Magda Brodie’s world is torn apart when her mother dies in the workhouse two weeks before Christmas. Her wastrel father arranges for her sisters to be sent to their grandparents in Ireland and for her younger brother to be adopted leaving Magda distraught with worry...

Brand new from the #1 bestselling author of The Old Ducks' Club 'A delightful and jolly romp in the french countryside. A lovely taste of France and generous slice of la bon vivre.' Jo Thomas 'A glorious romp that readers will adore. Maddie's warmth and humour will put a smile on your face' Judy...

Brought to you by Penguin. The second book in the page-turning Worktown Girls at War series, from the bestselling author of A Shilling for a Wife, perfect for fans of Dilly Court and Rosie Goodwin. At seventeen, Renee Rushmore lives at home with her father Ivan - a cruel man who rules the house...

Brought to you by Penguin. The third book in the Air Raid Girls series - a heart-warming new story of friendship, love and duty in wartime, perfect for fans of Nancy Revell and Donna Douglas. Spring, 1942. Lizzie is making plans for her wedding with fiancé Bill. But preparations during wartime...

After a bomb destroys Esme's London home and kills her son, she moves to Woodicombe, her old house in Devon, to begin the impossible task of recuperating. Soon she is drawn back into the world of espionage and as her marriage to Richard starts to crumble, a local airman pulls her closer. Meanwhile, Lou awaits confirmation that she can relocate to Canada to be with her husband. Biding her time back home, she notices her father behaving strangely and disappearing at odd hours to wander the nearby cliffs. With rumours of spies afoot, she needs to learn the truth before anyone else does.

February 1941. The world is at war, and Joyce Cooper is doing her bit for the war effort. But as the Blitz takes hold of London, Joyce is called upon to plot the devastation that follows in its wake. Night after night, she must stand before her map and mark the trail of loss and suffering inflicted upon the homes, families and businesses she knows so well. February 1974. Decades later, from her basement flat, Joyce watches the world go by above her head.

Manchester industrialist William Rose was a poor lad who pulled himself up by his bootstraps, but in order to achieve his greatest ambitions he must become the epitome of Victorian respectability: a family man. But the only woman who's caught his eye is Octavia Marshall, one of the notorious ladies of Carson Street. Though once born to great wealth and privilege, she's hardly respectable, but she's determined to forge a new life as an entirely proper businesswoman.

Catch up on Lizzie Lane's gritty, historical saga series set in Bristol's Tobacco factories... As war rages, everyone has to do their bit... Bristol. 1941 As the clouds of war grow bleaker both at home and abroad, the Tobacco Girls are determined to do their bit for King and Country. To that end...

Brought to you by Penguin. The first brilliant WWII novel by Emma Hornby, bestselling author of A Shilling for a Wife Bolton, Lancashire: 1940 A family torn apart by war, held together by a secret . . . Janie and her husband James have a strong, loving marriage. A move from an inner-city slum to...

The laugh-out-loud, TOP 100 bestseller! Tess Simpson needs a break! No one appreciates her at home. No one appreciates her at work. And now her dog has died. She’s had enough! Maybe what she really needs is a break from hopeless husband, Dave, the ungrateful ‘kidults’ and the lacklustre...

When Naomi's brother, Ned, is sent home seriously injured, it's up to Kate to manage the household as well as Ned's rehabilitation. But with the growing workload, she struggles to keep everything running smoothly and yearns to return to Woodicombe House. And with no word from her husband, Luke, fighting in France, it's becoming increasingly difficult to stay positive. Hard times are ahead for Kate and her family - when the realities of war land on their doorstep, can Kate find the strength to keep going?

But the summer days seemed to go on forever – and British families were determined to make the best of their paralysed country. For evacuated children, this meant freedom that is unimaginable today: discovering wildlife, foraging from orchards and hedgerows and swimming in the streams. Elsewhere, country estates were requisitioned for the war efforts. Caroline Taggart shows us how Britons succeeded in keeping spirits up with this entertaining collection of first-hand reminiscences from people who lived through those six long years.