Pat Steadman

In this account of the various schools where she taught from 1942, Joan Park provides a humorous glimpse of the trials and minor triumphs experienced by aspiring teachers. Those who teach or have taught will identify and smile, and former pupils will recognise much that prompts their own memories.

Newly orphaned Cassandra Dashwood takes the position of governess to Sophy, precocious daughter of Marion Vanbrugh, an austere widower and owner of Cropthorne Manor.

A charming retelling of this magical tale of power and justice.

Twins cause trouble in this classic Shakespeare comedy!

When the body of a brutally beaten girl is found in a quarry during a hippy festival near Kingsmarkham, Wexford is first on the scene. Who, in this atmosphere of peace and love, could be capable of such violence? Wexford uncovers a history of love and hate that began years earlier. In all his years of police work, he has never been faced with a crime of such desperate passion...

Emily had been a quite horrible child, she had been the bane of Mrs Adams and her children who lived next door. But Emily grown-up was a different matter. She was still a cockney girl, but now she had a certain elegance, a style. The fighting toughness was still there - and she needed it. For Boots, back from the trenches, was blind, and Emily was to prove the mainstay, the breadwinner, and the love of his life..  Book 2 of series.

Sammy has always had an eye for business and is determined to expand the family enterprise. But as his mighty empire grows, his assistant Susie Brown has plans of her own... Susie has always adored Sammy and has decided that he will be the man she marries. But marriage doesn't figure in Sammy's plans. Will he fall into line? Does he stand a chance against a determined woman and the rest of the Adam's family?  Book 3 of series

It is 1944, and the Adams family, along with the rest of the people of the United Kingdom, are beginning to weary of the seemingly never-ending war against Hitler's Germany. Bobby Somers and Helene, living dangerously in the French countryside with a group of Resistance fighters, find themselves in great peril. Boots returns from the war in Italy, to the delight of Polly and their two little rascals, twins James and Gemma - but he brings with him a German prisoner who has a horrifying story to tell of the concentration camps. And while Sammy and Susie Adams are keeping the family business going as best they can during the privations of wartime London, their son Daniel catches the eye of a lively young American girl who brings a welcome breath of fresh air to the Adams household, so many of whose younger members are doing their bit for the war in various far-flung places of the world.

As plans for the long-awaited invasion of France get under way there is excitement and danger, but love continues to blossom in the most difficult of circumstances.  Book 17 of series.

Kate is nervous about her new job in a hectic vet's practice, but with the staff and patients keeping her busy any anxieties soon vanish, and before long Kate wants to make changes in other areas of her life!  Book 1 of series.

Lizzie Martin has been sent from London to the New Forest to be a companion to Lucy Craven, a young woman whose baby has died. Events take on a sinister turn when a rat-catcher is found dead in the garden with Lucy beside him, covered in blood. Lizzie calls upon her friend Inspector Ben Ross from Scotland Yard to solve the horrific crime.  Book 2 of series

This is the story of a local pharmacist, Ave Maria Mulligan, who has been keeping the townsfolk's secrets for years. She is about to discover a scandal in her own family's past that will blow the lid right off her quiet, uneventful life.  Book 1 of series.

Ave Maria is left to cope with major changes as her daughter Etta begins her new life in Italy. Then the appearance of a mysterious stranger rocks her world to its core, forcing her to face the past in order to build a new life.  Book 4 of series.

When Miss Pongleton is found murdered on the stairs of Belsize Park underground station, her fellow-boarders in the Frampton Hotel are not overwhelmed with grief at the death of a tiresome old woman. But they all have their theories about the identity of the murderer, and help to unravel the mystery of who killed the wealthy 'Pongle'.

Cadmium, Saffron, Indigo and Rose are as colourful as their names suggest. When Saffy finds out that she was adopted she is determined to find a piece of her past - a stone angel left to her by her grandfather. But where is it?

Heaven is caught up in a sinister web of cruel deceits and hidden passions. Book 2 of series.

As Logan's bride, Heaven now savours the love she had sought so long. But then the ghosts of her past rise up to threaten her fragile happiness, challenging her precious love with scandal and jealousy, sinister passions and dangerous dreams.  Book 3 of series.

It is 1940, and for the girls who work at Lyons Corner House at Marble Arch, there are bombs and blackouts, curfews and rationing, romances and terrible losses. But through it all, come what may, the Corner House will be open for business.  Book 2 of series.

Archaeologist Neil Watson’s excavation of a field takes a dramatic turn when he starts unearthing a large number of skeletons. It soon becomes clear that there are links between his site and the black death of 1348. Meanwhile a locked room in the tower of Belsham’s ancient church might hold the solution to many unanswered questions for DI Wesley Peterson. Book 8 of series.

Longing for a life of emancipation, Lady Rose Summer has abandoned the comforts of her parent's house to become self supporting. But when old acquaintance, Freddy Pomfret, is murdered, her help - and upper class connections - are required by amateur sleuth Captain Harry Cathcart. So as Rose and Harry prepare to take on the usual Edwardian social rounds, they uncover a devious blackmail plot and an unexpected killer.  Book 2 of series.

As Fairacre celebrates the centenary of its village school, its spirited citizens - including a dour headmistress, an idealistic, inexperienced teacher, and a beekeeping vicar - meet the vicissitudes of life with verve and charm.

Lincolnshire, 1926. Kate Hilton is devastated when her mother tells her she is to be sent away to boarding school. For the more Esther tries to keep her from her childhood sweetheart, Danny, the more determined she is to marry him. Fleethaven Trilogy, volume 2; sequel to 'Plough the Furrow' (11598)

Following the disastrous floods of 1953, Ella Hilton is compelled to live at Brumbys' Farm with her grandmother, Esther, and is soon acutely aware of the mysterious surrounding her family's past. Fleethaven Trilogy, volume 3; sequel to 'Sow the Seed' (011620)

The lives of three very different women - Dorothea, Dulcie and Primmy, are changed irrevocably by love, ambition and the First World War. Their dreams and aspirations found a voice above history's most horrifying conflict. Their triumphs and tragedies were shared by a generation.

The year is 1880. In West London, a dedicated doctor collapses and dies on the same night that one of his most reliable employees disappears. Frances Doughty, a young sleuth with a reputation for solving knotty cases, is engaged to find the missing man, but nothing is as it seems.

London, 1881: A body is found in the Paddington canal basin, and a woman claims that the remains are those of her missing husband, who disappeared three years ago. Unable to prove her case, she appeals to Frances Doughty to investigate. Frances soon learns that the missing man has secrets of his own, and, when a witness is viciously attacked, it becomes clear that she must choose her allies wisely.

Madge and Paul find their lives are about to change when they spend the summer at their grandmother's house in Cornwall.

When Alan Banks receives a disturbing message from his brother, Roy, he heads to London to seek him out. But Roy seems to have vanished into thin air. Meanwhile, DI Annie Cabbot is called to Eastvale, where a young woman has been found dead in her car. As Banks begins to uncover a few troubling surprises, the two cases become sinisterly entwined.  Book 15 of series.

When the body of England's leading batsman, Kenneth Fleming, is discovered in the burnt-out shell of a country cottage, it looks like a clear-cut case of arson. But Inspector Lynley finds a torment of twisted familial relationships and broken dreams, as he brings a murderer to justice.  Book 7 of series.

When a nun is found dead in a ruined tower at Blessed Eleanor's Convent, Jemima Shore, a renowned television reporter, is called in by Reverend Mother Ancilla to investigate. Blessed Eleanor was Jemima's own convent school, and the dead nun was heiress to a fortune ...

Joan Park recounts her childhood years growing up in Liverpool from 1927 to 1936. The daughter of a ship steward and a housewife, she captures the atmosphere of ordinary family life in pre-war Britain .

Book 2 of the ‘Joan Park’ series. Sequel to ’86 SMITH STREET’ (8680). In this continuation of her memoirs, Joan takes us back to the early years of the War. The family have moved to a new housing estate on the edge of Liverpool and there are new schools and new friends to cope with.

Little Billy, Polly's son, is the light of her life. But when Billy is knocked down by a car, his father is killed attempting to save his life, and Polly, cast off by her husband's family, is left with a child who may never walk or talk again. Forced to flee to the coast, Polly and Billy find that their future may lie with another damaged family - but danger threatens their fragile happiness . .Book 2 of series.

Usually I hate hunting, because I'm not a very good rider and I always end up on my bum. But today the hunt was very exciting, and a little scary too! Because there was almost a terrible accident - and it looks as though someone is trying to hurt the Queen.

Could Her Majesty's closest friend, Robert Dudley, really be to blame? As Queen Elizabeth's favourite Maid of Honour, and her very own secret investigator, it's up to me, Lady Grace, to solve this mystery...

After leaving London, Elfrida soon feels at home and content in a small Hampshire village. She has a tiny cottage, her faithful dog Horace and the friendship of the neighbouring Blundells - particularly Oscar - to ensure that her days include companionship as well as independence. But when unexpected tragedy upsets her tranquillity, Elfrida takes refuge in a rambling house in Scotland.

Following her mother's untimely death, Lizzie Allen is facing desperate times. Her sweetheart Danny is heading for Australia to seek his fortune. Determined to keep her family together, heartbroken Lizzie is tricked into marriage by Danny's unscrupulous brother, Frank. Can she escape her increasingly unhappy and violent marriage and save her family? And will she ever be reunited with her one true love, former barrow-boy, Danny Flowers?

When Nell Villiers' policeman husband vanishes on a routine case, her life is wrecked. Placed under protection by Inspector Lestrade, Nell is ripped from her old life and her own secret police work. Instead she must live as a widow, Mrs Hudson, in a safe house: 221B Baker Street. Two years on, with the case still unsolved, Nell vows to defy Lestrade and use her skills to discover the truth. She takes a lodger to cover her tracks; a young man called Sherlock Holmes. How could she know what would happen?