Anne Dover

As the Depression hits the north of England, Hannah Casey's life is turned upside down. Since her father's death, Hannah and her mother Miriam have lived with her aunt and uncle - but as Hannah's beauty develops, she catches her uncle's roaming eye. Escaping to her friend Naomi's house whenever she can, Hannah is always made to feel welcome, and she begins to court Naomi's handsome brother Adam. But when she finally flees from home, it is the taciturn Jake, Naomi's older half-brother, who shines through as her protector...

May, 1941. Meet the Air Raid Girls: three young women keen to do their bit during the Yorkshire blitz. Connie's life has taken an unexpected turn since her husband died - she's living at home and working in the family bakery - but night shifts as an ARP Warden give her a firm sense of purpose. Her younger sister Lizzie is eager to play her part too, perhaps as an ambulance driver. Her fiance refuses to support her decision... but does he really know what's best for her?

Twenty-year-old Pamela has led a sheltered life, but when her family's home is destroyed in a raid she must learn to stand on her own two feet - helped by new friends. As bombs fall and fires rage, the young women face the destruction of everything they've ever known. Can their fighting spirit prevail? And what of their families and the men they love?

A wonderful new Christmas story of friendship, love and duty in wartime by the author of The Air Raid Girls, for fans of Elaine Everest and Rosie Hendry. November, 1941. Christmas is coming... and despite the blackout, shortages and a constant threat of air raids, the inhabitants of Kelthorpe on the Yorkshire coast are determined that war won't stop them celebrating. 

The run-up to Christmas sees sisters Connie and Lizzie, and their good friend Pamela, busier than ever. Between their jobs, carol-singing rehearsals with the church choir and night shifts doing their bit as Air Raid Wardens and ambulance drivers, it's all go. But when Connie and Lizzie's dear dad falls ill, their sweethearts Tom and Bill are called up by the Royal Navy for dangerous mine-sweeping duties, and Pamela's sweetheart Fred is targeted by vicious locals, the girls have to believe in miracles to keep soldiering on. Can their dearest wishes come true this Christmas?

1665: Susannah Leyton has grown up behind the counter of her father's apothecary shop in bustling Fleet Street. But Susannah is dealt a shocking blow when her widowed father marries again, and her new stepmother seems determined to remove her from the apothecary shop for good.

Recovering from a broken heart, Frances moves to Beck Farm in the Yorkshire Dales, planning to open a guest house. She lavishes care and attention on the ancient house and at the same time rebuilds her own life.

It is 1945 and the war is finally over. For sisters Sophie and Maria, though, the upheaval is just beginning. For they have no choice but to leave their beloved home on the Isle of Man. Liverpool offers them a new beginning, but will the sisters ever find happiness here?

Back in 1950 Pamela Rhodes became one of the first policewomen in the country, when the force's new female recruits faced a sceptical public in rural Yorkshire. But soon, spending her days on the streets, she came to know the neighbourhood and the extraordinary characters who lived on the right, as well as wrong, side of the law.

The life of a Bomb Girl isn't usually glamourous. But Maggie is getting married, so she is going to make sure her wedding day is - even if she does have to spend every other day slaving on the factory floor.

This blasted factory was not what Julia had in mind either. She had always dreamed of attending Oxford University rather than getting her hands dirty and the easy laughter of the other women intimidate her terribly.

But they are all here together in this munitions factory in a Lancashire mill town, sharing firsts, pitching in and getting on. These Bomb Girls are going to do their best at work, and in love.

Handsome Frank Rossi took Matty Gilbie away from her working class roots in East London, promising her fame and fortune. But the Wall Street Crash puts paid to all that, and as Frank becomes more violent, Matty flees back home to Bermondsey. But Frank is determined to find her and get her back.

Gwynna has already fallen from grace once, bearing a stillborn child out of wedlock. Determined to have a respectable future, she finds a position for herself as a nursemaid at Hungerton House. But just as she begins to find her feet, the devastating secrets of her past are revealed. Book 3 of series.

It is 1920 in the Derbyshire dales. The Ryan family are adjusting to life now that the war is over. Walter has returned home a broken man and so it falls to his son and daughter, Josh and Emily, to keep the family candle-making business going. Then Emily finds employment as a Buffer Girl, polishing cutlery at a local factory. But, as time goes on, problems and even dangers arise that the Ryan family could not possibly have foreseen.

It's the late 1950s and for the Napier family, up at the big house, the old ways are shifting. Hilary must discover if a chance of happiness means breaking away from the life expected of her, while Patsy, their young housekeeper's help, is facing motherhood without her own family around her. Down the hill, change comes to the village school and the Tozer family continue to find surprises in their midst. Book 9 of series.

To the outside, Clare has everything: a beautiful home, a devoted husband and daughter, and plenty of money. But she is bored. Her husband Clive spends most of the year abroad, and against his wishes, Clare takes a job managing a café. Her ambition is to experience real life, to escape the imaginary feelings that plague her. But when a handsome stranger walks through the door, there is nothing imaginary about her feelings…

After her French father and English mother are brutally murdered, bluestocking Madeleine Moreau travels to France to find the family she didn't know existed. When France declares war on England in 1792, Madeleine is trapped, but enigmatic Comte Etienne d'Aubery comes to the rescue when he offers her shelter in his home, Chateau Mirabelle.

Devon, 1943. In the village of Burracombe, 'Dig for Victory' is more than just a wartime slogan. While the young men are away, everyone at home knows the war effort needs them too. Whether it's Land Girls on the farms, wives and mothers having to make do and mend, or the villagers knowing how to stretch rations to keep spirits bright, there is always something to be done to help. Book 12 of series.

1864: Following the untimely death of her cold-hearted husband, Beatrix and her three children are finally free. While Ambrose has already determined his path in life, eldest son Laurie's future is less certain. With the responsibility of the family estate on his shoulders, Laurie must decide between staying in Yorkshire to farm the family land and following his dreams.

Meanwhile, headstrong and independent Alicia is defying expectation and excelling at school. There she befriends the enigmatic Olivia Snowdon and they quickly become inseparable. But Olivia's family past is shrouded in mystery and as she begins to dig deeper secrets come tumbling out...

Can the two families overcome the challenges that lie ahead?

Liverpool, 1939: Sixteen-year-old Lizzy Atherton is forced to flee her violent step-father in the middle of the night, and finds herself stranded on a station platform completely alone. Desperate to know what has become of her beloved mother, who she had no choice but to leave behind, Lizzy returns the next day only to find her home deserted.

Devastated, Lizzy joins forces with her old school friend Dolly and Clara, an escaped evacuee, and vows to find her mother whatever it takes. But the war rages on and demands on the home front take Lizzy's life in a host of unexpected directions, and hopes of finding her mother gradually start to fade. If Lizzy can muster the strength to keep searching, she might just get her Christmas wish after all.

The cinder path which led from the Northumberland farmhouse would always symbolise defeat for Charlie MacFell. People saw him as a born loser who always got the dirty end of the stick. At the root of the matter were boyhood humiliations by his brutal father - but was that all there was to Charlie MacFell? Then an opportunity emerges for Charlie to display his inner strengths and integrity, and to give the lie to those who had thought him to be of no account...

They call them the custard tarts - the girls who work at Pearce Duff's custard powder factory in Bermondsey before the First World War. Conditions are hard but nothing can quench the spirit of humour and friendship - or the rising tide of anger that will finally bring the girls out on strike for a better deal.

As the country braces itself for D-Day, three young munitions workers at Priddy's Yard near Portsmouth, all face their own very personal problems. Kate is terrified that she carries a jinx, Maxine makes a discovery that changes her entire view of her family, while Elsie is bitter over the death of her son. Each dilemma brings the women face to face with her own strengths and failings and, ultimately, her own destiny.  Book 7 of series.

When the Todds move into a flat, from a canal barge, they have little experience of city life. At first they easily find jobs and schools, but when war is declared the older girls join up, leaving the rest of the family to cope with bombings, rationing, shortages and the news of friends taken prisoner!

Autumn, 1942. The Blitz has come to an end, but for many families, it's not over yet. As the residents of Jubilee Row begin to rebuild their lives, twins Sybil and Maudie Maguire decide to go off and do their bit by joining the WAAFs. But what starts off as a great adventure soon forces the girls to grow up as they are confronted with the harsh realities of war. Will they stick together, or will their experiences drive them apart? 

Back in Hull, their older sister Florence is a typing pool supervisor who has resigned herself to a life without love. But when dashing American Colonel Forrest takes an interest, she wonders if he might be the one to mend her broken heart...  Book 3 of series.

Six year-old Angela is being cared for by her aunt and uncle in Ireland, but when she's 16 her uncle starts to take too much of an interest in her. She moves to Liverpool where she becomes a success in the world of fashion design. The pain of a disastrous love affair sends her back home to Ireland where she makes an astonishing discovery.

Laura Cannock is on the run. Suspected of killing her bullying husband, his family are on a merciless prowl for revenge. Fleeing from her beloved home of Bolton to Manchester, Laura seeks refuge with her coal merchant uncle. But it soon becomes clear that a roof over her head comes with a price - of the type so unbearable she must escape once more.

Destitute and penniless, a stench-ridden housing court in the back streets of the factories is Laura's only hope of a dwelling - a place where both the filth and the kindness of neighbours overwhelm. Here people stick together through the odds, leading Laura to true friendship, and possibly love. But with the threat of her past still hanging over her, there's still one battle she must fight - and win - alone…

At eighteen, Chrissie runs away to Ireland to marry the man of her dreams. Life as a housewife isn't what she expected and she finds herself trapped in an unhappy marriage. When sister Grace visits, the last thing she expects is to fall in love with her sister's husband! Soon all their lives are changed for ever.

Rose Pritchard and her seven-year-old daughter Maddie have left everything behind to come to the village of Millthwaite, Cumbria, in search of the person who once offered Rose hope. Almost immediately Rose wonders if she's chasing a dream. She's been given a second chance at life, and love - but will she have the courage to take it?

Kate Shackleton's sterling reputation for courageous sleuthing is put to the test when the body of the respected Horatio Potter is found in the Leeds Library basement. The quiet literary community is suddenly turned upside down with suspicions, accusations and - much to Kate's surprise - the appearance of a particularly intelligent Capuchin monkey!

Following a mining accident, Eve and her sisters are left orphaned and homeless. After nights of sleeping rough, they arrive at Gateshead for the Michaelmas fair. When all seems lost, Caleb Travis, a young innkeeper, takes pity on them. Eve works tirelessly at the inn to repay Caleb's kindness. She finds herself falling in love with Caleb, but he only has eyes for Mary. When tragic events force her to leave the inn and make a new life for herself, Caleb realises that the woman he has loved all along may be lost to him forever

Ambrose Constantine is determined that his daughter, Annabel, shall marry into the nobility. When Annabel is courted by James Lyndon, the Earl of Fairfield, she accepts his offer of marriage. It is only when she arrives at Fairfield Hall that she realises the true reason behind James's proposal and the part her scheming father has played.

In 1871, young Daisy Fraser is living in the Yorkshire Dales with her family. Her sister Kitty is set to marry the handsome Clifford Middleton. But on the eve of the wedding, Clifford commits an act that shatters Daisy's happy life. When further tragedy strikes, Daisy sets out for Leeds where she encounters poverty and hardship but also friendship. The key to happiness may not be as far away as she thinks...

It is 1870. Railway workers and their families have flocked to the wild moorland known as Batty Green to build a viaduct on the Midland Railway Company's ambitious new Leeds to Carlisle Line. Among them are three very different women, but when tragedy strikes, their lives are bound together, and each is forced to confront the secrets and calamities that threaten to tear their families apart.

1912 in the Yorkshire Dales: After the death of their mother, Alice Bentham and her brother Will, get work with Lord Frankland at Whernside Manor. But before they know it, Alice and Will’s lives become entwined with those of the Franklands' and nothing will ever be the same again.

Hull, 1852. Matty has had to care for her three younger sisters ever since their mother’s death 10 years ago. She and the girls’ beloved father have worked hard to keep the family together, and now it’s time to celebrate as Matty turns 18. But their joy is short-lived when tragedy suddenly strikes and their father disappears on his way to London. The sisters have no way of knowing what has happened to him - only that he hasn’t returned home. With little money left they’re now forced to battle life’s misfortunes alone....

Tragedy strikes a small Yorkshire mining town when Sarah Wild's husband dies in a terrible accident. Widowed and destitute, Sarah is forced to remarry to save her daughters, Mary-Anne and Eliza, from the workhouse. But her new husband is a violent drunk and when Sarah tragically dies too, Mary-Anne and Eliza are orphaned. Unable to rely on their drunken step-father, Mary-Anne and Eliza are left to fend for themselves. They are determined to stick together but life becomes complicated when Mary-Anne, the eldest, falls pregnant with the child of a married mine-owner. Scared and unsure what to do, the sisters try to hide Mary-Anne's pregnancy. But such things cannot stay secret for long...

As London goes up in flames during the Blitz, two sisters from Bermondsey find their lives changed out of all recognition… When a bombing raid destroys nearly everything she holds dear, May joins the ATS and becomes a gunner girl. Peggy is trapped in a stifling marriage yet amid the chaos of war, a route to freedom beckons. From war will come hardship and tragedy, as well as new, unexpected friendships and love affairs.

When Polly Anna's mother died when she was just three years old, it seemed the workhouse was the only place for her to go. But with the help of Jonty - a young misfit who soon became her best friend - she managed to escape, running away with the fairground folk. She became a horserider and acrobat, travelling all around the country. Her friends became the circus people, and her home the caravans and travellers' tents.

Meanwhile, in a great house in Yorkshire, old Mrs Winthrop has never given up hope of finding her daughter Madeleine, who eloped with a handsome gypsy and was never seen again. When her young neighbour sets out to find Madeleine, he discovers the colourful world of the fairs. And there, in the midst of it all, Polly Anna - once the waif from the workhouse, now a fully-fledged gypsy girl.