Brenda White

Emma Smith recalls in evocative detail the quality of England in the thirties and forties, with her customary verve, precision and humour.

Three tiny, ancient beings - Moss, Burnet and Cumulus, once revered as Guardians of the Wild World - wake from winter hibernation in their beloved ash tree home. When it is destroyed, they set off on an adventure to find more of their kind, a journey which takes them first into the deep countryside and then the heart of a city. Helped along the way by birds and animals, the trio search for a way to survive and thrive in a precious yet disappearing world.

For a decade, while she was Poet Laureate, Carol Ann Duffy gifted her thousands of readers an illustrated poem every Christmas, transporting them in one year to a seventeenth-century festival on the frozen Thames, in another to Western Front to witness the famous 1914 truce, then to a sweet winter’s night in the South of France with Pablo Picasso and his small dog. These ten much-loved poems are gathered together for the first time in this compendium.

There's trouble afoot in Barleybridge. The vets' practice is disrupted by the new locum, Dan, who seems to be annoying just about everyone with his abrupt manner. And when he succeeds in losing an important client through his arrogant attitude, the wives connected to the practice are determined that something has to be done.  Book 2 of series.

The Earl of Beaconswood wanted his beloved step-granddaughter to be married and settled happily before he died, but when he realized it was not going to happen, he amended his will. He left his home to Julia on condition she accepted an offer from one of her five step-cousins within a month. They all court her and offer her marriage—all, that is, except Daniel, the new earl, who has always disapproved of Julia's wild ways just as she had always despised his stuffiness. Will he offer before the month is over? More to the point, will she accept if he does?

In this collection of stories spanning nearly four decades, love affairs, conflicts and chance encounters are played out in locations that range from Somerset and Dorset to Elba and Turkmenistan. The protagonists are men, women, husbands and lovers, TV presenters and housewives all subtly captured with wit and acuity.

At Shrewsbury High School, Emily becomes dedicated to writing but is distracted by an unforeseen romance.

When Jerry, Jimmy and Kathleen are forced to spend their entire summer at school they don't imagine they will have a particularly interesting time. But that's before they stumble upon a mysterious castle set in beautiful, abandoned gardens. Could this really be an enchanted castle? Don't be a duffer, there's no such thing. But with the air thick with magic, the sun blazing down, and a maze hiding a sleeping girl at its centre, the holidays might just be looking up... 

Wendy Cope describes a wide range of life experiences in this collection of poems which display both her compassion and humour.

Ruth, Lizzie and Heather each have their own reasons for greeting the end of the war with mixed feelings. With the coming of peace, life changes more than anyone had expected as the 'love and laughter' that had been promised turn to bewilderment, anger and disappointment. Yet although nothing is quite as they had hoped it would be, they are able to move into a future without war, and learn to live with peace.  Book 8 of series.

Ten-year-old Helen and her guardian, Flora, are isolated together in Helen's decaying family house while her father is doing secret war work during the final months of World War II. Their relationship and its fallout, played against a backdrop of a lost America will haunt Helen for the rest of her life.

It is not for nothing that Belinda's father called her "The General". Belinda could marshal and control more than armies-she could control the people about her. Belinda's father dies and she is left with an ailing mother to support. But nothing daunted, she sells up their beloved home and sets out on her long Odyssey of domestic service. There surely never was a domestic servant like Belinda.

Staving off irate butchers when there is no money to pay them, helping elopements, protecting down-trodden wives, become every-day occurrences in Belinda's life, through which her extreme good-nature and sense of humour carry her in triumph.

General Bottando of Rome’s Art Theft Squad is in trouble: his theory that a single master criminal, dubbed ‘Giotto’, is behind a string of major art thefts has aroused the scorn of his arch enemy and rival, the bureaucrat Corrado Argan. He needs a result, and the confession of a dying woman may just provide the vital clue.

A gripping saga of courage and resilience from the bestselling author of The Guardian Angel Violet Daniels isn't perfect. She's made mistakes in her life, but the deep love she has for her five-year-old twins is beyond dispute. When their feckless and often violent father turns up out of the blue, demanding to see them, she's terrified he might snatch them from her.

When Verity’s husband dies, she realises she will have to sell Knighton, the beautiful old house where her mother came as a bride and where her own daughter, Hester, had grown up. The move triggers the revelation of family secrets which each woman had been harbouring.

Simple, down-to-earth, beautiful stories from the classic American author. This collection is an excellent study in human character. Each story brings you deeply into it's centre and you feel you are there, watching the tale unfold.

A book of special appeal to all women, this is set in the early years of the Second World War when domestic help was unavailable. Mrs Fairlaw, a cultured well-to-do woman in her fifties faces up to the problem of managing house and family on her own. She meets both trouble and tragedy with fortitude.

Rose Brown’s husband was killed at Dunkirk and, to help her cope with her grief, she volunteers as a postwoman. After a bombing raid she rescues a young boy from a damaged house and takes him home.

Tired of being a poor relation to England's upper crust, Lady Fortescue persuades the equally down-and-out Colonel Sandhurst to help her open a posh hotel. The establishment is an immediate hit with London's most illustrious citizens, save the Duke of Rowcester, Lady Fortescue's nephew. He believes that his aunt's entry into the trade will denigrate their family name, and is determined to shut the hotel down.  Book 1 of series.

In this book the elves are a persecuted minority, forced to live separately from everyone else. Yorsh, the central character, finds a prophecy in a cave and sets out on a journey which will have great significance.

Josie, despite being abandoned at birth, had a happy childhood in a children's home. But at fifteen, a distressing encounter leads to her running away. The years that follow see a determined young Josie find her way in the world both at home and abroad, ultimately leading to an epic journey.

Lisa has sworn off love after a bad experience, but now she’s tempted to take a chance on a more exciting life. She plans a special road trip to Cornwall, in search of where her favourite TV show is being filmed. But can she find friendship, as well as a certain sexy hunk on her trip south? Quick Reads.

In 1919, Nancy Astor became the first woman to take a seat in Parliament. She would prove to be a trailblazer and beacon for the generations of women who would follow her into Parliament. This unforgettable woman was destined to leave a deep and lasting imprint on the political life of our nation.

The beautiful town of Bellevue-sur-Mer near Cannes, is home to five retired expats who have pooled their resources to set up La Mosaïque, a divine little restaurant. But there is trouble in paradise: the friends are desperately struggling to make ends meet, and they realise it will take every bit of their talent and gumption to save La Mosaïque.

The beautiful town of Bellevue-sur-Mer near Cannes, is home to five retired expats who have pooled their resources to set up La Mosaïque, a divine little restaurant. Snapping up a local property and throwing themselves into preparations, Theresa, Carol, William and Benjamin's plans are proceeding unnervingly well. But when Theresa encounters a mysterious intruder, she begins to wonder what secrets the building is concealing.

Ali Bobrow is an other-worldly single parent with a fraught nine year old daughter, a malevolent 'ex', and an underused artistic talent. Then she meets Noah Glazer, a solid man of science, who walks into her over-populated life bringing good sense, order and security. But ten years on, Ali is drawn back into the complexities of her past: an old lover, two ex-spouses, and a colleague from clown school, all help to rock the boat.

Theresa is desperate for a change. Forced into early retirement, she sells her house and moves to a picture-perfect town, just outside Nice. But life is never as simple as it seems, and when skeletons fall out of several closets, Theresa starts to wonder if life on the French Riviera is quite as nice as it first appeared.

A series of poems that explore the nature of change - in the body and the natural world, and in the shifting relationships between people. By turns grave and playful, arresting and witty, the poems celebrate each waking moment as though it might be the last, and in so doing restore wonder to the smallest of encounters. Costa Book of the Year Winner.

Brenda Walker has written a memoir which will entice not only close family but all readers, who will find that her ‘One Life’ has in fact spanned a rich variety of lives.

This book vividly recalls her personal history with humour and thoughtful reflection – from memories of the post-war years as a child, coloured with early impressions of her Victorian born relatives, Granny Harrington and Pusey.

There are cameo appearances of Morecambe and Wise, Barbara Windsor and Shirley Eaton, from her formative years studying dance and stage skills at the Aida Foster theatre school. Brenda’s experience modelling and in performance helped shape a young woman destined for more than an ordinary life: aged just 17 she became an office assistant in Spain, and in the 1960s, an airhostess following her heart to Jersey for more adventures.

When Amy and Effie Tribble, two charming but impoverished spinster sisters, lose out on an inheritance, they decide to hire themselves out as professional chaperones, vowing to prepare even the most difficult misses for marriage. But Felicity Baronsheath, their first assignment, turns out to be more of a challenge than they could have ever imagined, and the Tribbles begin to fear that her season - and their new business venture - will end in disaster.  Book 1 of series.

A varied collection of stories ranging in date from 1909 to 1986 including works by Katherine Mansfield, Irène Némirovsky, Mollie Panter-Downes, Elizabeth Berridge, Dorothy Whipple, Frances Towers, Margaret Bonham, Diana Gardner and Diana Athill.

For thirty years Kate Mayfield has been keeping a dreadful secret. When she receives a letter from Mrs Ivanisovic she realises that her secret is no longer safe.

Suzy Marshall and Amanda Herbert meet on an Atlantic cruise. As the two women set sail on a new adventure, neither can possibly predict the strange characters and dodgy dealings they will encounter - nor the unexpected rewards they will reap.

Artist's daughter Penelope Keeling has had a full and varied life: a Bohemian childhood in London and Cornwall, an unhappy wartime marriage, and the one man she truly loved. When she discovers that her most treasured possession, her father's painting, The Shell Seekers, is now worth a small fortune, Penelope must make decisions that may split apart her family.

An impetuous decision to marry has left the young Lady Caroline widowed and with two estates in her name. Her younger sister is falling in love with a man who is notoriously unfaithful, but refuses to believe it. And so Caroline hires the charming Captain Burnside to distract her. He seems the perfect man to tear Annabelle away from her infatuation. But things don’t go quite according to plan…

After a lifetime of obedience and subservience, the purchase of a sky blue tee shirt marks a new direction in Belle's life. She can now be the person she truly is and find the path she wants to follow, although she will need to be brave and determined to succeed.