Heather Stewart

Sophie Mills has worked her Manolo Blahniks off to reach the near-top of her profession. And she's very happy with her priorities in life: her job, her neurotic cat Artemis, and her passion for shoes. Then one day an unexpected visitor brings news of a strange inheritance and suddenly, out of the blue, she is in sole charge of two children under the age of six. Within 24 hours, her make-up is smeared all over the bathroom and Sophie is in despair. She’ll need more than a business plan to cope with all this...

The year was 1765. Eminent botanist Philibert Commerson had just been appointed to a grand new expedition: the first French circumnavigation of the world. Jeanne Baret, Commerson's young mistress and collaborator, was desperate not to be left behind. She disguised herself as a teenage boy and signed on as his assistant. The journey made the twenty-six-year-old, known to her shipmates as "Jean" rather than "Jeanne," the first woman to ever sail around the globe. Yet so little is known about this extraordinary woman, whose accomplishments were considered to be subversive, even impossible for someone of her sex and class. Anchored in impeccable original research and bursting with unforgettable characters and exotic settings, The Discovery of Jeanne Baret offers this forgotten heroine a chance to bloom at long last.

Since her mother's death Jennifer has devoted her life to her father, managing the family home and acting as his secretary. After the sudden announcement that he has taken a new wife, Jennifer, at 33, seizes the opportunity to lead an independent life. She secures the lease of Rose Cottage and turns her attention to her own needs and interests. With a humorous tone, this novel explores the familial and societal expectations placed on single women during the interwar years.

On a sunny morning in March 1987, four-year-old Stephen Nelson welcomes his new baby sister, Emily. Holding her for the first time, he vows to love and protect her, and to keep her safe forever. Nearly thirty years later, the two have lost touch and Stephen is homeless. Emily, however, has never given up hope of finding her brother again and when he arrives at the council office where she works, her wish comes true. But there is a reason the two were estranged. As the two embark on a birding trip together, Emily is haunted by long-buried memories of a single June day, fifteen years earlier; a day that changed everything. 

Grace is autistic and has her own way of looking at the world. She's got a horse and a best friend who understand her, and that's pretty much all she needs. But when Grace kisses Gabe and things start to change at home, the world doesn't make much sense to her any more.

Suddenly everything threatens to fall apart, and it's up to Grace to fix it on her own.