Showing results by narrator "Annie Aldington" in All Categories

Social standing is everything in Regency England—and no one knows better than Miss Caroline Morton, a lady's companion from a disgraced line. But when she has a chance to claim what's rightfully hers, the one obstacle in her way is a dangerous murder mystery....

The heartwarming and nostalgic new novel from the Sunday Times Top Ten bestselling author of The Beggar Maid. Motherless since she was five, Mirabel Cutler was raised by her father to be a lady. But when he dies suddenly, Mirabel finds herself cast out on the street by her ruthless stepmother...

Crime is a man's business, so they say, though not according to Queenie Dove. A self-proclaimed genius when it comes to thieving and escape, she reckons she's done pretty well. Yes, she had a tough childhood in London's East End. But she survived the Blitz, learned how to get by on her wits, and soon graduated from shoplifting to more glamorous crimes. Daring, clever and sexy, she thrived in the Soho of the Krays and the clubs of Mayfair, fell wildly in love, and got away with it all. Or did she? For beneath Queenie's vivacious, unrepentant account lies another story....

It is winter in London. Eliza Cummings, a ceramics restorer at the V&A Museum, is leaving work when she receives a phone call which draws her back 25 years - to the night Rose died. But why does Rose’s father want her to visit him when they both know that he blames her for what happened to his daughter? Grief and guilt cast terrible shadows, but as this beautifully wrought story unfolds we learn that generosity, humour, and friendship can smooth over and restore even the most broken lives....

Hope Randall has lived a quiet life. But that peace is about to be broken. When a stranger turns up on her doorstep telling Hope she has a half-sister, her instinct is to turn him away. But Michael Flint won’t give up that easily - he believes Hope’s sister, Connie, is in serious trouble. Connie’s childhood was a world away from Hope’s comfortable upbringing - she’s endured poverty, hardship and abandonment. Connie’s future doesn’t look much brighter.

The three Bentley children are used to fending for themselves. Their widowed mother has been forced to take a night job at Grant's clothing factory and sees them only at breakfast and on Sundays. But at nearly 18, with a job of her own, Dora is well able to look after her younger siblings. Then one morning their mother fails to appear for breakfast.

All her short life, 11-year-old Rose Webster has encountered closed doors. Growing up in the slums of London with her siblings, trying to avoid their violent, drunken father, she develops an insatiable thirst for knowledge, and becomes convinced that she and her loved ones deserve better. All Rose has is a quick mind and the will to survive. Can she open that door and seize the chance to make something of herself?

Queenie Bonner is only two when she is taken from her large family in the slums to a big house in the country. Frightened and confused, she yearns for her nine brothers and sisters, especially her favourite brother, Harry. Albert and Mary Warrender rename her Eleanor, bringing her up as their own, and as time passes, Ellie forgets about her other family.

Born into poverty and hardship, Ruby Skinner's decision to approach the unscrupulous East End villain, Donald McCoy, for help, ends in disaster. In a desperate bid to move her ailing mother to the fresh air of the countryside, she realises that she has made a huge mistake, which will shape the rest of her life. Robert Thornton, a wealthy business man, also had the misfortune of suffering from the under hand dealings with McCoy, and when curiosity forces him to pursue Ruby Skinner, the barriers which divide the social classes of the 19th century are put to test by the power of love.

London, 1941. The East End Angels - Frankie, Bella and Winnie - are settled into life as ambulance crew members at LAAS Station Seventy-Five. The threat of air raids and other atrocities are a constant worry, but life continues regardless, and the weight of responsibility weighs heavy on each of them. Frankie's grandfather is unwell, and she promised him she would always look after Ivy, her stepgrandmother, but things between the two women are becoming increasingly strained. And then Frankie discovers something that turns everything she thought she knew about herself on its head.

Lily Larkin is the youngest of six and the least important member of her family. With their father dead and their mother a stranger to them, she must stay at home and keep house whilst her elder siblings go out to work. As she goes about her daily chores, her head is full of dreams. And she...

On the surface, Ruby Gallagher has the perfect life: an adoring husband, Manny, a beautiful home and a luxury lifestyle that involves shopping, holidays and not much else. It's safe, predictable - exactly what she needs after her turbulent past. Until one day it all collapses as Manny is arrested for fraud. And it seems it's not only his business deals that have been shady - Ruby discovers he's been hiding a mistress and son too.

Edwin Spencer has enough problems at school as it is, without strange voices calling him into another dimension! But when he is sucked into the peculiar kingdom of Hysteria on a secret mission he feels very at home. This could be his chance at last to be a hero-even if he does have Perpetua Allright ,school swot, as his sidekick.

As World War II breaks out, four friends from London’s East End consider the changes that war will mean for all of them. Tomboyish Becky Adams plans to join the ATS, her neighbours Bob and Jim the navy and army respectively. Only Becky’s brother, Will, is left out of the excitement; because of a slight physical disability, he is forced to stay behind, working as a cub reporter on a newspaper.

Rose Paton doesn't think she'll be singing at The White Horse for much longer. After all, she's got good looks, youth and talent on her side. But when mysterious stranger Marcus Bennley asks her to be his birthday present to his sister Marie – by singing at her party – she accepts. It won't lead to greater things, but it will lead to half a guinea. To Rose's excitement, the party is more than she could ever have hoped for.

Like most in London's 1920s East End, Joan Baldwin has her crosses to bear. Her greatest by far is her husband: a violent drinker and gambler. When he perishes, Joan is surprised by her sudden freedom. She finds a housekeeping job in Kent, and when her employer dies, leaving her 200 guineas, Joan is able to start her own dressmaking business. Then she meets Eric Roussel, a charismatic businessman, and it looks like happiness will finally be hers. But is he a little too slick to be trusted?

Margaret Woodruff is slowly dying in a care home. When her son is presented with the chance of exceptional care in her final months, he finds the offer hard to resist. Winifred is assigned to Margaret’s care. She’s a Helper: a new kind of carer that’s capable, committed and completely tireless - because she’s a synthetic human being. Under Winifred’s care Margaret’s health improves beyond everyone’s expectations, and Winifred begins to learn from Margaret what it means to be alive. But how will Winifred use what she learns from Margaret - and what does she truly want from her?

Pretty seventeen-year-old Greta has never known a stable family life. With no father, and loathing her mother Ruby's latest boyfriend, Greta finds life hard at home and is happiest at work with her friends at the Cadbury factory in Birmingham where she is popular with the boys. Life takes a turn...

After Nancy Richards is sent to prison, her daughter Jeanie is placed in the care of Edna Baker, a respected figure in London’s East End. Under Edna’s roof, Jeanie should be safe. That changes when a corrupt copper threatens to send her to Laxville Children’s Home.

Shortlisted for Historical Romantic Novel in the Romantic Novelists Association Books Awards Birmingham, almost a decade after the end of the Great War, and the women of Lilac Street have had more than their fair share of troubles . . . Rose Southgate is trapped in a loveless marriage. Shy and...