A Place to Call Home: Utterly Heart-wrenching and Uplifting Historical Fiction
Title | A Place to Call Home: Utterly Heart-wrenching and Uplifting Historical Fiction PDF eBook |
Author | Lizzie Page |
Publisher | Shilling Grange Children's Hom |
Pages | 414 |
Release | 2022-02-17 |
Genre | Fiction |
ISBN | 9781803140339 |
Shilling Grange Orphanage, England, 1949. She would do anything to protect the innocent children in her care. But soon they could be sent into danger... When Clara Newton's fiancé died during World War Two, she thought her life was over. But now she looks after orphans who, like her, lost everything during the war. Children like sweet little Peg who won't speak, and Joyce whose body was scarred by polio. Clara loves them all dearly, even though life as a housemother can be lonely - especially now that Ivor, a D-Day war hero with dark brown eyes who once helped with the children, has disappeared... But then Clara receives some terrible news. The orphanage is going to be sold and the children sent far away. Joyce and Peg will be taken to a notorious home for disabled children. The others will be sent to Australia, where Clara fears they will be mistreated by unknown families. Any day now, the children could lose everything she worked so hard to provide... With wealthy buyers lined up to purchase Shilling Grange and a ship already docked waiting to carry the children away, Clara is desperate. She must find loving new homes for them quickly, but time is running out... Can she save the orphans before they lose everything all over again? And even if Ivor returns when she needs him the most, will it be too late? A completely heart-wrenching and unforgettable historical novel, set after the devastation of World War Two. Perfect for fans of Before We Were Yours, Diney Costeloe and The Orphan Sisters. What readers are saying about Lizzie Page: 'What an emotional read!... At parts I found myself shouting "no". At others I just cried... Absolutely loved it.' Goodreads reviewer ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 'My heart is full! Oh, I adored this book so much!... There were moments of pure joy and the book left me feeling uplifted and with a full heart.' Motherhood for Slackers ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 'Exceptional... hits you for six... I am over the moon... brilliantly written and you fall in love... a feel good book that will make you cry... oh my word I loved this.' Goodreads reviewer ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 'Wow... this book is outstanding... I couldn't put it down.' Goodreads reviewer ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 'I took to all the children with all my heart, such an emotional tale... full of love, compassion and humour... a truly remarkable touching story.' Goodreads reviewer ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 'Absolutely loved this... I could hardly bear to finish it... Highly recommend!' Jill Mansell ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 'It took me about two pages to fall in love with Clara... this book just kept me wanting to know more.' Goodreads reviewer ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 'This book warmed my heart... Each character is so very special. You will laugh at their childish pranks, their little escapades and cheer at their successes... A delightful, heart-warming story.' Goodreads reviewer ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
The Orphanage
Title | The Orphanage PDF eBook |
Author | Lizzie Page |
Publisher | Forever |
Pages | 0 |
Release | 2024-06-25 |
Genre | |
ISBN | 9781538766088 |
A gritty, heartbreaking story of love and hope in the darkest of times, perfect for readers of Erika Robuck and Shirley Dickson. Shilling Grange Orphanage, England, 1948: Clara Newton is the new housemother of Shilling Grange Orphanage. Many of the children have been bombed out of their homes and left without families, their lives torn apart by the war, just like Clara's. Devastated by the loss of her fiancé, a brave American pilot, Clara needs a place to start again and the orphans are in desperate need of her help. But funds are short, children cry out in the night, and the tearful girls tells Clara terrible stories about the nuns who previously ran Shilling Grange. Clara cannot bear to see them suffer, yet it soon becomes clear that she's in over her head. But Clara is not completely alone. Living next door is Ivor: war hero and handyman with deep brown eyes. Having grown up at the orphanage, he's also hesitant to trust anyone. Yet his gentle voice and bottomless patience helps him soothe the orphans better than anyone. With his help, the orphans--and Clara--have someone to give them hope. But does she dare she open her heart to love again?
When I Was Yours
Title | When I Was Yours PDF eBook |
Author | Lizzie Page |
Publisher | Bookouture |
Pages | 358 |
Release | 2019-04-16 |
Genre | |
ISBN | 9781786819499 |
We stand in the back of the hall as the children troop in. Big ones, little ones. Straggly hair, cropped hair, curls... the adults surge forward to choose and soon there is just one child left, a little girl sitting on the floor. She is thin as a string bean and her sleeve is ragged and damp - like she's been chewing it. 1939. War has broken out - hundreds of children are evacuated to the countryside to keep them safe from the bombs raining down on the cities. Wrenched from her family in the East End and sent more than a hundred miles away, seven-year-old Pearl Posner must adapt to a new life away from everything familiar. Vivienne didn't ask for an evacuee child. In fact, she's not sure her heart can take it. So many years, so many disappointments... Vivi's ability to feel love left her the day she learned the truth about her husband Edmund, and when she made the worst decision of her life and left her cherished sister to her fate. But like it or not, Pearl is here to stay, and what with the rumours about what's happening to children in mainland Europe, it might be the last safe place for her. As Pearl and Vivi learn how to live together, they discover that they have a connection that runs more deeply than they could ever have guessed - from before Pearl was born, and deep into Vivienne's past. And will it be Pearl - the little girl who says so little and sees so much - who forces Vivi to finally confront what happened in her marriage... and to the long-lost sister she loved so dearly and let fall so far, just when she needed Vivi most? A beautiful and emotional wartime historical novel - heartbreaking, moving and unforgettable. Perfect for fans of Orphan Train and Before We Were Yours. Readers absolutely love Lizzie Page: 'Once in a while a book comes along that just burrows its way into the heart of me, that stirs my soul. This is one such book... I spent quite a bit of this book trying to swallow the lump in my throat or wiping my eyes... God, I could gush and gush... Her writing is sublime, her plotting is perfection and her characters are fantastic. This is one special book.' Short Book and Scribes, 5 stars 'Made me feel so emotional... This was such a wonderful read, which certainly tugged at my heart-strings. I loved this author's writing and it was so realistic that I felt like I was actually there. A perfect read and a perfect tribute to the wonderful women who did their duty as War Nurses.' Stardust Book Reviews
Loving Frank
Title | Loving Frank PDF eBook |
Author | Nancy Horan |
Publisher | Ballantine Books |
Pages | 384 |
Release | 2007-08-07 |
Genre | Fiction |
ISBN | 0345502256 |
I have been standing on the side of life, watching it float by. I want to swim in the river. I want to feel the current. So writes Mamah Borthwick Cheney in her diary as she struggles to justify her clandestine love affair with Frank Lloyd Wright. Four years earlier, in 1903, Mamah and her husband, Edwin, had commissioned the renowned architect to design a new home for them. During the construction of the house, a powerful attraction developed between Mamah and Frank, and in time the lovers, each married with children, embarked on a course that would shock Chicago society and forever change their lives. In this ambitious debut novel, fact and fiction blend together brilliantly. While scholars have largely relegated Mamah to a footnote in the life of America’s greatest architect, author Nancy Horan gives full weight to their dramatic love story and illuminates Cheney’s profound influence on Wright. Drawing on years of research, Horan weaves little-known facts into a compelling narrative, vividly portraying the conflicts and struggles of a woman forced to choose between the roles of mother, wife, lover, and intellectual. Horan’s Mamah is a woman seeking to find her own place, her own creative calling in the world. Mamah’s is an unforgettable journey marked by choices that reshape her notions of love and responsibility, leading inexorably ultimately lead to this novel’s stunning conclusion. Elegantly written and remarkably rich in detail, Loving Frank is a fitting tribute to a courageous woman, a national icon, and their timeless love story. BONUS: This edition includes an excerpt from Nancy Horan's Under the Wide and Starry Sky. Advance praise for Loving Frank: “Loving Frank is one of those novels that takes over your life. It’s mesmerizing and fascinating–filled with complex characters, deep passions, tactile descriptions of astonishing architecture, and the colorful immediacy of daily life a hundred years ago–all gathered into a story that unfolds with riveting urgency.” –Lauren Belfer, author of City of Light “This graceful, assured first novel tells the remarkable story of the long-lived affair between Frank Lloyd Wright, a passionate and impossible figure, and Mamah Cheney, a married woman whom Wright beguiled and led beyond the restraint of convention. It is engrossing, provocative reading.” ——Scott Turow “It takes great courage to write a novel about historical people, and in particular to give voice to someone as mythic as Frank Lloyd Wright. This beautifully written novel about Mamah Cheney and Frank Lloyd Wright’s love affair is vivid and intelligent, unsentimental and compassionate.” ——Jane Hamilton “I admire this novel, adore this novel, for so many reasons: The intelligence and lyricism of the prose. The attention to period detail. The epic proportions of this most fascinating love story. Mamah Cheney has been in my head and heart and soul since reading this book; I doubt she’ ll ever leave.” –Elizabeth Berg
A Place Called Freedom
Title | A Place Called Freedom PDF eBook |
Author | Ken Follett |
Publisher | Fawcett |
Pages | 468 |
Release | 2010-11-17 |
Genre | Fiction |
ISBN | 0307775194 |
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER Scotland, 1766. Sentenced to a life of misery in the brutal coal mines, twenty-one-year-old Mack McAsh hungers for escape. His only ally: the beautiful, highborn Lizzie Hallim, who is trapped in her own kind of hell. Though separated by politics and position, these two restless young people are bound by their passionate search for a place called freedom. From the teeming streets of London to the infernal hold of a slave ship to a sprawling Virginia plantation, Ken Follett’s turbulent, unforgettable novel of liberty and revolution brings together a vivid cast of heroes and villains, lovers and rebels, hypocrites and hell-raisers—all propelled by destiny toward an epic struggle that will change their lives forever.
The Letter
Title | The Letter PDF eBook |
Author | Kathryn Hughes |
Publisher | Review |
Pages | 301 |
Release | 2015-03-19 |
Genre | Fiction |
ISBN | 1783069171 |
Every so often a love story comes along to remind us that sometimes, in our darkest hour, hope shines a candle to light our way. 🕯️ This Number One bestseller has captured thousands of hearts worldwide. Perfect for fans of The Notebook by Nicholas Sparks. 'A wonderful, uplifting story' Lesley Pearse _______ Tina Craig longs to escape her violent husband. She works all the hours God sends to save up enough money to leave him, also volunteering in a charity shop to avoid her unhappy home. Whilst going through the pockets of a second-hand suit, she comes across an old letter, the envelope firmly sealed and unfranked. Tina opens the letter and reads it - a decision that will alter the course of her life for ever... Billy Stirling knows he has been a fool, but hopes he can put things right. On 4th September 1939 he sits down to write the letter he hopes will change his future. It does - in more ways than he can ever imagine... THE LETTER tells the story of two women, born decades apart, whose paths are destined to cross, and how one woman's devastation leads to the other's salvation. _______ Join the hundreds of thousands of readers worldwide who have fallen in love with THE LETTER: 'An amazing, heartwrenching, unforgettable story' 'This beautiful story will bring tears and joy' 'Loved this story !! It kept me totally gripped although I was sobbing in places as well' 'A tale of love and hope with lots of twists and turns. A great story!'
A Place Called Winter
Title | A Place Called Winter PDF eBook |
Author | Patrick Gale |
Publisher | Grand Central Publishing |
Pages | 315 |
Release | 2016-03-22 |
Genre | Fiction |
ISBN | 1455594067 |
"Patrick Gale has written a book which manages to be both tender and epic, and carries the unmistakable tang of a true story. I loved it." -- Jojo Moyes A privileged elder son, and stammeringly shy, Harry Cane has followed convention at every step. Even the beginnings of an illicit, dangerous affair do little to shake the foundations of his muted existence - until the shock of discovery and the threat of arrest cost him everything. Forced to abandon his wife and child, Harry signs up for emigration to the newly colonised Canadian prairies. Remote and unforgiving, his allotted homestead in a place called Winter is a world away from the golden suburbs of turn-of-the-century Edwardian England. And yet it is here, isolated in a seemingly harsh landscape, under the threat of war, madness and an evil man of undeniable magnetism that the fight for survival will reveal in Harry an inner strength and capacity for love beyond anything he has ever known before. In this exquisite journey of self-discovery, loosely based on a real life family mystery, Patrick Gale has created an epic, intimate human drama, both brutal and breathtaking. This is a novel of secrets, sexuality and, ultimately, of great love.