Literary Fiction

Volume 3 contains novels seven to nine of the Dance To The Music Of Time sequence.

Anthony Powell’s brilliant twelve-novel sequence chronicles the lives of over three hundred characters, and is a unique evocation of life in twentieth-century England. It is unrivalled for its scope, its humour and the enormous pleasure it has given to generations.

In this volume, containing books seven to nine of the sequence, Powell follows Nicholas Jenkins and a host of familar and newer characters through the strains, absurdities and preoccupations of England at war.

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***The instant Sunday Times bestseller***

‘Love, mess, secrets; this story of four generations of women is shot through with Ruth Jones’s warmth and wisdom.’ JOJO MOYES

‘A hug in a book’ Prima

‘Her best book yet’ Woman & Home

‘Compassionate, wise and life-affirming’ The Observer

The funny, moving and uplifting new novel from Ruth Jones, co-creator of Gavin & Stacey and author of the Sunday Times bestsellers Never Greener and Us Three.

Grace is about to turn ninety and she doesn’t want parties or presents or fuss. She just wants a quiet celebration: her daily swim in the sea and a cup of tea with granddaughter Elin and great-granddaughter Beca. More than anything, she wants to heal the family rift that’s been breaking her heart for decades.

And to do that she must find her daughter, Alys – the only person who can help to put things right.

But thirty years is a long time.

And many words have been left unsaid.

So is it too late now to heal the pain of the past?

This is a story about mothers and daughters: the love inherent in that bond and the heartache that miscommunication can bring. More than anything, it’s about the importance of being true to oneself. Meet Grace, Alys, Elin and Beca – a family you’ll come to know, and to love.

PRAISE FOR RUTH JONES

‘Heartfelt, joyful, brave, utterly compelling’ RACHEL JOYCE
‘I adored it’ JOANNA CANNON
‘Joyful, life-affirming’ ADELE PARKS
‘Beautifully warm and totally absorbing. I cried and I laughed. I adored it’ JANE FALLON

WHAT READERS ARE SAYING

*’Good grief. This is truly a novel that pulled on every last emotion.’
*’Warm-hearted, beautiful and heartbreaking.’
*’Ruth’s best book yet… entertaining and incredibly moving.’
*’A gorgeous, emotional read that I was completely immersed in.’
*’I’m absolutely gutted it’s over… loved every single page.’

** Sunday Times bestseller July 2023 **

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A sweet scavenging orphan. Shady dangerous dockland deals. And a secret love shining a Christmas light in the darkness…

It is 1861. On the docks of England, the promise of Christmas seems distant, drowned out by the clinking coins of wartime trade. The distant American Civil War casts its long shadow of prosperity and poverty across the ocean.

But while Liverpool’s merchants thrive the working class suffers. Amidst this bustling backdrop of shady deals and profiteering, Hester Grace, an orphaned young woman, ekes out a living by scavenging the Albert Dock’s treasures.

All the while her heart belongs to Robert Burrows, a dockland baker promised to another’s love.

Hester’s affection remains a well-guarded secret until the fateful night she stumbles upon a treacherous truth that could shatter the man she adores. In a city where power brokers stop at nothing to protect their interests, Hester faces an agonising choice.

Should she bury her feelings and watch Robert walk into danger’s embrace? Or will this humble orphan girl dare to challenge the consuming darkness that threatens them all?

Enter a Christmas saga filled with passion, secrets, and tough moral choices, where love and loyalty collide in the grimy docklands of Victorian England.

A heart-wrenching Christmas romance that will keep you eagerly turning the pages all the way to a tear-jerking happy ever after.

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‘One of my favourite reads of 2023… you just have to read it. Absolutely brilliant.’ Reader review, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

When a ramshackle cliffside farmhouse comes on the market on the island of Anglesey, Nan Green is determined to make it the family home of her dreams. After convincing her reluctant husband Robin to make the move, Nan sets out to restore the tumbledown house to its former glory, just like she remembers it from childhood holidays on the island.

As she settles into coastal life, Nan learns that her new home comes with a secret past that’s somehow connected to her mother, who won’t even step across the threshold and refuses to explain why. At the same time, Robin grows ever more distant, working away for weeks at a time, leaving her to care for their twin girls alone.

Devoting all her energy to transforming the old house, Nan’s wounds gradually start to heal, new friendships grow, and family secrets are set free. Soon Nan learns that her dream was about more than a perfect home by the sea. It was about finding out how to finally be happy…

Fans of Susanne O’Leary, Amanda Prowse, Liz Eeles and Sheila O’Flanagan will adore The Forgotten Farmhouse by the Sea.

What readers are saying about The Forgotten Farmhouse by the Sea:

‘One of my most favourite reads of 2023… you just have to read it. Absolutely brilliant.’ Reader review, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

‘Outstanding… be prepared to shelve any other plans whilst you are reading this book.’ Reader review, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

‘Captured my heart… you won’t want to put this one down!’ Reader review ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

‘Sweeps the reader away… you will cheer for our main character and love the description of her life in Anglesey… I read it in one sitting.’ Reader review, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

‘I literally binged it overnight… hits you right in the feels… gets a hearty recommendation from me!’ Reader review, ⭐⭐⭐⭐

‘Found myself reading late into the night… beautiful, compassionate.’ Reader review, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

‘Read it in one day… I just could not stop reading.’ Reader review, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

‘Truly marvellous… kept me pinned to the pages until the wee hours.’ Reader review ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

‘Love love love… draws you in immediately and gets you so invested in each character’s story… could not recommend it enough!’ Reader review ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

‘Amazing… a lovely, cosy read for those autumn nights.’ Reader review ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

‘Beautifully written, captivating… grasps your attention to the very last page.’ Reader review ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

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I’ve been in love with Dr. Grant Brighton for four long years.

He’s tall. Gorgeous. Brilliant. An amazing single dad.

He’s also straight, uninterested in dating someone ten years younger than him, and, tragically, *my boss*.

If I’d known taking the nanny position would mean mangling my heart, I might never have accepted his offer, but I love the Brighton family so I’ve resigned myself to never living the fairytale…

At least until the Dean of Admissions at the girls’ dream school says only families with two parents need apply, and in desperation, Grant makes me a different offer: to be his on-paper *husband*.

With things heating up between us and my heart hanging in the balance, how can I convince Grant to make me the proposal I really want: to turn this marriage of convenience into a real-life happily-ever-after?

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One life changing decision: your husband or your one true love?

—————-

On a perfect August morning, Elle Bishop heads out for a swim in the pond below ‘The Paper Palace’ – her family’s holiday home in Cape Cod. As she dives beneath the water she relives the passionate encounter she had the night before, against the side of the house that knows all her darkest secrets, while her husband and mother chatted to their guests inside…

So begins a story that unfolds over twenty-four hours and fifty years, as Elle’s shocking betrayal leads her to a life-changing decision.

A PAGE-TURNING SUMMER READ FOR FANS OF WHERE THE CRAWDADS SING AND LITTLE FIRES EVERYWHERE

—————-

Readers have been gripped by THE PAPER PALACE:

***** ‘I devoured this book in a couple of days’

***** ‘I fell in love with the characters’

***** ‘A heart-rending love story filled with so many complications’

Sunday Times Bestseller, September 2022

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Maisie will do anything to save her sister, Abigail. But secrets from the past put them in danger, and a powerful person with a reputation to protect is determined to stop her…

Scavenging in the mud by day, and sewing by night, Maisie Griffin knows that hard work is the only way to keep her family together. With her ma unwell, and her little sister Abigail to care for, it’s a struggle to keep a roof over their heads.

Life takes a different turn when Maisie and Abigail are sent to live with her aunt and uncle, Edith and Josiah, at The Jolly Sailor Inn. Maisie dreams of having her own dressmaking shop, but serving ale under spiteful Aunt Edith’s strict rules is Maisie’s harsh reality. The only thing that makes it bearable is her friendship with Jack Piper and his family.

But when a well-to-do couple calls at the inn one day, it sparks a chain of events that will change their lives forever.

And Maisie has a secret – a secret so valuable it threatens to expose a wealthy and powerful man who is determined to protect his reputation at any cost.

When the past catches up with Maisie, she is swept into a new life with a family she never knew she had.

And when Abigail runs away, it’s a race against time to save her.

Can Maisie trust the people who say they want to help? Prepared to risk everything, will she reunite her family against all the odds…

The Runaway Sister is a page-turning, heart-warming saga romance, full of gritty drama, courage, heartache, and hope, that will linger in your mind long after you finish it.

Another feel-good historical family saga by Daisy Carter, the popular bestselling author of The Narrowboat Orphans, The Pit Girl’s Scandal, and more. Fans of Dilly Court, Lindsey Hutchinson, and Rosie Goodwin will adore this thrilling and unforgettable story.

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THE INSTANT SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER

‘A genuinely thought-provoking piece of fiction’ THE TIMES
‘Extraordinary’ WILLIAM BOYD
‘Profoundly moving . . . a wonderful and life-affirming love story’ JAMES HOLLAND
‘His greatest novel yet’ ANTONY BEEVOR
‘Original and enthralling’ PETER JAMES
‘A beautifully written novel. On the one hand you have love, kindness, responsibility; on the other monstrous arrogance and indifference to consequences’ SCOTSMAN

A CHILD WILL BE BORN WHO WILL CHANGE EVERYTHING

When a young American academic Talissa Adam offers to carry another woman’s child, she has no idea of the life-changing consequences.

Behind the doors of the Parn Institute, a billionaire entrepreneur plans to stretch the boundaries of ethics as never before. Through a series of IVF treatments, which they hope to keep secret, they propose an experiment that will upend the human race as we know it.

Seth, the baby, is delivered to hopeful parents Mary and Alaric, but when his differences start to mark him out from his peers, he begins to attract unwanted attention.

The Seventh Son is a spectacular examination of what it is to be human. It asks the question: just because you can do something, does it mean you should? Sweeping between New York, London, and the Scottish Highlands, this is an extraordinary novel about unrequited love and unearned power.

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Hunter Jackson’s Sage Advice for a Happy Thanksgiving

When your turkey-thieving, town-abandoning, former childhood friend reappears in Licking Thicket after fifteen long years, looking like a snack and smelling like all your favorite treats put together, it might be tempting to, well, dig in.

Don’t.

And when your plan to teach the man a lesson goes spectacularly awry, becoming less of a wattle-wearing walk of shame around the Thicket’s Thanksgiving festival and more of a sexy turkey-twerk in a skin-tight bird costume featuring the hottest pair of drumsticks the town’s ever seen, you might think it’s time to get over your feud and, well, take a bite.

Resist.

But when Charlton Nutter finally shows you the sweet, pure heart he’s hiding under all his fine, big-city feathers, and you realize, thanks to the town’s meddling matchmakers, that the man is hungry for the kind of love and belonging that only the Thicket can provide, you might decide that both of you have been acting like a pair of turkeys, and in that case you should…

Gobble. Him. Up.

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