Historical Homes

A rancher in need of a wife or he loses everything. A promise to her grandfather to be a mail order bride just may be unfulfilled. Briggs Blackwood is stuck between a rock and a hard place. While ranching is in his blood, and he loves it, he has to meet one requirement to take over the BW Ranch: get married and produce at least one grandchild within five years of his mother's death. Briggs never wanted to get married. Not being able to find a woman who sparks his interest, he gives up trying to find a bride. Hoping his father changes his mind, Briggs waits until the very last minute to ...

Can a wealthy businessman find love as a mail order groom? Julian Baptiste was determined to find a love as epic as that of his parents. As the son of a freedwoman and a wealthy Union solider, Julian was unique among the glittering upper 400 of New York Society. Shrewd in business and discrete with his affairs, Julian was not a man to be trifled with. Until her. One glimpse of Violet Shield and Julian is haunted. As the cook of the boarding house where he is staying while visiting his sister Julie and her two husbands, Violet is a breath of fresh air.

In the midst of the Great Depression, Cassandra Scheimer is trying to keep the family farm afloat in the Big Woods of Wisconsin...alone. As a local midwife and struggling backwoods doctor, she certainly doesn't need more mouths to feed. Stephanie Evans is a widow enceinte with her third child. She accepts a kind stranger’s offer of marriage in exchange for keeping house for him...but he never shows up to claim her. While dealing with unrequited guilt and the desperation of impoverished motherhood, moving in and consequentially falling in love with Cass is the least of her worries.

Arriving back in her hometown after spending some time training at the Infirmary for Women in New York, Maud can't wait to put her newfound skills to the test. But in a city built and run by men she must work hard to be accepted. Whilst her nurse friends welcome her back with open arms, there are others who do not wish her well, including the spiteful Nancy Sellers. She will stop at nothing to sabotage Maud's life and soon turns her attention to those Maud holds most dear.

Anglo-Saxon England, AD 997. Brother Galen is anxious about leaving the haven of his abbey. Suddenly reconciled with his father after being disowned, he fears he will never again fit in with his estranged family. But when he’s commissioned to produce a manuscript for the king, the shy scribe has the chance to visit his relatives after three years of banishment.

When a new student transfers to principal Tom Gardner's school, Tom instantly recognizes that this teenager is the son he never knew he had, the result of a one-night stand years before. Raised by an adoring and fiercely independent mother who never revealed the name of his biological father, Kent Arens is a fine young man. But his very presence represents something deeper—and darker—to the members of Tom Gardner's family.

Summer is coming to the four streets - but so is trouble, especially for its redoubtable women, who've struggled through a bitter winter to put food on the table. Peggy Nolan, with seven boys and a husband too lazy to work, has hit rock bottom and is hiding a terrible secret. Maura and Tommy Doherty always looked out for any neighbour in trouble, especially Peggy, but they're far away, running a pub in Ireland and corrupt copper, Frank the Skank, is moving into their old house on the four streets. Can anything bring them home in time?

Hidden within the depths of the boreal forest lies a secret that could change everything for Ashenee, a young Cree woman born to a traditional family. In her isolated community, they follow the customs and beliefs of their ancestors, blissfully unaware of the countless missing aboriginal women from other nearby communities. As Ashenee embarks on a journey to her mother's village, she begins to sense a foreboding presence, a warning that something is amiss.

Lady Grace’s bargain with the devil guaranteed the life of the man she will always love, but the price was giving him up forever. Now Matthew has returned to England, and she finds it impossible to let him go. Freed from a hellish prison on the Continent, Matthew Stanford, Marquess of Harrington, retreats to his country manor. His days obsessed with thoughts of exacting revenge upon the man responsible for his captivity.

Alone and on the streets after their mother ends up in hospital, Charlie has promised his little sister, Maisie, he’ll never let her feel frightened again. That promise is hard to keep when Maisie falls ill. Hope comes in the shape of Susan and the other nurses at the local hospital. Times are tough, and lately they’ve seen even more children come through their doors who need kindness and a loving home. The only way to keep Charlie and Maisie out of the orphanage is to find them a good foster home, but there are far too many people who’d take them in for their own ruthless ends.

Heartache and hardship in London's East End, from the best-selling author of The Orphans of Halfpenny Street. It's the 1950s, and the orphans of Halfpenny Street have found a new home in the Essex countryside at Halfpenny House. Meanwhile, back among the slum clearances of Bethnal Green, St Saviour's has now been partially given over to a home for disturbed girls, though it still serves as a reception centre for local children who are in desperate need. Amongst these are Archie and his sister, June.

When Amy's chosen as part of a programme to resettle displaced children in Canada, her life changes tack. Her great sadness is having to say goodbye to Ruth and Ellen, the friends who became family to her during the dark days at the orphanage. As she steps on board the ship to Montreal, the promise of a new life lies ahead. But during the long crossing, Amy discovers a terrifying secret.

It is 1953 in a small country town in Australia, a time of post-war prosperity and hope. The Holtens are wealthy austere graziers who have lived on the land for generations. The McBrides are a large and loving shearers family who are new arrivals to the district. When the McBrides eldest daughter falls in love with the Holtens only son and heir, the barriers to their love seem overwhelming. But in the end, their love triumphs even over tragedy and hope and joy are their enduring legacy.

1914. Ranveer, the eldest son of a wealthy Indian family, joins the British Indian Army and is sent to fight on the Western Front. Wounded and in hospital, he falls in love with Eve, an Englishwoman. But the conventions of the time mean they will never find a home in England. They travel to India but there it is no better and Ranveer gets drawn into the struggle for Indian independence. Now he must choose between family and his country on the one hand and the woman he loves on the other.

Norfolk, 1939. The residents of Great Plumstead agree to open up their homes to evacuees from London. Pregnant Marianne is determined to make a fresh start for herself. Local lady Thea opens up her beautiful home, Rookery House, to the evacuee mothers. The ladies of Great Plumstead are fighting their own battles on the home front.

A sleepy town in 1960s South Georgia, where to some residents, segregation is more important than catching a killer. An ex-homicide detective from Chicago called to honour an old promise. With a rising body count and a community guarding their secrets more fiercely than their children, asking questions could prove deadly for the outsider….

You have heard, no doubt, the tale of Master Oliver Twist - that rags-to-riches boy; the parish orphan who became heir to the Brownlow fortune. But what few know is that there was a second Twist - a girl, brought into this world moments ahead of her brother. This is the story of Twill Twist - and her journey through the gambling dens and workhouses of London, as she attempts to make a life for herself, rescue her friends and uncover the mystery of her past - while meeting some familiar faces along the way....

December 1941, North East England. Despite the loss of her father, Sarah is settling into her new role at the munitions factory. Her blossoming romance with pitman Stan is a welcome distraction from the dangerous working conditions. But a shocking revelation puts everything on the line. Meanwhile Fran is missing her sweetheart Davey, who has been conscripted to Bletchley Park. Beth is longing for someone too - and it's not her husband on the front line. As the factory girls face hardship on the home front, they will discover that the heroes they need are already by their side.

When Lady Theodora Neale’s papa dies, a volume guarded by her family for generations comes into her possession - and with it, a sacred duty. Lady Theo is determined to honor her papa’s deathbed request to carry out missions directed by the esteemed Lord Archbroke. But when Archbroke suggests they enter into a feigned courtship, Lady Theo is blindsided. She’s willing to put her life on the line for the Crown, but no one said anything about risking her heart!

The Second World War ends and Josje is returned to his parents. Who are these people who call themselves my parents, he imagines. He is three years old and feels abandoned, confused and angry. He wants to return to his “real” parents who loved and sheltered him during the war. “My name is Pietje Dijkstra not Josje Gosler!”, he states tearfully when goaded by his cousin. As a Jew and a Hidden Child, his innocence protected him as much as his Christian family.