Showing results by author "Katie Flynn" in All Categories

Living on the edge of the beautiful Norfolk Broads with her father, the only ripple in Tess Delamere's calm life is the disturbing dream about her dead mother which haunts her. She yearns to know more, but the arrival of a new stepmother heralds the end of Tess' hopes that her father might divulge the past. As she grows up, Tess slowly starts to put together the pieces herself. But the outbreak of war brings tragedy and upheaval, changing Tess' priorities....

Claudia Muldoon and her sister, Jenny, live with their parents and their gran in her house in Blodwen Street. Both parents have good jobs and the family assume they are settled for life, but then Grandpa Muldoon has a seizure and begs his son to return to Ireland. In Ireland the Muldoons flourish and the girls love the freedom of their new life, though as they grow up, disadvantages become clear. Claudia has to find work, so both sisters return to Liverpool and to their old pal Danny, who welcomes them back with delight.

Liverpool, 1917. When Irish seaman Michael Gallagher docks in Liverpool after years of fighting with the British Navy, he never expects to fall in love. But the moment he glimpses Stella Bennett, all thoughts of returning to his homeland vanish. Determined to be together, the young couple defy Stella’s parents’ wishes. But their plans to marry are soon derailed by the arrival of baby Ginny. Her crop of fiery red hair plants a seed of doubt in her father’s mind, and it’s not long before their world begins to fall apart.

1936. Polly's guardian angel has to work overtime when her large family is forced to move from the countryside they love into central Liverpool. Money is desperately short, and with her mother working and her father sick, Polly is easily led astray by the handsome Sunny Andersen. But soon war looms, and Sunny joins the navy to train as a signaller. After the horrors of the May Blitz, Polly, too, decides she wants to help her country and goes into the WRNs. She hears that an old pal, Tad Donoghue from the Dublin slums, is now in the Royal Air Force.

Dympna Byrne lives a simple life with her family on the Connemara coast. She adores her father Micheál, and does her best to help her family by working hard and expecting little. But beneath the surface there are hidden secrets. Dympna’s mother idolises her clever eldest son, yet her attitude to Dympna is puzzling. So when her family find themselves in desperate need of money, it is Dympna who crosses the water to Liverpool to seek a better life.

It is the autumn of 1945 and identical twins Joy and Gillian Lawrence are on their way home to Liverpool, having been evacuated to Devonshire five years earlier. Their mother has been killed in the blitz but the girls hope that with their beloved father’s help they will be able to manage. All goes well until there is a terrible accident and Joy loses her sight. At first she is bitter and resentful whilst Gillian is racked with guilt.

Miranda Lovage and her mother have a blazing row when Arabella tells her daughter that she can no longer afford their present lifestyle. Miranda goes to bed angry and upset. When she awakes next morning, however, it is to find that her mother has disappeared. Miranda raises the alarm but everyone is baffled, and when searches fail to discover Arabella's whereabouts, Miranda is forced to live with her Aunt Vi and cousin Beth, who resent her presence and treat her badly.

Is love just an illusion? To the outside, Clare has everything: a beautiful home, a devoted husband and daughter, and plenty of money. But she is bored. Her husband Clive spends most of the year abroad - but what does he do after work hours? And her daughter Sally claims to spend all her time with horses and homework - but what about boys? Lonely, thwarted and unfulfilled - and against Clive's wishes - Clare takes a job managing a café.

It wasn't a privileged childhood, but it was a happy one. Sybil and Lizzie Cream, brought up in a fisherman's cottage on the edge of the cold North Sea, were content to leave privilege where it belonged: with their friends the Wintertons. Christina Winterton was the same age as Sybil, and the two girls were inseparable, but it was Lizzie whom Ralph Winterton, three years older, found irresistible. Then war came to East Anglia, and so did Manchester-born Fenn Kitzmann, now of the American Army Air Force.

Jimmy Trewin and his little sister are devastated by their mother's death and horrified to find themselves entrusted to the care of a hated neighbour, Mrs Huxtable. They hope their father will rescue them when his ship comes into port but this does not happen. When Cyril Huxtable accuses them of theft and threatens a terrible revenge, they decide to leave Liverpool and try to find their mother's family in Wales.

Laura Collins is struggling to make a good life for her daughters, Tess and Tina. So when she is offered a good job, with accommodation, she is delighted. Life is very different for the Brewsters who live on Manor Farm in Herefordshire. Danny plans to marry one day so that he can take over the farm, whilst his cousin, Phil, longs to escape the world of farming as soon as possible. War changes all their plans.

Dana and Caitlin meet on the ferry from Ireland, both in search of new lives in Liverpool, having left their secrets behind in Ireland. But Dana is ambitious, and when the opportunity comes to own their own tearoom she persuades her friend to join her. No one is willing to rent property to a couple of girls, so when Caitlin’s new man-friend says he’ll back them, they are delighted. Soon the tearoom is thriving.

Hetty Gilbert is a canal child with no permanent address, so when she needs to join the library, she cannot do so. Miss Preece dislikes children, but Hetty's longing for books touches a chord and she stretches the rules to help her. Soon, Hetty's chief desire is to become a librarian like her friend. But with war on the horizon, their lives will never be the same.

Leaving Liverpool behind, Libby Andrews embarks on a transformative journey to London with her newfound friend Suzy. Amidst the bustling city streets, they find Libby's parents' cherished stall on Petticoat Lane has been taken over and run into the ground by Libby's conniving uncle. Libby is determined to reclaim what rightfully belongs to her and with Suzy's support, she is able to bring the stall back to the way it used to be. But when they unravel a long-held family secret, unearthing the truth about her mother's past, will it shatter the bright future that lies ahead for Libby?

Kay Duffield's fiancé is about to leave the country, and her own duty with the WAAF is imminent when she becomes a bride. The precious few days she spends with her new husband are quickly forgotten once she starts work as a balloon operator. There she makes friends with shy Emily Bevan, who has left her parents' hill farm in Wales for the first time; down-to-earth Biddy Bachelor, fresh from the horrors of the Liverpool bombing; and spirited Jo Stewart, the rebel among them, whose disregard for authority looks set to land them all in trouble. The girls stay friends through good times and bad, through romantic encounters and, ultimately, tragedy.

After the sudden and brutal breakdown of her marriage, Jenny finds herself alone for the first time in her life when she leaves the comfortable farmhouse with her four-year-old daughter. Taking refuge in a seaside town in North Wales, Jenny finds a room in a boarding house. It's difficult at first, but as she gets to know her fellow residents, she gradually begins to see that life has much more to offer than she could ever have dreamed.

Addy and Prue Fairweather live with their widowed mother Nell, in a flat above her shop. Addy is plain and always in trouble whereas Prue is as angelic as her looks imply. To make matters worse, Nell makes no secret of her preference for the younger girl, increasing Addy's jealousy. On the other side of the coin, Giles Frobisher and his twin sister, Gillian, live in a crumbling mansion in Devon. The family have lost most of their money in the Depression, so Giles joins the Fleet Air Arm.

Liverpool, 1936. Molly Penelope Hardwick has been abandoned in Haisborough Orphanage. Desperate to discover her background, she befriends another orphan, Lenny Smith. Together they sneak out to roam the city of Liverpool, and hatch plans for their escape. But when Molly is forced to leave the orphanage, Lenny has no idea where she’s gone. And when war is declared, he soon forgets about his childhood best pal to focus on his posting with the RAF in Scrimpton.

Liverpool, 1938. It’s Christmas in the Courts, and single mother Rosheen Clarke and her mischievous twin daughters, April and May, have no idea of the cataclysmic events which will soon overtake them. When war is declared, April and May are evacuated to the countryside, and Rosheen joins the WAAF, where she befriends fellow Liverpudlian Cassie Valentine. While Rosheen worries about what trouble the twins will cause next, Cassie is fighting her love for her childhood friend, Andy.

Maddy lives with her grandmother in a tumbledown farmhouse in the Yorkshire Dales. The house has been in the family for generations, but her grandmother is struggling to cope. She is determined that no matter what happens, the two of them will not be forced into the workhouse. Though life is tough, Maddy manages to gain a scholarship to the local school. As war is declared, Maddy and her friends join up, leaving the beautiful Dales for the dangerous work of manning the Ack Ack sites.