Showing titles in Historical Fiction

In this delightful historical mystery, seven boys in Ancient Rome solve strange crimes . . . thanks to some help from their cranky teacher, a little bit of logic, and a lot of amusing misadventure. Yes, Rufus wrote CAIUS IS A DUMBBELL on his tablet at school, but no, he did not break into the...

When Charlie’s longed-for brother is born with a serious heart condition, Charlie’s world is turned upside down. Upset and afraid, Charlie flees the hospital and makes for the ancient forest on the edge of town. There Charlie finds a boy floating face-down in the stream, injured, but alive. But when Charlie sets off back to the hospital to fetch help, it seems the forest has changed. It’s become a place as strange and wild as the boy dressed in deerskins.

A encounter with a boy dangling from the sky changes pickpocket Magpie's life forever. Like her, the boy dreams of flying over the rooftops of Paris. His family, the Montgolfiers, are desperate to be first to discover the secret of flight. Together with Pierre, Magpie is soon caught up in a world of inflatable bloomers, spies and a trio of unruly animals in a race to be the first to fly a hot air balloon - in front of the King and Queen of France.

Brought to you by Penguin. 'Harper Lee has a worthy successor. Wolk is a big new talent' - The Times An unforgettable novel from the award-winning author of Wolf Hollow and Beyond the Bright Sea. 1933. When Ellie and her family lose everything, they flee to Echo Mountain to build a new life...

The story of a remarkable boy called Yann Margoza; Tetu the dwarf, his friend and mentor; Sido, unloved daughter of a foolish Marquis; and Count Kalliovski, Grand Master of a secret society, who has half the aristocracy in thrall to him, and wants Yann dead. Yann is spirited away to London but...

A BBC Radio 4 full-cast dramatisation of Rosemary Sutcliff’s much-loved tale of honour, comradeship and courage. Somewhere around the year 117AD, a Roman garrison called the Ninth Legion was ordered to put down an uprising among the Caledonian tribes. Four thousand men vanished without trace...

Felix lives in a convent orphanage high in the mountains in Poland. He is convinced his parents are still alive and that they will one day come back to get him. When Nazi soldiers come to the orphanage Felix decides to escape and make his way home. The journey to find his parents is a long and difficult one, as all of Poland is occupied by the Nazis and a dangerous place for a Jewish boy.

Brought to you by Penguin. The fourth book in the Sally Lockhart Quartet, narrated by Adjoa Andoh. Jim Taylor, Sally's oldest friend, is engaged as bodyguard to a princess. But Crown Princess Adelaide of Razkavia is not what you'd expect. She's the slum-girl Jim has been searching for ever since...

Irish fairy tales and legends - full of enchantment, brave deeds and lost loves. The best tales from the Irish tradition, including: 'How Cúchulainn Got His Name', 'The Magic Shoes', 'Deirdre and the Sons of Uisneach', 'The King’s Secret', 'The Children of Lir', 'The Giant’s Causeway', 'The Bodach of the Grey Coat', 'The Pot of Gold', 'Tír na n-Óg' and 'The White Gander'. Irish fairy tales and legends are full of enchantment, brave deeds and lost loves. Told from generation to generation, they are as fascinating now as they were to their original listeners.

Read by Derek Jacobi and Michael Morpurgo Set on a farm in rural Devon, this is a collection of Grandpa’s reminiscences and stories as told to his grandson. Grandpa’s nature and his touching relationship with the boy is evoked superbly by Michael Morpurgo’s writing. This two-voice read...

Laura Ingalls Wilder is beginning life with her new husband, Almanzo, in their own little house. Laura is a young pioneer wife now, and must work hard with Almanzo, farming the land around their home on the South Dakota prairie. Soon their baby daughter, Rose, is born, and the young family must...

Sally and her sister Bridget are New Yorkers now – they’ve settled in and feel at home in the bustling city. Life in New York is exciting enough that the girls can rise above life with Catherine, their mean cousin. At work one day, Bridget finds a photograph of a young man between the pages of a book. She shows it to her employer Miss Cameron who dismisses it, but her blush and flustered manner intrigue Bridget. She soon discovers he was a suitor, but not allowed by Miss Cameron’s family as he came from a poor background.

Johnny Maxwell and his friends have to do something when they find Mrs Tachyon, the local bag lady, semi-conscious in an alley...as long as it's not the kiss of life. But there's more to Mrs Tachyon than a squeaky trolley and a bunch of dubious black bags. Somehow she holds the key to different times, different ears: including the Blackbury Blitz in 1941. Suddenly, now isn't the safe place Johnny once thought it was as he finds himself caught up more and more with then.

Missing maids, suspicious teachers and a snow storm to die for.... For a fearless girl called Justice Jones, super-smart super-sleuth, it's just the start of a spine-tingling first term at Highbury House Boarding School for the Daughters of Gentlefolk. For fans of Robin Stevens, Katherine Woodfine and Enid Blyton. When Justice's mother dies, her father packs her off to Highbury House Boarding School for the Daughters of Gentlefolk. He's a barrister - specialising in murder trials - and he's just too busy to look after her alone.

A thought-provoking and rich collection of short stories, many of which reflect the author’s love of myths and legends, his close observations of family life, and his skills as a unique storyteller. A beautiful collection of short stories written by one of the best loved children’s authors...

Brought to you by Penguin. Dodger is a tosher – a sewer scavenger living in the squalor of Dickensian London. Everyone who is nobody knows Dodger. Anyone who is anybody doesn’t. But when he rescues a young girl from a beating, suddenly everybody wants to know him. And Dodger’s tale of...

In the deadly chaos of the First World War, one horse witnesses the reality of battle from both sides of the trenches. Bombarded by artillery, with bullets knocking riders from his back, Joey tells a powerful story of the truest friendships surviving in terrible times. One horse has the seen the best and the worst of humanity. The power of war and the beauty of peace. This is his story.

Three classic wartime tales of identity, revelation and love that capture the power and scope of the human spirit. WAR HORSE At the outbreak of World War 1, Joey, young Albert's beloved horse, is sold to the cavalry and shipped to France. He's soon caught up in enemy fire and fate takes him on...

Max Bretzfeld is back in Berlin—as a British spy. His most dangerous mission is about to begin in the much-anticipated sequel to Adam Gidwitz’s instant bestseller Max in the House of Spies. Max is on a mission. Well, two missions. One has been assigned by his British spymasters: Infiltrate...

Summer, 1940. Hitler's army is advancing towards Paris, and millions of French civilians are on the run. Amidst the chaos, two British children are being hunted by German agents. British spy Charles Henderson tries to reach them first, but he can only do it with the help of a 12-year-old French orphan. The British secret service is about to discover that kids working undercover will help to win the war.