Showing titles in Historical Fiction

WITH A NEW AFTERWORD BY EMMA CARROLL 'A touching, utterly convincing book' JACQUELINE WILSON 'What a deep, dark, deceptively simple, brilliant novel it is' EMMA CARROLL 'Poignant and realistic . . . Carrie's War captures the true reality of war for a child, and it doesn't sentimentalise war'...

One of the greatest historical fiction adventures in children's literature. For Eily, Michael and Peggy the memory of the famine is still strong. But Mary-Brigid, Eily's first child, has the future to look forward to. What kind of future is it? Ireland is in turmoil, with evictions, burnings, secret meetings, fights over land. Eily and her family may be thrown off their farm. Michael may lose his job in the big house. And Peggy, in America, feels trapped in her role as a maid. Will they ever have land and a home they can call their own?

Discover the world of Skulduggery Pleasant in this prequel to the bestselling series. So many enemies, so little time . . . Italy, 1703. As the war with Mevolent rages on, the Dead Men are dispatched to a walled town in the Tuscan hills – not to assassinate the Lord of the Dark Sorcerers, but...

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.

An unforgettable tale of an orphan in Victorian London, based on the boy whose plight inspired Dr Barnardo to found his famous children's homes. When his mother dies, Jim Jarvis is left all alone in London. He is sent to the workhouse but quickly escapes, choosing a hard life on the streets of the city over the confines of the workhouse walls. Struggling to survive, Jim finally finds some friends...only to be snatched away and made to work for the remorselessly cruel Grimy Nick, constantly guarded by his vicious dog, Snipe. Will Jim ever manage to be free?

Eleven-year-old math prodigy Ada Lovelace, daughter of the famous and infamous poet Lord Byron, is a genius. Isolated, awkward and socially inept - but a genius. Mary Godwin, age 14, daughter of radical philosopher William Godwin and feminist writer Mary Wollstonecraft, is a romantic. It has been arranged for Mary and Ada to be tutored by the young man who calls himself Percy B. Snagsby, a nervous fellow who may or may not be a spy.

Brought to you by Penguin. Tick, tock, tick, tock! Some stories are like that. Once you've wend them up, nothing will stop them ... A tormented apprentice clock-maker, a deadly mechanical knight in armour - and the sinister Dr Kalmenius, who some say is the devil ... Wind up these characters...

February 1941. After months of bombing raids in London, 12-year-old Olive Bradshaw and her little brother, Cliff, are evacuated to the Devon coast. The only person with two spare beds is Mr Ephraim, the local lighthouse keeper. Desperate to be helpful, Olive becomes his post girl, carrying secret messages (as she likes to think of the letters) to the villagers. But Olive has a secret of her own. Her older sister, Sukie, went missing in an air raid, and she’s desperate to discover what happened to her.

Michael Morpurgo’s classic tale, capturing the power of the human spirit. First published back in 1982, ‘War Horse’ has taken the world by storm. The book was adapted to the stage and was performed at the National Theatre and on Broadway. This full and unabridged edition is beautifully...

Now thirteen, Mika has left behind her Stockholm orphanage for a treacherous journey with Detective Hoff to finally meet her mother, Annie Moonwind, a maid at the imposing Roseboon estate. Upon their arrival, and to their surprise, Valdemar is mistaken for the local constable, and Mika his errand girl, summoned to arrest Annie for mysterious crimes. But are dark forces at work at Roseboon? After all, doors are kept bolted. Windows are nailed shut. And screams pierce the dark. Maybe something wicked has been unleashed. Everything points to a creature that only comes at night.

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....

A Clue found in Book 3 sends Amy and Dan jetting off to find out just what's behind the fierce rivalry between the Tomas and Ekaterina branches of the Cahill family. Was a Clue stolen from the Tomas branch? Where is it now? And most important, can Amy and Dan get their hands on it before their rivals do? It's a wild race that will take Amy and Dan deep into the bowels of the earth... and right into the hands of the enemy.

The book that started it all! Little House in the Big Woods is the first book in Laura Ingalls Wilder's treasured Little House series, which is based on her life growing up as an American pioneer. Told from four-year-old Laura's point-of-view, this story begins in 1871 in a little log cabin on...

It is 1872 and, when Maggie Appleton's beloved mother dies, she is left with nothing but a letter for a mysterious stranger called Passepartout. With nowhere else to turn, Maggie seeks out Passepartout and, in doing so, is drawn into an adventure beyond her wildest dreams. Together with Passepartout's employer, the enigmatic Mr Phileas Fogg, Maggie journeys to Italy, India, Hong Kong, Japan and America, in a daring race against time to win the wager Mr Fogg has accepted.

When the Germans march into Poland in 1941, the Balickis’ happy family life is shattered. With their parents taken away by Nazis, Ruth, Edek and Bronia are forced to fend for themselves in the dangerous, war-ravaged city of Warsaw. When Edek is captured too, the girls are desperate. Then they meet orphaned street urchin Jan, who carries with him a talisman of hope: a silver sword paperknife that they recognise as having belonged to their mother. Realising that their parents may still be alive, Ruth and Bronia set off on an epic journey to Switzerland to search for them. 

Heroism or cowardice? A stunning story of the First World War from a master storyteller Told in the voice of a young soldier, the story follows 24 hours in his life at the front during WW1, and captures his memories as he looks back over his life. Full of stunningly researched detail and...

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER From the award-winning author of Salt to the Sea comes a “superb” (The Wall Street Journal), “eye-opening” (Los Angeles Times) novel of survival and hope in the darkest of places—the inspiration for the major motion picture Ashes in the Snow "Few books are...

The thrilling conclusion to 39 Clues, Part VI: Doublecross. A Cahill family member from the past is bent on revenge! Confidential until July 2016!

When Tom and Stella find a 100-year-old letter from their Edwardian friend Jack, his plea for help leads them and their friend Hannah back down the time tunnel to 1913. There the adventurers reunite with friends Lucy, Emma and Sophie at the grand Penworth Estate – unaware of the danger that awaits. Young heir Sebastian has fallen mysteriously ill, and tensions are running high in the household. With secrets lurking in every shadowy corner, it's up to the friends to unravel a dangerous mystery that threatens Sebastian's life.

Brought to you by Penguin. A perfect companion to Ballet Shoes, Circus Shoes, Theatre Shoes and Tennis Shoes, this family war-time story was first published in 1946, reissued now in A Puffin Book. There's great excitement when an unexpected parcel arrives for Selina. A beautiful long...