FICTION

The Lotus Shoes THE CAPTIVATING, HEART-RENDING STORY OF TWO WOMEN IN 1800S CHINA 'Brilliantly written, masterful storytelling, and hard to put down. This story will stay with me for a very, very long time' HEATHER MORRIS, author of The Tattooist of Auschwitz 'Mesmerising. Jane Yang masterfully creates this 19th century lost world' THE TIMES 'This story of love, loss and betrayal will leave a deep imprint on your soul. Perfect for fans of Memoirs of a Geisha' WOMAN & HOME Love and loss. Sisterhood and betrayal. Little Flower and Linjing's fates are bound together. As a child, Little Flower is sold to Linjing's wealthy family to become a muizai. In a fit of childish jealousy over her new handmaiden's ladylike bound feet and talent for embroidery, Linjing ensures Little Flower can never leave her to ascend in society. Despite their starkly different places in the Fong household, over the years the two girls must work together to secure both their futures through Linjing's marriage. As the two grow up, they are by turns bitter rivals and tentative friends. Until scandal strikes the family, and Linjing and Little Flower's lives are unexpectedly thrown into chaos. Linjing's fall from grace could be an opportunity for Little Flower - but will their intertwined fates lead to triumph, or tragedy for them both? 'Jane Yang is an exciting new talent' SANTA MONTEFIORE 'More than a book, this novel is an act of empowerment for women' NGUYEN PHAN QUE MAI 'Enchants from the first page to the last' PUBLISHERS WEEKLY, STARRED REVIEW 'An enthralling tale of a bygone era' JUDY NUNN 'This fascinating, evocative story would make a great book club pick' RED 'Captivating and exquisitely rendered' MELISSA FU 'If you liked Memoirs of a Geisha, then you will love The Lotus Shoes' SORAYA LANE 'I devoured this stunning debut' ALKA JOSHI 'This big, juicy saga has scandal, hardship, love and sisterhood' GOOD HOUSEKEEPING 'A hugely talented writer whose storytelling prowess fully immerses the reader' NATASHA LESTER 'I enjoyed every single page of The Lotus Shoes' ELIZABETH CHADWICK 'Captivating, utterly compelling' SUNDAY POST 'You'll love it' MANDY ROBOTHAM 'Stunning, transporting, unforgettable' AMANDA GEARD

THE ARTISTAll Joseph wants is to be let into Tartuffe's world.All Ettie wants is to escape it.The year is 1920. The place is a remote farmhouse in Provence, home to the reclusive painter Edouard Tartuffe and his niece, Ettie. Into this strange, silent house walks Joseph: a young journalist hoping to write an article about Tartuffe. But the more he entangles himself in the peculiar household, the more Joseph's curiosity grows.Ettie cooks and cleans for her uncle. She prepares his studio, scrubs his paintbrushes, and creates the perfect environment for him to work. She has never gone further than the local village. She is sharp-eyed and watchful. But beneath her cool exterior, Joseph senses something simmering. Ettie, Joseph and Tartuffe circle each other throughout the hot, crackling summer, until finally they collide.The Artist is about two people grabbing the other by the hand and pulling each other into life.

Another rich and sumptuously told tale based on the life of artist Dorothea Graff, from award-winning and bestselling author of The Birdman's Wife and The Bee and the Orange Tree, Melissa Ashley. Set in 1700s Amsterdam and the wilds of the South American jungle, it charts the creation of one of the most famous works by a female artist of all time: The Metamorphosis of the Insects of Suriname.

With over 24,000 copies sold on Bookscan, this multi-award winning novel, and indelible portrait of an incredible woman is now available in a gorgeous B format paperback.

Hernan Diaz's first novel, In the Distance, was a finalist for the 2018 Pulitzer Prize and the PEN/Faulkner Award. He is also the author of a book of essays, and his fiction has appeared in The Paris Review, Granta, McSweeney’s, and elsewhere. A recipient of a Whiting Award and the winner of the William Saroyan International Prize, he has been a fellow at the New York Public Library’s Cullman Center for Scholars and Writers. His work has been translated into more than twenty languages. Trust is his second novel.

THE LAST LIGHT OVER OSLOBased on true events, this gripping historical novel set in Norway and Sweden in 1940, follows one of the first female US Ministers, Daisy Harriman, and her niece as the two are unexpectedly caught up in the German invasion of Norway.Cleo Jaffray was an American. A war in Europe had nothing to do with her. She told herself that right up until the man she loved went missing in Poland and Cleo was forced to turn to the only person who might be able to help—her aunt Daisy, the US Minister to Norway.Daisy Harriman has never shied away from a challenge, be it canvassing for women’s suffrage or driving Red Cross ambulances in WWI, so as only the second woman ambassador, she is determined to prove the naysayers wrong and succeed in her post. When her disgraced niece Cleo lands on her doorstep, penniless and demanding help to find her lost lover, Daisy must balance her responsibilities as a diplomat with her desire to help her family.Their search for answers is interrupted when Germany invades Norway and the pair find themselves on the run in a countryside that is quickly becoming a battleground. Then as Daisy is given the task of escorting the Norwegian Crown Princess and her young children to America, Cleo’s lover resurfaces with a story that doesn’t add up and dangerous enemies on his trail.This riveting historical novel, based on the astounding life of Daisy Harriman and a real-life royal rescue, vividly captures a desperate time and a fearless heroine.

THE CAULDRON The most realistic and compelling novel of the Second World War, republished for the first time in 40 yearsWITH AN INTRODUCTION BY AL MURRAY'This is a novel, although the battle and many of the incidents described in the book are true.' ZENOUnless you have experienced war, it is impossible to imagine its grim reality. But The Cauldron does just that - unsparingly, painfully, brilliantly - because it is written by someone who was there.This is the story of a platoon of British paratroopers dropped sixty miles behind German lines into the bloody maelstrom that Arnhem became in September 1944. With the end of the war nigh, the Allies make one bold bet to end it before Christmas. But it is a bet doomed to failure...Like never before, this is what it must have been like for the men parachuted into the cauldron. It has the smell, the taste, the fear of war - the terrifying sense of kill or be killed, and the horror of watching your friends die in front of you...The Cauldron is a classic of war writing which takes the reader right to the heart of the action like no other WW2 novel.

A compelling sapphic historical novel from the highly acclaimed author of House of Longing.For Ellen Whitfield, the betrothal of her dear friend Harriet to Ellen's brother has brought both loss and solace. But when Harriet suddenly breaks off the engagement, ostensibly at the insistence of her deceased mother, Ellen is bewildered. And when she learns that Harriet is involved with a spiritualist group led by the charismatic Caroline McLeod, she fears losing her friend altogether.So it is that practical, sceptical Ellen moves into the gloomy East Melbourne mansion where Caroline, along with her enigmatic daughter Grace, has assembled a motley court of the bereaved. Ellen's intention is to expose the simple trickery-the hidden cabinets and rigged seances, the levers and wires-that must surely lie behind these visits from the departed.What she discovers is altogether more complicated.Tara Calaby weaves a compelling and richly detailed narrative around the romance of old Melbourne in this intriguing, possibly supernatural, historical mystery.

This is a powerful and moving story about a gay teacher in Auschwitz, who saved hundreds of children from death by providing hope under the darkest conditions imaginable . . .

From the bestselling author of Elizabeth & Elizabeth and That Bligh Girl, comes another fascinating story of female friendship, betrayal and triumphs based on historical events.

Penners debut had me completely under its spell. Riveting and utterly original. Fiona Davis, bestselling author of The Dollhouse

Lucinda Riley was born in 1965 in Ireland, and after an early career as an actress in film, theatre and television, wrote her first book aged twenty-four. Her books have been translated into thirty-seven languages and continue to strike an emotional chord with all cultures around the world. The Seven Sisters series specifically has become a global phenomenon, creating its own genre, and there are plans to create a seven-season TV series. Her books have been nominated for numerous awards, including the Italian Bancarella prize, The Lovely Books award in Germany, and the Romantic Novel of the Year award. In 2020 she received the Dutch Platinum award for sales over 300,000 copies for a single novel in one year – an award last won by J K Rowling for Harry Potter. In collaboration with her son Harry Whittaker, she also devised a series of books for children called The Guardian Angels series, based on stories told to her children whenever they were facing a challenging situation. Harry then wrote the books, and they are now being published internationally. Though she brought up her four children mostly in Norfolk in England, in 2015 she fulfilled her dream of buying a remote farmhouse in West Cork, Ireland, which she always felt was her spiritual home, and indeed this was where her last five books were written. Lucinda was diagnosed with cancer in 2017 and died on June 11th 2021, surrounded by her family.