Books like 'The Fountain Overflows'
Readers who enjoyed The Fountain Overflows by Rebecca West also liked the following books featuring the same tropes, story themes, relationship dynamics and character types.
historical 20th century classics historical-fiction literary-fiction family coming-of-age realistic epic
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With a Kiss and a Prayer by Ellie Dean
Rated: 4.70 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsCliffehaven, May 1944 Peggy Reilly is enjoying a rare moment alone in the garden of her Beach View Boarding House. Against the now familiar backdrop of squadrons roaring overhead and the wireless humming, it seems both impossible that war continues, and yet inconceivable that it will ever come to an end... -
![Last Port of Call by Jean Grainger]()
Last Port of Call by Jean Grainger
Rated: 4.44 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsQueenstown, County Cork, IrelandApril 1912Twelve-year-old Harp Delaney is an unusual child, quiet and intelligent far beyond her years. She would rather spend her days in the library of the grand Georgian house that she sees as her home than playing on the streets with other children.Her mother, Rose, is the reserved and ladylike housekeeper at the Cliff House...Categorized as:
coming-of-age epic family historical-fiction literary-fiction 20th-century adult book -
![The Orphan's Mother by Marion Kummerow]()
The Orphan's Mother by Marion Kummerow
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 12 ratings1945, the German-Polish border: With Nazis on one side and Soviet forces approaching on the other, a mother and her little boy are torn apart, and so begins an unforgettable tale of courage, heartbreak and motherhood in wartime.“If you ever get lost, Jacob, you need to stay where you are and wait, because I’ll come looking for you. And I’ll always find you... -
![Life With Jeeves by P.G. Wodehouse]()
Life With Jeeves by P.G. Wodehouse
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsIt is old Bertie Wooster's habit to land in the soup from time to time. To get into a spot of bother. Circumstances, aided and abetted by Aunt Agatha, Aunt Dahlia, Bingo Little, Tuppy, Sippy and others, seem to conspire against him, and a frightful muddle ensues.Enter Jeeves, the source of all solace. Jeeves of the infinite sagacity...Categorized as:
classics historical-fiction literary-fiction realistic 20th-century adult anthologies comedy -
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![The Colours of Love by Rita Bradshaw]()
The Colours of Love by Rita Bradshaw
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsCan love survive when all is lost? England is at war, but nothing can dim land girl Esther Wynford's happiness at marrying the love of her life - fighter pilot Monty Grant. Their short honeymoon results in a baby, but on the birth of her daughter, Joy, Esther's world falls apart... -
![Far From Home by Lyn Andrews]()
Far From Home by Lyn Andrews
Rated: 4.36 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsAs daughter of the blacksmith in her tiny Irish village, sixteen-year-old Kitty Doyle knows little of the ways of the world, but she has to grow up fast when her widowed father re-marries and she has no choice but to leave the family home.Luckily there's work to be found over the water in 1920s Liverpool and soon Kitty has a job in a grocer's, where she also catches the eye of the owner... -
![Kinfolk by Pearl S. Buck]()
Kinfolk by Pearl S. Buck
Rated: 4.36 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsKinfolk is the story of a Chinese family. Dr. Liang moves to America in search of a better life, but his children long to return to China. Each responds to their new life in China differently, providing rich insight into the struggles between Eastern and Western culture, and the differences between generations...Categorized as:
historical-fiction classics family literary-fiction fiction historical 20th-century politics -
![Wedding Bells for Nurse Connie by Jean Fullerton]()
Wedding Bells for Nurse Connie by Jean Fullerton
Rated: 4.67 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsEast End saga queen Jean Fullerton returns with a delightful new novel in the Nurse Connie series It's 1948 and the nurses of the East End of London are making the most of life post-war. For Connie in particular, things are looking rosy as she looks forward to planning a future with her sweetheart, Malcolm... -
![Body and Soul by Frank Conroy]()
Body and Soul by Frank Conroy
Rated: 4.31 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsIn the dim light of a basement apartment, six-year-old Claude Rawlings sits at an old white piano, picking out the sounds he has heard on the radio and shutting out the reality of his lonely world.The setting is 1940s New York, a city that is "long gone, replaced by another city of the same name...Categorized as:
classics coming-of-age epic family historical-fiction literary-fiction realistic 20th-century -
![Run with the Horsemen by Ferrol Sams]()
Run with the Horsemen by Ferrol Sams
Rated: 4.31 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsPorter Osborne Jr. is a precocious, sensitive, and rambunctious boy trying to make it through adolescence during the depression years. On a red-clay farm in Georgia he learns all there is to know about cotton chopping, hog killing, watermelon thumping, and mule handling. School provides a quick course in practical joking, schoolboy crushes, athletic glory, and clandestine sex...Categorized as:
classics coming-of-age family historical-fiction literary-fiction 20th-century animals anthologies -
![The Settlers by Vilhelm Moberg]()
The Settlers by Vilhelm Moberg
Rated: 4.31 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsConsidered one of Sweden's greatest 20th-century writers, Vilhelm Moberg created Karl Oskar and Kristina Nilsson to portray the joys and tragedies of daily life for early Swedish pioneers in America. His consistently faithful depiction of these humble people's lives is a major strength of the Emigrant Novels...Categorized as:
classics family historical-fiction literary-fiction 20th-century adult audiobook book -
![This I Know by Eldonna Edwards]()
This I Know by Eldonna Edwards
Rated: 4.29 of 5 stars · 17 ratingsSet in a small Midwest town in the late 1960s and helmed by an unforgettable young protagonist—compassionate, uncannily wise Grace—This I Know is a luminous coming-of-age story from an astonishing new voice. Eleven-year-old Grace Carter has a talent for hiding things...Categorized as:
coming-of-age epic family historical-fiction literary-fiction realistic 20th-century audiobook -
![A Daughter's Sorrow by Cathy Sharp]()
A Daughter's Sorrow by Cathy Sharp
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsHeartache and hardship in London’s East End, from the bestselling author of The Orphans of Halfpenny StreetBridget has always been the one to take on the responsibility for looking after her family... -
![The Lifeline by Deborah Swift]()
The Lifeline by Deborah Swift
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsFrom the heart of Norway to Shetland in Scotland, one couple fight to overthrow the Nazis…1942, Nazi-occupied NorwaySchoolteacher Astrid Dahl has always kept out of trouble. But when she is told to teach the fascist Nazi curriculum, she refuses and starts a teacher’s rebellion, persuading eight thousand teachers to go on strike... -
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![We'll Meet Again by Rosie Archer]()
We'll Meet Again by Rosie Archer
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsGosport, 1941. The Bluebird Girls - Rainey Bird, Bea Herron and Ivy Sparrow - are on their way to stardom. From working mens' clubs to the glamour of the Savoy Hotel, fame and fortune beckon as the south coast's favourite singing trio work to charm their way into the hearts of the nation.But the war rages on, and reaching the top of their game will not be easy... -
![The Liverpool Girls: A heartbreaking family saga with a tragic romance by Pam Howes]()
The Liverpool Girls: A heartbreaking family saga with a tragic romance by Pam Howes
Rated: 4.40 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsWill tragedy tear them apart – once and for all? It’s 1966 and in Liverpool two sisters are about to have their lives turned upside down… Sisters Carol and Jackie haven’t had the easiest of childhoods, but as they grow up and begin their own lives both hope for happier times ahead... -
![The Girl on the Doorstep: from the bestselling author of The Workhouse Children (A Black Country Novel) by Lindsey Hutchinson]()
The Girl on the Doorstep: from the bestselling author of The Workhouse Children (A Black Country Novel) by Lindsey Hutchinson
Rated: 4.40 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsLeft an orphan, five-year-old Rosie Harris is found and raised by Maria, a Romany gypsy. Life on the road is hard, but the little girl soon feels one of the tribe with the travellers. As she grows older, Rosie realises she has 'second sight' and is able to read people's palms and see into their futures...Categorized as:
historical-fiction epic family literary-fiction romance humor historical 20th-century -
![Collected Short Stories: Volume 2 by W. Somerset Maugham]()
Collected Short Stories: Volume 2 by W. Somerset Maugham
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsThis final classic collection reveals Somerset Maugham's unique talent for exposing and exploring the bitter realities of human relationships in tales of love, infidelity, passion and prejudice. The stories range from "The Lotus Eater" where a man envisions a life of bliss in the Mediterranean, to the astringent tales of "The Outstation" and "The Back of Beyond" in Malaya and South East Asia...Categorized as:
classics historical-fiction literary-fiction 20th-century adult anthologies fiction historical -
![Every Mother's Son by Lyn Andrews]()
Every Mother's Son by Lyn Andrews
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsMolly and Bernie have been friends forever. As young girls they left Ireland seeking new beginnings in Liverpool. Now they are marrying their sweethearts and looking forward to enjoying the lives they've worked so hard to build. But as the Liverpool Blitz begins, it seems as if their dreams are about to be destroyed. Night after night, horrific bombing tears the city apart...Categorized as:
classics epic family historical-fiction literary-fiction 20th-century adult audiobook -
![They Were Sisters by Dorothy Whipple]()
They Were Sisters by Dorothy Whipple
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 12 ratings'They Were Sisters is a compulsively readable but often harrowing novel by one of Persephone's best writers, who always manages to make the ordinary extraordinary,' writes Celia Brayfield. This, the second Dorothy Whipple novel we have republished as a Classic, is, like the others, apparently gentle but it has a very strong theme, in this case domestic violence...Categorized as:
classics historical-fiction literary-fiction family fiction historical female-author marriage -
![The Green Gauntlet by R.F. Delderfield]()
The Green Gauntlet by R.F. Delderfield
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsPaul and Claire Craddock have grown older in years - but not in spirit. World War II is over. But for Craddock and his family there are new battles to be fought and won. The new property laws enable speculators to reap huge profits from agricultural lands, and Paul's livelihood is threatened... -
![Blackpool Lass by Maggie Mason]()
Blackpool Lass by Maggie Mason
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsThe perfect read for fans of Mary Wood, Kitty Neale, Val Wood and Nadine Dorries Orphaned and destitute, will Grace find her own way in the world? When Grace's Ma passes away and her Da's ship sinks with all hands, Grace is utterly alone in the world. She's sent to an orphanage in Blackpool, but the master has an eye for a pretty young lass... -
![Rose's Choice by Chrissie Bradshaw]()
Rose's Choice by Chrissie Bradshaw
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsRationing, bombing, disease and pit disasters are part of Rose Kelly’s World War 2 childhood. When the spirited coalminer’s daughter discovers a family secret, she makes a choice that overshadows her teenage years. Rose tries to make the most of post-war opportunities but family tragedy pulls her back to a life in the colliery rows... -
![Christmas with the Bobby Girls: Book Three in a gritty, uplifting WW1 series about the first ever female police officers by Johanna Bell]()
Christmas with the Bobby Girls: Book Three in a gritty, uplifting WW1 series about the first ever female police officers by Johanna Bell
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 6 ratings1915. Patrolling is the last thing on the minds of Women's Police Service recruits Annie, Maggie and Poppy right now, because Annie and her fiancé Richard are about to get married. She's been waiting for this day her whole life, but when it finally comes it brings only heartache and Annie doesn't know if she can go on... -
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![The Rose Stone by Teresa Crane]()
The Rose Stone by Teresa Crane
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsA dazzling jewel holds the key to a prosperous new life… or total ruin The Rose Stone. A diamond, gained through betrayal and blood, upon which the Rosenberg family's fortunes were founded and whose price is yet to be paid. Kiev, 1875: Josef Rosenberg narrowly escapes death from a Cossack raid, rescuing Tanya, the youngest daughter of his old friend Boris Anatov...Categorized as:
historical-fiction literary-fiction family epic romance historical 20th-century fiction -
![A Daughter’s Dream by Cathy Sharp]()
A Daughter’s Dream by Cathy Sharp
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsHeartache and hardship in London’s East End, from the bestselling author of The Orphans of Halfpenny StreetAmy Robinson and her fiance Matthew are struggling to resist the temptations faced by a soon-to-be-wed couple. To avoid these, Matthew throws himself into a new job and she goes to work in an exclusive new dress shop, where she meets Mary Maitland...Categorized as:
historical-fiction family epic literary-fiction female-mc psychological romance 20th-century -
![Birthright by Patricia Dixon]()
Birthright by Patricia Dixon
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsA woman's quest to save her family's chateau in France brings danger, rivalry, and romance--and reveals a secret buried since World War II . . .1931, Chateau de Chevalier: Ophélie, La Duchesse de Bombelle, receives a love letter from her admirer Picasso along with a gift: a priceless painting. Nine years later, the Nazis invade France and steal countless works of art, including Ophélie's gift . -
![The Wartime Vet by Ellie Curzon]()
The Wartime Vet by Ellie Curzon
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsEngland, 1941. Dedicated local vet Laura cares for the farm animals of the little village of Bramble Heath. But falling bombs aren’t the only danger as the war hits close to home…Despite everyone telling her it’s not a suitable career for a woman, Laura has worked hard to become a successful livestock vet... -
![The Forces' Sweethearts by Rosie Archer]()
The Forces' Sweethearts by Rosie Archer
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 8 ratings1942, and singing group the Bluebird Girls have swapped the theatres of southern England for army tents in the Libyan desert. Their mission is to boost the morale of the brave British troops fighting under the hot sun, where there is no end yet in sight to the war... -
![When the Clouds Go Rolling By by June Francis]()
When the Clouds Go Rolling By by June Francis
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsThe secrets of the past can never be forgotten An orphaned young woman is overjoyed to find a family she never knew existed, but has to come to terms with their troubled history. Since her parents died Clara O’Toole has lived with her grandmother, Bernie... -
![Speedwell by Alex Martin]()
Speedwell by Alex Martin
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsSpeedwell Living in the fast lane tests everyone's limits Katy and Jem enter the 1920's with their future in the balance. How can they possibly make their new enterprise work? They must risk everything, including disaster, and trust their gamble will pay off... -
![At the Going Down of the Sun by Elizabeth Darrell]()
At the Going Down of the Sun by Elizabeth Darrell
Rated: 4.30 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsThis family epic, set during World War I, follows the fortunes of three brothers and the women who loved and waited for them. One, heir to the exquisite family home of Tarant Hall in Dorset, will be driven to the Front by accusations of cowardice... -
![In a Kingdom by the Sea: An enchantingly beautiful and heartbreaking historical romance novel by Sara MacDonald]()
In a Kingdom by the Sea: An enchantingly beautiful and heartbreaking historical romance novel by Sara MacDonald
Rated: 4.30 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsA sweeping, evocative story of love, secrets and betrayal, set against the stunning backdrops of Karachi and Cornwall. Perfect for readers who love Santa Montefiore, Rosanna Ley and Dinah Jefferies.When Gabby’s husband accepts a transfer to Pakistan, she discovers a new world of heat and colour, of exotic bazaars and trips to the breath-taking Kashmiri mountains... -
![A Child Of Jarrow by Janet MacLeod Trotter]()
A Child Of Jarrow by Janet MacLeod Trotter
Rated: 4.30 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsTo escape her possessive and drunken step-father, Kate is sent away from teaming Jarrow to work on the Ravensworth Estate. Swapping a life of hardship for this rural idyll, she is soon attracting the attention of charming, headstrong Alexander, a distant cousin of the Earl... -
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![The Traveller's Daughter by Michelle Vernal]()
The Traveller's Daughter by Michelle Vernal
Rated: 4.30 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsROSA’S PAST IS HER PANDORA’S BOX, AND THE LID IS ABOUT TO BE LIFTED … ‘If you lie down with dogs you’ll rise with fleas’ – Irish Proverb Rosa Sorenson’s conversation was often peppered with sayings from her homeland. It was these conversational clangers that gave her daughter Kitty the only clue as to a childhood her mother refused to speak of...Categorized as:
family historical-fiction literary-fiction 20th-century adult book female-mc fiction -
![Peace Lily by Alex Martin]()
Peace Lily by Alex Martin
Rated: 4.30 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsPeace Lily is the sequel to DAFFODILS and book two of the 'Katherine Wheel' series. After the appalling losses suffered during World War One, three of its survivors long for peace, unaware that its aftermath will bring different, but still daunting, challenges. Katy trained as a mechanic during the war and cannot bear to return to the life of drudgery she left behind... -
![A Woman of Substance by Barbara Taylor Bradford]()
A Woman of Substance by Barbara Taylor Bradford
Rated: 4.14 of 5 stars · 29 ratingsA celebration of an indomitable spirit, here is New York Times bestselling author Barbara Taylor Bradford's dazzling saga of a woman who dared to dream--and to triumph against all odds... In the brooding moors above a humble Yorkshire village stood Fairley Hall. There, Emma Harte, its oppressed but resourceful servant girl, acquired a shrewd determination... -
![The Fields by Conrad Richter]()
The Fields by Conrad Richter
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsConrad Richter's trilogy of novels The Trees (1940), The Fields (1946), and The Town (1950) trace the transformation of Ohio from wilderness to farmland to the site of modern industrial civilization, all in the lifetime of one character. The Fields continues the saga of the Luckett family that began in The Trees...Categorized as:
classics epic family historical-fiction literary-fiction 20th-century action-adventure book -
![Wartime Girls by Anne Baker]()
Wartime Girls by Anne Baker
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsSet in Liverpool during the Depression and the Blitz of the Second World War, Anne Baker's dramatic saga brings a close-knit community vividly to life. It is the day of the Grand National, 1933, when Susie Ingram's fiance, Danny, is killed in a tragic accident... -
![An Ordinary Woman: An utterly captivating and uplifting story of one woman’s strength and determination… by Susan Sallis]()
An Ordinary Woman: An utterly captivating and uplifting story of one woman’s strength and determination… by Susan Sallis
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsWhen Rose was four the scandal broke about her head. She was really too young to understand what was happening - only that her mother was in disgrace and that they were leaving Aunt Mabe in America and returning home to England. The following May, Joanna - 'Jon' - was born. Rose and Jon were totally different... -
![The Velvet Room by Zilpha Keatley Snyder]()
The Velvet Room by Zilpha Keatley Snyder
Rated: 4.21 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsRobin was always wandering off (her mother's words) to get away from the confusion she felt inside her. It was not until Robin's father found a permanent job at the McCurdy ranch, after three years as a migrant worker, that Robin had a place to wander to... -
![Madame by Antoni Libera]()
Madame by Antoni Libera
Rated: 4.21 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsThe comic "sentimental education" of a schoolboy who falls in love with his French teacher. Madame is an unexpected gem: a novel about Poland during the grim years of Soviet-controlled mediocrity, which nonetheless sparkles with light and warmth...Categorized as:
classics coming-of-age historical-fiction literary-fiction 20th-century adult audiobook book -
![Fortune's Daughters by Consuelo Saah Baehr, Nicol Zanzarella]()
Fortune's Daughters by Consuelo Saah Baehr, Nicol Zanzarella
Rated: 4.21 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsFaith Simpson is born at the dawn of the twentieth century into a dynasty that gives her everything she will ever need—except her parents’ love and attention. Often misunderstood, she trusts few as she grows up on the family’s manicured Long Island estate. Just twenty-nine miles away, on lower Manhattan’s dirty, crowded streets, Hope Lee’s world is one of poverty and desperation... -
![Someone at a Distance by Dorothy Whipple]()
Someone at a Distance by Dorothy Whipple
Rated: 4.21 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsWritten in 1953, the last book by novelist Dorothy Whipple, Someone at a Distance is a story about the destruction of a marriage. Ellen is “that unfashionable creature, a happy housewife” who loves her life in the English countryside. She tends her garden, dotes on her children, and, when she remembers, visits her cantankerous mother-in-law...Categorized as:
classics family historical-fiction literary-fiction realistic 20th-century adult book -
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![Our Last Goodbye by Shirley Dickson, Joan Walker]()
Our Last Goodbye by Shirley Dickson, Joan Walker
Rated: 4.19 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsA heart-wrenching, poignant and totally unforgettable tale of a young woman who must finally face up to the secret she has hidden for a lifetime. A beautiful World War Two novel for fans of Wives of War, Lisa Wingate and Diney Costeloe, that will have you reaching for the Kleenex... -
![The Immigrants by Howard Fast]()
The Immigrants by Howard Fast
Rated: 4.15 of 5 stars · 20 ratingsIn a passionate, multigenerational novel set against the backdrop of San Francisco, the son of an Italian fisherman struggles from the rubble of the great earthquake to build a shipping empire. Reprint... -
![An Unbreakable Bond by Mary Wood]()
An Unbreakable Bond by Mary Wood
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsAn Unbreakable Bond is the gripping second novel in The Breckton Novels, from bestselling saga author Mary Wood.It is 1913 and for best friends Megan and Hattie, born at the turn of the century and brought up in a convent orphanage in Leeds, the time has come to make their way in the world... -
![Call Nurse Millie by Jean Fullerton]()
Call Nurse Millie by Jean Fullerton
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsIt's 1945 and, as the troops begin to return home, the inhabitants of London attempt to put their lives back together. For 25-year-old Millie, a qualified nurse and midwife, the jubilation at the end of the war is short-lived as she tends to the needs of the East End community around her. But while Millie witnesses tragedy and brutality in her job, she also finds strength and kindness... -
![The Mill Girls of Albion Lane by Jenny Holmes]()
The Mill Girls of Albion Lane by Jenny Holmes
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsOn the cobbled streets of a Yorkshire mill town in 1931, Lily Briggs does all she can to keep trouble at bay for her and her family.She works hard at Calvert Mill to make ends meet and take care of her parents and younger siblings... -
![Liverpool Lou by Lyn Andrews]()
Liverpool Lou by Lyn Andrews
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsOne of Lyn Andrews' first eight novels, transferring from the original publisher to Headline; already steady sellers, they will be targeted for a huge increase in sales. Aunt Babsey considered herself a cut above her neighbours on Everton Ridge. For one thing she was 'trade'. She taught her children to be respectable, and she ruled her family with a rod of iron...
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