Books like 'The First Actress'
Readers who enjoyed The First Actress by C.W. Gortner & Gabrielle de Cuir also liked the following books featuring the same tropes, story themes, relationship dynamics and character types.
historical europe western-central-europe france urban historical-fiction female-mc alpha-mc classics family
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The Count of Monte Cristo. Vol. II by Alexandre Dumas
Rated: 4.55 of 5 stars · 20 ratingsThe Count of Monte Cristo is one of the great thrillers of all time. In 1853 William Thackeray wrote to a friend: 'began to read Monte Cristo at six one morning and never stopped till eleven at night.'. Falsely accused of treason, the young sailor Edmund Dantes is arrested on his wedding day and imprisoned in the island fortress of the Chateau d'If...Categorized as:
classics epic europe france historical-fiction urban western-central-europe action-adventure -
![Преспанските камбани by Димитър Талев]()
Преспанските камбани by Димитър Талев
Rated: 4.64 of 5 stars · 14 ratings"Из македонската земя се срещат малки, схлупени черквици, заровени дълбоко в земята. По външен вид те не се отличават от заобикалящите ги къщи. Но когато надникнем вътре, пред нас заблестяват с цялата си красота майсторските иконостаси, вдъхновени дърворезби, сътворени от прочутите майстори-поети на Дебърската школа.Такива са и героините на Талев... -
![Roaring Liberty by Jean Grainger]()
Roaring Liberty by Jean Grainger
Rated: 4.56 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsNew York City, 1922Harp Devereaux is torn. Part of her desperately wants to return to Ireland to finish what she and her family and friends started, and to witness the departure of the British forces from Ireland after eight hundred long years. But the other part finds life in America during the Roaring Twenties too exciting to trade for the sleepy streets of County Cork... -
![Moonlight and Ashes by Rosie Goodwin]()
Moonlight and Ashes by Rosie Goodwin
Rated: 4.57 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsDespite being trapped in an abusive marriage, Maggie still feels blessed with her eight-year-old twins, Danny and Lizzie, and baby girl, Lucy. But when the Second World War begins it seems that her blessings may have run out.Although the war lets her escape her husband when he's sent to the front, she must also lose the twins, as they're evacuated to North Wales... -
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![The Ribbon Weaver by Rosie Goodwin]()
The Ribbon Weaver by Rosie Goodwin
Rated: 4.57 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsOne winter’s night, Molly Ernshaw rescues a baby from the snow and changes two families for ever.The tiny girl grows into a gifted young woman. Although devoted to Molly, Amy has far-reaching ambitions – encouraged by her neighbour’s son, Toby, she longs to move beyond ribbon-weaving to designing the hats and clothes the ribbons adorn... -
![With a Kiss and a Prayer by Ellie Dean]()
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... -
![An Orphan's Journey by Rosie Goodwin]()
An Orphan's Journey by Rosie Goodwin
Rated: 4.70 of 5 stars · 10 ratings1874.Growing up in extreme poverty in London, Pearl thinks life can get no worse. But when her parents discover there's yet another baby on the way, they have to tighten the belt even further. Pearl's mother decides to send her and her younger sister Eliza to the workhouse, where they are forced into a new life of hardship and struggle... -
![Beyond the Distant Hills by AnneMarie Brear]()
Beyond the Distant Hills by AnneMarie Brear
Rated: 4.58 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsFrom the bestselling author of The Slum Angel.Beyond the Distant Hills is the sequel to A Distant Horizon.Australia 1853Settled in the colony, Ellen embarks on making a happy new life for her family and to forget the horrors of famine-struck Ireland... -
![Looking for Jane by Heather Marshall]()
Looking for Jane by Heather Marshall
Rated: 4.40 of 5 stars · 20 ratingsA debut about three women whose lives are bound together by a long-lost letter, a mother’s love, and a secret network of women fighting for the right to choose—inspired by true stories.2017: When Angela Creighton discovers a mysterious letter containing a life-shattering confession, she is determined to find the intended recipient... -
![Born to Trouble: All she wanted was a better life
by Rita Bradshaw]()
Born to Trouble: All she wanted was a better life by Rita Bradshaw
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsA compelling saga guaranteed to tug at the heartstrings.Born into the worst of families in Sunderland's filthy, crime-ridden East End, Pearl Croft's childhood is miserable. Shortly after her violent, drunken father is killed in a fight, Pearl's elder brothers are sent to prison leaving her, still a child herself, to care for her baby brothers... -
![Mary Kate by Nadine Dorries]()
Mary Kate by Nadine Dorries
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 14 ratings'Dorries is the queen of the saga and she is back with a heart-wrenching, captivating new novel' Bookish Jottings. Liverpool, 1963. Mary Kate Malone is seventeen and bitterly unhappy that her father has married again after the death of her mother. On her last day at school, she decides to leave home in Tarabeg on the west coast of Ireland and head for Liverpool to find her mother's sister... -
![The Ballymara Road by Nadine Dorries]()
The Ballymara Road by Nadine Dorries
Rated: 4.44 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsThe final gripping instalment of the great trilogy, which began with THE FOUR STREETS and continued in HIDE HER NAME. On Christmas morning, in the unforgiving harshness of a convent in Galway, Kitty Doherty gives birth to her baby - who is immediately taken away for adoption in America... -
![Calico Road: The Staley Family, Book 2 by Anna Jacobs]()
Calico Road: The Staley Family, Book 2 by Anna Jacobs
Rated: 4.60 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsCalico Road runs through a tiny Lancashire hamlet up on the edge of the moors, miles from anywhere. Its folk are an independent breed -- and in 1827 they are a thorn in the side of the vicious mill owner in the valley below. Toby Fletcher's father ignored his bastard son while alive. Now Toby is the new owner of the rambling old inn, an unwitting keeper of its secrets... -
![One Perfect Family by Anna Jacobs]()
One Perfect Family by Anna Jacobs
Rated: 4.60 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsLancashire, 1934. When Tam Crawford is unexpectedly bequeathed some money, he can finally realise his dream of settling down in the beautiful village of Ellindale. Tam knows he can be impulsive - his nickname isn't Crazy Tam for nothing! - but this time he is determined not to be ruled by his big heart and hot head... -
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![The Lost Song of Paris by Sarah Steele]()
The Lost Song of Paris by Sarah Steele
Rated: 4.60 of 5 stars · 10 ratings'For a moment she closed her eyes and imagined she was perched on the diving board at the Piscine Molitor, the sun beating down on her bare shoulders and the sound of Parisians at play beneath her. All she had to do was jump.'1941. Darkness descends over London as the sirens begin to howl and the bombs rain down. Devastation seeps from every crack of the city... -
![Les Misérables - Volume 2 by Victor Hugo]()
Les Misérables - Volume 2 by Victor Hugo
Rated: 4.39 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsLes Miserables is widely considered one of the greatest novels of the 19th century. First published in France in 1862, it is Victor Hugo's greatest achievement--the ultimate tale of redemption. Former prisoner Jean Valjean struggles to live virtuously after an unexpected act of forgiveness by a kindly bishop changes his life...Categorized as:
classics europe france historical-fiction urban western-central-europe adult audiobook -
![Les Misérables - Volume 2 by Victor Hugo]()
Les Misérables - Volume 2 by Victor Hugo
Rated: 4.39 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsLes Miserables is widely considered one of the greatest novels of the 19th century. First published in France in 1862, it is Victor Hugo's greatest achievement--the ultimate tale of redemption. Former prisoner Jean Valjean struggles to live virtuously after an unexpected act of forgiveness by a kindly bishop changes his life...Categorized as:
classics europe france historical-fiction urban western-central-europe adult audiobook -
![Forsaken by Rosie Goodwin]()
Forsaken by Rosie Goodwin
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsBorn on a Friday, Sophie Winters has always been a loving and giving child, who'd do anything for her family. Yet her father, Bill, has always seemed to resent her. For her mother's sake, Sophie learns to live with Bill's animosity - until the night he drunkenly forces himself upon her.Left pregnant and ashamed at seventeen, Sophie doesn't know where to turn... -
![The Children from Gin Barrel Lane: A heartwarming family saga from top 10 bestseller Lindsey Hutchinson by Lindsey Hutchinson]()
The Children from Gin Barrel Lane: A heartwarming family saga from top 10 bestseller Lindsey Hutchinson by Lindsey Hutchinson
Rated: 4.43 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsTen-year-old Jack Larkin has seen more than his fair share of shocking sights, growing up in the notorious Crown Saloon. Broken hearts and broken bones are just a fact of life in a Gin Palace, but for orphan Dolly, the Crown is her last hope. After the death of her mother, Dolly ran away from her sleazy step father Arthur, only to find herself living on the streets... -
![Fires of Change by Sarah Lark, Kate Northrop]()
Fires of Change by Sarah Lark, Kate Northrop
Rated: 4.43 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsSarah Lark, author of The Fire Blossom, continues her epic family saga as a defiant new generation of women comes of age amid social unrest and precarious love in colonial New Zealand.It’s 1863, nearly twenty years since Ida Lange came to New Zealand to change her life and realize a dream... -
![An American in Paris by Siobhan Curham]()
An American in Paris by Siobhan Curham
Rated: 4.43 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsWalking through Montmartre that morning was like the eerie calm right before a storm. The roads were deserted. We carried on, arm in arm, and then finally, we saw them. Columns and columns of soldiers, spreading through the streets like a toxic grey vapour. ‘You must write about this,’ he whispered to me. ‘You must write about the day freedom left Paris...Categorized as:
europe western-central-europe france urban historical-fiction classics female-mc epic -
![Lancashire Legacy by Anna Jacobs]()
Lancashire Legacy by Anna Jacobs
Rated: 4.63 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsAt eighteen Cathie longs for more than life as a settler in the Australian bush. She accepts her uncle's offer to send her to England and runs away from her family, not realising he is using her to get revenge on his sister Liza. Attacked at the docks in Liverpool, Cathie takes refuge with the man who saved her, a man who has his own troubles... -
![The Mother’s Day Club by Rosie Hendry]()
The Mother’s Day Club by Rosie Hendry
Rated: 4.63 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsPregnant Marianne Archer is evacuated from London to the beautiful Norfolk countryside - but the villagers are expecting to house children! Thea wants to welcome more people to Rookery House - the rambling five-bedroom farmhouse is too big for just herself, especially in wartime. But when Marianne arrives, Thea quickly realises that she has her own secrets... -
![No One's Girl by Rosie Goodwin]()
No One's Girl by Rosie Goodwin
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsJane Reynolds' father dominates her life. Though she seems a devoted daughter, his cruelty has left her afraid to love. After his sudden death she becomes a virtual recluse, leaving her small farm only to sell the fruit and vegetables she grows.But everything changes on a dark, cold night when she finds a young runaway hiding near her cottage... -
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![Beyond the Crushing Waves: A gripping, emotional page-turner by Lilly Mirren]()
Beyond the Crushing Waves: A gripping, emotional page-turner by Lilly Mirren
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsTwo generations face heartbreak and injustice in this poignant and emotional novel inspired by true events.Mary Roberts is a poor gutter child living in a council flat in 1950’s London. When she and her sister are left at an orphanage by their mother, they don't think their lives can get any worse... -
![Break of Dawn by Rita Bradshaw]()
Break of Dawn by Rita Bradshaw
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsEach day brings a new beginning... Her mother's death in childbirth leaves Sophy Hutton at the mercy of her cruel aunt and uncle, and her childhood is brutal. At sixteen, Sophy learns the shocking truth behind her birth and escapes to London to pursue a career as an actress, determined to put the past behind her... -
![Belle of the Back Streets by Glenda Young]()
Belle of the Back Streets by Glenda Young
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsA dramatically powerful and romantic saga of tragedy and triumph, perfect for fans of Dilly Court and Rosie Goodwin... -
![The Letter by Michelle Vernal]()
The Letter by Michelle Vernal
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsWORDS HAVE THE POWER TO HEAL, REUNITE AND TO HURT... Isabel opened her bag and pulled the letter out, glancing at the address one last time before she slid it through the slot, hearing it land with a plunk. It was gone. She’d done it, and now she’d have to wait to see what happened next... -
![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... -
![The Tuppenny Child by Glenda Young]()
The Tuppenny Child by Glenda Young
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 10 ratings'Real sagas with female characters right at the heart' Woman's HourIf you love Dilly Court and Rosie Goodwin, you'll LOVE Glenda Young's 'amazing novels!' (ITV's This Morning presenter Sharon Marshall)'In the world of historical saga writers, there's a brand new voice' My WeeklyWhat readers are saying about Glenda's dramatically powerful saga of secrets, friendship, motherhood, love and... -
![Lancashire Lass by Anna Jacobs]()
Lancashire Lass by Anna Jacobs
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsSeventeen-year-old Liza is happy working as a lady's maid - until her employers decide to emigrate and her father makes up his mind that she is to wed an older widower whom she detests... -
![Fear by Anatoli Rybakov]()
Fear by Anatoli Rybakov
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsFrom Publishers WeeklyIn this sequel to his international bestseller Children of the Arbat , Rybakov picks up the story of Sasha Pankratov and his friends from Moscow's fashionable Arbat district as Josef Stalin launches the reign of terror that saw millions of Soviet citizens arrested, exiled or shot for counterrevolutionary activities... -
![One Quiet Woman: Book 1 in the heartwarming Ellindale Saga by Anna Jacobs]()
One Quiet Woman: Book 1 in the heartwarming Ellindale Saga by Anna Jacobs
Rated: 4.42 of 5 stars · 12 ratings1930, Lancashire: Leah Turner's father has been killed in an accident at the laundry, and since her mother died years ago it falls to her to become sole provider for her little sister. But women's wages are half those of men and pawning the few belongings she has left will only keep their vicious rent collector at bay for a few weeks, so even if she finds a job, they'll lose their home... -
![Jessie's Promise by Rosie Clarke]()
Jessie's Promise by Rosie Clarke
Rated: 4.42 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsFrom the bestselling author of LIZZIE'S SECRET and LIZZIE'S WAR, a story about resilient, strong women surviving adversity post World War 1. DEVON 1918. When Jessie Hale loses her nursing job at the end of the First World War, she leaves London to become the nursemaid to the Kendle family in Devon. On arrival she finds the family in disarray... -
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![The Trade Off by Samantha Greene Woodruff]()
The Trade Off by Samantha Greene Woodruff
Rated: 4.42 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsA brilliant and ambitious young woman strives to find her place amid the promise and tumult of 1920s Wall Street in a captivating historical novel by the author of The Lobotomist’s Wife.Bea Abramovitz has a gift for math and numbers. With her father, she studies the burgeoning Wall Street market’s stocks and patterns in the financial pages... -
![The Women of Chateau Lafayette by Stephanie Dray]()
The Women of Chateau Lafayette by Stephanie Dray
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsNamed one of 2021's Most Anticipated Historical Novels by Oprah Magazine ∙ Cosmo ∙ PopSugar ∙ SheReads ∙ Parade ∙ and more! An epic saga from New York Times bestselling author Stephanie Dray based on the true story of an extraordinary castle in the heart of France and the remarkable women bound by its legacy.Most castles are protected by men. This one by women.A founding mother...1774...Categorized as:
europe family female-mc france historical-fiction urban western-central-europe 20th-century -
![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... -
![Hope for the Railway Girls by Maisie Thomas]()
Hope for the Railway Girls by Maisie Thomas
Rated: 4.67 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsThe brand new Spring Railway Girls novel set in Manchester during WWII. Perfect for fans of Nancy Revell, Daisy Styles and Margaret Dickinson.___________________Manchester, 1942A new year brings new hope for the railway girls.Alison's romance with the charming Dr Maitland is blossoming, but then she is posted away from Manchester... -
![Orphan Train Trials by Rachel Wesson]()
Orphan Train Trials by Rachel Wesson
Rated: 4.31 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsBella Jones and Kathleen Collins are as close as sisters and that’s how they want things to stay. But fate intervenes. Kathleen’s brothers have disappeared, they traveled from New York on the Orphan Train and nobody has heard from them since. She can’t shed her gut feeling something awful has happened to them... -
![Bitter Winds by Kay Bratt]()
Bitter Winds by Kay Bratt
Rated: 4.31 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsThe third book of the Tales of the Scavenger’s Daughters series, Bitter Winds continues the saga of Chinese couple Benfu and Calli, and the abandoned young women in their care.Since the night her sister was almost burned alive in a fire and they were taken from their mother, Ivy has been the self-appointed guardian and guide to her blind twin, Lily... -
![Les Miserables I & II by Victor Hugo]()
Les Miserables I & II by Victor Hugo
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 46 ratingsExcerpt from The Works of Victor Hugo, Vol. 2: Les Miserables Paris has a child, and the forest has a bird; the bird is called the sparrow; the child is called the gamin. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work...Categorized as:
classics europe france historical-fiction urban western-central-europe action-adventure adult -
![The Fire Blossom by Sarah Lark]()
The Fire Blossom by Sarah Lark
Rated: 4.28 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsThe bestselling author of the Sea of Freedom Trilogy returns with a sweeping family saga of two women in nineteenth-century New Zealand and their epic journey to survive in a world of their own making. It’s 1837, and immigrating to a small New Zealand fishing village is an opportunity for Ida Lange’s family to build a better future... -
![The Virgins of Venice by Gina Buonaguro]()
The Virgins of Venice by Gina Buonaguro
Rated: 4.28 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsIn sixteenth-century Venice, one young noblewoman dares to resist the choices made for herVenice in 1509 is on the brink of war. The displeasure of Pope Julius II is a continuing threat to the republic, as is the barely contained fighting in the countryside. Amid this turmoil, noblewoman Justina Soranzo, just sixteen, hopes to make a rare love marriage with her sweetheart, Luca Cicogna... -
![Dream Sellers by Ruth Hamilton]()
Dream Sellers by Ruth Hamilton
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsThe Shawcross family was a strange and unhappy one. Edward Shawcross absented himself as much as possible and kept a red-haired mistress in Tintern Avenue. Alice, his wife, sought solace in chocolate and continually carped at Connie, her beautiful daughter. And Connie and Gilbert, their children, formed an uneasy alliance in the face of their parents' antipathy... -
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![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... -
![Yesterday's Girl by Anna Jacobs]()
Yesterday's Girl by Anna Jacobs
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsThe Great War opened up an exciting new career for Vi in London. But that was yesterday. Now, the war's over, her husband is dead and she needs to pick up the pieces of her life. On her way home she meets a man who needs her help. Recently demobbed, Joss Bentley has no job or home, and with his wife dead, there's a new baby to care for -- and it's not his... -
![Liverpool Daughter by Katie Flynn]()
Liverpool Daughter by Katie Flynn
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsA brand new novel from the bestselling author Katie Flynn. This is book one in her brilliant series about a young girl trying to make her way in war-torn Liverpool. Liverpool, August 1940 As the Luftwaffe turns its attention to Liverpool, Shane Quinn decides to move his family back to the safety of Ireland. But his only child, the beautiful Dana, refuses point blank... -
![Down Weaver's Lane by Anna Jacobs]()
Down Weaver's Lane by Anna Jacobs
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsEmmy Carter's mother is a prostitute - and her life has made Emmy determined to avoid the same fate. But Emmy is beautiful, so attracts unwanted attention; her mother's protector has his eye on her, as does evil Marcus Armistead, her employer's nephew. Marcus is excited by Emmy's virginity and has her kidnapped, but Emmy hits him over the head and escapes... -
![Heart of the Town by Anna Jacobs]()
Heart of the Town by Anna Jacobs
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsDora Preston has guts but it will take more than that for her to break free from Hedderby and make a life for herself on the stage. Then she meets Gideon - and pursuing her ambitions becomes even harder. Gideon has returned from the fighting in India only to discover that an impostor has stolen his inheritance. He has vowed he will claim his birthright but his enemies are ruthless and desperate... -
![Bright Day Dawning: Music Hall Series, Book 3 by Anna Jacobs]()
Bright Day Dawning: Music Hall Series, Book 3 by Anna Jacobs
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsGwynna had fallen from grace once, bearing a stillborn child out of wedlock. Determined to have a respectable future, she finds a position for herself as a nursemaid at Hungerton House. But just as she begins to find her feet, the secrets of her past are revealed. She is swiftly dismissed but not before she becomes the target of a lascivious groom...
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