Books like 'Speedwell'
Readers who enjoyed Speedwell by Alex Martin also liked the following books featuring the same tropes, story themes, relationship dynamics and character types.
historical 20th century historical-fiction female-mc family epic
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The Secret Midwife by Soraya M. Lane
Rated: 4.56 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsLondon, 1995: When on the fiftieth anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz a news broadcast runs an appeal for information on the identity of a midwife who saved hundreds of lives, Emilia knows it is time to finally tell her story... -
![The Memory Box by Kathryn Hughes]()
The Memory Box by Kathryn Hughes
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 20 ratingsA heartbreakingly beautiful novel, The Memory Box unlocks an unforgettable epic story of love and war, from the million-copy-selling author of The Letter, Kathryn Hughes. Some love stories can't be forgotten... Jenny Tanner opens the box she has cherished for decades... -
![The Women of Mulberry Lane by Rosie Clarke]()
The Women of Mulberry Lane by Rosie Clarke
Rated: 4.57 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsLove and heartbreak, birth and death, joy amid hardship, are all here in the gripping fifth novel about the people of Mulberry Lane during World War Two. The war is nearly over – or is it? The women of Mulberry Lane anxiously wait for news... -
![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... -
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![As the Sun Breaks Through by Ellie Dean]()
As the Sun Breaks Through by Ellie Dean
Rated: 4.70 of 5 stars · 10 ratings************** PRE-ORDER NOW: THE FIFTEENTH CLIFFEHAVEN NOVEL BY SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLING AUTHOR ELLIE DEAN A fabulous, heart-warming Second World War novel in Ellie Dean's bestselling Cliffehaven series (previously called the Beach View Boarding House series)... -
![With Hope and Love by Ellie Dean]()
With Hope and Love by Ellie Dean
Rated: 4.70 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsCliffehaven, May 1945. The war in Europe is over, but for the residents of Beach View Boarding House its effects are still far reaching.Cockney evacuee Ivy and her sweetheart Andy are saving to get married and return to London. But when her sister and parents succumb to one of the last V-2 attacks, Ivy must make a heart-wrenching choice... -
![The Velvet Ribbon by Nadine Dorries]()
The Velvet Ribbon by Nadine Dorries
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsIn this wonderful third Tarabeg novel, Mary Kate Malone finds that a secret life in the shadows with her great love, Dr Nicholas, brings heartache and sorrows. When disaster strikes unexpectedly, she turns to the only people she can trust, in the only place she feels safe – her Irish family and friends in the west coast village of Tarabeg. But back in Ireland, everything has changed... -
![The Woman from Beaumont Farm by AnneMarie Brear]()
The Woman from Beaumont Farm by AnneMarie Brear
Rated: 4.58 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsFrom the author of the bestselling The Slum AngelSequel to The Market Stall Girl 1914, West Yorkshire, England.Newly married to Noah Jackson, Beth is happily content working on her family’s market stall while Noah fulfills his dreams of being a teacher... -
![The Child Without a Home by Ann Bennett]()
The Child Without a Home by Ann Bennett
Rated: 4.58 of 5 stars · 12 ratings‘So captivating, I was on edge while flipping through the pages as fast as I could… Truly heartwarming… Emotional, heartbreaking… I loved this… A must read… Amazing’ Pageturners ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐Inspired by the lives of the forgotten orphans of World War Two, this heart-wrenching and moving tale is about fighting for your loved ones when all hope is lost... -
![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... -
![The Girl with the Diary by Shari J. Ryan]()
The Girl with the Diary by Shari J. Ryan
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 14 ratings“What if you never come back?” I asked.“I will find you, Amelia. I promise I will find you.”“What if you die trying?”Nazi-occupied Prague, 1942: Amelia is hiding in her closet when flashlights blind her and she’s captured by the SS. Out on the cobblestone street, she is shoved onto a freight train with hundreds of others. Hours pass as they travel in darkness... -
![War Clouds Over Blackberry Farm by Rosie Clarke]()
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![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 Berlin Sisters by Soraya M. Lane]()
The Berlin Sisters by Soraya M. Lane
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsFrom the bestselling author of The Secret Midwife comes a story of bravery, sacrifice and resilience in war-torn Berlin―and two sisters who will risk it all to make a difference. Berlin, 1943: Ava Müller is a proud supporter of the German war effort, working for Joseph Goebbels alongside her father, a high-ranking official in the Reich... -
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![The Mothers of Lovely Lane by Nadine Dorries]()
The Mothers of Lovely Lane by Nadine Dorries
Rated: 4.44 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsFrom the bestselling author of The Angels of Lovely Lane, The Four Streets and Ruby Flynn. Noleen Delaney is one of an army of night cleaners at St Angelus hospital in Liverpool. Since her husband was injured in the war, she has supported her five children. With help from her eldest, Bryan – a porter's lad – the family just about gets by... -
![All My Tomorrows by Ellie Dean]()
All My Tomorrows by Ellie Dean
Rated: 4.60 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsThe compelling new Second World War novel from the author of Always in My Heart.In defending herself against her brutal husband, eighteen-year-old Ruby Clark is forced to flee London.She has no idea where Cliffehaven is, or what she will find there, but she knows that she will never be able to return home again.At first it seems she’s fallen on her feet... -
![Sealed With a Loving Kiss by Ellie Dean]()
Sealed With a Loving Kiss by Ellie Dean
Rated: 4.60 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsThe gripping new Second World War novel from Sunday Times Top Ten bestselling author of While We're Apart.After the death of her parents in a bombing raid, Mary Jones discovers a secret in the pages of father’s diaries. Her search for the truth brings her to Cliffehaven on the south coast... -
![London Calling by Helen Carey]()
London Calling by Helen Carey
Rated: 4.60 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsA poignant, warm-hearted and engaging saga of south London's women during the Second World War. It will take more than Hitler's Luftwaffe to break the spirit of the residents of Lavender Road. If courage, resilience and a shared sense of humour could win wars, the conflict would already be over. It's not all harmony, though... -
![Cece by AnneMarie Brear]()
Cece by AnneMarie Brear
Rated: 4.60 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsShe's the third sister, often overlooked and the last to know about anything that's happening in the family.Cece is gifted a cottage in the Scottish Highlands. She doesn't want a cottage or to go to Scotland. Her sisters' gifts were much more interesting... -
![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... -
![A Ration Book Christmas by Jean Fullerton]()
A Ration Book Christmas by Jean Fullerton
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsIt's 1940 and the German Luftwaffe have started their nightly reign of death and destruction over London's East End. The Brogan family is braced and ready to take on Hitler single-handed, if need be, but with rationing, air-raids and the threat of Nazi invasion hanging over this doughty family, their spirits are taking a bit of a battering.. -
![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... -
![Come Tomorrow by Tess Thompson]()
Come Tomorrow by Tess Thompson
Rated: 4.83 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsOne chance meeting. A single act of kindness. Can young soulmates find each other in adulthood, or will hidden truths tear them apart?1904. Twelve-year-old Luci Quick never forgot the boy who saved her life that fateful Christmas Eve. But when he disappeared without a word after bringing her food, she was forced to focus on raising her baby sister when her mother suddenly died... -
![The Children Of Lovely Lane by Nadine Dorries]()
The Children Of Lovely Lane by Nadine Dorries
Rated: 4.43 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsThe second book in the Lovely Lane series from Nadine Dorries. Lily hates the sound of children playing - the ceaseless shouting and laughter and kicking of balls to and fro in the street outside the rough Liverpool tenement where she lives... -
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![The Lost Letters of Aisling: A Novel by Cynthia Ellingsen]()
The Lost Letters of Aisling: A Novel by Cynthia Ellingsen
Rated: 4.43 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsA woman faces the past she fled in a heart-stirring novel about unforgettable love and indomitable courage by the Amazon Charts bestselling author of The Lighthouse Keeper.Rainey’s grandmother makes a startling Take me home. To Ireland, the country she fled post–World War II. Though they’re inseparably close, Rainey knows few of her grandmother’s secrets...Categorized as:
historical-fiction family female-mc fiction historical ww2 20th-century coming-of-age -
![A Mother's Journey: Book 1 in the Yorkshire Blitz Trilogy by Donna Douglas]()
A Mother's Journey: Book 1 in the Yorkshire Blitz Trilogy by Donna Douglas
Rated: 4.63 of 5 stars · 8 ratings*FROM THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF THE NIGHTINGALE SERIES* A dramatic and heartwarming new saga series from the well-loved Donna Douglas, this will be one of Orion's biggest launches of 2020.Hull, 1940. Edie Copeland has just arrived on Jubilee Row, carrying a secret and a heavy suitcase... -
![A Valley Wedding by Anna Jacobs]()
A Valley Wedding by Anna Jacobs
Rated: 4.63 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsThe third novel in the brand new Backshaw Moss series by beloved million-copy bestselling author Anna JacobsLancashire, 1936. With her son Gabriel finally married, and her youngest following his dreams of becoming a doctor, Gwynneth Harte finds herself with an empty nest - until a fire forces her to move in with Gabriel and his wife Maisie at their home on Daisy Street... -
![Christmas with the Railway Girls by Maisie Thomas]()
Christmas with the Railway Girls by Maisie Thomas
Rated: 4.63 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsThe brand new festive Railway Girls novel set in Manchester during WWII. Perfect for fans of Nancy Revell, Daisy Styles and Margaret Dickinson.___________________Manchester, 1941Christmas is the season for family and friends, and this year the railway girls will need each other more than ever.Cordelia appears to have the perfect life... -
![Gilding the Lily by Rita Bradshaw]()
Gilding the Lily by Rita Bradshaw
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsA heartrending tale of two sisters and their quest for a place to belong, from much-loved author Rita Bradshaw.Lily and Sarah Brown's childhood is an unhappy one. Sarah escapes by marrying Ralph Turner, a Sunderland dock worker, but Lily doesn't trust Ralph - a dark volatile man with a hidden cruel streak. When he tries to seduce Lily on his wedding day, her worst fears are confirmed... -
![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... -
![High Street by Anna Jacobs]()
High Street by Anna Jacobs
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsIn 1845 Annie Gibson can finally leave Salem Street. Her dreams of being able to open an elegant dressmaking salon in the High Street of Bilsden, a Lancashire mill town, have come true. And she is going to take her father and his second family with her, away from poverty, away from the Rows. But Annie has not left trouble behind. Someone is trying to undermine her business... -
![Twopenny Rainbows by Anna Jacobs]()
Twopenny Rainbows by Anna Jacobs
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsIn 1863 the authorities send Irish orphans Ismay and Mara to Australia against their will. Worse, on arrival they're separated from one another... -
![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 Waiting Hours by Ellie Dean]()
The Waiting Hours by Ellie Dean
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsSlapton Sands, Devon1943Carol Porter has had a difficult war. Less than a year ago she lost both her husband and baby, and with them her heart. Only recently has she’s found peace, working as a land girl at Coombe Farm. But Carol’s sanctuary, the whole local area in fact, is about to be disrupted.When Pauline Reilly learns of Carol’s situation she’s worried for her little sister... -
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![A Daughter's Journey: Birch End Series Book 1 by Anna Jacobs]()
A Daughter's Journey: Birch End Series Book 1 by Anna Jacobs
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsJo Melling has arrived in Birch End from Australia, still grieving her father's recent death. She's not intending to stay long, but after tracking down her distant family, Jo becomes more involved in village life than she could ever have imagined - and suddenly in danger too.Jo also finds herself drawn to Nick, a handsome newcomer to the village... -
![The Spitfire Girl: Over and Out by Fenella J. Miller]()
The Spitfire Girl: Over and Out by Fenella J. Miller
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsAll's fair in love and war for First Officer Ellie as she takes to the skies yet again in the final instalment of Fenella Miller's Spitfire Girl series. 1943, White Waltham. As Italy surrenders and victory looms on the horizon, Ellie's doing what she does best – flying. And this time, she's rising to the sky in four-engined Halifaxes... -
![One Special Village by Anna Jacobs]()
One Special Village by Anna Jacobs
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsLancashire, 1932 Widower Harry Makepeace lives in Manchester with his sickly daughter Cathie, scrimping and saving to get by. But after she suffers a violent asthma attack, the doctors say she must move to the clean, fresh air of the countryside to have any hope of survival... -
![Secrets of the Homefront Girls by Kate Thompson]()
Secrets of the Homefront Girls by Kate Thompson
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsA new series from bestselling author Kate Thompson.During World War Two, Churchill declared that 'beauty was duty'. But for the women working at the Yardley cosmetics factory in London's East End, it's friendship and family... -
![The Midwives of Lark Lane by Pam Howes]()
The Midwives of Lark Lane by Pam Howes
Rated: 4.42 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsAn absolutely heartbreaking historical family saga All’s fair in love and war… but what happens when the war is over? After the heartbreak of World War Two, newlywed midwife Cathy hoped Liverpool life would offer some joy. But a terrible miscarriage and the escape of her abusive stepfather Jack from prison make happiness hard to find. Meanwhile, Cathy’s beloved granny is ailing... -
![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... -
![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... -
![Lizzie's War by Rosie Clarke]()
Lizzie's War by Rosie Clarke
Rated: 4.36 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsLONDON 1940. Another gritty, heart-warming and wholesome drama. A gripping sequel to LIZZIE'S SECRET. Perfect for the fans of Katie Flynn and Nadine Dorries. Against the devastating Blitz of London, normal life must continue for Lizzie Larch. With Sebastian returning to War, Lizzie, must, alone make a success of her business in order to survive and care for herself and her young child... -
![More than Riches by Josephine Cox]()
More than Riches by Josephine Cox
Rated: 4.36 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsWith her sweetheart Adam away in the army, Rosie feels completely alone. When the letters she eagerly awaits never arrive, Rosie is disillusioned and open to the influence of Doug. Finding herself pregnant, she is forced to marry Doug - but then a letter arrives from Adam, saying he is coming home... -
![My Sister's Child by Lyn Andrews]()
My Sister's Child by Lyn Andrews
Rated: 4.36 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsFor the inhabitants of Liverpool's Milton Street a steady income and a roof over their heads are luxuries. The Ryan family have barely grown accustomed to such things when a fire destroys their father Jack's modest coal haulage business, leaving Jack broken and his family facing ruin... -
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![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... -
![With Love From Ma Maguire by Ruth Hamilton]()
With Love From Ma Maguire by Ruth Hamilton
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsFrom the very first meeting of Philly Maguire and Richard Swainbank, a pattern of overpowering love, conflict, hatred, and secrecy was born. For although Philly and Richard were on opposite sides of the mill floor, they recognised - both of them - that they were equally matched in strength of character and the capacity for overwhelming sexual passion... -
![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... -
![Snowflakes in the Wind by Rita Bradshaw]()
Snowflakes in the Wind by Rita Bradshaw
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsSnowflakes in the Wind is a heartwarming story of triumph over adversity by Rita Bradshaw, author of the number one bestselling Dancing in the Moonlight. It's Christmas Eve 1920 when nine-year-old Abby Kirby's family is ripped apart by a terrible tragedy. Leaving everything she's ever known, Abby takes her younger brother and runs away to the tough existence of the Border farming community... -
![Our Polly by Anna Jacobs]()
Our Polly by Anna Jacobs
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsLittle Billy is the light of Polly's life -- it's for her son's sake that she puts up with an unkind mother-in-law and an isolated farm. Then Billy is knocked down by a car, his father killed attempting to save his life, and Polly, cast off by her husband's family, is left with a child who may never walk or talk again...
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