?You have to imagine. That?s how I told myself.? ?Imagine what?? ?Imagine that you are the kind of girl that can cope with it, even if you are not.? Belinda knows how to follow the rules. She has learnt the right way to polish water glasses, to wash and fold a hundred handkerchiefs, and to keep a tight lid on memories of the village she left behind when she came to Kumasi to be a housegirl.Mary is still learning the rules. Eleven years old and irrepressible,...

The Compton-Milnes are eccentric, to say the least. A marriage between Gus, a reclusive professor, and Lisa, a promiscuous cosmetic surgery addict, has produced an obsessive-compulsive disorder riddled genius named Ben, and his sister, Harriet. But when secrets from the past are brought to light, the family is in danger.

Posy has always dreamt of being the heroine of a Francoise Sagan novel. But life seems to have her passed by and now here she is, a stressed-out mother of four. Although she's married to a man called Parouselli who comes from a long line of trapeze artists and they live in a large, romantic house, it's not quite as magical as it sounds. Frank's dream of being a musician is a reality of distributing BettaKleen catalogues, the house is falling to bits...

On the surface, Elle has the perfect life - husband, child and a beautiful home. But sometimes a perfect facade hides the cracks beneath: Elle?s husband Rick seems determined to clip her wings at every turn, keeping her at home and away from her friends and from the world. When Elle?s father dies and she starts to clear his house, the cracks start to widen - and it?s only a matter of time before everything breaks open. On a quest for buried treasure...

The epic tale of Harry Clifton's life begins in 1919, in the backstreets of Bristol. His father was a war hero, but it will be twenty-one tumultuous years before Harry discovers the truth about how his father really died and if, in fact, he even was his father. Only Time Will Tell takes a cast of memorable characters from the ravages of the Great War to the outbreak of the Second World War, when Harry must decide whether to take his place at Oxford,...

Set on a Cornish cliff, Atlantic House has been the jewel in the Carew family crown for centuries. Each year, the Carew sisters embark on the yearly trip down to Cornwall for the summer holidays, but they are as different as vinegar and honey: Prudence, hard-nosed businesswoman and married to the meek and mild Francis, she is about to get a shock r

?I?m so sorry, Casey,? my link worker John said, sounding weary. ?I know this is probably the worst time I could ring you, but we desperately need someone to take a child tonight.? It?s the night before Christmas when Casey and Mike get the call. A twelve year old girl, stuck between a rock and a hard place. Her father is on a ventilator, fighting for his life, while her mother is currently on remand in prison. Despite claiming she attacked him in...

The Durrell family are immortalised in Gerald Durrell's My Family and Other Animals and its ITV adaptation, The Durrells. But what of the real life Durrells? Why did they go to Corfu in the first place - and what happened to them after they left? The real story of the Durrells is as surprising and fascinating as anything in Gerry's books, and Michael Haag, with his first hand knowledge of the family, is the ideal narrator, drawing on diaries, letters...

In the sequel to 'Cherry Tree Lane', Nell, the second Willitt sister, leaves her brutal father and moves with new husband Cliff to Lancashire. But Nell's happiness is short-lived and when tragedy strikes, Nell, mad with grief, runs away. Originally published: 2011