All Books

Set in the exclusive buckingham hotel, this christmas-themed 1930s romance is perfect for fans of downton abbey and mr. selfridge. london, 1938. this christmas, you are cordially invited to the wedding of the year! when fiercely independent chambermaid nancy nettleton first moved to london and the buckingham hotel, the last thing on her mind was finding love, let alone falling for the debonair demonstration dancer raymond de guise. as the festive season approaches, life at the exclusive hotel is busier than ever, with guests arriving from around the world, seeking comfort, relaxation and refuge as tensions build across europe and it looks like another war is imminent. behind the scenes, the staff work tirelessly, ensuring the smooth operation of the hotel, guarding the secrets of their guests – but they have many of their own that they fear will be revealed. as the band strikes up in the grand ballroom to celebrate the nuptials of raymond and nancy, one thing is certain – this will be a christmas to remember.

Now an apple tv series starring claire danes and tom hiddlestonthe sunday times number one bestselleroverall book of the year and fiction book of the year at the british book awards 2017 (nibbies)longlisted for the 2017 women’s prize for fictionthe waterstones book of the year 2016shortlisted for the 2016 costa novel awardlondon, 1893. when cora seaborne’s controlling husband dies, she steps into her new life as a widow with as much relief as sadness. along with her son francis – a curious, obsessive boy – she leaves town for essex, in the hope that fresh air and open space will provide refuge. on arrival, they hear rumours that the mythical essex serpent, once said to roam the marshes claiming lives, has returned to the coastal parish of aldwinter. cora, a keen amateur naturalist, is enthralled, convinced that what the locals think is a magical beast may be a yet-undiscovered species. as she sets out on its trail, she is introduced to william ransome, aldwinter’s vicar, who is also deeply suspicious of the rumours, but thinks they are a distraction from true faith. as he tries to calm his parishioners, will and cora strike up an intense relationship, and although they agree on absolutely nothing, they find themselves at once drawn together and torn apart, affecting each other in ways that surprise them both.

The sunday times top bestseller #1 new york times bestseller shortlisted for the women’s prize longlisted for the orwell prize ‘an utterly mesmerising novel.. i absolutely loved this book’ bernardine evaristo, winner of the booker prize 2019 ‘epic’ kiley reid, o, the oprah magazine ‘favourite book [of the] year’ issa rae perfect for fans of toni morrison, zora neale hurston and nella larson. the vignes twin sisters will always be identical. but after growing up together in a small, southern black community and running away at age sixteen, it’s not just the shape of their daily lives that is different as adults, it’s everything: their families, their communities, their racial identities. ten years later, one sister lives with her black daughter in the same southern town she once tried to escape. the other secretly passes for white, and her white husband knows nothing of her past. still, even separated by so many miles and just as many lies, the fates of the twins remain intertwined. what will happen to the next generation, when their own daughters’ story lines intersect? weaving together multiple strands and generations of this family, from the deep south to california, from the 1950s to the 1990s, brit bennett produces a story that is at once a riveting, emotional family story and a brilliant exploration of the american history of passing. looking well beyond issues of race, the vanishing half considers the lasting influence of the past as it shapes a person’s decisions, desires, and expectations, and explores some of the multiple reasons and realms in which people sometimes feel pulled to live as something other than their origins.