A saga of friendship from an ever-popular authorIn their favourite caf, a group of female friends meet regularly to discuss their troubles; but even friends can't always tell each other the truth.Cynthia is happily married to her lifelong sweetheart, but not even their present wealth and security makes her willing to reveal the abuse and trauma they suffered as children. Meriel's husband has abandoned her for another woman. And well meani...

The classic wartime sagas, now in a special omnibus editionRead Grace Thompson's delightful Holidays at Home series, now in one volume!These heartwarming sagas follow the inhabitants of St David's Wells, a small Welsh seaside town, charting the highs and lows they experience during the Second World War. From engagements to tragic accidents, ice-creams to utter deprivation, this bestselling series from the much-loved author Grace Thompson will enchant and enthral you....

An emotional story of ordinary people and their far-from-ordinary lives.A small Welsh town hosts a lively and varied community and none more so than Nelly Luke, the cheerful Cockney widow who made a ramshackle cottage her cosy, if unconventional, home.Nelly's generosity and wisdom win her many friends: Fay, the young newly-wed; Amy, the glamorous shopkeeper whose private life is colourful indeed; and her dignified sister ...

Can a young woman overcome the tension between her work and home?Meriel Evans has worked for her father's estate agency ever since she left school. While happy there, she knows she must carve a career of her own, so lands a job with Cwm Derw's Ace Estate Agency. Soon she discovers her new boss, George Dexter, dislikes her father intensely, though she cannot understand why. Just what is at the root of this bitterness? How will it affect Meriel's p...

A touching story of Welsh village life.Cockney born Nelly Luke is an essential part of the community. Yet not even Nelly, with her shrewd eye, can predict the surprises in store for her family and friends.A new year brings new faces: Maurice Davies is back from the army, and Sheila Powell, a shop-girl, is eager to help him make up for lost time. But for some there's no escaping the past, and widow Prue Beynon

Badgers Brook: more than a home, a way of life.Marie Masters has been happily married for nine years, but she can't help but feel her once-loving husband Ivor is no longer the man she married. He's increasingly prone to drink and gambling, and has become strangely secretive. Worried that Ivor's behaviour is putting their growing family at risk, Marie decides to follow her husband.Marie learns that Ivor is spending time at a run-down house...

The outside world is coming to the Welsh valleysThe small South Wales village of Hen Carw Parc is a haven of rural peace, a gentle backwater where the rhythms of life flow at a time-honoured pace. But times are changing and, although Nelly Luke and the older villagers stick resolutely to tradition, the younger ones have caught tantalising glimpses of a world beyond their quiet valley.For ambitious Fay Cartwright the lure of a career strains her marriage to home-loving Joh...

Lowri Vaughan is in need of refuge where better to find it than Badgers Brook?Rumours abound that her father is a fraudster, maybe even a murderer, but while he is indeed locked up, Lowri and her mother know he's an innocent man. Some gossip-seeking townsfolk work on currying Lowri's favour, hoping she will drop her guard. Sorting those who can't be trusted from those that can is tough work for Lowri, but that's perhaps the least of her worries she must secure he...

Badgers Brook offers her the chance for a fresh start.As the Second World War ends, Sophie Daniels quits the WAAF with nowhere to go. She wanders around the country searching for a place where she can settle, living in bedsits, barns, and small guesthouses in the meantime. Eventually she finds Badgers Brook, where she meets and befriends nine-year-old Bertie, neglected and running wild.The neighbours warm to her, the place is welcoming, a...

Every village has its secrets the charming conclusion to the Valley sagasAs 1954 draws to an end, the village of Hen Carw Parc is changing. The post-war boom brings a creeping lethargy as the villagers stay in watching their new TV sets, instead of going out to enjoy each other's company.As usual, however, Nelly is busy keeping tabs on the villagers' comings and goings. There's Griff, whose thieving and dishonesty have long-lasting repercussions, Sheila, whose pregnancy s...

Times are changing in Pendragon Island...Poachers and dealmakers, the Griffiths family have always managed to scrape by on the edge of the law.As rationing finally draws to an end, the tight-knit community finds itself coming to terms with a new world in which social boundaries are being eroded and opportunities are growing for all.Heartache remains a constant though, with Caroline Griffiths trapped in a sham marriage to Barry Martin

Even the most idyllic towns hold dark secrets...Pendragon Island is the perfect place for holidays, with a stretch of clean golden sand and a glorious funfair nearby.Yet for one local family, the happy holiday atmosphere risks becoming a cruel joke, as the unusually-named Lewis Lewis's affair with close friend Nia Martin threatens to tear his marriage apart.The irritation of Lewis's wife Dora is channeled towards ...