“The story of trueinnocents caught up in the machinery of war. Exquisitely researched,beautifully told, this tiny corner of Scotland came alive for me in all of mysenses and I found myself rooting for the central characters with all myheart.” —Mary Beth Keane, author of Ask Again, YesIn the dark days of World War II, an unlikely romance blossoms between a Scottish woman and an Italian prisoner of war in ...

Bloomsbury presents Test Signal by , read by Dave Baird, Laura Brydon, Simon Vause, Orlessa Altas, Simone Lahbib and Vicky Hall.A ground-breaking anthology of the best contemporary northern writing from Dead Ink and Bloomsbury, showcasing the wealth of literary talent in the North of England.'Test Signal ... is testament to the fact that there is no singular prescription of what it means to be a northern writer and no such thing as a definitive northern voice; instead it ce...

Gwen’s war is over, but her greatest battle is about to begin.‘An engaging story of secrets, sacrifice and the persistence of love’ Sunday Times‘An enticing slant on wartime life’ Mandy RobothamMay, 1945. When bells ring out for Victory in Europe, young wife and mother Gwen wonders if her world is about to change.Six years ago, she married Jack – not out of love, but to keep a secret. On their wedding night, hoping t...

"She remembered when Hemingway had planted a banyan tree at his house and told her its parasitic roots were like human desire. At the time she'd thought it romantic. She hadn't understood his warning."In Depression-era Key West, Mariella Bennet, the daughter of an American fisherman and a Cuban woman, knows hunger. Her struggle to support her family following her father's death leads her to a bar and bordello, where she bets on a risky boxing match . . . and attracts the i...