Sudden, severe ill health comes as a shock and presents several challenges, most notably, loss of confidence. Suddenly people are afraid to take exercise, have sex or even go to the shops. Their entire self-image takes a battering, and this roller-coaster of uncertainty often leads to anxiety and depression. This book looks at the learning curve involved in sudden and chronic illness, and explores key ways to build psychological resilience during this time of challenge. Whether it concerns...

Prayer and ingenuity have kept the remote English convent of St Winifreda in the Fen going for centuries, but now the roof leaks, the bell tower is crumbling and rats have moved in. The Bishop’s accountant wants to send the retired sisters to a home, disperse the working nuns, pull down the buildings and sell the land off as a car park. But he has reckoned without the unstoppable force that is Reverend Mother Elizabeth. With her team of ex-offenders, migrant workers and passing strangers, ...

A vicious master, a cruel injustice, and a long-held secret. . .After travelling to the notoriously haunted Crowswood Castle to recover from illness, Cambridge student Vita Carew finds herself at the centre of a ghostly unsolved mystery.As renovations on the ancient castle near completion, old secrets emerge, and Vita must decipher the meaning of a hidden message in an old painting of the deceased previous mistress of the house. When workmen unearth human r...

A mysterious victim, a heartless doctor, and an assistant whose loyalty extends to murder.After falling behind during her first year studying science, Vita Carew plans a studious Christmas vacation in Cambridge. However, when an injured man with no memory is discovered and brought to her local hospital, she can’t help but be lured away from her books by an enticing mystery.Curious to learn more, she begins to unravel the events leading up to the man’s attac...

A dazzling diva, a glittering society dinner, and a killer with a terrible grudge…In Edwardian England, bookish and bespectacled Vita Carew longs to be left to her scientific studies. But she can't avoid the event of the season, a gala at Pemberton Hall. This glamorous concert and sumptuous dinner will mark the Pemberton household’s triumphant return to society after a run of misfortune.But disaster strikes as soon as the seafood is served. Elegant guests f...

We all hope for dying well and living fully until we do. The truth is that we don’t have a choice about whether or not we’re going to die but sometimes we have a choice about whether our dying is going to be easier or harder. Hospice is about treating people rather than treating disease. It looks beyond the physical suffering and includes the whole family.

A quiet lodger, a secret vice, and a fortune-seeker who will stop at nothing.When a neighbor’s lodger is found dead, Vita Carew, a sharp-witted science student, is the first on the scene. The police pronounce it an accident, a fatal fall, but Vita remains unconvinced. Her access to the post–mortem reveals the truth: Albert Flett was murdered.As Vita investigates, she uncovers a trail of evidence that suggests Albert’s quiet, unassuming ways were hiding a co...

A professor's dismissal, a boxer's death, and a widow's secrets. Can Vita Carew solve the mystery?In 1903 England, Vita Carew's dreams of studying at Cambridge are shattered by a dismissive professor. But Vita’s intellect proves invaluable after her brother and a visiting American boxer take part in an ultimately lethal boxing match. Vita’s brother is gravely injured and the boxer dies, leaving behind his glamorous wife.Though the boxer's unexpected death i...