AustLit

''War and what it does to people. No one escapes it’s clutches …’

'Two sisters are cruelly separated by war in tragic circumstances. Ania is imprisoned in a concentration camp in Poland and Danuta’s search for her sister leads her into the Polish Underground. They each do what they must to survive long enough to find each other. Their dream of being united ends in shocking circumstances. Amazingly, the opportunity for revenge presents itself 60 years later in New Jersey, USA. But faced with the ultimate decision what will be the outcome: seek justice or revenge?

'Spanning 60 years, Hitler’s Brothel follows the lives of two Polish sisters, separated by the vagaries of war. It examines their lives as well as those of their German masters.'

(Source: publisher's blurb)

'Paris, 1899. Emma Lacasse has been estranged from her older sister for nearly twenty years, since Caroline married a wealthy American and left France. So when Emma receives a request from Caroline to meet her, she is intrigued. Caroline invites Emma to visit her in New York, on one condition: Emma must tutor her shy, young niece, Isadora, and help her prepare for her society debut.

'Caroline lives a life of unimaginable excess and opulence as one of New York's Gilded Age millionaires and Emma is soon immersed in a world of luxury beyond her wildest dreams - a far cry from her bohemian lifestyle as a harpist and writer with her lover, Claude, in Montmartre.

'Emma hopes for an emotional reunion with her only family, but instead she finds herself in the vice-like grip of her charismatic and manipulative sister, who revels in the machinations of the ultra rich. As Emma begins to question her sister's true motives, a disaster strikes, and New York society is stripped bare - beneath the glittering exterior lies a seething nest of deceit, betrayal, moral corruption ... and perhaps even murder.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'For God's Sake, Amanda! That man ruined our lives!'

That's what Nan would say if I asked her. That's what Nan always said when I asked her.

'Amanda Darby has been living with her grandmother since she was two years old. If not for one horrific twist of fate she might have grown up in New Orleans instead of Sydney. She might have been Amandine Lalande instead of Amanda Darby. She might have known her parents.

Nothing can change what happened to 'that man' and her mother, but when tragedy strikes again - devastating and unexpected - a link to her parents' life on the other side of the world is exposed. The American family Amanda thought dead to her have been seeking her for years. Travelling to New Orleans, Amanda finds a vibrant city of contrasts. There's jazz, burlesque, ghost stories and shocking burial rites. But nothing is as astonishing as mysterious Grandma Ruby and the tale of forbidden love she reveals to Amanda during candlelit nights in the grand old Lalande mansion. Could this demure woman of impeccable Creole heritage have loved and lost and carried a burning secret from the troubled 1950s till now?

Before Amanda can make sense of Ruby's double life, long-feared Hurricane Katrina hits. The city is battered and neighbourhoods cut off, and Amanda risks losing not only the family she has just found, but friends who have stolen her heart. Amid the chaos and disaster of the storm of the century, she must save Ruby and find out truths that have lain potent but hidden for generations.

'Southern Ruby is a sweeping story of love, passion, family and honour. Alternating in time between the 1950s and the eve of Hurricane Katrina, it is also a tribute to a city heady with music, drama, history and superstition, which has borne the tumults of race and class and the fury of nature, but has never given up hope.' (Publication summary)

'You were adopted'. Three short words and Sabina's life fractures. There would forever be a Before those words, and an After. Pregnant with her own child, Sabina can't understand how a mother could abandon her daughter, or why her parents have kept the past a secret. Determined to find the woman who gave her away, what she discovers will change everything, not just for Sabina, but for the women who have loved her all these years. From the bestselling author of Me Without You comes another touching, beautifully told story about the pain of separation and the enduring strength of love.' (Publication summary)

'In this installment of The Pemberley Chronicles series, Mr. Darcy's cousin Colonel Fitzwilliam and Elizabeth's cousin Caroline Gardiner take center stage.

'The daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Gardiner, Caroline develops from a pretty young girl into a woman of intelligence and passion, embodying some of Austen's own values. Mr. Darcy, Elizabeth, Jane, Mr. and Mrs. Bennett, and the Wickhams all move through the story as Caroline falls in love, marries, and raises her children. Caroline rejects the role of a compliant Victorian wife and mother, instead becoming a spirited and outspoken advocate of reformist causes in spite of the danger of scandal.

'Caroline's advocacy of reform, undaunted by criticism, demonstrates strength in a time when a woman's role was severely restricted.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'A love bigger than a war. A beautiful woman lost. A mystery unsolved ... until now.

'2000: The wreckage of a downed WWII fighter plane is discovered in the forests near Russia's Ukrainian border. The aircraft belonged to Natalya Azarova, ace pilot and pin-up girl for Soviet propaganda, but the question of her fate remains unanswered.

'Was she a German spy who faked her own death, as the Kremlin claims? Her lover, Valentin Orlov, now a highly decorated general, refuses to believe it. Lily, a young Australian woman, has moved to Moscow to escape from tragedy. She becomes fascinated by the story of Natalya, and when she meets an elderly woman who claims to know the truth behind the rumours, Lily is drawn deeper into the mystery.

'From the pomp and purges of Stalin's Russia through the horrors of war and beyond - secrets and lies, enduring love and terrible betrayal, sacrifice and redemption all combine in this sweeping saga from Belinda Alexandra.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'Charming, beautiful, and intelligent, Cassandra Darcy is undeniably her father's daughter. When her brother Julian falters in his responsibilities as heir to Pemberley, Darcy and Elizabeth turn in desperation to their daughter, and Cassy is thrust into the role of surrogate heir.

'It will take all of Cassy's inner strength and ingenuity to raise Julian's son, attend to her own happy marriage and children, and keep Pemberley's tenants satisfied. When she is faced with a series of crises–her daughter appears to be involved in an unsuitable affair and her son is unwittingly drawn into a murder investigation–Cassy must act before circumstances spin out of control.

'Set against a vivid backdrop of dramatic political and social changes sweeping England during the Victorian era, Mr. Darcy's Daughter is the remarkable story of a strong-minded woman in a man's world, struggling to balance the competing demands of love and duty as a daughter, wife, mother, and sister.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

Silver Wattle is 'about two exceptional sisters, set in the Australian film world of the 1920s.

'In fear for their lives after the sudden death of their mother, Adela and Klara must flee Prague to find refuge with their uncle in Australia. There, Adela becomes a film director at a time when the local industry is starting to feel the competition from Hollywood.

'But while success is imminent, the issues of family and an impossible love are never far away. And ultimately dreams of the silver screen must compete with the bonds of a lifetime...' (Publisher's blurb)

'Anne-Marie Bradshaw is the granddaughter of Charles and Jane Bingley. Her father now owns Longbourn, the Bennet's estate in Hertfordshire. A young widow after a loveless marriage, Anne-Marie and her stepmother Anna, together with Charlotte Collins, widow of the unctuous Mr. Collins, are the Ladies of Longbourn. These smart, independent women challenge the conventional roles of women in the Victorian era, while they search for ways to build their own lasting legacies in an ever-changing world.

'The ladies find strength, companionship, and friendship together as they work to build a children's hospital, deal with a deadly outbreak of influenza, and help a gentle lady flee a violent and destructive marriage.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'Nothing much happens in the sleepy town of Venus Cove.

'But everything changes when three angels, Ivy, Bethany and Gabriel are sent from heaven to protect the town against the gathering forces of darkness. They work hard to conceal their true identity and, most of all, their wings. But the mission is threatened when the youngest angel, Bethany, is sent to high school and falls for the handsome school captain, Xavier Woods. Will she defy the laws of Heaven by loving him?

'Things come to a head when the angels realize they are not the only supernatural power in Venus Cove. There′s a new kid in town and he′s charming, seductive and deadly. Worst of all, he′s after Beth.'

'The angels and Xavier must work together to overcome the dark forces - but will Beth survive the battle?' (From the publisher's website.)

'Three generations of the Darcy and the Bingley families evolve against a backdrop of the political ideals and social reforms of the mid-Victorian era.

'Jonathan Bingley, the handsome, distinguished son of Charles and Jane Bingley, takes center stage, returning to Hertfordshire as master of Netherfield Park. A deeply passionate and committed man, Jonathan is immersed in the joys and heartbreaks of his friends and family and his own challenging marriage. At the same time, he is swept up in the changes of the world around him.

'Netherfield Park Revisited combines captivating details of life in mid-Victorian England with the ongoing saga of Jane Austen's beloved Pride and Prejudice characters.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'A mysterious stranger known as "The Wolf" leaves an infant with the sisters of Santo Spirito. A tiny silver key hidden in her wrappings is the one clue to the child's identity...

'Rosa's only family is the nuns who have raised her. When she turns fifteen, she must leave them and become governess to the daughter of an aristocrat and his strange, frightening wife. Their house is elegant but cursed, and Rosa - blessed with gifts beyond her considerable musical talents - is torn between her desire to know the truth and her fear of its repercussions.

'And all the while, the hand of Fascism curls around beautiful Italy, and none of her citizens is safe. Rosa faces unimaginable hardship: her only weapons her intelligence, intuition and determination ... and her extraordinary capacity for love.' (From the publisher's website.)

'An epic new novel as memorable as the scent of lavender, from one of Australia's most compelling storytellers.

''Nothing is wasted, Simone. the love we give never dies.'

'At fourteen, Simone Fleurier is wrenched from her home on a Provencal lavender farm and sent to work in Marseille. Her life there is hard and impoverished, but Simone discovers the music hall and a dream: to one day be a famous dancer and singer. But when war threatens, Simone makes a decision that will lead to great danger - yet ultimately prove that love, just like wild lavender, can grow in the least likely of places ...

'Belinda Alexandra has created a tale of passion and courage that moves from the backstreets of Marseille to the grand music theatres of Paris, from the countryside of Provence to decadent pre-war Berlin and jazz-age New York. Wild Lavender is a feast for the senses that will live on in the imagination long after the book is closed.' (Publication summary)

'The Women of Pemberley follows the lives of five women, some from the beloved works of Jane Austen, some new from the author's imagination, into a new era of post industrial revolution England, at the start of the Victorian Age. Vast changes are in motion, as they were throughout this dynamic century.

'The women, like many of Jane Austen's heroines, are strong, intelligent individuals, and the depth and variety of the original characters develop into a series of episodes linked together by their relationship to each other and to Pemberley, which is the heart of their community.

'The central themes of love, friendship, marriage, and a sense of social obligation remain as do the great political and social issues of the age.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'The weddings are over.

'The guests (including millions of readers and viewers) wish the two happy couples health and happiness. As the music swells and the credits roll, two things are certain: Jane and Bingley will want for nothing, while Elizabeth and Darcy are to be the happiest couple in the world!

'The couples' personal stories of love, marriage, money, and children are woven together with the threads of social and political history of nineteenth century England.

'As changes in industry and agriculture affect the people of Pemberley and the neighboring countryside, the Darcys strive to be progressive and forward-looking while upholding beloved traditions.

'Rebecca Ann Collins follows them in imagination, observing and chronicling their passage through the landscape of their surroundings, noting how they cope with change, triumph, and tragedy in their lives.'

Source: Publisher's blurb (Sourcebooks edition)