Rita and Rosie Stevens are only nine and five years old when their widowed mother marries a violent bully called Jimmy Randall and has a baby boy by him. Under pressure from her new husband, she is persuaded to send the girls to an orphanage, not knowing that the papers she has signed will entitle them to do what they like with the children. And it is not long before the powers that be decide to send a consignment of orphans to their sister institution in Australia. Among them-without their family's consent or knowledge-are Rita and Rosie, the throwaway children.
Rita and Rosie Stevens are only nine and five years old when their widowed mother marries a violent bully. Under pressure from her new husband, she is persuaded to send the girls to an orphanage. It is not long before the powers that be decide to send a consignment of orphans to their sister institution in Australia. Among them, without their family's consent or knowledge, are Rita and Rosie, the throwaway children.
A gripping story of love, death and danger in Nazi-occupied France from the bestselling author of The Throwaway Children.
When Adelaide Anson-Gravetty finds out her father is not the man who raised her, she is both shocked and intrigued. Determined to find out more about her new family, she travels to the convent of Our Lady of Mercy in France to meet her aunt, the Reverend Mother. But when France falls to the German army, Adelaide and the nuns are soon in the thick of a war that threatens both their beliefs and their lives. Collaborating with the Resistance, sheltering Jewish orphans, defying the rulings of Vichy France: these are dangerous activities in dangerous times. These courageous women must give all they've got in order to protect the innocent from the evil menace of the Nazi war machine.
'Historical fiction heaven ... Diney is excellent at pacing and introducing historical factors. Anyone who feels that women's hist fict is a simplified genre sub-set would definitely need a rethink after this' The Bookbag, Top Ten Women's Fiction Books of 2016.
From bestselling author Diney Costeloe, a young woman fights to save a treasured war memorial and uncovers a tragic story that reverberates from World War I to the present day.
'This is our secret, pet. You mustn't tell anyone about us planting this tree for dad. It's our secret.'
1921. In the sleepy village of Charlton Ambrose, eight ash trees stand as a timeless memorial to the men killed in the Great War. On a dark and chilly night, a ninth tree appears. Who planted it and why? And who was 'the unknown soldier' for whom it is marked?
2001. Eighty years later, the memorial is under threat from developers. Local reporter, Rachel Elliott, is determined to save it, and to solve the mystery of the ninth tree. The trail will take her into the dark heart of her own family history; to a great, but tragic, love; and to a secret that has been kept since the war to end all wars.
A powerful and moving account of the brutality of war itself' Tony Benn.
'This book bears powerful witness to a grave injustice' Martin Bell.
'Diney Costeloe has tackled an important subject. We should never forget this terrible injustice' John Humphrys.
Dartmouth Circle is quiet and exclusive - just the way its residents want it to stay, especially arch busybody Sheila Colby. When she hears that the house next door to her has been bought for a student and four friends to rent, she is incandescent. Nothing in this outwardly serene little cul-de-sac is quite as it seems -will the arrival of Madeleine 'Mad' Richmond and her friends bring seething tensions and dark secrets bubbling to the surface?
Wynsdown, 1949: Charlotte Shepherd is happily married and now feels settled in her adopted home after arriving from Germany. Meanwhile, the squire's fighter pilot son, Felix, has returned to the village with a fiancée in tow. Daphne is beautiful, charming and harbouring secrets... For Charlotte, too, a dangerous past is coming back in the shape of fellow refugee, bad boy Harry Black. Harry's return disrupts the village quiet and it's not long before gossip spreads...
Thirteen-year-old Lisa has escaped from Nazi Germany on the Kindertransport. She arrives in London unable to speak a word of English, her few belongings crammed into a small suitcase. Among them is one precious photograph of the family she has left behind. Lonely and homesick, she is adopted by a childless couple. But when the Blitz blows her new home apart, she wakes up in a hospital with no memory of who she is or where she came from. The authorities give her a new name and dispatch her to a children's home. With the war raging around her, what will become of Lisa now?
Thirteen-year-old Lisa escapes from Nazi Germany on the Kindertransport and arrives in England in August 1939. She can't speak a word of English and among her meagre belongings is one precious photograph of her family. But when the Blitz blows her new home apart she wakes up in hospital with no memory of who she is. The authorities give her a new name and despatch her to a children's home. With the war in full swing, what will become of Lisa now?
Diney Costeloe's wonderful new bestseller is set in 19th-century France.
As the St Clair family prepare for the grand wedding of their daughter, Clarice, trouble is brewing in the shape of an old friendship, a dangerous secret and new love threatened by unexpected events. As the St Clair family prepare for the wedding of their daughter, Clarice, at the great country house of Montmichel, trouble is brewing. Their younger daughter, Helene, became friends with orphaned Annette during the terrible events of the 1871 siege of Paris. Now they are reunited, with Annette working below stairs for Helene's parents. But Annette is hiding a dangerous secret, which Helene has promised to keep at all costs. Meanwhile, Helene herself has begun to fall in love with a young nobleman from England, whose family has plans which do not include their son choosing a French wife.
Praise for the author: "A treat from the very first page. I could not put it down!" HISTORICAL NOVEL SOCIETY
"Historical fiction heaven ... Anyone who feels that women's hist fict is a simplified genre sub-set would definitely need a rethink after this" BOOKBAG
"Enlightening, compelling and emotional" LIVING NORTH
A new emotional and gritty drama from the bestselling author of The Throwaway Children.
After her mother's death, twenty-year-old Sophie Ross is left orphaned, with only her erstwhile nursemaid and faithful friend, Hannah for company. Penniless and little chance of an income, she looks for work as a governess in London to avoid destitution.
But unbeknown to Sophie, her mother instructed Hannah to post a letter to Trescadinnick House in Cornwall upon her death. The letter will be the catalyst that changes Sophie's life forever as she learns of her mother's doomed romance and family she left behind in Cornwall.
The Penvarrow family welcomes Sophie into their fold, but the new life she's built is threatened by secrets and lies that soon come to light...
What readers are saying about Miss Mary's Daughter:
'Diney Costeloe's books are always first on my list, she writes such wonderful stories'
'I loved everything about this novel. It's an intriguing plot with a well-rounded group of characters and a beautifully written setting'.
A lost child, a family divided, the bitter backdrop of war.
After the Franco-Prussian War and the siege of 1870-71, the St Clair family return to Paris, seeking refuge and security, only to be swept up into the terrible cruelties and violence of the Commune. Here their young daughter, Hélène, falls ill and in an unlucky twist of fate, becomes separated from her family. Alone and frightened, she has to fend for herself on the war-torn streets. Meanwhile, her two brothers face each other as mortal enemies across the barricades. Heart-stopping and gripping, this classic Diney Costeloe story shows the courage of one family in the face of ugly violence and great danger.
