Recommendations based on "The Bride of Ivy Green"

In 'Corrag', Susan Fletcher tells us the story of an epic historic event, of the difference a single heart can make - and how deep and lasting relationships can come from the most unlikely places.Other titles:The Highland WitchWitch Light

'An outstanding work' – Philippa Gregory 'A powerful narrative told with frankness and sensitivity' Helen Fry, historian and author of Women In Intelligence

The international number one bestselling author tells the story of a strong woman trying to be good in a world gone bad, taking us from London to New Orleans and beyond in this powerful, moving historical novel. She witnessed a murder - and now her life is in danger . . . Fifteen year-old Belle, though raised in a London brothel, is an innocent. But when she witnesses one of the girls brutally strangled by a client, she is cast into a cruel, heartless world. Snatched from the streets and sold into prostitution, she is made a courtesan in New Orleans. At the mercy of desperate men who crave her beauty and will do anything to keep her, Belle's dreams of home, family and freedom appear futile. Are Belle's courage and spirit strong enough to help her escape? And what will await her at the end of the long, dangerous journey home? Lesley Pearse, author of the UK and international best-sellers A Lesser Evil and Trust Me, takes her heroine from London to New Orleans and beyond in her powerful and moving historical novel Belle. Belle is a heroine of our times- a strong woman trying to be good in a world gone bad. Fans of Susan Lewis will love Lesley Pearse's style. Praise for Lesley Pearse: 'With characters it is impossible not to care about ... this is storytelling at its very best' Daily Mail 'Lose yourself in this epic saga' Bella 'An emotional and moving epic you won't forget in a hurry' Woman's Weekly Find Lesley on Twitter @LesleyPearse or find out more on her website, www.lesleypearse.co.uk

For readers of The Tattooist of Auschwitz and Kate Furnivall comes a gritty tale of courage, betrayal and love in the most unlikely of places. Also published as The German Midwife.

I'll show you what a woman can do . . .Rome 1611.A jewel-bright place of change, with sumptuous new palaces and lavish wealth on display. A city where women are seen but not heard.Artemisia Gentileschi dreams of becoming a great artist. Motherless, she grows up among a family of painters -- men and boys. She knows she is more talented than her brothers, but she cannot choose her own future. She wants to experience the world, but she belongs to her father and will belong to a husband.As Artemisia patiently goes from lesson to lesson, perfecting her craft, she also paints in private, recreating the women who inspire her, away from her father's eyes.Until a mysterious tutor enters her life. Tassi is a dashing figure, handsome and worldly, and for a moment he represents everything that a life of freedom might offer. But then the unthinkable happens.In the eyes of her family, Artemisia should accept her fate. In the eyes of the law, she is the villain.But Artemisia is a survivor. And this is her story to tell.

AN EPIC FEMINIST RETELLING OF THE WAR OF THE ROSES1431 is a dangerous time for a woman to be defiant.England has been fighting France for 100 years. At home, power-hungry men within a corrupt government manipulate a weak king - and name Cecily's husband, York's loyal duke, an enemy. As the king's grasp on sanity weakens, plots to destroy York take root... It will take all of Cecily's courage and cunning to save her family. But when the will to survive becomes ambition for a crown, will she risk treason to secure it? Inside closed bedchambers and upon bloody battlefields, Cecily portrays war as women fight it.__________ ACCLAIM FOR CECILY"A startling heroine" Sarah Moss, Summerwater"A vividly female perspective on the Wars of the Roses" Imogen Hermes Gower, The Mermaid and Mr Hancock"Wolf Hall for the 2020s" Manda Scott, Boudica"Absorbing" Times"Has the new Hilary Mantel arrived?" Sunday Telegraph"Masterful and majestic; England's unspoken history told by one brilliant woman through the life of another. This important novel blazes on every page from its brutal first scene to its glittering final act" Chris Cleave, author of Everyone Brave is Forgiven"Entirely absorbing and utterly compelling. Fifteenth century England leaps from the page, with all its political turmoil and bloodshed. I loved it" Caroline Lea, author of The Glass Women"Masterfully written and wholly immersive, with characters that live and breathe. Cecily is a tour de force. I loved every sentence" Joanne Burn, author of The Hemlock Cure"Annie Garthwaite writes about the past with the sort of intimacy, immediacy and empathy that can only come from graft and craft" Toby Clements, author of Kingmaker"BLOODY GREAT. So modern, so political, it could almost be set in Downing Street' KATE SAWYER, author of The Stranding"Shines a light into a dark corner of our history and reclaims the voice and story of a powerful and forgotten woman" Liz Hyder, author of The Gifts"An extraordinary achievement . . .I could touch and breathe Cecily's world as if I was walking in her shadow" Carol McGrath, author of The Silken Rose"Impeccably researched, written with style and shot through with energy, heart and power. A perfectly paced tale of intrigue, influence and victory wrenched from defeat. Cecily has been overlooked for centuries. Not anymore" AJ West, author of The Spirit Engineer

Raised like sisters, Mariamne and Salome are indulged with riches, position, and learning-a rare thing for females in Jerusalem. But Mariamne has a further gift: an illness has left her with visions; she has the power of prophecy. It is her prophesying that drives the two girls to flee to Egypt, where they study philosophy, mathematics, and astronomy in the Great Library of Alexandria.After seven years they return to a Judaea where many now believe John the Baptizer is the messiah. Salome too begins to believe, but Mariamne, now called Magdalene, is drawn to his cousin, Yeshu’a, a man touched by the divine in the same way she was during her days of illness. Together they speak of sharing their direct experience of God; but Yeshu’a unexpectedly gains a reputation as a healer, and as the ill and the troubled flock to him, he and Magdalene are forced to make a terrible decision.This radical retelling of the greatest story ever told brings Mary Magdalene to life-not as a prostitute or demon-possessed-but as an educated woman who was truly the “apostle to the apostles.”

___________________________________ 'Scintillating, provocative... An elegant synthesis of royal biography and political thriller.' Daily Telegraph A Times History Book of the Year- a story which inspired the Hollywood film MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS. Mary, Queen of Scots & Elizabeth I of England. Two powerful monarchs on a single island. Threatened by voices who believed no woman could govern. Surrounded by sycophants, spies and detractors. Accosted for their dominion, their favour and their bodies. Besieged by secret plots, devastating betrayals and a terrible final act. Only one queen could survive to rule all. ___________________________________ 'Brings us a fresh Mary, set in a gloriously rich context, a tragic heroine - irresistibly real and relevant... There isn't a line wasted in this taut, dramatic and utterly beguiling biography.' Charles Spencer author of Killers of the King- The Men Who Dared to Execute Charles I 'The perfect combination of scholarship and storytelling, meticulous research and emotional insight, Kate Williams brings Mary vividly to life in all her complexities and contradictions.' Kate Mosse, author of The Burning Chambers 'It takes a special kind of historian to turn an old story on its head. Eye-opening, provocative, this is the great rivalry re-imagined for the #MeToo generation.' Lucy Worsley

"Beautifully crafted and captivating.This triumphant tale is sure to be an instant classic."--Victoria Christopher Murray, New York Times bestselling co-author of The Personal Librarian "How do we not all know the name of Elizabeth Taylor Greenfield The story of this brilliant singer -- a Black woman born enslaved who performed both sides of the Atlantic in the years before and during the Civil War -- is finally given its just due." --Marie Benedict, New York Times bestselling author of The First Ladies Before the Civil War, Black opera singer Elizabeth Taylor Greenfield reigned supreme on Northern stages--even performing at Buckingham Palace. Novelist Tiffany L Warren brings this remarkable but forgotten diva's remarkable story to life for modern readers. Born into slavery on a Mississippi plantation, Elizabeth Taylor Greenfield has been raised in the safety of Philadelphia's Quaker community by a wealthy adoptive mother. Sheltered and educated, Eliza's happy childhood always included music lessons to nurture her unique gift: a glorious three octave singing voice that leaves listeners in awe. But on the eve of her twenty-fourth birthday, young Eliza's world is thrown into a tailspin when her mother dies. Eliza's inheritance is contested by her mother's white cousins, leaving her few options. She can marry her longtime beau, Lucien, though she has no desire to be a wife and mother. Or she can work as a tutor for rich families. Her mother's dying wish was for Eliza to pursue her talent and become a professional singer, but that grand vision now seems out of reach. When a chance performance on a steamboat to Buffalo, New York, leads to a surprising opportunity, fearless Eliza seizes her moment. Within a year she is touring America, singing to packed houses, and igniting controversy wherever she goes. In a country captivated by "the Swedish Nightingale" Jenny Lind, Eliza is billed by tour promoters as "the Black Swan." An unlikely diva, Eliza is tall, dark-skinned, and robust of figure compared to the petite European prima donna, but even the harshest critics can't deny Eliza's extraordinary gift. Menaced by racist crowds, threatened by slave-catchers who kidnap free Black people, Eliza lives a public life full of risk, but one which also holds the promise of great riches, and the freedoms those buy. From the churches of Philadelphia to Queen Victoria's salon in Buckingham Palace, Eliza Greenfield will blaze her own path--with a voice that no listener will ever forget.

Jennifer Worth came from a sheltered background when she became a midwife in the Docklands in the 1950s. The conditions in which many women gave birth just half a century ago were horrifying, not only because of their grimly impoverished surroundings, but also because of what they were expected to endure. But while Jennifer witnessed brutality and tragedy, she also met with amazing kindness and understanding, tempered by a great deal of Cockney humour. She also earned the confidences of some whose lives were truly stranger, more poignant and more terrifying than could ever be recounted in fiction. Attached to an order of nuns who had been working in the slums since the 1870s, Jennifer tells the story not only of the women she treated, but also of the community of nuns (including one who was accused of stealing jewels from Hatton Garden) and the camaraderie of the midwives with whom she trained. Funny, disturbing and incredibly moving, Jennifer's stories bring to life the colourful world of the East End in the 1950s.