Cranbrook Press

A Tapestry of True Tales from Then and Now This collection of nine short stories comes from best-selling historical fiction author Clare Flynn. There are five historical tales – four based on stories from her own family history and one a tragic tale from eighteenth century Sussex. Clare has also branched out into contemporary fiction with four intriguing stories – modern morality tales, set in England, Paris, the USA and an island in the Indian Ocean.Beautifully crafted, vividly brought to life on the page these quirky stories give an insight into human nature at its best – and its worst.

Marriage to a man she barely knows. Exile to a country she doesn't know at allAn emotional love story set in the last days of colonial India After an abusive relationship with a predatory older man, debutante Ginny Dunbar is publicly disgraced when her artist lover exhibits a nude painting of her in a smart London gallery. All her mother's hopes for a society wedding are dashed until she lowers her sights and pushes Ginny into a hasty marriage with a tea planter from South India. Colonial life doesn't sit well with Ginny. She finds the world of the expatriate community shallow and empty. Caught between fear of and fascination for India and its people, her world is shaken when she meets Jag Mistry, who opens her eyes and her heart. But just as she thinks she has found happiness, World War 2 intervenes. A poignant story of love, loss, betrayal and redemption set against the dying days of colonial India.

In 1875 a young man, Jack Brennan, from a large and impoverished Catholic family, refuses to be pushed into the priesthood and runs away to become a teacher. Jack falls in love with Eliza Hewlett, but his dreams and plans are thwarted when his landlord's daughter, Mary Ellen MacBride, falsely accuses him of fathering the child she is expecting. Rather than be forced to marry his accuser, Jack decides to run away to America with Eliza. Just as the ship is ready to sail Jack is arrested and dragged from the ship, leaving Eliza alone en route to New York with just a few shillings in her pocket.

After Penang is attacked by the Japanese at the end of 1941, Mary Helston believes Singapore will be a safe haven. But within weeks the supposedly invincible British stronghold is on the brink of collapse to the advancing enemy. Mary and her mother are captured at sea as they try to escape and are interned on the islands of Sumatra. Imprisoned with them is Veronica Leighton, the one person on the planet Mary has reason to loathe with a passion. As the motley band of women struggle to adapt to captivity, relationships and friendships are tested. When starvation, lack of medication and the spread of disease worsen, each woman must draw on every ounce of strength in their battle for survival. A vivid and moving story of sacrifice, hope and humanity. From the best-selling author of The Pearl of Penang.

They faced up to the challenges of war – but can they deal with the troubles of peace? Canadian, Jim Armstrong, married in haste during the second world war, after a one-night stand. When his wife and their small son join him in Canada, it’s four years since they’ve seen each other. War bride, Joan discovers Jim has no intention of the family returning to England. She struggles to adapt to life on a remote farm in Ontario, far from her family and cold-shouldered by Jim’s mother. Jim, haunted by his wartime experiences in Italy, Iingering feelings for a former lover, and the demands of the farm, begins to doubt his love for Joan. From the rolling farmland of Ontario to the ravaged landscapes of war-torn Italy, this sweeping love story, the second volume in The Canadians trilogy, is the sequel to The Chalky Sea

An epic drama of war and its impact on ordinary people – not only while it's happening, but for the years to follow.  These three full-length novels follow the fortunes of Jim Armstrong, a young Canadian soldier in the Second World War, and those of the women he who impact his life. Gwen, a British housewife, afraid to confront her feelings, Joan and Ethel, two young women Jim meets in an English pub, and Alice, his sister-in-law and the woman who broke his heart. From a small seaside town in the firing line of the Luftwaffe, to the British army base at Aldershot, through the plains and mountains of Italy to the rolling farmlands of Ontario, Canada, the three Canadians novels – The Chalky Sea, The Alien Corn and The Frozen River - and their characters will grip you and keep you turning the pages all night.

Three strong women make their way in 1950s Canada English hairdresser, Ethel, alone after the deaths of her family and her wartime fiancé. Widow and single mother, Alice, bringing up two daughters, receives an unexpected inheritance that will transform her life. War bride, Joan, now mother to four small children. All brought together in a rural Canadian town where they each try to build a future – often in spite of the men in their lives. Each woman has a different idea of happiness. Will any or all of them achieve it? The final novel in The Canadians series after The Chalky Sea and The Alien Corn. Grab your copy now and lose yourself in the lives and loves of these women.

"Two men will love you. Both will pay the price for it" Hephzibah Wildman’s life is dramatically changed when her parents die in a tragic accident. Homeless and penniless, she must now face the challenge of finding her way alone in the world. Working as a governess in a country house, Ingleton Hall, Hephzibah begins to rebuild her life. Drawn to the handsome and elusive Thomas Egdon, she must avoid the unwanted attentions of his father, her employer Sir Richard, the squire of Ingelton Hall. Who is the mysterious woman who steals the green velvet ribbons from Hephzibah’s bedroom in the middle of the night and what is the secret Thomas Egdon is concealing from her? An impulsive decision by Hephzibah unleashes a chain of events that lead to dangerous consequences. From the author of A Greater World and The Chalky Sea, a classic late Victorian/Edwardian tale of love, desire, revenge and hope.

Two troubled people in a turbulent worldIn July 1940, Gwen Collingwood drops her husband at the railway station, knowing she may never see him again. Two days later her humdrum world is torn apart when the sleepy English seaside town where she lives is subjected to the first of many heavy bombing attacks.In Ontario, Canada, Jim Armstrong is debating whether to volunteer. His decision becomes clear when he uncovers the secret his fiancée has been keeping from him. A few weeks later he is on a ship bound for England.Gwen is forced to confront the truth she has concealed about her past and her own feelings. Jim battles with a bewildering and hostile world far removed from the cosy life of his Canadian farm. War brings horror and loss to each of them – can it also bring change and salvation? From the author of A Greater World and The Gamekeeper's Wife, the first volume of the epic story of the impact of war on ordinary people.

Evie Fraser, paid companion to a crotchety spinster, seems destined for a lonely life. Then out of the blue, a marriage proposal arrives by post. She met the handsome Douglas Barrington just once – at his wedding – but never forgot him. Now widowed, plantation-owner Douglas offers her a new life on the lush, exotic island of Penang. How can Evie resist? But what are Barrington’s motives in marrying Evie when he barely knows her, and why is he so hostile and moody? Evie soon finds herself pitched against Douglas on the one hand and the shallow, often spiteful world of the expatriate British on the other. Has she made the biggest mistake of her life? Flynn’s tenth novel explores love, marriage, the impact of war and the challenges of displacement – this time in a tropical paradise as the threat of the Japanese empire looms closer.