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When William the Conqueror wished to reward his armourer, he made him a grant of land - land worked by freemen and already belonging to a Saxon lord. But the men of the Conquest had no time for the niceties of land tenure and legal possession. Rolf, the armourer, hacked his way through the Saxon defiance and savagely claimed his royal bequest.

London, 1941. The war has robbed eight-year-old orphan Elsie of everything except her older brother Jack. Evacuated together, they escaped a cruel farming family only to find their home destroyed, their mother gone. Elsie hasn’t spoken since. Wandering under the falling ash, their stomachs twist with hunger and Jack knows he cannot protect Elsie alone. But everything changes when they join a rag-tag band of orphans, runaway evacuees who’ve returned to the city just like them.

Archaeologist Neil Watson did not expect to find the body of American veteran Norman Openheim in the ruins of the old chantry chapel. He turns to his old student friend, Detective Sergeant Wesley Peterson, for help. Ironically, both men are looking at an invading force - Wes the WWII Yanks and Neil a group of Spaniards killed by outraged locals as they limped from the wreckage of the Armada. 400 years apart two strangers in a strange land have died violently - could the same motives of hatred, jealousy and revenge be at work? Wes is running out of time to find out....

1794. In the wake of the Glorious First of June, Lieutenant John Pearce has pressing matters to attend to. He must undertake an urgent commission from Lord Hood, track down midshipman Toby Burns, and placate Emily Barclay. Meanwhile smugglers whose ship Pearce inadvertently stole, are on his tail. And it is not only John Pearce who has his fair share of trouble. The triumphant Channel Fleet returns, but the battle is already the subject of controversy –and Ralph Barclay is accused of holding back from the action.

Laurel, at eleven, was conscious of being happy. She was almost afraid of it. 'I'll never be as happy again. When I'm quite old, as old as 30, I'll come back to this bit of Eastbourne. I'll come on the same day in June and remember me now. ' The four Wiltshire children live a comfortable middle-class English life. But as WWII overtakes the country, the family, like so many others, slowly disintegrates.

Matron Kathleen Fox has the job of putting the hospital back together but wonders if she is up to the task. In an attempt to bring some festive cheer, she decides to put on a Christmas show. The idea is greeted with mixed feelings by the nurses, who all have their own problems, and also by the new Assistant Matron and ward sister, who find themselves rivals for the role of organiser. But as rehearsals begin, the performers begin to find the show is not just a tonic for the patients.

There is a new broom at Scotland Yard: Nimrod Frost. His first “little job” for Lestrade is to investigate the reported appearance of a lion in Cornwall. This is hardly a task for an Inspector. Yet even as Lestrade questions a witness, a man is reported dead - horrifically mauled. Having solved that case to his own satisfaction, Lestrade returns to London and to more suspicious deaths - all old men who should have died quietly in their sleep. Is there a connection? Lestrade's superiors discount his speculations....

A suspicious funeral, a fatal encounter at a garden centre and a country walk marred by the discovery of a hidden corpse are just some of the perplexing situations with which Thea Osborne, her friends and a further cast of characters must contend. In this expanded view of the world of her popular books, Tope reminds us that death and crime will visit even the most idyllic country villages.

April 1865. Having been an eyewitness to the assassination of President Lincoln, Matthew Grand, a former captain of the 3rd Cavalry of the Potomac, has come to London on an undercover assignment to hunt down the assassin's coconspirators. Ambitious young journalist Jim Batchelor has been charged with writing a feature article on the visiting American. Both men are distracted from their missions by the discovery of a body in London's Soho district.

Thea Slocombe, nee Osborne, is trying to settle into normal, domestic life with Drew and his two children in Broad Campden. But in the course of an attempt to make friends locally, she finds the body of a close neighbour and suddenly feels much less settled and secure. No longer a house-sitter, she has no choice but to stay in the village and deal with whatever happens next. And doing this risks damage to her marriage.

It's 1944. London's citizens are weary of air raids and rationing. But there are rumours of an invasion of France. Is the tide of war turning? Young widow Louise Rutherford longs to find a new husband, and when a handsome American officer arrives to recruit volunteers for a secret project, she senses an opportunity. Her efforts are hampered, though, by her determination to help a 10-year-old war orphan, George Nelson.

Italy, 1921. Yacobo Levi, an intellectual dreamer, works in the family bookshop. Angelo Ghione, a contadino, makes good wine by singing to the grapes. Lifetime best friends, their Jewish and Catholic families live side by side amidst a backdrop of village communal life. Born on the same day, their children grow up and fall in love. When the 1938 racial laws are passed, the love between Bella and Rico thrives. When Angelo discovers their liaison, he suggests they marry, but tensions simmer beneath the surface of love and friendship.

Spirited, beautiful, and thoroughly unconventional, Prudence Pinsent is a remarkable young woman. One fine morning she sets out for Suffolk to join her cousin Lord Wellende for a few days hunting. On the way Prudence encounters Captain Studde of the coastguard who is pursuing a quarry of his own. Studde is on the trail of a drug smuggling ring that connects Wellende Hall with the cloistered world of Cambridge.

London, 1914. While young men enlist up and down the country, the Nightingale Hospital has its own set of new recruits.... Anna Beck is the daughter of the best baker in Bethnal Green. Her German father built the business out of nothing, but as the shadow of war descends, his fate is at the mercy of their neighbours. Meanwhile Katie Carlyle has always wanted to become a doctor. She fought hard to get into medical school, and even now she faces prejudice from her fellow students as well as the tutors. Can she prove them wrong?

When Zosia arrives at Foxglove Cottage holding her small son's hand in hers, she is desperate for a new beginning. Her new job is to help 70-year-old Hazel transform her tumbledown cottage and re-open the enchanting old café, steeped in folklore. When neighbourly Leon arrives to help them restore the café, Zosia can't help falling for his rugged charm. But her heart has been shattered before, so she distracts herself by translating an old diary that’s been in Hazel's family for generations. She discovers an extraordinary love story from World War Two hidden in the yellowing pages.

A short story from British Library Crime Classic The Christmas Card Crime and Other Stories. 'It’s a very rare thing for a murder to be committed actually in the presence of a police officer.' Or so it was thought.... After the police fail to trace the writer behind a series of threatening letters to wealthy industrialist Sir Charles Leighton, he demands constant police protection. And thus it is up to Inspector Lang to accompany the man to a bridge party on New Year’s Eve - and track down his killer....

When the World's End Investigation Bureau receives an anxious visit from a trio of elderly siblings, Lily Raynor and Felix Wilbraham realise that the Fetterplaces are keeping back the heart of the matter. Ancient bones have been uncovered in their garden, and they believe they know whose they are. Felix returns by night. . .and discovers that the Fetterplace siblings have good reason for their fear. Unconscious and gravely injured, Felix is brought back to Lily's door by concerned strangers.

Uncle Willie has come to stay with the Redpaths for the holidays. It is just their luck for him to be found dead the morning after Christmas day, dressed in his Santa Claus costume, seemingly poisoned by his favourite chocolates. Or was there something sinister in the mince pies? If so, was it the ones stashed in his room or those sent to him mysteriously by post? More importantly, since his will was recently redrafted, who stands to gain by this unseasonable crime?

George Surridge, director of the Birmington Zoo, is a man with many worries: his marriage is collapsing; his finances are insecure; and an outbreak of disease threatens the animals in his care. As Surridge's debts mount and the pressure on him increases, he begins to dream of miracle solutions. But is he cunning enough to turn his dreams into reality - and could he commit the most devious murder in pursuit of his goals?

A short story from British Library Crime Classic The Christmas Card Crime and Other Stories. As Sir Leonard Huntercombe tells the elaborate story of one of his clients, listeners will love piecing together this strange locked-room mystery set on a sleeper train to Aberdeen.