Uplifting Historical Fiction

🧵 Murder, Mayhem, and a Castle Full of Secrets—This Retreat Could Be Their Last Quilt shop owner Alex Allin expected a peaceful escape at Blair Castle’s Scottish quilting retreat—until the famed but foul-tempered instructor is found dead inside the locked sewing salon. No way in. No way out. And someone came armed with more than scissors. The clues point to a centuries-old quilt, a cryptic symbol, a missing heirloom, and the haunting story of Moira MacNairn—an accused woman whose final secrets may still be stitched into the castle walls. Trapped by a storm, Alex must rely on her ...

Inspired by true events, A More Perfect Union is an epic story of love and courage, desperation and determination, and three people whose lives are inescapably entwined… Henry O’Toole sails to America in 1848 to escape the famine in Ireland, only to face anti-immigrant prejudice. Determined...

1963. Cape Kennedy, Florida. The world is watching the skies— but five women are fighting battles no one sees. When Josephine Booker’s husband is chosen for NASA’s elite astronaut program, she leaves behind snowy Minnesota for a life of sunshine, press conferences, and expectations she never asked for. In Stardust Beach—a brand-new town built to support the space race—Jo is expected to be the perfect wife, mother, and symbol of American grace. But behind the smiles and poolside interviews, her marriage is quietly cracking under the pressure. The danger isn’t just in space. ...

He’s trained to survive the deadliest conditions in space. But no one prepared him for the silence at home. Lieutenant Colonel Bill Booker is a decorated pilot, a respected astronaut, and a man unraveling by degrees. Beneath the surface of his perfect American life—his rising NASA career, his beautiful wife Jo, and their idyllic home on Stardust Beach—something is breaking. And when his temper flares one too many times, NASA gives him a choice: face therapy, or forfeit his place in the program. Haunted by his past, disconnected from the woman he once loved so fiercely, and quietly ...

She gave up the spotlight to protect her heart. Now the past is demanding an encore. Once destined for Broadway stardom, Francesca “Frankie” Lombardi left New York—and dancing—behind after a devastating betrayal stole her spark. Reinvented as the glamorous wife of NASA astronaut Ed Maxwell, Frankie plays the role of confident hostess and loyal friend in Stardust Beach. But behind her flawless façade is a woman still aching from loss… and terrified to hope for more. Her marriage is quietly unraveling under the weight of unspoken grief, and the life she’s built feels as fragile ...

Mrs. Holt is dealing with a *hot flash* and trying to cope with impossible grief at the Curry Quilting Bee. Town gossips, Mrs. Daindridge and Mrs. Carr, toss a scandalous accusation into the discussion, slandering the good name of the missing teacher. When the quarrel breaks out, feathers fly! What happened to presumably innocent Mrs. Ellice? If you love Crime Novels with strong female leads set in the 1920's, this is the series for you!

Everyone thinks Barbie Roman has it all. But this time, being perfect might cost her everything. With her picture-perfect looks, polished manners, and political pedigree, Barbie Roman was raised to play the role of the ideal daughter, wife, and mother. From an exclusive enclave in Connecticut to the sun-soaked shores of Stardust Beach, she’s spent her life smiling, supporting, and staying silent. But now, the stakes are too high—and Barbie’s time as the quiet good girl is running out. Her husband Todd is one of NASA’s rising stars, and with three young sons at home, Barbie should be...

She’s always lived by her heart. Now the world is asking her to choose. Carrie Reed has never been like the other astronaut wives—and she’s never tried to be. She gardens barefoot, raises her kids on vitamins and whole foods, and dreams of a more peaceful, just world. While her husband Jay trains for space missions, Carrie’s passion is right here on Earth: protecting the planet, fighting for civil rights, and teaching her children to do the same. But the closer the country inches toward change, the more Carrie feels pulled in opposite directions. Voter registration drives in the ...

They set out to reach the stars. Now they’re fighting to hold on to what matters most. July 1969. As the nation holds its breath for the moon landing, Jo and Bill Booker are quietly bracing for impact. Bill is on the cusp of making history—he’s been chosen for the most iconic mission of the space race—but the cracks in their marriage may be too wide to bridge. After a decade of sacrifice, secrets, and emotional entanglements neither of them fully escaped, Jo isn’t sure what’s left of the life they once dreamed of. Their children are nearly grown, with strong opinions and hearts ...

Libby Jansen walked into the town’s seriously small police department and came face to face with the last person on earth she expected to see…the last person she wanted to see. She was there for her aunt...not a trip down memory lane. Nathaniel Carson has spent the last couple of years since his retirement trying to rectify a mistake he should have never made in the first place. Letting Janie walk out of their marriage was easily the biggest mistake of his entire life…he was old enough to know better. Harry Jansen spent a couple days writing copious notes. He had big plans, and the ...

She’s building rockets for NASA— but can she build the life she truly wants? At just twenty-seven, Jeanie Florence is blazing a trail few women have ever walked—as one of NASA’s brightest young engineers. While America races to put a man on the moon, Jeanie is quietly making history behind the scenes, her calculations propelling astronauts into space. But when it comes to love? She’s still stuck firmly on the launchpad. Her heart belongs to Bill Booker—an older, married astronaut whose orbit she knows she has no business entering. But emotions don’t always follow logic, and ...

Mrs. Searwood is convinced Hitler has a personal grudge against her. After one air raid too many, the widowed Londoner meets the last person she ever expected: the ghost of Chief White Feather, who came to England with Pocahontas three centuries earlier and has been quietly educating himself at Britain's finest universities ever since. Wise, witty, and endlessly curious, Chief White Feather becomes Mrs. Searwood’s confidant, champion, and occasional matchmaker. When she leaves wartime London for the safety of a small English village, he follows, gently nudging her toward a life she ...

'A beautiful book. Powerful and captivating, the story will transport you to another time and place, plunging you headlong into the lives of its characters. Tracy Rees's writing is fluid, vibrant and evocative. Extraordinarily good.' - Hazel Prior Tracy Rees's latest novel The Elopement is an...

Chicago, 1966. Ruby Freeman is nineteen years old, working long hours in a garment factory and helping her widowed mother keep food on the table. Her schooling may have ended too soon, but Ruby possesses something poverty cannot silence—a voice powerful enough to make a crowded basement fall still. Downstairs, among musicians, neighbours and dreamers, Ruby discovers a place where her colour does not determine her worth and her ambitions are not treated as foolish. But beyond those basement walls, racism closes doors, employers steal ideas and powerful men see Ruby’s talent as something ...

FROM CHAINS TO ROSES The Unforgettable Story of Josephine Bakhita Some are born into darkness only to become bearers of the most extraordinary light... Snatched from her village in a violent raid, nine-year-old Bakhita is thrust into a living nightmare. Her identity stripped away, her body carved with 144 brutal scars, she is sold from master to master across the merciless deserts of Sudan. They call her "fortunate one" in cruel mockery, never suspecting the indomitable fire that burns behind her eyes. In this electrifying, heart-pounding novel, Mirella Patzer throws readers into the savage...

She lost everything but hope—and hope is the one thing she refuses to let go of. Little Kitty Carter’s world is torn apart when she is separated from her beloved sisters, Annie and Nell. With only a rag doll to remind her of the family she has lost, Kitty faces a childhood of uncertainty—first in the harsh confines of the workhouse, then in the strict walls of orphanages and boarding schools. Amid loneliness and betrayal, Kitty discovers a gift that becomes both her refuge and her strength: art. Through every heartbreak, her drawings carry the memories of her sisters and the fragile ...

Brought to you by Penguin. The village of Churchwood has never needed The Wartime Bookshop, or its community, more. But when the bookshop comes under threat at the worst possible time, can Alice, Kate and Naomi pull together to keep spirits high? Kate has always found life on Brimbles Farm...

The must-read Victorian saga of winter and hope. When Lucy Moore arrives at the remote Blackmoor House, she knows the post is her last chance at respectable employment. Quietly dismissed from her former position, she accepts the role with few questions — and even fewer expectations. But from the moment she crosses the snow-covered threshold, something is wrong. Behind locked doors and unspoken rules, Lucy discovers a house ruled by silence and neglect. And hidden away in a forgotten wing is a child no one will acknowledge — a fragile little girl, cold, hungry, and fading from the world....

1722. A Quaker widow. A dangerous secret. Willow Witherspoon has always followed the rules. But in the volatile American Colonies of 1722, she finds herself drawn into a shocking, illicit romance that threatens to shatter her standing in the community and her very life. Torn between her faith and an overwhelming passion, Willow must navigate a treacherous new world - a place of judgment, surprising alliances, and extraordinary risk. With her future on the line, she must find the courage to defy convention and embrace the strength and resilience she never knew she had. Can she claim her ...

Brought to you by Penguin. It is 1950. In a devastating moment of clarity, Margery Benson abandons her dead-end job and advertises for an assistant to accompany her on an expedition. She is going to travel to the other side of the world to search for a beetle that may or may not exist. Enid...