Showing results by author "Deborah Swift" in All Categories

London 1666. Elizabeth 'Bird' Carpenter has a wonderful singing voice, and music is her passion. When her father persuades her to marry horse-dealer Christopher Knepp, she suspects she is marrying beneath her station, but nothing prepares her for the reality of life with Knepp. He is a tyrant and a bully and will allow Bird no life of her own. When Knepp goes away, she makes a secret visit to the theatre. Entranced, she falls in love with the theatre and is determined to forge a path of her own as an actress.

When the Russians invade Lithuania, Zofia and her brother Jacek fear for their lives. As a journalist, Jacek is targeted by the new communist regime, which despises intellectuals and condemns them to hard labor in the gulags, where few survive. Hearing rumors that the Japanese consul Sugihara might offer them exit visas, Zofia knows she must seize this chance for freedom. In return, Sugihara asks them to deliver a parcel to Tokyo—an innocuous request, until they discover it contains intelligence about Nazi atrocities that the Nazis are desperate to retrieve.

Mia Caiozzi is determined to discover her destiny by studying the science of astronomy. But her stepmother Giulia forbids her to engage in this dangerous occupation, fearing it will lead her into trouble. The ideas of Galileo are banned by the Inquisition, so Mia must study in secret.

Giulia Tofana never wanted to be a nun, but she is determined to atone for her past misdeeds by making her new monastery a success. When an unexpected disaster closes the convent, Giulia is forced to turn to her old friend, Fabio Pasello, for help. Giulia still has intense feelings for Fabio, and Fabio’s passion for her has never diminished. But they are not the same people they were before. Giulia has taken her vows, and Fabio is apprenticed to Gianlorenzo Bernini, the famous sculptor, and has become one of Bernini’s rakish libertines.

Holland, 1944: Undercover British agent Nancy Callaghan has been given her toughest case yet. A key member of the Dutch resistance has been captured, and Nancy must play the role of a wealthy Nazi to win over a notorious SS officer, Detlef Keller, and gain crucial information. But as Nancy infiltrates the Dutch SS, she finds herself catching the eye of an even more senior member of the Party. Is Nancy in too deep, or can Tom reach her before she gets caught?

Giulia Tofana longs for more responsibility in her mother’s apothecary business, but Mamma has always been secretive and refuses to tell her the hidden keys to her success. But the day Mamma is arrested for the poisoning of the powerful Duke de Verdi, Giulia is shocked to uncover the darker side of her trade. Giulia must run for her life and escapes to Naples, under the shadow of Mount Vesuvius, to the home of her aunt Isabetta, a famous courtesan.

England, 1942: Having fled Germany after her father was captured by the Nazis, Lilli Bergen is desperate to do something pro-active for the Allies. So when she’s approached by the Political Warfare Executive, Lilli jumps at the chance. She’s recruited as a singer for a radio station broadcasting propaganda to German soldiers – a shadow network. But Lilli’s world is flipped upside down when her ex-boyfriend, Bren Murphy, appears at her workplace; the very man she thinks betrayed her father to the Nazis.

England, 1943: Deciding to throw herself into war work, Nancy Callaghan joins the Special Operations Executive in Baker Street. There, she begins solving ‘indecipherables’ – scrambled messages from agents in the field. Then Nancy meets Tom Lockwood, a quiet genius when it comes to coding. Together they come up with the idea of printing codes on silk, so agents can hide them in their clothing to avoid detection by the enemy. Nancy and Tom grow close, and soon she is hopelessly in love. But there is a traitor in Baker Street, and suspicions turn towards Tom.

1940, Jersey. When Nazi forces occupy Jersey in the English Channel Islands, Céline Huber, who is married to a German, must decide where her loyalty lies. Love for her island and fear for her Jewish friend Rachel soon propel her into a dangerous double life. Meanwhile, Céline’s husband Fred is conscripted into the Wehrmacht in occupied France. Horrified by Nazi acts of atrocity and torture, he soon becomes a double agent for the French Resistance.

Rhoda Middleton suspects her husband Peter is having an affair. But when Rhoda tracks the mysterious woman down, she finds she is not his lover after all, but the wife of his wartime best friend, Archie Foster. There is only one problem - Rhoda has never even heard of Archie Foster.

The Great Plague has London in its grip. As the summer heat rises, red crosses mark the doors, wealthy citizens flee, and only the poor remain to face the march of death. Ambitious and attractive, Bess Bagwell is determined her carpenter husband, Will, should make a name for himself and schemes to meet Samuel Pepys, diarist, friend of the King and an important man in the Navy shipyards. But Pepys has his own motive for cultivating Bess, and it’s certainly not to benefit her husband. With pestilence rife in the city, all trade ceases.

Deb Willet takes a position as companion to Elisabeth Pepys, Samuel's wife. Deb believes it will give her the respectability she craves, but it proves far more complicated than she could ever have imagined. Samuel Pepys' influence in Restoration London means that the Dutch are keen to get their hands on his secrets, even if that means murder. Deb is soon caught up in a dangerous game, while at the same time trying to counter Mr Pepys' lust for her....