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Can their friendship survive the struggles of war? The East End of London, 1940. Life is tough for the Ten Bells Street girls. Best friends from childhood, the three of them now find themselves scattered across London, bearing the weight of war apart. Exiled from the East End, Rose has created a new life for herself and now works as a dancer in a club in Soho, but she soon finds that life in the West End isn't any easier than what she left behind.

A compelling wartime drama from the author of The Street, perfect for fans of Pam Weaver and Kitty Neale. Rosie Gardiner is having a tough war. She's had to leave her job as a nude at the Windmill in Soho after a horrific assault which left her pregnant and is now living back at home with her recently remarried dad. Despite her best efforts, Rosie and her dad just can't get along, and the strain of coping as a young, unmarried mother is getting to her.

Pride is all about embracing you for being you! These five stories will show children how to bring the teaching of “love is love” into their everyday lives, at home and in the playground. This collection acts as an introduction to the ideas behind the festival of Pride, helping young children understand the importance of this LGBTQIA+ event, and demonstrating how families can get involved in the celebrations. Join Ladybird for stories of community, diversity, acceptance, happiness, and of course, being proud!

Lilac Street was a crowded, sooty-faced, workaday place, the houses full and the streets teeming with children. One thing it was, without a doubt, was full of life. Birmingham, almost a decade after the end of the Great War, and the women of Lilac Street have had more than their fair share of troubles.... Rose Southgate is trapped, bringing up her daughter in a loveless marriage. Shy and isolated, she tries to make the best of her life, until she meets a man who changes everything.

An incredible true story of a young nurse working in the East End of London during the Second World War.In 1938, 18-year-old Phyllis Ellsworth packs her bags, says good-bye to her anxious parents and sets off from her quiet seaside home for the Hackney Hospital in London's bustling East End, where she is to fulfill her dream to train as a nurse. At first it is a whirlwind of long days, hard work, new friends and plenty of mischief....

December 1930. With the Depression biting deeper, it looks like many children in the East End will wake up to nothing on Christmas morning. Widower Robbie Graham earns just enough to put food on the table for his children, Ben and Ruthie. Local cake shop owner Flo Hawkins can't bear the thought of any child having nothing for Christmas. Along with her sister, Honour, she hatches a plan to bring some festive cheer to the community.

When 12-year-old Ada Cooper's elder sister, Connie, goes mysteriously missing, Ada and her younger brother, Sam, are forced to fend for themselves. Connie's job at the match factory was the only thing keeping the family together, and when the rent man, Mr Winterbourne, threatens them with internment at the workhouse for non-payment, Ada and Sam must flee. A costermongering family come to their aid by providing Ada with a barrow of her own to sell fruit and veg by day and flowers outside the theatres by night.

Where is the line between hope and madness? Stella and her boyfriend were teenagers when their one-year-old daughter, Alice, vanished during a beach vacation. Though her body was never found, Alice was assumed to have drowned. Twenty-one years later, Stella is a happily married mother to a 13-year-old son and a successful therapist. But everything falls apart when a new patient walks into her office. The young woman introduces herself as Isabelle - but Stella is sure it’s Alice....

Carla Scofield has looked after her family since she was a teenager, but it's never been a bother because there isn't anything she wouldn't do for those closest to her. Warm, friendly, and with the ability to make everyone around her laugh, she carries her burden proudly. As the years roll past, Carla sees life around her change dramatically. Wartime brings new challenges and a new job for Carla in a sewing factory, and she shines.

Nellie Welche’s life changes for ever when she’s proposed as companion to Princess Sophia, daughter of mad King George III and Queen Charlotte. Taken into the heart of the family, Nellie is privy to the innermost secrets of the wayward House of Hanover. From the first rumblings of the French Revolution to the beginnings of the railway age, Nellie charts their story as she and Princess Sofy support each other through the ups and downs of their extraordinary lives.

Queenie Bonner is only two when she is taken from her large family in the slums to a big house in the country. Frightened and confused, she yearns for her nine brothers and sisters, especially her favourite brother, Harry. Albert and Mary Warrender rename her Eleanor, bringing her up as their own, and as time passes, Ellie forgets about her other family.

London, 1942. Charlotte Fenimore is back home on a week's leave from the Women's Auxiliary Airforce. She had planned for a week of rest and recuperation. She hadn't planned to fall deeply in love with an irascible detective called Dan Chalmers, a wounded hero of Dunkirk who believed no woman would ever look at him again.

Things have not been going too well for Daisy Lane. Her murdered lover, Eddie Lane, has left her comfortably off and his son little Eddie is an adorable and constant reminder of his father. The new man in her life, South London gangster Roy Kemp, looks out for her and is kind to little Eddie. But someone is watching Daisy's every move, like a predator choosing the perfect moment to pounce.

Pretty 17-year-old Greta has never known a stable family life. With no father, and loathing her mother Ruby's latest boyfriend, Greta finds life hard at home and is happiest at work with her friends at the Cadbury factory in Birmingham where she is popular with the boys. Life takes a turn for the worse when her missing vixen of a sister Marleen turns up during the freezing winter of 1962.

Clara Fitzroy refuses to conform to convention. Her reckless behaviour has devastating consequences and an ill-judged liaison threatens to destroy everything she's hoped for. Clara has to make a decision that will change her life. Will she make the right one? She asks Daisy Carter, the hotel housekeeper, for help, but Daisy has problems of her own. A family relationship brings grief and heartache and a well meaning action ends in disaster. A life-changing moment, a heartbreaking choice.

Homeless Bodies and Other Stories is an original fiction podcast featuring audio-exclusive short stories from award-winning authors and Sunday Times best-sellers, inspired by objects & artefacts from Wellcome Collection's permanent exhibition, 'Medicine Man', in London.

It's the most wonderful time of the year - and the East End Angels are working hard to keep Londoners safe. Frankie is trying hard to keep everything together. She can count on the support of the East End Angels, even in the face of family trouble. Winnie's beloved husband, Mac, is putting himself at risk every day in the bomb disposal unit and she's finding it hard while he's away. Bella is growing in confidence and happiness. Her friendship with Winnie's brother, James, is getting closer all the time.

Daisy Lane is battling to keep her family together. About to be released from prison, her oldest son Eddie is desperate to escape his past. But Eddie soon discovers that giving up the life of a gangster isn’t going to be easy. Daisy’s youngest son Jamie is determined to step out from under the shadow of his older brother and make a name for himself. And when Jamie gets wind of his brother’s plan to pull off a heist, his involvement threatens to be Eddie’s undoing.

1916: Across the channel, the Great War rages and in London's East End with her husband away fighting, Hannah Loxwood battles with the overwhelming burden of 'duty.' She has sacrificed so much for a husband who may never come home. When she meets Daniel who is thoughtful, intelligent and quietly captivating - Hannah finds herself faced with the most dangerous of temptations. Soon Hannah and Daniel will realise just how precarious their happiness is, as their destiny rushes towards them…

Even in wartime, East End girl Nancy Evans has reason to hope. She's a rising star in the Women's Auxiliary Air Force, and she'll be walking down the aisle any day now...but then a brutal night of bombing changes her life forever. Newly pregnant and single, Nancy swaps her blue uniform for a pinny, taking on housekeeping duties for handsome village doctor David Denny. And though Nancy tries to stay cheerful and contribute to the war effort in any way she can, it isn't long before she finds herself leaning on David for comfort....