Anna Jacobs

Lara Perryman has spent her whole life travelling for her busy corporate job, so it's a relief when she takes early retirement and settles in a leisure village in Wiltshire. She quickly makes friends with the other residents and finds herself entangled in the ups and downs, triumphs and tragedies of her new community.

This collection of stand-alone short stories is a treat for new readers and dedicated fans alike. In each of these 17 stories, an ordinary person takes on an extraordinary journey to a new life, discovering facets and strengths they never knew they possessed. Across a variety of time periods and settings, these stories capture Anna Jacobs' unique style and showcase her mastery of emotional tales.

Sarah has been married and widowed three times and seen great success in her business life. Now at the age of ninety-four, she signs her final will and testament pleased with how it will throw the cat among the family pigeons. She has left her luxurious home in a waterside development in Mandurah, Western Australia, to two female relatives in the UK, on the condition that they live in the house together for a year. After that which they can sell it...

Wiltshire, 1901: Young Kathleen Keller is being forced by her cruel father into marriage with a man she despises. In an act of desperation, she runs away in a bid for a safer life, although one she might not otherwise have chosen. But when tragedy strikes, Kathleen is left vulnerable, and one man threatens the fragile peace she has made for herself... Meanwhile, Nathan Perry works for his father's accountancy firm but yearns for something more satisfying....

1916: Bella is working as a VAD, driving ambulances in England, when she gets engaged to Philip, on leave from fighting in France. His family strongly disapprove of her, but the two of them are happy together. When the worst happens, Bella must manage on her own, though there are shocks and dangers she did not foresee ahead. Thankfully, Philip's best friend, Tez, injured in France, steps in to offer assistance. Can he also help Bella build a new life?...

Nell has come to feel at home in her beautiful corner of Wiltshire with her partner Angus. What she could do with, however, is a challenge - and the prospect of bringing life back to an abandoned row of houses, Saffron Lane, is just what she's looking for. Meanwhile, Stacy is trying her best to start a fresh chapter in her life. Elise, battling her nieces who would force her into residential care, longs for a home where she can get back to her painting....

During World War One, Greyladies - an ancient manor house in rural Wiltshire - is requisitioned for a hospital. Its mistress Harriet, her husband Joseph, and their sons are allowed to stay in the rear part of the house; but when tragedy strikes Joseph's brothers, his future at Greyladies is at risk... When her German employers are interned because of the war, Phoebe Sinclair loses her job; and even worse, her brutish step-cousin Frank tries to force...

With her stepfather threatening her with a forced marriage, Mattie Willitt flees home in search of a better life. She is soon lost and at the mercy of the elements - until her life is saved by Jacob, a widower who takes her in and nurses her back to health. Finding consolation in each other?s troubled pasts, the pair soon grow close But when pressure is put upon them to marry, and Mattie?s stepfather discovers her whereabouts, they must face their...

After a stray bomb scored a direct hit on his childhood home in Hertfordshire, the only thing that has kept Francis Brady going while he works salvaging what he can from the rubble is the thought that soon he'll be joining war-time friends Mayne, Daniel and Victor as electrician in their new building firm in Lancashire. But Mayne isn't answering any of his letters, Francis' wife is having a change of heart about moving up north - and her parents seem...

Armistice Day, London, 1918. Fiercely independent Georgie is tired of being told what's best for her by men. When she defies her father's wishes by going out into the peace festivities, she tries to help a woman being attacked and encounters Patrick, a gallant wounded ex-soldier looking for a new calling now that the fighting is done. But the war isn't over for everybody. Enemy forces have infiltrated the bureau and sent her father into hiding. And...