For the character of Little Nell, the beautiful child thrown into a shadowy, terrifying world, Dickens drew upon the tragedy in his own life. His characters are startlingly powerful, especially Quilp, the antithesis of Little Nell.

In a small Irish seaside town in the 50s and 60s, two very different children are growing up. They shout their hearts' desires into the echo cave, praying that their destiny will lead them far away from the town in which they live.

When an informer's body is found on the Quintons' estate shortly after the First World War, the Black and Tans torch their home, and only Willie and his mother escape. Willie grows into manhood and, although he finds love, he seems unable to forget the terrible injuries of the past.

Growing up in extreme poverty in London, Pearl thinks life can get no worse. But when her parents discover there's yet another baby on the way, they have to tighten the belt even further. Pearl's mother decides to send her and her younger sister Eliza to the workhouse, where they are forced into a new life of hardship and struggle. Pearl's hopes are raised when the workhouse offers the sisters a new life in Canada, and they board an orphan ship transporting...

Ah Hock is an ordinary, uneducated man born in a Malaysian fishing village and now trying to make his way in a country that promises riches and security to everyone, but delivers them only to a chosen few. With Asian society changing around him, like many he remains trapped in a world of poorly paid jobs that just about allow him to keep his head above water but ultimately lead him to murder a migrant worker from Bangladesh.

When Josie's inheritance is stolen and she faces eviction from the only home she has known, she is determined to survive and struggles to support herself. However, desperate for a little love, she then stumbles into an unsuitable romance.

Following the energy crisis of the late 20th century America has been abandoned. A century later, a small group of explorers returns, but America is unrecognisable - the Bering Strait has been dammed and the continent has become a desert, populated by isolated natives and the remnants of a disintegrated culture.

In 1086 the Domesday Book was compiled - a survey of England made at the behest of the Norman conquerors. This text presents the manuscript, attempts to analyse the world it portrays, examines Norman society, and penetrates beyond it.

The O'Neils keep watch over their one remaining young son, Seamus. Hardworking and good-hearted, they cling together and help not just each other, but a community of dock workers. Meanwhile, Rosh Allen mourns the loss of Phil, her husband. Aided and impeded by her mother, she struggles to raise three children.

Life is limited and hard for Rose, born into a large family in the slums of pre-war Birmingham. Through her friendship with Diana, daughter of a vicar from middle-class Mosley, she learns to aspire to a different existence.