Louise Allen – författare

The scandal of the season Must be stopped! Widowed duchess Sophie will do anything to protect her son and his inheritance—even ask roguish Lord Nicholas Pascoe to retrieve her late husband’s diaries before the secrets they contain bring down the government and the monarchy! Sophie knows she must maintain her distance from Nicholas…only she can’t help but respond to the desire in his eyes. Their mission is treacherous, but will it prove as dangerous as their unexpected attraction?

Shortlisted for the RNA Awards 2024! The friend she’s loved… Is now the husband she must resist… Lady Isobel might be the daughter of the late Lord Martyn, but she’s treated by her family as a maid. So when her childhood best friend Leo Havelock reveals that he will only inherit his fortune if he marries—immediately!—she agrees to be his convenient countess. Their union offers Isobel the chance to escape her home…but can she escape the feelings she has long had for her husband?

Miss Danby’s daring proposition… for the Duke First, wealthy ironmaster’s daughter Jessica Danby needs a titled husband. So, upon learning that Alexander, the Duke of Malvern, needs a rich wife, she makes him a convenient proposal…Next, her impetuous marriage offer is swiftly rejected by Alex—who wants to marry for love!Now, Jessica must accept his help in finding another suitor. But as they spend the Season by each other’s side, she realises that their unlikely friendship is becoming something more thrilling!

Together for Christmas His Housekeeper's Christmas Wish Accidentally colliding with Tess Ellery on the icy streets of Ghent was not the way Alexander Tempest, Viscount Weybourn, intended to start the festive period. When Tess is left stranded, Alex is honour-bound to take her home…as his housekeeper! And, despite his rule of spending Christmas alone, Tess’ vivacity soon has this Lord determined to make all her Christmas wishes come true! His Christmas Countess Grant Rivers, Earl of Allundale, is desperate to get home for Christmas. But when he stumbles upon a woman all alone in a rundown shack, having a baby out of wedlock, it’s his duty to stay and help her. Grant knows the risks of childbirth, and he’s witnessed enough tragedy to last a lifetime. So, once he’s saved her life, Grant is determined to save Kate Harding’s reputation too…if she will marry a stranger on Christmas Day!

Revenge is sweet… But will the Marquis’s kiss be sweeter? Perfect for fans of: 🔥 Enemies to lovers🎩 High society–When Will, the Marquis of Ravenham, advertises for an expert in antiques to help him navigate the hoard of treasures that fill his newly inherited estate, Katherine Jones is quick to apply! She is desperate to find the Borgia Ruby, which was stolen from her father by Will’s family, ruining her own family’s livelihood in the process. Now Katherine is determined to get revenge! Only her enemy is nothing like she imagined…not least because she didn’t foresee being charmed by his witty repartee! Katherine must ask herself: does she want vengeance or Will more?

A Regency friends to lovers, marriage of convenience romance and a Duke with a hidden identity… Born to be a Duchess Determined to defy the Duke! Lady Thea Campion is aghast to discover that her hand in marriage has been promised to the Duke of Leamington since she was in the cradle! Now, with the prospect of their convenient wedding becoming far too real, Thea is adamant she won’t marry a man she’s never even met…What’s more, there is a gentleman that she would much rather marry—her new friend, Hal Forrest. So imagine her shock when she discovers that he is the Duke! Betrayed and deceived, can Thea ever say yes to his proposal? Perfect for fans of: 👫 Friends to lovers🎭 Hidden identity

She’s a mystery… that the duke will solve!After fleeing the ton in ruin, Lady Catherine Brandon built a new life in sleepy Oxfordshire. Her secret past means knowing anyone beyond an acquaintance is out of the question. So the arrival of Quinn Falconer, the Duke of Harland, threatens everything when their startling attraction becomes recklessly tempting…Though Quinn has ambitions for the town that borders his newly inherited estate, Cat is diverting all his attention. With the grace of a high-society debutante and the gumption of someone who’s known hardship, she is a compelling contradiction. And the more he investigates, the stronger the pull towards her becomes… Perfect for fans of: 🎭 Hidden identity🎩 High society

From prize-winning historical novelist Louise Allen, this book presents eight walks through both the London Jane Austen knew and the London of her novels! Follow in Jane’s footsteps to her publisher’s doorstep and the Prince Regent’s vanished palace, see where she stayed when she was correcting proofs of Sense and Sensibility and accompany her on a shopping expedition – and afterwards to the theatre. In modern London the walker can still visit the church where Lydia Bennett married Wickham, stroll with Elinor Dashwood in Kensington Palace Gardens or imagine they follow Jane’s naval officer brothers as they stride down Whitehall to the Admiralty. From well-known landmarks to hidden corners, these walks reveal a lost London that can still come alive in vivid detail for the curious visitor, who will discover eighteenth-century chop houses, elegant squares, sinister prisons, bustling city streets and exclusive gentlemen’s clubs amongst innumerable other Austen-esque delights.

The stagecoach was the travel wonder of its age: passengers could board a fast coach and be shuttled from one end of the country to the other, stopping only in stages to hitch up fresh horses and take a little light refreshment at coaching inns. Though coaches first appeared in the sixteenth century, stagecoach travel reached its heyday between about 1750 and 1850, leading to great improvements in British roads, which in return encouraged faster and expanded services. This book details the routes, proprietors and coaching inns, the customers and why they chose to travel, and also the perils of early road travel, including highwaymen. The legacy of stagecoach travel is also explored, making this an essential introduction.

A brutal foster mother.A child's courage.A story of survival. A foster home should be a refuge for children with a troubled start in life, but this was not the case for Louise Allen. Born to a teenage mother in the late 1960s, she is placed in an isolated house where her foster mother, Barbara, inflicts a brutal regime of starvation and punishment upon her. Suffering atrocious neglect, Louise is at the mercy of predatory, sadistic neighbour Kevin, while Barbara's husband turns a blind eye and social workers seem not to notice. Somehow Louise finds a way to survive, taking comfort in scraps of food handed to her by the travellers who live on a nearby caravan site. She develops a talent for art but the cruel Barbara is intent on ruining the one thing that gives her hope. When Louise finally realises how disturbed her family is, she finds the courage to change her destiny. It will be an uphill struggle that will almost kill her. A heartbreaking story of neglect and cruelty and how one little girl's imagination helped her to survive and even forgive.

FROM THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLING AUTHORThrown Away Child is a memoir covering Louise Allen’s abusive childhood in a foster home, how she survived - using her love of art as a sanctuary - and how she hopes to right old wrongs now by fostering children herself and campaigning for the improvement of foster care services. It is a compelling and inspirational story. This book gives a voice to the many children who grew up unhappily in care.

From understanding what adoption is, through to step by step guidance on the entire process and the challenges that come up along the way, this is the only book you will need to read on adoption.Written by an author who was adopted herself, who has looked after over twenty children and who works with a fostering and adoption agency that deals specifically with breakdowns, this book will teach you how to confidently navigate the system and build a strong and lasting relationship with your child.Whilst very much being the unvarnished truth, this is an empowering guide that will ensure you feel in control and know where to turn to for help no matter what:With a positive attitude and the right tools, adopting a child can be very rewarding - don't try to overthink it, don't try to love, just do right by them and as you learn about each other the love, kindness and acceptance will grow.

When Sky and her older sister Avril were taken into care, the social workers knew this was a case like no other. Raised by troubled parents who hoarded compulsively, creating horrific conditions no child should live in, the two girls arrived at foster carer Louise's home, neglected, malnourished, and indoctrinated. Louise had to draw on all of her experience as one of Britain's leading foster carers to rehabilitate and change the course of their lives.But with constant attempts to thwart her work, Louise ends up under siege in her own home. Will she succeed or is their fate sealed forever?

From the bestselling author of the Thrown Away Children series comes another heartbreaking story of life in foster care.Louise has trouble on her hands from the first moment that 5-year-old Billy Blackthorn comes to stay. He is one of more than 20 children taken into care from a single family, and erupts into the Allen household with a volatility that is frightening and disturbing in equal measure. It is only as Louise begins to uncover the secrets of Billy's dark past that she begins to understand what made his family 'untouchable'.'Britain's top foster carer' The Sun'A shining light' Emily Finch, BBC

From the bestselling author of the Thrown Away Children series comes another heartbreaking story of life in foster care.Parents Angelina and Ben exist in enviable luxury: not just wealth, success and a gorgeous home, but a loving relationship and beautiful twin babies to complete the perfect family.But having it all means that you have the most to lose. And when cracks begin to appear things fall apart at a shocking pace; and it's twins Max and Mia who suffer the most.Money isn't enough to paper over the problems in this extraordinary and heartbreaking story. It is a foster-caring experience like no other, and one which tests Louise's emotional strength to the core.

'Stella is just like a tiny bird. This is my first impression of her. A quiet little sparrow of a girl.'In her brand-new series 'Thrown Away Children', Louise Allen shares the harrowing stories she is exposed to as a foster mother.The first in the series, Stella's Story, tells the astonishing true story of a young girl scarred by an abusive past.Named after the lager that christened her at birth, Stella's life is characterised instability and neglect. Her teenage mother abandons her in the first few weeks of her life, and left in the 'care' of her father, she ends up lying deserted in a house with no food, no water, no clothes, and no warmth.She eventually lands in the care of foster carer Louise, who is determined to change her life for the better. Things seem to be going well - but when Stella has a startling response to having her photo taken, it becomes clear the scars of her abuse run deeper than anyone could have ever guessed.

She doesn't want this baby.She can't look after this baby.She will never be able to love this baby.Little Abby's life begins badly, then just gets worse.Now foster mum Louise and her family must help her deal with the truth of her past to give her the chance of a future.Abby's Story is the latest book in the series THROWN AWAY CHILDREN by author and foster mum Louise Allen.

Ashley is a young single mum raising her daughter, Eden, and working hard to do the very best job she can - until one night she can't find a babysitter and makes the decision to leave Eden home alone for a couple of hours, asleep inside a wardrobe. It is an action that begins a terrible downward spiral for both of them. When Eden arrives at experienced foster carer Louise Allen's home, she has entered the care system because her mother is in prison. Eden is five years old and will not speak to any human. She begins exhibiting some other disturbing behaviours alongside the mutism, too, including torturing the family pets she loves. This eventually leads Louise to discover the pain and tragic reality behind Eden's Story.

Louise gets a frantic call to take in a damaged and destructive young girl. Separated from her siblings, Sparkle is hostile and angry.A short while after settling in, Sparkle begins to identify as pansexual. A revolution is underway in the Allen household, with Sparkle's transition motivating all of the young people to explore what becoming an adult means for them.But it's Sparkle's escalating behaviour that causes concern.Discovering a dark fact about Sparkle's birth and the shocking events that the children in her house were part of, Louise is desperate for more help - and not just for the child in her care. As Sparkle's erratic and violent behaviour increases, Louise finds herself and her homelife under serious threat.

An unhealthy obsession and a dark secret spell trouble for Louise in a disturbing case…A baby is named ‘Marilyn’ after the Hollywood legend, Norma Jean. Marilyn inherits her mother’s fascination for Marilyn Monroe and develops an obsession with her alter-ego. She wears red lipstick and mirrors the curvy, platinum-blonde film star from a very young age. When her family is torn apart by tragedy, she finds herself in the care system. Suddenly placed with Louise, she turns the family’s longed-for summer holiday into an utter disaster.But is her diva behaviour masking a dark secret?

The tenth instalment in the popular Thrown Away Children paperback series. A young girl’s life is shadowed by secrets and lies...When Willow arrives in the Allen household, curious things begin to happen.Who is the strange child dressed in outlandish clothes who refuses a mobilephone? What are the mysterious allegations that have been made about her?Determined to find out Louise gets more than she bargained for, as she unravelsthe truth about Willow’s family background and uncovers some distressingsecrets.

The eleventh instalment in the popular Thrown Away Children paperback series. Michelle and Andy are thrilled to be fast-tracked into fostering and are quickly paired with 7-year-old Milo - whom they hope will complete their family, making a 'pigeon pair' with their older daughter, Grace. But Milo tears through their home like a raging tornado, destroying a beautiful interior - and their lives. Their dream of a new homelife costs Michelle her job, thousands of pounds in damages to their home and car, and leaves them with a traumatised daughter in need of professional support. What are the secrets of his violent and destructive behaviours? Experienced foster carer Louise Allen steps in. Can she uncover the little boy's disturbing past and help him?

Slave Girls, a new series by bestselling author Louise Allen, reveals a shocking modern-day scandal of County Lines – the single most dangerous form of systematic child abuse prevalent today.Charlotte - The Cutting Girl - comes from a family of high achievers. Her father is a politician, and her mother is a senior medical officer.When she moves from her prestigious boarding school she is groomed by a girl two years her senior, spiralling into a cycle of drugs, self-harm and sexual abuse.When she goes missing, five other girls do, too. A nationwide media campaign sets out to track them down, but can Charlotte ever escape the gang behind the abduction and abuse?

Slave Girls, a new series by bestselling author Louise Allen, reveals a shocking modern-day scandal of County Lines - the single most dangerous form of systematic child abuse prevalent today. This is the second installment in the brand new series. Hanna - The Shrinking Girl - has always struggled to fit in. The eldest of five kids, her homelife is complicated and poor, and her single mum, Eva, can barely keep their heads above water.Bullied at school for her obvious signs of poverty, she is happy and relieved when a cool girl makes a move to be her new friend. But this friendship carries a terrible cost. She is thrown into a dark world of drugs, gangs, sex and a controlling ‘boyfriend’. Repeatedly raped and addicted to drugs herself, a desperate Hanna starts to self-harm and develops an eating disorder.Totally controlled by a gang that uses her as a commodity, is there any way she can be pulled from their grip and reunited with her family?