Rebecca F. John – författare

London, 1926: Henry Twist's heavily pregnant wife leaves home to meet a friend. On the way, she is hit by a bus and killed, though miraculously the baby survives. Henry is left with nothing but his new daughter - a single father in a world without single fathers. He hurries the baby home, terrified that she'll be taken from him. Racked with guilt and fear, he stays away from prying eyes, walking her through the streets at night, under cover of darkness.But one evening, a strange man steps out of the shadows and addresses Henry by name. The man says that he has lost his memory, but that his name is Jack. Henry is both afraid of and drawn to Jack, and the more time they spend together, the more Henry sees that this man has echoes of his dead wife. His mannerisms, some things he says ... And so Henry wonders, has his wife returned to him? Has he conjured Jack himself from thin air? Or is he in the grip of a sophisticated con man? Who really sent him?Set in a postwar London where the Bright Young Things dance into dawn at garden parties hosted by generous old Monty, The Haunting of Henry Twist is a novel about the limits and potential of love and of grief. It is about the lengths we will go to hold on to what is precious to us, what we will forgive of those we love, and what we will sacrifice for the sake of our own happiness.

London, 1926: Henry Twist''s heavily pregnant wife leaves home to meet a friend. On the way, she is hit by a bus and killed, though miraculously the baby survives. Henry is left with nothing but his new daughter - a single father in a world without single fathers. He hurries the baby home, terrified that she''ll be taken from him. Racked with guilt and fear, he stays away from prying eyes, walking her through the streets at night, under cover of darkness.But one evening, a strange man steps out of the shadows and addresses Henry by name. The man says that he has lost his memory, but that his name is Jack. Henry is both afraid of and drawn to Jack, and the more time they spend together, the more Henry sees that this man has echoes of his dead wife. His mannerisms, some things he says ... And so Henry wonders, has his wife returned to him? Has he conjured Jack himself from thin air? Or is he in the grip of a sophisticated con man? Who really sent him?Set in a postwar London where the Bright Young Things dance into dawn at garden parties hosted by generous old Monty, The Haunting of Henry Twist is a novel about the limits and potential of love and of grief. It is about the lengths we will go to hold on to what is precious to us, what we will forgive of those we love, and what we will sacrifice for the sake of our own happiness.

A feminist reimagining of the story of Fantine from Les Miserables, from Costa award shortlisted author. Montreuil-sur-Mer, 1815. Life is hard for Fannie working at the factory, with only sweet memories of her 'gentleman' and daughter to sustain her. But when she is revealed as an unmarried mother and fired, she is forced to take greater and greater risks to get money for her child. What can she sell? Who can she trust? Has she any escape? A story of desperation, but also of love and the soaring power of hope.

Vulcana is a fictional telling of the real story of Victorian 'strongwoman' Kate Williams (born 1874) starting when she runs away from home at 16 to travel with the love her life, William Roberts. They perform in music halls as Atlas and Vulcana -the climax of their act is that Kate can lift William over her head. She and William present themselves to the public as brother and sister as they travel the world because William is already married, and William's wife brings up Kate's children on her own. How long can this secret be kept? Kate is driven by love: for William, for her children, for performing, and for life, and Rebecca's gorgeous, immersive writing fits perfectly this brave, unconventional woman and her amazing story.

One year on from the day the shadows shifted – showing people their truest selves rather than just their shapes – best friends Teddy, Betsy and Effie plan to risk all and watch the winter sun rise over Copperwell, in defiance of the Shadow Order. But from their hidden vantage point the three shocked friends witness a mysterious woman shouting a dire warning, before she is arrested, beaten, and dragged away in handcuffs.The event leads them on an extraordinary series of dangerous adventures to save their city as they begin to learn the truth about the Shadow Order, the world surrounding Copperwell, and themselves.

When Francis House enlists in the British Army in 1907 at 15 years and three months, he is not thinking about war. He imagines he simply wants to earn his stripes - to ease his traumatised father's Boer War memories, or perhaps to please his favourite sister, Lily, with whom he has always dreamt of adventure. But he soon discovers that simply becoming a soldier is not enough.

When Francis House enlists in the British Army in 1907, at the tender age of fifteen years and three months, he is not thinking about war. He imagines he simply wants to earn his stripes – to ease his traumatised father''s Boer War memories, or perhaps to please his favourite sister, Lily, with whom he has always dreamt of adventure. But he soon discovers that simply becoming a soldier is not enough and, against the advice of his sergeant, he determines to seek out a real fight. Wading ashore at Gallipoli seven years later, Francis thinks he might just have found the site of his greatest opportunity. Here, he thinks, he might finally prove himself a man. First, though, he must find his missing friend Berto.He needs to say sorry. He cannot yet imagine the ghosts that might stand in his way.

Eighty-eight-year-old Michael Doherty lies in an open coffin. He's not yet ready to pass over. His granddaughter Sarah has inexplicably abandoned her plans to settle in Spain. She is scarred by the Sandstone City he knows only too well and Michael doesn't understand why. He is granted a special grace period of forty days to help her heal.