Chocolate Girls – serie

'A heart-warming and affecting tale.' - Woman's Weekly1946: The war might be over but, for the Gilby family, there are still battles to be fought at home . . .For both the city of Birmingham and the Gilby family, the war years have been a time of great change. With her husband, Len, having left her for another woman, Ann Gilby is finally free to follow her heart. While the neighbours may be scandalised by having a divorcee in their midst, Ann is determined to rise above the local gossip and make a happy home with her former sweetheart, Tom – the father of her youngest child.Meanwhile, daughters Joy and Sheila are lucky enough to have their menfolk back home. But Joy's husband, Alan, has returned home a broken man from his experiences in a Japanese prisoner of war camp. And Sheila's husband, Kenneth, is finding his wartime adventures and travels have made Birmingham feel small by comparison.And then there's Ann's youngest child, Martin, who is still coming to terms with learning who his real father is – as well as having secrets of his own . . .From Annie Murray, the bestselling author of Secrets of the Chocolate Girls and Wartime for the Chocolate Girls: Homecoming for the Chocolate Girls is the heartfelt and dramatic conclusion to this gritty family saga about love, war and chocolate . . .'A portrait of four generations of a Birmingham family as they struggle to rebuild their lives in the aftermath of World War Two. With intimately drawn characters grappling with emotional dramas, this is a writer at the top of her game.' - Joanna Toye, author of The Shop Girls

'A heart-warming and affecting tale' – Woman's WeeklyHomecoming for the Chocolate Girls is the heartfelt and dramatic conclusion to this gritty family saga about love, war and chocolate.1946: The war might be over, but for the Gilby family there are still battles to be fought at home . . .For Birmingham and the Gilby family the war years have been a time of great change. With husband Len having left her for another woman, Ann Gilby is finally free to follow her heart. While the neighbours may be scandalized by having a divorcee in their midst, Ann is determined to rise above the local gossip and make a happy home with her former sweetheart, the father of Ann’s youngest child.Daughters Joy and Sheila are lucky enough to have their menfolk back home, but Joy’s husband has returned a broken man from his experiences in a Japanese prisoner of war camp. And Sheila’s husband is finding his wartime adventures and travels have made Birmingham feel small by comparison.Then there’s Anne’s youngest child, Martin, who is still coming to terms with learning who his real father is, as well as having secrets of his own . . .From Annie Murray, the bestselling author of Chocolate Girls, The Bells of Bournville Green, Secrets of the Chocolate Girls and Wartime for the Chocolate Girls.'[A] dramatic historical tale. Told with enormous skill and sensitive insight, Homecoming for the Chocolate Girls is an emotional story that captivates completely' – The People's Friend'A portrait of four generations of a Birmingham family as they struggle to rebuild their lives in the aftermath of World War Two. With intimately drawn characters grappling with emotional dramas, this is a writer at the top of her game' – Joanna Toye, author of The Shop Girls

Continuing the saga begun in Annie Murray's Chocolate Girls, and set in 1960s Birmingham, The Bells of Bournville Green is a story of families whose lives are entwined, of belonging and loss . . . and of a young woman's search for transforming love.Pretty seventeen-year-old Greta has never known a stable family life. With no father, and loathing her mother's latest boyfriend, Greta finds life hard at home and is happiest at work with her friends at the Cadbury factory.Greta soon decides that her only way out is marriage, but all too soon she discovers that life with her old class mate Trevor is not a ticket to freedom and happiness. She finds herself on the streets, pregnant and homeless.She is taken in by her mother's old friends, but the love and security of this haven is soon shattered by appalling tragedy, which affects all the chocolate girls and their children and changes life forever . . .Continue the gritty family saga with Secrets of the Chocolate Girls.

In Annie Murray’s bestselling Chocolate Girls, three very different women work together at Cadbury’s Bournville factory, where their lives become entwined by war and work – and a child called David.Edie marries young to escape her unhappy family home. Widowed at nineteen, and having lost her child from the marriage, she faces the war grieving and lonely. Then one night during the Blitz, an infant mysteriously abandoned during the bombing is handed into her care . . .Ruby, meanwhile, doesn’t want to be left behind in the wedding stakes, and settles for marriage with Frank.Finally there’s Janet, kind-hearted and susceptible to male charm, who is hurt desperately by an affair with a married man.David, the child who steals Edie’s heart as she brings him up through a time none of them will ever forget, is the love of all their lives. And when David is old enough to wonder who he really is, he leads Edie through struggle and heartache to a life and love she would never have dreamed of . . .Chocolate Girls is followed by the captivating sequel, The Bells of Bournville Green.

September 1940, Birmingham.While her husband and daughter work at the Cadbury’s Bournville factory, Ann Gilby has her hands full at home with her youngest child Martin and her other daughter, Sheila, newly returned home with baby Elaine. With Sheila’s husband away doing his bit in the RAF, Ann knows she should be grateful to have all her children safe under one roof. But as bombs fall ever-closer to her Birmingham home, she can’t help but fear for their uncertain future. Part of her yearns for the carefree days of her youth when she also worked the line at Cadburys, filling trays of chocolate shells.But mostly Ann tries not to think of the past at all, since that would mean she would have to confront her oldest secret – one she’s kept since the last war, and that could easily rip her family apart . . .From the bestselling author of Chocolate Girls and The Bells of Bournville Green comes another gritty family saga about love, war and chocolate . . .

From Annie Murray, the bestselling author of The Bells of Bournville Green, comes Secrets of the Chocolate Girls, another gritty family saga about love, war and chocolate . . . September 1940, Birmingham.While her husband and daughter work at Cadbury's Bournville factory, Ann Gilby has her hands full at home. Her other daughter, Sheila, has newly returned home with baby Elaine. And, with Sheila's husband away doing his bit in the RAF, Ann knows she should be grateful to have all her children safe under one roof.But she can't help but fear for their uncertain future, as bombs fall ever closer to her Birmingham home. Part of her yearns for the carefree days of her youth when she too worked the line at Cadbury's, filling trays of chocolate shells.But mostly Ann tries not to think of the past at all, since that would mean she would have to confront her oldest secret. A secret that she has kept since the last war, and the one that could easily rip her family apart . . .Readers love Secrets of the Chocolate Girls:'So good that I couldn’t put the book down''I loved all the characters with such a lot of research blended in''Annie Murray gets all her facts correct . . . I know because I worked there''Another great book by Annie Murray'

April 1941.Almost losing her life in a bomb blast while serving in the Women's Voluntary Service has made Ann Gilby take stock of what's really important - her family.With daughter Sheila back home, and Joy still working munitions at the Cadbury factory and engaged to her soldier sweetheart, home life feels more settled too. Ann has even come to an uneasy truce with her husband, Len, despite her recent discovery of his infidelity and the fact that he has fathered a child with another woman.But what Ann has not reckoned with is, Marianne, Len’s mistress, turning up on her doorstep - a woman with a mysterious past.Only Ann has secrets of her own and one day soon she knows she will have to tell her youngest child, Martin, who his father really is . . .From Annie Murray, the bestselling Chocolate Girls, The Bells of Bournville Green and Secrets of the Chocolate Girls, Wartime for the Chocolate Girls is a gritty family saga about love, war and chocolate . . .

From Annie Murray, the bestselling author of Chocolate Girls, The Bells of Bournville Green and Secrets of the Chocolate Girls, Wartime for the Chocolate Girls is a gritty family saga about love, war and chocolate . . .April 1941.Almost losing her life in a bomb blast while serving in the Women's Volunteer Service has made Ann Gilby take stock of what's really important - her family.With daughter Sheila back home, and Joy still working munitions at the Cadbury factory and engaged to her soldier sweetheart, home life feels more settled too. Ann has even come to an uneasy truce with her husband, Len, despite her recent discovery of his infidelity and the fact that he has fathered a child with another woman.But what Ann has not reckoned with is Marianne, Len’s other woman, turning up on her doorstep - a woman with a mysterious past.Only Ann has secrets of her own and one day soon she knows she will have to tell her youngest child, Martin, who his father really is . . .'A heartwarming tale of secrets and lies, mystery and drama' – Lancashire PostReaders love Wartime for the Chocolate Girls:'This story full of love . . . I felt a part of the family as I was reading''A very heart warming story about how people got on in such tragic circumstances''It was such an absolute joy to read'