Showing results by author "Rachel Wesson" in All Categories

Gracie Thompson has a job, a loving family, a twin brother who drives her insane and a great friend. A chance meeting introduces her to the love of her life. But the storm clouds are gathering, Europe is teetering on the verge of war and threatening to destroy everything Gracie holds dear. When war arrives her family are split up, her younger siblings evacuated, her brothers join up to serve, her boyfriend, Charlie, is in daily danger and her life is threatened.

Book 7 in the Orphan Train series takes listeners on a journey to Ireland, where Lily and Charlie find themselves on an adventure. Meanwhile, back at the Sanctuary in New York, Kathleen is left in charge and is facing a host of problems. With the new factory opening soon, the Chivers children searching for a permanent home, and a couple of stray orphans in need of her care, Kathleen feels like she's in over her head. As she tries to navigate these challenges, she finds herself wishing Lily would come home soon. Charlie surprised Lily with tickets for the Titanic's maiden voyage.

Germany 1939 – To save her baby, Trudi Beck must hand her over to strangers who will take her across the sea to a foreign country. Trudi has already lost her husband to the Nazis, her stepsons are taking the train too. Walking away from the train station with empty arms is the hardest thing she's ever done. London 1939 – Newly married, Sally Matthews, is alone again. Her husband is away training for war, leaving her days and home empty. She volunteers to help with the children from the Kindertransport, becoming captivated by five-year-old Tom and his baby sister, Liesel.

Recently widowed, Laura has no intention of tying herself to any other man. She is finally free of the life she choose after leaving the orphanage. But when evil catches up with her, she is left with no option but to run to Clover Springs. There her friends will provide some protection and safety.

Returning from University, Ellen is disenchanted with her chosen career. Leaving home wasn't what she wanted. She missed Clover Springs, in particular a certain older man. Could she convince her family her true vocation lay as a wife and mother?

Connie Fitzwalter never imagined that her passion for music would lead her into a world of danger and intrigue. When her old family friend, Stephen, who works for the foreign office, tells Connie the true scale of the violence against Jewish people in Germany and Austria, she can stand aside no longer. Together, Stephen and Connie devise a daring mission to help families escape the clutches of Nazi persecution. Under their cover as music enthusiasts traveling to high-society concerts in Europe, Connie and her sister Dottie begin by smuggling money and valuables for families over the border.

While war rages across the world, Kate struggles on her family farm by the wild Atlantic Ocean. But when she meets American airman Tony, whose blue eyes are as stormy as the sea, her life collides with the war in ways she never imagined.Their time is cut short when Tony leaves for war, promising to come back for her. Only then does Kate learn she is carrying his child - and when her family finds out, she is shunned and banished to a Magdalen Laundry to be imprisoned.

Bridget Collins is in dire straits - she needs to get out of New York, fast. With two young siblings under her wing, her options are limited. Her priest sends her as an outplacement agent on the orphan trains that run from New York to out west. With almost 40 orphans under her care, she's relieved that fellow and more experienced outplacement agent Carl Watson is there to guide her. But Carl is dealing with his own trauma and finds it difficult to handle the pain the orphans are dealing with.

Becky Thompson doesn't take no for an answer. She knows what she wants, and his name is Scott Jones. Scott Jones's future was stolen along with his heart. He cannot love Becky, but can he keep her safe? After months of illness, deprivation and betrayal, with the end in sight have their problems only started?

Johanna Thompson understands her father's wish to go to Oregon. Can she use the time together to convince him to let her follow her dream? Rick Hughes inherits two small children, a wagon and a dream to go to Oregon. But it's not his dream. Johanna and Rick need to work together to save their families from disaster but doing so could comprise both their dreams. Can they find a way to overcome the difficulties on the trail and find a new life together?

Kathleen Green longs for a child of her own. Her work with the orphan trains only serve to heighten her need. When tragedy strikes, will she get the child she always wanted? Will the cost be worth it?

Distant rumblings of conflict in Europe have reached even the secluded, snow-dusted mountains of Virginia, where Lauren Greenwood faces a battle of her own. The Great Depression is crippling America, leaving millions of its victims without shoes on their feet and clothes on their backs. Hope House - the orphanage Lauren runs - is suffering more than ever. The one thing Lauren is not short of is love. But with just a handful of dollars to her name, every day is a struggle to feed the orphans and keep a roof over their heads. Yet she refuses to give up.

Paris, 1940: As the German soldiers march down the Champs-Élysées, the Bélanger twins know there is no escape – their lives are about to change forever. But while Sophie, a third-year medical student, works long days and nights saving casualties of war at the American hospital, and waits anxiously for news of her fiancé from the front line, her recently widowed twin, Adèle, is determined to enjoy her freedom. Nothing – not the bombs, the curfews or the Nazi officers sidling up to her in nightclubs – can stop her from indulging in the temptations of Parisian society.

Kenny Clark knows Santa is magical and only he can find his family. Kathleen Collins fights poverty and desperation every day in her bid to find new homes for the orphans of New York. But what about her happily ever after?

Penny is hell-bent on revenge on the man who caused her to flee France as a fourteen-year-old with little more than the clothes on her back. She lost everything, her friends, her home and her family. Stifled by the restrictions of her father's family, she aches to contribute more to the war effort. A brush with death puts her face all over the newspapers and almost breaks her heart in the process.

1852 Illinois. Eva Thompson has her future mapped out. Marriage to David Clarke and a family is all she wants. Her Pa has other ideas. He insists on taking the Oregon Trail to a better life and favors Harold Chapman as Eva's suitor. Marriage to Harold will provide Eva with everything she needs except . . . love.

Two New York girls, Maria Mezza and Alice Doe, wake up one November morning in 1906. Their lives are about to change forever. Maria is heading to her first job in a shirtwaist factory wishing she was heading to the country side. Alice is leaving New York to find a new family in Illinois country side. Three years later, the paths of the two girls will converge once more. Gone is the innocence of youth yet both girls are desperately hoping their lives will improve. Maria is caught up in the Shirtwaist Strike while Alice is on the run for her life.`

Daniel Sullivan needs a wife; the bank insists they will only finance his business if he gets married. What's he to do when the woman he's interested in is promised to another?

It's 1911, and Lily's plans for her factory are not progressing as fast as she would like. Maria, her sister Rosa, and friend Leonie are still working at the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory. Maria and Conrad have agreed it's pointless finding new jobs when they will soon be joining Lily's factory. Rosa can think of nothing but her upcoming marriage, and Leonie worries how she is going to look after her four siblings when their mother falls very ill.

Virginia, 1933: Lauren Greenwood was born to look pretty and land a rich husband. For her and her high-society family, it’s easy to forget that America is in the devastating grip of the Great Depression, where children run wild in the streets, endless queues for soup kitchens line sidewalks, and desperation hangs in the air. But when a young servant comes to Lauren, pregnant and begging for help, her world crumbles. Someone she loves is responsible, and when she finds out the shocking truth she must decide: Protect the Greenwood name or be cast out?