Code Name Helene

Marcus Aquila and his allies spearhead a daring attack into enemy territory, as three generals claim to be the true Roman Emperor. A new civil war has begun: with the emperor Pertinax’s murder Marcus and his protector Scaurus have escaped Rome, seeking sanctuary for their familia in the East. But they are soon pressed back into service by Septimus Severus, the ruthless commander who has seized the imperial capital and who holds the military balance of power over his two rivals. Niger, the would-be emperor in the East, is on the march with six legions, and Scaurus’s legion is ordered to Thrace as a sacrificial advance guard, tasked with delaying them. Whatever the cost . . .

All Change is the fifth and final volume in Elizabeth Jane Howard's bestselling The Cazalet Chronicles, where the old world begins to fade from view and a new dawn emerges. It is the 1950s and as the Duchy, the Cazalets' beloved matriarch, dies, she takes with her the last remnants of a disappearing world - houses with servants, class, and tradition - in which the Cazalets have thrived. Louise, now divorced, becomes entangled in a painful affair, while Polly and Clary must balance marriage and motherhood with their own ideas and ambitions. Hugh and Edward, now in their sixties, are feeling ill-equipped for this modern world, while Villy, long abandoned by her husband, must at last learn to live independently. But it is Rachel, who has always lived for others, who will face her greatest challenges yet. As the Cazalets descend on Home Place for Christmas, only one thing is certain: nothing will ever be the same again. With cover artwork exclusively designed by artist Luke Edward Hall, this is the heartbreaking and heartwarming final instalment of Elizabeth Jane Howard's bestselling series.

Set in an era of turbulent social changes, A Place Called Freedom is a magnificent novel from the undisputed master of suspense and drama, Ken Follett. A Life of Poverty Scotland, 1767. Mack McAsh is a slave by birth, destined for a cruel and harsh life as a miner. But as a man of principles and courage, he has the strength to stand up for what he believes in, only to be labelled as a rebel and enemy of the state. A Life of Wealth Life feels just as constrained for rebellious Lizzie Hallim, as she struggles with the less cruel circumstances of wealth and privilege. Fiercely independent, she is engaged to a man she doesn’t care for, a landlord’s son and heir to an exploitative business empire. A Search for Freedom Lizzie finds herself helping Mack after he becomes a fugitive. Separated by class but bound by their yearning for freedom, they escape to London. True freedom, though, lies further afield, in a new life that awaits across the Atlantic Ocean . . .

The grand master of gripping fiction is back. International No.1 bestseller Ken Follett returns to Kingsbridge with an epic tale of revolution and a cast of unforgettable characters. Revolution is in the air 1792. A tyrannical government is determined to make England a mighty commercial empire. In France, Napoleon Bonaparte begins his rise to power, and with dissent rife, France’s neighbours are on high alert. Kingsbridge is on the edge Unprecedented industrial change sweeps the land, making the lives of the workers in Kingbridge’s prosperous cloth mills a misery. Rampant modernization and dangerous new machinery are rendering jobs obsolete and tearing families apart. Tyranny is on the horizon Now, as international conflict nears, a story of a small group of Kingsbridge people - including spinner Sal Clitheroe, weaver David Shoveller and Kit, Sal’s inventive and headstrong son - will come to define the struggle of a generation as they seek enlightenment and fight for a future free from oppression. . . Taking the reader straight into the heart of history with the fifth novel in the ground-breaking Kingsbridge series, The Armour of Light is master storyteller Ken Follett’s most ambitious novel to date.

The year is 1944 and Veit Kolbe, a young German soldier, injured fighting in Russia, is recovering in a small village below Drachenwand mountain in Austria. Here he meets Margot and Margarete, two young women who share his hope that sometime, sooner or later, life will begin again. The war is lost but how long will it take before it finally comes to its end? Arno Geiger’s Hinterland, translated from the German by Jamie Bulloch, tells of Veit’s nightmares and the strangely normal life of the village, of the Brazilian who dreams of returning to Rio de Janeiro, of the landlady and her rallying calls, of Margarete the teacher with whom Veit falls in love, but who doesn’t return his affection. But when Veit’s wounds are healed his next call-up orders arrive. The military outlook for Germany and Austria looks increasingly grim and Veit’s luck has run out . . .