The beginning of a wonderful saga telling the story of a Cockney family in peace and war from multi-million copy seller Mary Jane Staples. Perfect for fans of Kitty Neale, Maggie Ford and Katie Flynn.PRAISE FOR THE ADAMS FAMILY SERIES! "Mary Jane Staples makes you care about her characters, which explains why her books have enjoyed so much popularity" — Take a Break"Forget Eastenders, this it the London of old, when people knew each other's names and communities really pulled together." — Woman's Realm"Mary Jane Staples completely capture the feel of the period and the essence of the people...has warmth, humour and charm. An ideal book for you holiday reading." Finesse "I get so engrossed in the stories I feel like one of the family." - ***** Reader review. "The story of the Adams family is just wonderful, I can't put this book down. You feel part of the...

Times move on for the Adams family in south London, and as business prospers, there are new worries to deal with. A young woman arrives who is intent on ruining Sammy Adams' winter fashion show, and Sammy must deal with her unwelcome attention. Boots has to find a solution when one of his female employees tells him about a sinister visitor, but he doesn't realize that his family are being observed. Out of the shadows come dark and mysterious figures from the past who intrude on Boots, Polly and the twins, and his adopted daughter Rosie.Meanwhile Rosie has her hands full as her daughter Emily continues to rebel against everything around her. How will the Adams family cope, as trouble seems to lurk around every corner?

When Baroness Sophie von Korvacs meets British painter James Fraser one hot summer's day in Vienna, the attraction is instant. A whirlwind romance follows, with Vienna bathed in the brilliance of the last days of the emperor. And when James proposes to Sophie it seems a fitting end to that wonderful, enchanting summer.But darker days are on the horizon as Europe teeters on the brink of war. James must make the ultimate choice: love for King and Country or love for Sophie. Before he knows it, his difficult decision is made for him, and he and Sophie are on opposite sides of a bloody and devastating conflict.Four bleak years of fighting and death roll by. Will Sophie's long winter ever end and can their love conquer all?

When fiery Bridget Cummings advertised for a lodger, she did not expect a policeman to apply for the room. She wasn't fond of the coppers, believing them to be traitors to the poor of Whitechapel, but her younger brother and sister moved P.C.Fred Billings in the moment Bridget's back was turned, and she seemed to have little say in the matter. Still, she had to admit that she was glad of his company in the walk back from her late-night washing up job, particularly when a young girl was found in a nearby street with her throat cut.The discovery of the body of Maureen Flanagan, who was, the neighbours believed, a respectable woman, naturally stirred memories of Jack the Ripper. His horrific crimes had shocked the neighbourhood only twelve years before., but Chief Inspector Dobbs of the City of London Police believed, like most other police officers, that the Ripper was dead. But when a second body was discovered, and Bridget noticed a strange man following her,...

The big event of the Walworth year was to be the wedding of Sammy Adams, King of Camberwell, to Miss Susie Brown. Everyone was looking forward to it, and Susie was particularly overjoyed when her soldier brother suddenly turned up on leave from service in India in time for the approaching 'knees-up'. The reason for Will's extended leave wasn't so good, for bad health had struck him and he didn't know how long the army would keep him, or how he could find a civvy job in the slump of the 20s. When he - literally - picked Annie Ford up off the pavement in King and Queen Street, his worries were compounded, for Annie was a bright, brave, personable young woman and Will knew that if he wasn't careful he'd find himself falling in love. And over Walworth hung a greater anxiety - the mystery of three young girls missing from their homes - a mystery that was to draw closer and closer to the Adams and Brown families, and finally culminate - along with Will's personal problems - on the...

The Pearly Queen was really Aunt Edie. She was thirty-nine, had a good job in a factory, lived in a flat off Camberwell Green, and had never married. Her fiancé had drowned in the Thames when she was a girl and since then she had been on her own, though not from choice. Everyone loved Aunt Edie - but especially the Andrews family.Jack Andrews was having a tough time. He'd come back from the First World War to find his wife had 'got religion'.She'd got it so badly that she finally went off, left Jim and the three children and joined Father Peter's League of Repenters. She never really came home again. Jack and the children managed as best they could, but things were pretty tough when Aunt Edie turned up. The first thing she did was give her cousin, Maud Andrews, a piece of her mind for running off and leaving her family. But when that didn't do any good, Edie moved in and took over the Andrews family. For the first time in years life began to look good again. Aunt Edie was...

Horace was ten, Ethel seven, when Jim Cooper, home from the trenches, minus an arm and just about managing on his own, found them huddled in a doorway on a wet night in Walworth. Slightly against his better judgement he took them in, fed them cocoa, and put them to sleep in his bed. A few days later he found that - somehow - he had become the unofficial guardian of Horace and Ethel. It was him, the orphanage, or separation for the gutsy little pair who would have to be farmed out to anyone who would take them, and Jim felt a sudden affinity for the two cheeky cockney kids. The first thing he had to do was find fresh lodgings for them all.Miss Rebecca Pilgrim was a woman of strict Victorian principles, eminently respectable, and determined to keep her privacy intact. She had reckoned without her new lodgers - Horace, Ethel and, above all, the irrepressible Jim Cooper. And thus began the humanizing of Miss Pilgrim, who turned out to be younger, prettier, and far...

When young British agent John Kirby comes to Russia in 1911 he is there to work and to explore a new and exciting country. He does not expect to fall in love, but an invitation to a ball from the Tsar changes all that and, after an evening of dancing and romance, John and the Tsar's eldest daughter, Olga, are totally captivated by one another.Soon John is spending more time with Olga and her family, wonderful, long peaceful summers of tennis parties and picnics. But just as love begins to blossom between the pair, a cruel blow is dealt, John is forced to return to England and Olga and her family are caught up in the bitter and bloody war of 1914. Will John and Olga ever be reunited? Can their love survive the odds? Or will tragedy, pain and longing destroy them both?

There was a double wedding planned in Walworth. Sally Brown was marrying Horace Cooper, and her brother, Freddy, was at last getting hitched to his childhood sweetheart, Cassie Ford. But the wedding wasn't the only thing being planned, for Ginger Carstairs and Dusty Miller were working out a bank robbery and, unbeknown to the inhabitants of Walworth and Denmark Hill, both Freddy Brown and the Adams family were to be deeply involved and put in considerable danger.It took much ingenuity on Boots's part to come up with a scheme that would foil the plans of the raiders. And all this was happening at a time when Boots had other worries in his life, and when the unity of his own little family was being threatened.

Tim Parkes was three when his parents were killed in a train crash and he went to live with his Aunt May, first in New Cross, and then to Walworth where the living was cheaper. They managed splendidly - and then came the war. Tim Parkes became Gunner Parkes and Aunt May spent most of her nights in the Walworth air raid shelters with Tim keeping an eye on her whenever he was able.When he got posted to Suffolk he wasn't too pleased - Suffolk was Country, not like London at all. But in fact there were a lot of things about Sheldham that reminded him of home - the Walworth evacuees for a start. Those of them that weren't creating havoc in the Suffolk village were creating havoc in Tim's life. Minnie Beavers - ex-Camberwell - was fifteen, pert, pretty, and wildly in love with Tim. She was determined to inveigle him into marriage the minute she was old enough. Tim was equally determined to escape and choose his own girl.By the time Tim had gone away to...

1925, a damp wintry night in Berlin. Englishman Philip Gibson, in Germany to seek the answers to a tantalising mystery surrounding the Grand Duchess Anastasia, witnesses an attack on Natasha, a young woman who has fled from Russia. When Philip takes the fragile, lonely Natasha in to help her recuperate, she quickly falls for his kind and caring nature. But when further threats are made on her life, Philip finds himself at the heart of another mystery. What is it that links Natasha to this mysterious, damaged woman? And will her love for Philip survive the secrets that will be unearthed?

By the year 1949, life in Walworth has almost returned to normal. Sammy and Boots, now in a highly successful partnership, are rebuilding the old family firm. But an old enemy resurfaces - Mr Ben Ford, better known as the Fat Man, who seems determined to ruin the various branches of this growing business. It takes all the well-known Adams ingenuity and determination to outwit the thugs in the Fat Man's pay.Meanwhile, an attractive blonde woman shopping in the market has caught Boots's eye. But Polly does not need to feel apprehensive - the sight of this woman has stirred the worst of memories for Boots, from the darkest days of the war. And on a happier note, there is some surprising news for Chinese Lady - news which will affect the whole of the Adams family.

France, 1918.Sophia, the rebellious daughter of a distinguished German general, is on her way to the town of Douai to elope with the man of her dreams -- a young army officer -- against her parents' wishes. On her way, she witnesses a dramatic battle in the skies that leaves an English pilot without a plane and under the misapprehension that Sophia is on his side. She has no choice but to agree to assist him in his attempt to avoid capture, and he joins her in the family car she has stolen, trailed by both the German Army and a staff officer under strict instructions from Sophia's father to bring her home.With their pursuers hot on their heels, how will Sophia explain her behaviour, protecting a man she is supposed to hate? And after sharing so many adventures, will she be able to turn the flying officer in when the time comes?

It is 1944, and the Adams family, along with the rest of the people of the United Kingdom, are beginning to weary of the seemingly never-ending war against Hitler's Germany. Bobby Somers and Helene, living dangerously in the French countryside with a group of Resistance fighters, find themselves in great peril. Boots returns from the war in Italy, to the delight of Polly and their two little rascals, twins James and Gemma - but he brings with him a German prisoner who has a horrifying story to tell of the concentration camps. And while Sammy and Susie Adams are keeping the family business going as best they can during the privations of wartime London, their son Daniel catches the eye of a lively young American girl who brings a welcome breath of fresh air to the Adams household, so many of whose younger members are doing their bit for the war in various far-flung places of the world. As plans for the long-awaited invasion of France get under way there is...

Charming, handsome Edward Somers has been recovering from his wartime injuries in a small hotel in the South of France where he is an extremely popular guest.One day, he happens upon a nearby villa, within which lives a mysterious and beautiful countess, Katerina, who does not appear to be allowed any visitors. Edward manages to break through to her and soon the pair develop a wonderful friendship. As each day passes the pair grow closer and closer but Edward soon finds there is more to Katerina than meets the eye. Why is she confined to the villa, guarded by a man with a rifle? Who is observing her with a telescope? Why is she so reluctant to be photographed?Soon a sinister chain of events begins to unfold, and several attempts on Katerina's life are made. Must Katerina always be on the run? Constantly forced into hiding, will she ever find the love she craves so dearly?