London, 1947: Burdened by onerous shortages and rationing, the people of postwar Britain are enduring lives of quiet desperation in spite of their nation's recent victory. Ann Hughes and Miriam Dassin, embroiderers in the Mayfair fashion house of Norman Hartnell, have forged an unlikely friendship. Their bond, along with their hopes for a brighter future, are tested when they are chosen for a once-in-a-lifetime honor: taking part in the creation of...

"I told Helen my story and she went home and cried" begins Our Spoons Came from Woolworths. But Barbara Comyns's beguiling novel is far from maudlin, despite the ostensibly harrowing ordeals its heroine endures. Sophia is twenty-one when she marries fellow artist Charles, and she seems to have nearly as much affection for her pet newt as she does for her husband. Her housekeeping knowledge is lacking (everything she cooks tastes of soap) and she attributes...

Amory and Arlo find their winter plans "derailed when Amory receives an urgent summons from her cousin Laurel to the English countryside. At Lyonsgate ... Amory and Milo are surprised to discover an eccentric and distinguished group of guests have been invited, led by notorious socialite Isobel Van Allen ... [who's] returned to England ... to write a sequel to her scandalous first book, the thinly-fictionalized account of a high-society murder at...

"In a London slowly recovering from World War II, two very different women join forces to launch a business venture in the heart of Mayfair--The Right Sort Marriage Bureau. Miss Iris Sparks, quick-witted and impulsive, and Mrs. Gwendolyn Bainbridge, practical and widowed with a young son, are determined to achieve some independence and do some good in a rapidly changing world. But the promising start to their marriage bureau is threatened when their...

"In the west end of London, an apparently crazed individual is on the loose, breaking into art galleries and private homes to slash valuable paintings of women. Despite Scotland Yard's best efforts, the criminal remains at large and continues on his destructive path. When Joanna and the Watsons are called in to solve the mystery, they soon discover that although the canvases have been slashed, their backings remain pristine, with no cuts or scratches....

"A riveting novel following the exploits of Kathleen "Kick" Kennedy, the little known and rebellious daughter of America's royal family. London, 1938. Kathleen "Kick" Kennedy has already taken England by storm, when she is presented to the king and queen. The effervescent It Girl of London society since her father was named the ambassador, Kick moves in rarified circles--dancing and drinking champagne at the hottest nightclubs and attending the horse...

Agatha Christie's famous detective investigates a murder on a wealthy man's estate during the holiday season, a series of thefts at a hostel, a case of abduction and murder in France, and a murder that can only be solved by communicating with a single, silent witness.