An Ideal Husband

An Ideal Husband

Out in Hardback, eBook and Audio on 25th April 2024.
Our in Paperback on 5th December 2024.  Pre-order here.

An Ideal Husband paperback coverAnother uplifting, wryly humorous family drama from Sunday Times bestselling author Erica James…

After 30 years of marriage, and a wonderful family Christmas, Louisa is stunned when husband Kip asks for a divorce on Boxing Day. He’d never seemed unhappy – and they’ve raised three children together.

For months, Kip has been secretly seeing a younger woman – and if that wasn’t bad enough – it’s the woman who broke their youngest son’s heart.

Now Kip is moving out and embarking on a new life with Zoe, and Louisa is left to pick up the pieces. Their beloved family home, Charity Cottage, is up for sale, and tensions are running high.

Yet, despite the betrayal and anger, when Louisa lays eyes on what might be a unique and welcoming new home, she feels a first glimmer of hope that life might be taking a turn for the better.

And while Louisa is making exciting plans, Kip finds himself facing challenges of his own and begins to learn that living the dream may not be as simple as he thought…

Sunday Times bestseller Erica James returns with a sparkling tale of new starts and second chances.

Praise for An Ideal Husband

‘So, so good… shades of dark and light in every character which are gloriously done. A deliciously satisfying story.’ Cathy Kelly

 

‘Navigating the breakdown of a relationship is never easy but this was so warm and kind in the face of betrayal. I can highly recommend.’ Fern Britton

 

‘This compelling family drama puts a spotlight on how a family can evolve and re-invent itself without breaking down all together. Effortlessly elegant storytelling from Erica, as ever.’ Veronica Henry

Published by HQ Stories in Hardback, eBook and Audio on 25th April 2024 and in Paperback on 21st November 2024. View online retailer buying links.

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Hardback ISBN-10: 0008413827 ISBN-13: 9780008413828

An Ideal Husband is also available in Audio Book

  • Narrated by: Lucy Scott
  • Length: 10 hours and 40 minutes
  • Unabridged

Listen to an extract and buy on Audible or KOBO.

A Secret Garden Affair

A Secret Garden Affair

Out now in Paperback, Hardback, eBook and Audio Book.

A Secret Garden Affair by Erica JamesAnother heartbreaking but glorious tale of secrets and love from the Sunday Times bestselling author Erica James…

July 1981. As the country prepares to celebrate Prince Charles’ wedding to Lady Diana, Libby wants to be as far away from royal wedding fever as possible.

Having caught her own fiancé in bed with her best friend just weeks before they were due to marry, she’s fled London for the comfort of the Suffolk countryside.

At Larkspur House, with its magical garden created by renowned garden designer and one-time socialite Elfrida Ambrose, and its comfortingly familiar kitchen presided over by Libby’s great-aunt Bess, she hopes to find a way to put her life back together.

But for lifelong friends Bess and Elfrida, Libby’s arrival has stirred up the ghosts of the past. And before they can help her rebuild her shattered future, they must confront their own unspoken secrets, lost loves, and tragedies…

From the Sunday Times bestselling author Erica James comes a captivating story that sweeps through sixty years of history, love, and family drama.

Published by HQ Stories in Hardback and eBook on 30th March 2023 and in Paperback on 14 September 2023. View online retailer buying links.

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Hardback ISBN-10: 0008413754 ISBN-13: 9780008413750
Paperback ISBN-10: 0008413789 ISBN-13: 9780008413781

A Secret Garden Affair is also available in Audio Book

  • Narrated by: Laura Aikman
  • Length: 13 hours and 6 minutes
  • Unabridged

Listen to an extract and buy on Audible.

Mothers and Daughters

Mothers and Daughters

Out now in Paperback, Hardback, eBook and Audio Book.

Mothers and Daughters by Erica JamesEven happy families have their secrets…  A sweeping family drama of old secrets and new beginnings from the Sunday Times bestselling author Erica James.
Since the sudden death of her husband, Naomi has steadily rebuilt the life they shared in the village of Tilsham by the sea.

Her eldest daughter, Martha, is sensible and determined – just like her father was – and very much in control of where her life is going. If she could just get pregnant with her husband, life would be perfect.

Willow, the youngest, was always more sunny and easy-going, yet drifted through life, much to her father’s frustration. But now, with charming new boyfriend, Rick, she has a very good reason to settle down.

The three women are as close as can be. But there are things Naomi has kept from her daughters. Like the arrival of Ellis, a long-lost friend from way back, now bringing the fun and spark back into her life. And she’s certainly never told them that her marriage to their father wasn’t quite what it seemed…

The Sunday Times bestselling author Erica James returns with this gloriously compelling tale of mothers and daughters, secrets and love.

Published by HQ Stories in Hardback on 17th March 2022 and in Paperback on 21 July 2022. View online retailer buying links.

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Hardback ISBN-10: 000841369X  ISBN-13: 978-0008413699
Paperback ISBN-10: 0008413738 ISBN-13: 9780008413736

Mothers and Daughters is also available in Audio Book

  • Narrated by: Juliet Stevenson
  • Length: 13 hours and 30 minutes
  • Unabridged
Listen to an extract and buy on Audible.

Letters from the Past

Letters from the Past

Letters from the Past by Erica JamesIt’s the autumn of 1962 in the idyllic Suffolk village of Melstead St Mary. Evelyn Devereux’s husband Kit is planning their 20th wedding anniversary party. But as they prepare to celebrate, Evelyn receives an anonymous letter that threatens to unravel the secrets she’s kept hidden for many years – secrets that reach back to the war and her days at Bletchley Park.

Evelyn’s sister-in-law, Hope, has brought joy to countless children with her bestselling books, but despite having a loving husband and caring family, happiness has never come easily to her. Then in an instant her fragile world is turned upside down when she too receives an anonymous letter.

Meanwhile, in the sun-baked desert of Palm Springs, Romily Devereux-Temple, crime-writer and former ATA pilot, is homesick for her beloved Island House, where she’s saved the day more times than she can count. On her return home, and shocked to learn what has been going on in her absence, she finds herself reluctantly confronting a secret she’s kept hidden for a very long time. Once again Romily is challenged to save the day and hold the family together. Can she do it, and maybe seize some happiness for herself at the same time?

Published by Orion Books in Hardback and eBook in 2020 and in Paperback in 2021. View online retailer buying links.

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Hardback ISBN: 9781409173854
Paperback ISBN-13: 9781409173878

Letters from the Past is also available in Audio Book

  • Narrated by: Jemma Redgrave
  • Length: 13 hours and 30 minutes
  • Unabridged
Listen to an extract and buy on Audible.

Swallowtail Summer

Swallowtail Summer

Swallowtail Summer by Erica JamesThey thought they were friends for life – until one summer, everything changed...

Linston End on the Norfolk Broads has been the holiday home to three families for many years. The memories of their time there are ingrained in their hearts: picnics on the river, gin and tonics in the pavilion at dusk, hours spent seeking out the local swallowtail butterflies. Everyone together.

But widower Alastair has been faced with a few of life's surprises recently. Now, he is about to shock his circle of friends with the decisions he has made – and the changes it will mean for them all. For some, it feels like the end. For others, it might just be the beginning . . .

A story about friendship, making changes, and learning to live life to the fullest from bestseller Erica James.

Published by Orion Books in Hardback, Paperback and eBook in 2019. View online retailer buying links.

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Hardback ISBN: 9781409173786
Paperback ISBN: 9781409173793

Swallowtail Summer is also available in Audio Book

  • Narrated by: Richard Trinder
  • Length: 13 hours and 25 minutes
  • Unabridged
Listen to an extract and buy on Audible.

Coming Home to Island House

Coming Home to Island House

Coming Home to Island House From Erica James, bestselling author of Summer at the Lake, comes an enchanting tale of one family coming together and finding their way.

It's the summer of 1939, and after touring an unsettled Europe to promote her latest book, Romily Temple returns home to Island House and the love of her life, the charismatic Jack Devereux.

But when Jack falls ill, his estranged family are called home and given seven days to find a way to bury their resentments and come together.

With war now declared, each member of the family is reluctantly forced to accept their new stepmother and confront their own shortcomings. But can the habits of a lifetime be changed in one week? And can Romily, a woman who thrives on adventure, cope with the life that has been so unexpectedly thrust upon her?

Published by Orion Books in Hardback, Paperback and eBook in 2018. View online retailer buying links.

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Hardback ISBN: 9781409159599
Paperback ISBN: 9781409159612

Coming Home to Island House is also available in Audio Book

  • Narrated by: Jenny Funnell
  • Length: 16 hours and 35 minutes
  • Unabridged

Listen to an extract and buy on Audible.

Song of the Skylark

Song of the Skylark

Song of the Skylark by Erica JamesLizzie has an unfortunate knack for attracting bad luck, but this time she's hit the jackpot. Losing her heart to her boss at the radio station where she works leads directly to losing her job, and with no money in the bank she's forced to swallow her pride and return home to her parents. As if that wasn't bad enough, her mother finds her work at the local care home for the elderly, and it's there that Lizzie meets Mrs Dallimore.

In her nineties, Mrs Dallimore also finds herself in a situation which she's reluctantly coming to terms with. Old age has finally caught up with her, and with her life drawing to a close she gives in to the temptation to relive the past by sharing it with Lizzie.

She tells Lizzie of the day when, as a young girl, and shortly before the outbreak of World War II, she left her home in America to cross the Atlantic to England where she hoped to meet her English grandparents for the first time. At best she hoped for a family reconciliation, but before long her visit turned into so much more.

As Lizzie listens to Mrs Dallimore's story, she begins to realise that she's not the only person to attract bad luck, or make mistakes, and maybe things aren't so bad for her after all . . .

Published by Orion Books in Harback,  paperback and eBook in 2016. View online retailer buying links.


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Hardback ISBN: 9781409159551
Paperback ISBN: 9781409159575

Song of the Skylark is also available in Audio Book

  • Narrated by: Genevieve Swallow
  • Length: 14 hours and 56 minutes
  • Unabridged

Listen to an extract and buy on Audible.

The Dandelion Years

The Dandelion Years

The Dandelion Years by Erica JamesAshcombe was the most beautiful house Saskia had ever seen as a little girl.  A rambling pink cottage on the edge of the Suffolk village of Melbury Green, its enchanting garden provided a fairy-tale playground of seclusion, a perfect sanctuary to hide from the tragedy which shattered her childhood.

Now an adult, Saskia is still living at Ashcombe and, as a book restorer, devotes her days tending to the broken and battered book that find their way to her, daydreaming about the people who had once turned their pages.  When she discovers a notebook carefully concealed in an old Bible - and realising someone has gone to a great deal of trouble to hide a story of their own - Saskia finds herself drawn into a heart-rending tale of wartime love …

A gorgeous tale of friendship and love from Sunday Times bestseller Erica James.

Published by Orion Books in 2015. View online retailer buying links.

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Paperback ISBN-13: 9781409146131

The Dandelion Years is also available in Audio Book

  • Narrated by: Emma Gregory, Lee Maxwell Simpson
  • Length: 14 hours and 30 minutes
  • Unabridged

Listen to an extract and buy on Audible.

Summer at the Lake

Summer at the Lake

Summer at the Lake by Erica JamesLake Como - beautiful, enchanting, romantic...  For Floriana, it is the place where the love of her life is getting married to another woman.   And she's been invited to the wedding.

For Esme, it is where, over sixty years ago, she fell in love for the first time.  So often she's wondered what happened to the man who stole her heart - and changed the course of her life.  Adam is in danger of burying himself entirely in his work after his girlfriend left him. Could a trip to Lake Como be the distraction he needs?  Now it's time for each of them to understand that the past is not only another country, it can also cast haunting shadows over everyone's lives...

Published by Orion Books in 2014. View online retailer buying links.

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ISBN-13: 9781398704770

Summer at the Lake is also available in Audio Book

  • Narrated by: Antonia Beamish
  • Length: 15 hours and 30 minutes
  • Unabridged

Listen to an extract and buy on Audible.

The Hidden Cottage

The Hidden Cottage

The Hidden Cottage by Erica JamesMia Channing appears to have an enviable life: a beautiful home, a happy marriage, a job she enjoys and three grown-up children to whom she's devoted. But appearances can be deceptive...

When the family gathers for her son's 30th birthday, he brings with him his latest girlfriend who, to their surprise, has a nine-year-old daughter. Then, before the birthday cake has even been cut, Mia's youngest daughter Daisy has seized the opportunity to drop a bombshell. It's an evening that marks a turning point in all their lives, when old resentments and regrets surface and the carefully ordered world Mia has created begins to unravel.

Published by Orion Books in 2013. View online retailer buying links.

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Paperback ISBN: 978-1409130840