Lyn Andrews

Books - page 1

A selection of Lyn andrews' books

Elizabeth, The Witch's Daughter

Elizabeth I: From princess, to outcast, to the world’s most powerful queen.

It is recorded that never once during her life did Elizabeth Tudor speak of her mother Anne Boleyn; but did she never think of her? As a little girl, Elizabeth Tudor knows she is a princess but one day is suddenly told she is now 'the Lady Elizabeth'. She witnesses from the sidelines the glittering splendour of her father's court, and the terrifying consequences of his wrath. With few she can trust, Elizabeth comes to womanhood during the reigns of her brother and sister, shrouded by a web of deceit. She lives in constant danger, yet rises above her detractors to defy her mother’s legacy, and go down in history as one of England’s most ruthless and powerful monarchs. Her life became a testament to the ambitions demonstrated of her parents. Just how much of an influence did Henry VIII’s most notorious wife have on her child? And was Elizabeth's accession Anne Boleyn's final triumph over death?

The Witch's Daughter by Lyn Andrews - book cover

The Tudor Heritage

It is 1559, and Elizabeth Tudor has just succeeded to the throne of England. Beside her are the family who will share the momentous triumphs and setbacks of her reign: the Allgraves. Richard and Margaret Allgrave’s lives and those of their children and grandchildren are destined to be closely bound to that of the queen, though with such power will also come grave personal sacrifice. This is a tale of kinship, loyalty, heroism and reward, set in the time of Drake, Frobisher and the Armada; of Mary Stuart, sent to her violent death. It is also the story of Elizabeth herself, the woman behind the magnificent facade of velvets, silks and jewels. A woman who passionately loved just one man, but chose to devote her life to her country and its people. Together Elizabeth and the Allgraves created the Tudor Heritage – a nation whose power was to be feared and respected for centuries to come.

The Tudor Heritage by Lyn Andrews - book cover

The White Lion of Norfolk

The White Lion of Norfolk is the story of Thomas Howard, Third Duke of Norfolk: a ruthless, unscrupulous man willing even to use his two nieces, Anne Boleyn and Catherine Howard, as pawns to curry political favour. Amidst the pomp and pageantry of the Royal Court, Howard climbs the greasy pole of ambition, remaining totally subservient to his master, King Henry VIII. His devotion places him at odds with his wife, the daughter of the Duke of Buckingham, who was put to death by the King. It pits him as rival and ally to such men as Cardinal Wolsey, Thomas More and Thomas Cromwell, and leads him perilously close to the unsavoury death many feel his savage cruelty deserves. But will he live to see his great niece, Elizabeth Tudor, become Queen?

The White Lion of Norfolk by Lyn Andrews - book cover

The Danish Queen

How did a Danish princess become the so-called first queen of Great Britain? Anne of Holstein is perhaps the least-known Queen Consort in Britain’s history. But her marriage to James I saw her become key to the legacy of the Stuarts. From her homeland of Denmark, Anne travelled to Scotland – a place she had heard tales about of ruthless and bloodthirsty people – and met her betrothed. A teenage Anne was infatuated with her match. They married and bore children, but as the Princess grew to womanhood in the turbulent court of Scotland, she was subject to the unpredictable behaviour of her husband. When Queen Elizabeth I died, James inherited the crown of England and was the first ruler to call himself ‘King of Great Britain’, and Anne the first queen. The Danish Queen tells the story of a woman who crossed the sea and found love and power, but was fated to watch the tragic demise of her children, all of whom were to be haunted by the tragic destiny of the Stuarts. It is a dramatic and enlightening account of the early years and marriage of a queen whose place in history is little known.

The Danish Queen by Lyn Andrews - book cover

The Queen's Promise

From the moment Henry Percy, future Earl of Northumberland, glimpses the beautiful Anne Boleyn he is captivated and quickly proposes marriage Anne has been taught to use her charms to her advantage and to secure her family's position of power at court. She sees that Henry Percy's affection is sincere and agrees to marry him.

But a match of the heart has no place in a world where marriage is a political manoeuvre. Torn apart, the lovers are exiled to separate ends of the kingdom. For Henry a lifetime of duty awaits, while he remains true to the only woman he will ever love. But he is not the only man to be bewitched by Anne. And when King Henry VIII determines to make her his queen, the course of history is changed for ever...

The Queen's Promise by Lyn Andrews - book cover

Goodbye, Mersey View

Liverpool, World War II. Monica Eustace and Joan McDonald met as next-door-neighbours living in Mersey View in Liverpool. Their friendship is a close as ever, though they're married now, and sharing Monica's grand house on the other side of the city. But war clouds are gathering, casting a shadow over the happy future they dream of with their young husbands . . . Meanwhile, in London, Joan's half-sister Bella is overwhelmed with the glitz and glamour of the city while she's training as a singer - but will she forget her friends back home? As war descends on Merseyside, can the women make their back street dreams reality, or will the close-knit families be torn apart?

The Girls from Mersey View by Lyn Andrews - book cover

The Girls From Mersey View

Monica Savage is delighted when new neighbours move in next door, and she and Joan Copperfield quickly become firm friends. But there are dark secrets lurking.

When an abandoned child arrives unexpectedly on the Copperfields' doorstep, her arrival will change everything.

As war clouds gather, can the girls make their back street dreams reality, or will the families of Mersey View be torn apart?

The Liverpool Matchgirl by Lyn Andrews - book cover

The Liverpool Matchgirl

Liverpool, 1901. The Tempest family is all but destitute, barely able to put food on the table. When Florrie falls ill with pneumonia and Arthur is imprisoned after a drunken fight, their thirteen-year-old daughter Lizzie finds herself parentless, desperate and alone. Despite her young age, Lizzie has spirit and determination, and she knows that she must find work to keep herself off the streets. In a stroke of luck, she gets a job in the match factory, and foreman George Rutherford takes her under his wing. A new home with the Rutherfords promises a safe haven, but the years ahead will be far from trouble-free. And when Lizzie gives her heart, how can she be sure she has chosen a better man than her own father?

The Liverpool Matchgirl by Lyn Andrews - book cover

Liverpool Sisters

Liverpool, 1907. Thanks to their father's success, sisters Livvie and Amy Goodwin are moving from their cramped home to a roomier house on the outskirts of Liverpool. But tragedy strikes when their adored mother dies in childbirth. The girls are still grieving when Thomas introduces their new stepmother - a woman just a few years older than Livvie. Thomas has plans for his daughters. He wants Livvie to marry a wealthy neighbour's son - not Frank Hadley, the kind and handsome factory manager she is attracted to. Their relationship is a dangerous enough secret, but Livvie's interest in the Suffragettes could drive Thomas to the edge. For the Goodwin girls, the happy future they once took for granted is far from certain...

Liverpool Sisters by Lyn Andrews - book cover

Heart and Home

Cathie Kinrade is all too used to hardship. 

Growing up in a fishing community on the Isle of Man in the 1930s, she sees her da and brothers set sail daily on dangerous seas while her mam struggles to put food on the table.  Cathie has little hope of better for her own future, until a chance encounter gives her the opportunity to change her fortunes for ever. Cathie leaves behind home and family for Liverpool, a bustling modern city full of possibility. 

With a lively job as a shop girl in a grand department store and a firm friend in kind-hearted Julia, Cathie has found her niche. But trouble lies ahead when the discovery of an explosive secret threatens to put everything at risk…

'An unmissable new saga from ‘the Catherine Cookson of Liverpool' (Northern Echo)

Liverpool angels by Lyn Andrews - book cover

From Liverpool with Love

Little Jane Shaw and her brother Alfie know more than children should about the tougher side of life. After their father’s tragic death, the Brownlow Hill Workhouse in the heart of Liverpool’s slums is the only refuge their mam Ellen has. When Ellen also dies, the youngsters have only each other to depend on.

Jane’s opportunity to make good comes when she gets a job in the Empire Laundry and is given a home by her mother’s old friend Ada Ellis, whose son Joe Jane has been fond of since childhood. When Joe breaks her heart, Jane throws herself into her work, and soon she’s noticed by the owner of the laundry, James Davenport. Alfie’s a constant worry to her, though. Drawn into criminal activity by the promise of easy pickings, he’s on a dangerous path.

Can Jane forget Joe and find with James the kind of happiness an orphaned girl dreams of? What will become of Alfie, who seems hell bent on a criminal career, and whose plans come to threaten his sister’s future? All will be revealed in this warm-hearted new saga from the ‘Catherine Cookson of Liverpool’ (Northern Echo).

Liverpool angels by Lyn Andrews - book cover

A Moment in Time

A short story, A MOMENT IN TIME ties in with FROM LIVERPOOL WITH LOVE.

Ellen Holt has grown up in the heart of Liverpool's slums. Each day brings worry and struggle for her mam and da and Ellen works hard as a factory girl to help her family. Together, they get by. She has never imagined any other existence until one night she joins a gathering of suffragettes. Suddenly anything seems possible.

But she's soon to discover how much courage it takes to fight for better. And, just when all seems lost, Eddie Shaw walks into her world...

Includes the first chapter of Lyn's novel, FROM LIVERPOOL WITH LOVE.

A Moment in TIme by Lyn Andrews - book cover

Liverpool Angels

Born at the turn of the twentieth century, Mae Strickland is only a few days old when her mother suddenly dies. Her aunt Maggie brings Mae up together with her own children, Eddie and Alice, and the girls become like sisters. In spite of Mae's unhappy start, life feels full of promise.

Then, as the First World War looms, everything changes. While the local men - including young Eddie - leave to fight, Mae and Alice train as field nurses. As they travel to the front line in the wake of family tragedy, nothing can prepare them for the hardship that lies ahead.

Yet there is solace to be found amid the wreckage of the war, and for both, romance is on the horizon. But it will take great courage for Mae and Alice to follow their hearts. Can love win out in the end?

Liverpool angels by Lyn Andrews - book cover

Sunlight on the Mersey

The Great War is over, and sisters Iris and Rose are adjusting to life in their modest Liverpool home after their brother Charlie has returned from the front. But when their mother sends Rose to the beautiful Welsh village of Tregarron to recover from an illness she discovers a new world of possibility at her feet. There, she obtains a job as housemaid to the wealthy but tragic Rhys-Pritchard family and falls in love with the young but troubled head of house. Meanwhile at home, Charlie, keen to improve his social standing, becomes engaged to the daughter of a successful coal merchant, while Iris falls for a porter from the local fruit market. Then tragedy strikes, and the whole family must pull together if they are to survive the turmoil ahead. Their support of one another can only bring them closer together, but will they be forced to put their dreams on hold in the process?

Sunlight on the Mersey by Lyn Andrews - book cover

Beyond a Misty Shore

It is 1945 and the war is finally over. For sisters Sophie and Maria, though, the upheaval is just beginning. For they have no choice but to leave their beloved home on the Isle of Man. It is a huge wrench for eighteen-year-old Maria, who can't forget Hans Bonhoeffer, a young Austrian, interned on the island during the war. For widowed Sophie, Liverpool offers a new beginning with her daughter Bella. She has no room for distractions - until she falls in love with Frank Ryan, a man married to a woman who, although she doesn't love him, has no intention of letting him go. Without the men they love, will the sisters ever find happiness?

Beyond a Misty Shore by Lyn Andrews - book cover

To Love and to Cherish

Life in 1920s Liverpool for sisters Gloria and Betty Jenkins is secure and comfortable. Elder sister Gloria finds romance with the boy next door, until her wealthy, but snobbish and interfering Aunt Sybil steps in, offering her the opportunity of a lifetime. A trip to New York gives Gloria everything she desires - including a wealthy husband. Meanwhile, Betty chooses a career at sea, which offers challenges, personal danger and romance. But with the Wall Street Crash of 1929 tragedy strikes for one of the sisters and through these trials they come to value the bonds of family more than ever. Will they eventually achieve the happiness they desire?

To Love and to Cherish by Lyn Andrews - book cover

A Secret in the Family

When best friends Dee Campbell and Jean Williams leave school in 1959, it feels like every opportunity awaits them. Their families haven't long moved from a rundown part of the city to leafy Kirkby when Jean's father wins the Irish sweepstake and soon Jean's set up her own hairdressing salon, while both girls have fallen for good-looking lads with prospects. But Dee's father is about to discover a disturbing truth about her fiancé which will tear the family apart. As Dee flees to Ireland, Jean marries Tony, blissfully unaware that she's not the only pretty girl to catch his eye... Tumultuous years lie ahead but Dee and Jean will learn that the people who love you will always be there when you need them most.

A Secret in the Family by Lyn Andrews - book cover

A Daughter’s Journey

Angela O'Rourke is six when her parents hand her over to an aunt and uncle in a distant village. It's a common practice for large, hard-up families in 1950s Ireland, but for Angela it means that her mother and father don't love her any more. Still, she's well cared for till she's sixteen, when her uncle starts to take too much of an interest in her. Moving to Liverpool in the early 1960s, she becomes a success in the world of fashion design. The pain of a disastrous love affair sends her home to Ireland just after the death of her aunt: and there, among old papers, Angela makes an astonishing discovery. As she learns the truth about the past, a brighter new future beckons.

A Daughter's Journey by Lyn Andrews - book cover

Days of Hope

It's 1945 and the war is finally over. For the Devlin family in Liverpool, the wartime years have been almost too much to bear. But at long last sisters Grace and Chrissie can return to their normal lives. Level-headed and hard-working, Grace wants nothing more than to meet a nice man and settle down. Vivacious Chrissie, though, craves fun and excitement - and there's not much of that to be had in the austere post-war years. So when Chrissie meets Pat Kilroy, a handsome Irishman, she's swept off her feet and eagerly follows Pat to Ireland. Chrissie soon realises she has made a terrible mistake, and Grace rushes to her side to help. But the consequences of Chrissie's actions are to be as far-reaching as they are devastating.

Days of Hope by Lyn Andrews - book cover

Far From Home

As daughter of the blacksmith in her tiny Irish village, fifteen-year-old Kitty Doyle knows little of the ways of the world, but she has to grow up fast when her widowed father re-marries and she has no choice but to leave the family home. Luckily there's work to be found over the water in 1920s Liverpool and soon Kitty has a job in a grocer's, where she also catches the eye of the owner. With Kitty's input the business is soon thriving - but tragedy lies ahead, and she must endure many trials and tribulations before she can find true happiness...

Far From Home by Lyn Andrews - book cover