Packards is an Oxford Street Department store founded in the mid-nineteenth century by Sir Thomas Packard. In 1908 he is old and seeks his successor. His only daughter and her feckless husband spend his fortune but despise its provenance so he looks to his grandchildren: EDWARD has all his grandfather's ruthlessness but none of his vision; PERRY is a good-time boy and AMELIE, intelligent and ambitious, is willing to take anyone on to gain control of the store. Alongside their story is that of Packardss employees: DAISY CHAPMAN, thrilled to have found an escape from East End drudgery; skilled and promotable but forced to choose between love and her job. ISOBEL NORTON who has fled from her brother-in-law's advances to make a new life for herself, and JOHNNY MILLER, loved by Isobel and in love with Daisy. Together, their stories combine to create a sweeping absorbing vision of a cross-section of society in the early years of the century.

"She was following her dream. And I'm going to do the same. I'm going to be a dancer. " In January 1947, Lillian's Aunty Eileen escaped their family's grim Southend boarding house to find her own path. Now Lillian's gran rules the family with an iron fist and Lillian, the youngest, is no better than a slave. She takes comfort from her Aunty Eileen's example, knowing that she will one day leave and become a dancer. As the austere Forties give way to the excitement of the "never had it so good" Fifties, Lillian joins a touring company, dancing in the chorus line. Her dream is so close she can touch it. The only thing missing is James Kershaw, who Lillian thinks is the love of her life, but who regards her as no more than a little sister. When a family crisis demands her return to Southend, and to James, Lillian starts to think – is it time to find a new dream to follow? Other books by Patricia Burns We'll Meet Again Bye Bye Love

SynopsisThe Isle of Dogs, London at the turn of the century was a close-knit community. Here in Trinidad Street, the lives and loves of four families tangle and interweave...When Tom Johnson, a union leader at the docks is sacked and set upon, his daughter Ellen has to leave school and her dreams of an office job. But she can still dream of Harry Turner...But Harry, a young lighterman struggling to keep his battered family together, is bewitched by silver-tongued beauty Siobhan O'Donoghue. And Siobhan, ambitious for greater things, will use any weapon to repay the people of Trinidad Street for her disappointments.And Gerry Billingham, if he doesn't go a deal too far in pursuit of a retail empire, will be there to pick up the pieces ...Through good times and bad, from the coronation of Edward VII to the dock strike, some will find what they are looking for - and Ellen and Harry realise too late what they have lost.

Annie Cross has few pleasures in her tough life. On the bleak family farm on the Essex marshlands, she slaves all day for her cruel father. The one thing that keeps her going is her secret meetings with Tom Featherstone.But War steals Tom from her when he joins the RAF. Annie would love to do her bit but stuck on the farm, she lives for Tom's letters - until they stop coming.When, against the odds, her beloved Tom returns, he finds a different, stronger Annie to the one he left behind. But he also finds the girl he loved is carrying another man's child...