Cirrus@Austlit

'She eyed him nervously, this man who could end her life without a second thought. She had been complacent, lulled into forgetting the immense power he wielded over her ...

'London, 1941, and in the battered capital of occupied Britain, Emilia Shaw works as a translator for ruthless SS General Oskar Voigt. But Emilia is also a resistance spy, desperate to avoid the scrutiny of Voigt’s security chief, Irish policeman Brendan O’Connor, and his brutal offsider, SS Colonel Hans Morser.

'Promised the crown, the Duke of Windsor returns to London, unleashing a wave of violence from the resistance. The Duke pressures the puppet government for his coronation, but finds himself at the mercy of Hitler, the supreme kingmaker.

'As the violence escalates, Emilia is hunted by both the SS and the resistance, caught in the crossfire as the country threatens to implode. Ultimately, its fate lies in the hands of one man — the most unlikely of them all.

'Power and Obsession is the vividly imagined tale of an occupied London, a dark labyrinth peopled by the sinister, the smug and the sadistic. Yet it is also a gripping tale of reckless audacity and the obsessive search for justice.' (Publication summary) 

'Rural England, 1941 and Louisa Carmody is trapped in a dirty war of resistance as her country struggles under the heel of a brutal invader. In the dilapidated local village, trust is in short supply and the need to survive trumps all loyalties. From the crumbling mansion that is her home a ragtag resistance group pits its meagre forces against the might of the invader. 

'Hunted by the enemy and betrayed by informers paid in blood money, the resisters know they cannot win. But they can exact a bloody revenge and it is this that drives them ever harder. Louisa can feel herself change because she too seeks revenge ... Resistance and Revenge is the story of a village in the grip of occupation and of those who have the courage to fight back. It is also the story of ordinary people, of people damaged by war, but determined to win back their freedom, no matter the cost. But in this war within a war, the cost may also involve sacrificing their own humanity.' (Publication summary)

'It’s July 1943 and the world has been at war for almost four long years. One morning, young widow Emmy Penry-Jones discovers two men washed up on the beach below her house on the west coast of Cornwall. Emmy is used to rescuing washed-up sailors, the deadly Battle of the Atlantic exacting a heavy toll on shipping. But these men are not like the shipwrecked sailors she has rescued before and Emmy is soon drawn into a web of intrigue that will test both her ingenuity and her patriotism. Rocked by accusations of war crimes against a man she knows to be innocent, Emmy launches a bid to defend him, all too aware that the accusers could turn on her. The trial marks a turning point and Emmy is drawn further into a deadly cycle of post-war retribution from which only one man can save her.'

Source : publisher's blurb

'Unconquered: Our Wounded Warriors tells the remarkable story of a group of men and women from Australia and New Zealand who fought and conquered extraordinary challenges from the battlefield to the sporting arena. These veterans of the Army, Navy and Air Force served their country in campaigns from Somalia to Afghanistan and the multitude of conflicts in between, and share the common scars of their service, both apparent and invisible.

'For these men and women, now confronting the trials of daily life, the Invictus Games provided a further challenge, a chance to test their mettle in the sporting arena representing the country for which they had fought. ‘Invictus’ is the Latin word for ‘unconquered’ or ‘undefeated’ — a perfect description of these veterans who now fight their own personal battles. Through the power of sport, they have proven that they can overcome the mental and physical trauma inflicted by their service. This beautifully illustrated volume allows us to share their story of service, sacrifice and courage, and gain an insight into their dogged determination to triumph in the face of adversity.

'Unconquered: Our Wounded Warriors is a deeply personal and human account of the trauma of armed conflict and the suffering that continues long after the sounds of battle have died away. It highlights the power of the individual to overcome fear, wounds both mental and physical, and lifelong disability and inspires those of us who have never served to cope with our own challenges. These are stories of courage pure and simple and of the men and women who defied the odds to remain unconquered.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'Marisa Carnarvon is an enigma to her family. In 1938 she turns her back on her family's money and status and leaves her comfortable pre-war Sydney lifestyle to become a nurse in a London city hospital. Against the backdrop of looming conflict, she moves to a Red Cross hospital in Paris in July 1939, totally unprepared for the challenge of life in an occupied city. In June 1940 the Germans invade Paris and the young nurse is soon pressured by the leader of the local resistance cell to work for the fledgling movement. Her life is further enmeshed by the arrival of a new Gestapo chief who sets out to seduce her. Marisa's position becomes increasingly precarious as the resistance hunts for a traitor in the organisation. Suspicion falls on one of the hospital's doctors and he is murdered, throwing Marisa into the resistance firing line. As the war approaches its climax, Marisa's Gestapo lover flees and the young nurse follows. He is ultimately revealed as a key operator in a resistance escape line that traverses four countries. But he has a secret which threatens to crush him.
'Marisa finally discovers the truth behind the man who risked his life to save others in a masterpiece of deception.' (Publication summary)

'War Child is a true story that spans 100 years, revealing agonising choices against the backdrop of Nazi Germany, the lingering effects of war, the 1950s Australian migration experience, and a modern day search ...

'Magdalena (‘Leni’) is an illegitimate child born in a small town in pre-World War II Germany. Spurned by her Catholic grandfather, Leni and her mother live in poverty in a country sliding towards war. Leni joins the Hitler Youth, leaving school at 14 to support her family.

'A brutal employer forces her to submit to systematic rape or face having her mother interned. Fleeing the advance of the Red Army, Leni and her family survive on their wits, and she is transformed from a meek, cowed girl to protector. In the post-war chaos she falls pregnant to her Yugoslav boyfriend, marrying him in a bid to avoid the hardship she endured as a child. The little family migrates to Australia, crossing the war-torn continent, enduring the appalling conditions of Bagnoli transit camp and finally facing the enormous task of beginning a new life in an alien land.

'Researching her mother’s life after the death of both parents, Leni’s daughter Annette makes a startling discovery. With her dying breath, Leni’s confidante reveals another secret. A complex search that crosses three continents follows as Annette gradually unravels the web of intrigue that protects her mother’s ultimate secret.' (Publication summary)