Emma Hornby Books in Order

Bought from a workhouse into an abusive marriage, Sally flees Bolton with her baby to seek a relative in Manchester. Her husband’s determination to find them threatens every step toward safety, love, and a life beyond his control.

Moll works to support her struggling family as Manchester gangs draw her brother into violence. Falling for a rival gang leader divides her loyalties, forcing her to weigh love against the responsibility of protecting those who depend on her.

Three orphaned children escape a harsh winter on Manchester’s streets when a cook takes them into a grand house. Its secrets and hostile residents soon threaten their refuge, forcing them to uncover the past to protect their new home.

Jewel grows up unaware that she was secretly exchanged for a dead infant. After an assault leaves her pregnant, a promised refuge draws her toward further danger, while the truth of her origins threatens to reshape the life she knows.

Suspected of killing her abusive husband, Laura flees to Manchester and discovers that family refuge comes at an unbearable price. Finding shelter among poor but supportive neighbors offers hope, though the threat from her former life remains unresolved.

Janie’s family hopes for a fresh start on a new Bolton estate, but war takes her husband away. When he returns traumatized and deserts, she hides him at home, risking the security she is determined to preserve for their children.

Dismissed after her mistress’s death, maid Phoebe discovers that malicious accusations have destroyed her prospects. Living among Manchester’s poorest residents, she meets a similarly disgraced former officer, and together they confront the sacrifices required to rebuild their lives.

Seventeen-year-old Renee longs to escape her controlling father, and wartime demand for women workers offers a possible route. A sympathetic farmhand helps her pursue a position, but her father’s constant surveillance threatens the freedom she barely dares imagine.

Mara longs to escape the violence surrounding her husband’s family, especially her brutal stepson Conrad. When he is accused of a crime he did not commit, she alone holds the evidence that could save him or finally free them.

Jenny and her young brother survive on his dangerous work sweeping chimneys in Manchester. Hoping her singing can rescue him, she accepts a music-hall opportunity, only to discover that the promised security carries a disturbing price.

In wartime Bolton, Livvy turns to sex work to support her grandfather and younger sister. Keeping that decision hidden becomes harder as her sister seeks independence and an American soldier’s growing interest threatens the family she hoped to protect.

Homeless at twelve, Perdy finds work and safety in a widowed cart driver’s household. His granddaughter’s unexpected arrival threatens that refuge, forcing Perdy to endure cruelty while searching for the deeper motives behind the visitor’s return.

Eleanor protects a secret that could destroy her apparently happy family. When Clara discovers it and demands help in exchange for silence, Eleanor becomes trapped in increasingly troubling requests, forcing her to confront guilt and the cost of concealment.