Book Spotlight: Beyond the Dark Oceans by Alison Huntingford

 

A family united, a family divided…

In 1906, the Huntingford family leaves England for a hopeful new life in Canada, but for eldest son Georgy, the promise of opportunity quickly becomes a test of endurance, responsibility, and fate. As he comes of age amid the hardships of immigrant life, the outbreak of the First World War pulls him back across the ocean and into a world forever changed by loss and sacrifice.

When Georgy’s brother disappears in the chaos of war, grief and uncertainty fracture the family he is fighting to hold together. Reunited with his cousin Nellie, Georgy finds solace in a love as powerful as it is forbidden—one that offers hope in the darkest of times while threatening to tear his family apart.

Based on true events, Beyond the Dark Oceans is a moving story of love, loyalty, and resilience, exploring how ordinary lives are shaped—and divided—by extraordinary moments in history.

Buy Link:

Universal Buy Link: https://books2read.com/u/3LPxV5

This title is available to read on #KindleUnlimited.

 

Alison Huntingford is a writer with a deep passion for family history and storytelling. With a background rooted in the rich traditions of the Huntingford family, Alison seeks to honour the stories passed down through generations. She is the author of a successful series of works that explore historical and personal narratives. She is an only child of two only children and so has always felt a distinct lack of family. This has inspired her work.

After an upheaval in her personal life, Alison achieved a degree in humanities with literature through the Open University which helped to give her a new start. A teaching career followed which then led naturally to writing. She is now retired from full-time work, but busier than ever.

In her spare time, she enjoys spending time with her husband and their pets, listening to music, going to the cinema, and gardening on her allotment. She also runs the South Hams Authors Network, a local writers collective based in South Devon.

Author Links:

Website: https://alisonhuntingford.com

Twitter / X: https://x.com/ahuntingford9

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ahuntingford9/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ahuntingford9/

Threads: https://www.threads.net/@ahuntingford9

Pinterest: https://uk.pinterest.com/alisonhuntingford/alison-huntingford/

Book Bub: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/alison-huntingford

Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.co.uk/stores/Alison-Huntingford/author/B09D8JDJ49

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/19175307.Alison_Huntingford

 If you enjoy discovering new stories, you may also like The AnaRose Chronicles—a trilogy of award‑winning adventure novellas. https://books2read.com/u/4jzKAY

Book Spotlight: ‘A Ha’penny Will Do’ by Alison Huntingford

 

‘A Ha’penny Will Do’

Alison Huntingford

 

Love, dreams and destitution

Three members of one family are linked by their struggle to survive poverty and war at the turn of the century. 

Kate, a homesick, lonely Irish immigrant, dreams of being a writer.  After difficult times in Liverpool she comes to London looking for a better life.  Hoping to escape from a life of domestic service into marriage and motherhood, she meets charming rogue William Duffield.  Despite her worries about his uncertain temperament, she becomes involved with him. Will it be an escape or a prison?

Fred is a restless elder son, devoted to his mother yet locked in a tempestuous relationship with his father.  War intervenes and he secretly signs up to serve abroad.  Is his bad reputation deserved?  What will become of him?

Joe, too young to sign up for WWI, is left to endure the hardships of war on the home front and deal with his own guilt at not being able to serve.  He starts an innocent friendship with his sister-in-law which sustains him through hard times.  Will he survive the bombs, the riots, the rationing and find true love in the end?

 These are their intertwined and interlocking stories recreated through the medium of diaries, letters and personal recollections, based on the author’s family history covering the period of 1879 – 1920. The truth is never plain and rarely simple.

This novel is a fresh and compelling look at life for the working-class poor in England at the end of the Victorian era.  Covering issues such as the struggle for home rule in Ireland, the hardships of domestic service, marital strife, the suffragettes and the horrors of World War 1 on the home front and abroad, this is a realistic and gripping tale which keeps the reader involved in their human plight all the way.

 BUY LINKS

Amazon UK   Amazon US   Barnes and Noble   Waterstones   Austin MacAuley Book Publisher

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Achievements:

Nominated for the Walter Scott prize for Historical Fiction  2019

Took part in ‘A Miscellany of Authors’ at Blandford Forum Literary Festival  2019

Western Morning News describes ‘The Glass Bulldog’ as ‘a gripping tale of dark pasts and second chances’   2019

5 star reviews for ‘The Glass Bulldog’ on Amazon, Goodreads and Facebook

Radio Interviews with Chat & Spin, BBC Radio Devon and The Voice FM (N.Devon)

Published a short novella ‘Someone Else’ available on Amazon  2020

Founded the South Hams Authors Network first meeting Sept 2021

Second full-length novel ‘A Ha’penny Will Do’ published January 2022

Author Takeover Day on the Historical Fiction Club Facebook Group Feb 2022

Book Launch and signing, Ivybridge Bookshop, February 2022

Readings at Ivybridge, Kingsbridge and Totnes libraries 2022

5 star reviews for ‘A Ha’penny Will Do’ on Amazon, Goodreads and Facebook

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Alison Huntingford

Contact details

Website   Facebook   Email   Twitter   Instagram

Book Spotlight: A Ha’penny Will Do by Alison Huntingford

 

Love, dreams, and destitution.

Three members of one family are linked by their struggle to survive poverty and war at the turn of the century. 

Kate, a homesick, lonely Irish immigrant, dreams of being a writer.  After difficult times in Liverpool, she comes to London looking for a better life.  Hoping to escape from a life of domestic service into marriage and motherhood, she meets charming rogue William Duffield.  Despite her worries about his uncertain temperament, she becomes involved with him. Will it be an escape or a prison?

Fred is a restless elder son, devoted to his mother yet locked in a tempestuous relationship with his father.  War intervenes and he secretly signs up to serve abroad.  Is his bad reputation deserved?  What will become of him?

Joe, too young to sign up for WW1, is left to endure the hardships of war on the home front and deal with his own guilt at not being able to serve.  He starts an innocent friendship with his sister-in-law which sustains him through hard times.  Will he survive the bombs, the riots, the rationing, and find true love in the end?

These are their intertwined and interlocking stories recreated through the medium of diaries, letters, and personal recollections, based on the author’s family history covering the period of 1879 – 1920. The truth is never plain and rarely simple.

This novel is a fresh and compelling look at life for the working-class poor in England at the end of the Victorian era.  Covering issues such as the struggle for home rule in Ireland, the hardships of domestic service, marital strife, the suffragettes, and the horrors of World War 1 on the home front and abroad, this is a realistic and gripping tale that keeps the reader involved in their human plight all the way.

 

Buy Links:

 Universal Amazon Link   Barnes and Noble    Waterstones

Alison Huntingford

Alison Huntingford has a degree in humanities with literature and has always enjoyed reading, especially, the great writers of the 19th century.

She is an only child of two only children and so has always felt a distinct lack of family. This has inspired her to research her family history and most of her writing is based on this. Her debut novel, The Glass Bulldog, was published in 2019 and was nominated for the Walter Scott Prize for historical fiction. This is her second full-length novel, although, she has also written several short stories.

In her spare time, she enjoys spending time with her husband and their pets, listening to music, going to the cinema, and gardening.  She lives in Devon, on the edge of Dartmoor.

Social Media Links:

 Website   Twitter   Facebook   Linked-in   Instagram    Amazon Author Page    Goodreads