Books in the The Threaded Dances series

This is the story of the Alderbrook sisters; of their volatile relationships with their parents, their friends and each other; of the dangers and deprivations of wartime London; of their roles in a secret intelligence department - and of Peter Suvarov, the dashing, mysterious Russian who recruited them. Their involvement with him threatened the marriage of one, the reputation of another, and the life of the third. They all loved him, but only one could marry him . . . 'There were three of you, weren't there? Three sisters, all ravishing, they say, and all very brilliant, working for him until the end of the war. All the people I have talked to said he was the most remarkable man.' 'He was. We loved him, all of us.' The Parrot Cage is the first novel in the Threaded Dances series. Continue reading the story of the Alderbrook sisters in Never Such Innocence.

The Mall, VE night 1945: the sky is glittering with fireworks and searchlights as jubilant Londoners celebrate the end the Second World War. Yet for some the waiting is not over. Julia Gillingham's husband, Anthony, has been missing since 1943. A doctor with the army in North Africa, he was captured, taken to prison camp, escaped - and disappeared. Julia has steadfastly refused to believe him dead, and her strength is rewarded when she finally learns that he has survived and is working with refugees in Italy. She leaves her promising career at the London Bar to help prepare the prosecution case in the war-crimes trial against Marshal Kesselring in Venice, so that she can join Anthony there and - she believes - rediscover happiness with him. The war has not damaged Venice itself - unlike the rest of the shattered Continent - but as she learns her way about its ravishing, sinister streets, Julia finds that all her old certainties have been destroyed. As she and Anthony struggle to rebuild a new love on the foundations of the old and secure the future that the war so nearly denied them, they are faced with one difficult decision after another - until, at last, Julia is confronted with the hardest choice of all. In Never Such Innocence Daphne Wright brings to life one of her most engaging, warm-hearted heroines, in a compelling tale of love, honour, danger and ultimate triumph. Julia's story is interwoven with a haunting depiction of the struggle to rebuild Europe amid the Nazis' legacy of devastation and suffering - a hard time, yet a time of hope, a time for living and forgiving. Never Such Innocence is the second book in the Threaded Dances series. Continue reading the story of the Alderbrook sisters in Dreams of Another Day.

It is ten years after the end of the Second World War, and Mary Alderbrook - known to family and friends as Ming - feels life is passing her by. Though her sisters are all happily married and settled, Ming shies away from commitment and the attentions of Mark Sudley make her feel uneasy. Is it friendship she wants from him - or something deeper? When her friend Connie Wroughton offers Ming the chance to write for her new magazine, she gladly accepts, discovering a true flair for writing. But before she knows it, trouble is stalking her again - anonymous, threatening letters arrive - and Ming knows she must finally face up to tests that will change her life. This is the third in the compelling The Threaded Dances series following the Alderbrook sisters through love and marriage, tragedy and hope. Continue reading the sisters' story in The Tightrope Walkers.

It is 1968 and Flixe Suvarov, recently widowed and frighteningly short of money, is struggling to come to terms with her new life. Running a small party-planning business as she nurses a potential political career, she does everything she can to keep her family together. Andrew, her elder son, has fallen in love with her goddaughter, the beautiful, capricious Amanda Wallington. But Amanda is involved with people whose backgrounds are intimately - and unhappily - linked with those of her mother, Julia, and Flixe. They have no idea just how intimate Amanda has become with her new friends - and Amanda cannot even guess how their pas could damage her future. It is only as Flixe emerges from her shell of unhappiness and finds her own life miraculously transformed that she begins to understand what threatens them all . . . The final volume in The Threaded Dances series. Read more Daphne Wright in The Longest Winter.