ONE OF TIME’S 100 BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR ONE OF NPR’S BEST BOOKS OF 2019 NAMED ONE OF THE MOST ANTICIPATED BOOKS OF 2019 BY WOMAN’S DAY, NEWSDAY, PUBLISHERS WEEKLY, BUSTLE, AND BOOK RIOT! “[B]rilliant, timely, funny, heartbreaking.” —Jojo Moyes, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Me Before You Bridget Jones’s Diary meets Americanah in this disarmingly honest, boldly political, and truly inclusive novel that will speak to anyone who has gone looking for love and found something very different in its place. Queenie Jenkins is a twenty-five-year-old Jamaican British woman living in London, straddling two cultures and slotting neatly into neither. She works at a national newspaper, where she’s constantly forced to compare herself to her white middle class peers. After a messy break up from her long-term white boyfriend, Queenie seeks comfort in all the wrong places…including several hazardous men who do a good job of occupying brain space and a bad job of affirming self-worth. As Queenie careens from one questionable decision to another, she finds herself wondering, “What are you doing? Why are you doing it? Who do you want to be?”—all of the questions today’s woman must face in a world trying to answer them for her. With “fresh and honest” (Jojo Moyes) prose, Queenie is a remarkably relatable exploration of what it means to be a modern woman searching for meaning in today’s world.

Just one cruel twist of fate will bring his world crashing down . . . Perfect for fans of EastEnders Falling asleep on the bus after a hard day's work, Joe finds himself stranded in the East End, disorientated in the heavy fog and innocently embroiled in a violent encounter. The incident ends in murder and Joe is accused - of the real villains there remains not a trace. But his memory of that fateful night, and a clue to the identity of the murderers, helps him through his time in prison and fuels his desire to uncover the truth. His quest leads him back to the East End and to the Ship and Castle pub, run by the mysterious and formidable Queenie . . . **************** What readers are saying about QUEENIE'S CASTLE 'Had you gripped from the start' - 5 STARS 'A lovely book by a wonderful author' - 5 STARS 'Lena Kennedy manages to transport you into her stories' - 5 STARS 'Very good reading' - 5 STARS 'Brilliant' - 5 STARS

Reproduction of the original: The Bride of the Tomb and Queenie’s Terrible Secret by Miller Alexander McVeigh

When severe guilt and depression afflicts a person, life hardly seems worth living. It overshadows everything else, creating behavior and an attitude that conflicts with society at every turn. Skills, efficiency and personal relationships suffer, and paranoia becomes a constant companion. Major Ramsey, the lead character in Queenie’s Major Problem, found himself in that dilemma at the age of thirty-two, just when his career had taken a meteoric rise. His superior at a nationally known corporation empathized with Major, recognized that there were valid reasons for his down state, and gambled that Major might find himself given release from job pressures and demands of his community. Thus, the considerate superior offered Major an unpaid leave of absence from his position, which became the vote of confidence that prevented Major from ending his misery with a bullet. Although religious and moral, Major didn’t have Job’s sound faith in God to sustain him during his period of mourning and self-incrimination. Self hate and desire for punishment completely dominated Major because everything pointed to him as being responsible for the deaths of his parents, wife and two small children. Their deaths happened in two separated incidents, only six weeks apart, removing the five people most important in his life. He wanted to die and find relief from his pain, but earnestly desired atonement for his sins and guilt before moving to the hereafter, whatever that might be in his case. So, when the offer of a leave of absence arose, Major decided to sell everything he owned and use the meager proceeds to finance a year long trek of the United States, shanks’ mare, walking without purpose or destination, living at only subsistence levels, and punishing his body as just rewards for his transgressions to his family and society. His year of trekking would end in finding peace and atonement, or else the inevitable bullet would find the proper place to end his misery. At the outset, Major imposed difficult “commandments for the road” for himself, and had an inkling that the trek would be demanding, precisely the punishment he thought he deserved. However, he had no way of knowing where his travels would lead nor how the varied experiences he would face could impact his mental well being and future. It began rudely when an unfriendly hunting dog peed on Major’s sleeping bag while he cringed inside, hoping not to be attacked. Assaults by ants, leeches and hoodlums added to his desired misery. Other encounters quickly showed that many people have severe problems, and he helped many of them over major life hurdles. Those occasions caused him to look outwardly instead of inwardly, and his self-esteem began to rise. A chance encounter with an attractive young lady created a new dimension to his life, but neither she nor anything else deterred him from finding the relief he sought. At the end of the test year, Major was greatly affected by the numerous events during his trek, some delightful, some dangerous and harrowing, and some were inspiring and uplifting. Major concluded that he could reasonably expect a normal life, even one that included painful memories and shame for his past sins. One of his self-imposed rules for the year was to completely sever ties with his former life, and was unaware of surprising developments that had a bearing on his misery. Crusades end eventually, some in dignity and accomplishments, some causing misery, and some with the crusader finding his or her elusive Holy Grail. Major’s yearlong crusade ended with startling surprises, with him finding a Holy ???? ??? ?????? ???????? ?? ????? ???? ?????????

During the Civil War, Union forces blockade the port of Charleston so the Confederate army seeks a way to attack the Yankee ships. George Dixon is part of the group of men given the task of creating and building the "fish boat," a submarine. The H.L. Hunley ultimately sets out on its mission to sink Yankee ships, but fails to return, its whereabouts unknown. For more than 100 years, the mystery of the Hunley and the fate of its crew stayed buried. The Story of the H.L. Hunley and Queenie's Coin recounts the story of the "fish boat," through its creation and mission, to its ultimate recovery and final voyage home. Fran Hawk and her husband live in Mt. Pleasant, South Carolina, near several Hunley landmarks. For the past ten years, she has enjoyed her job as a children's librarian in her local school district. Currently she works in a small alternative high school for at-risk students. She writes a weekly children's book review column for the Charleston Post and Courier and writes freelance articles for magazines. Dan Nance has published dozens of extraordinary and provocative images of the Civil War. Agraduate of the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, New York, Dan's work has graced numerous book and magazine covers and is widely respected by both scholars and historical interpreters alike. Dan has works in the permanent collection of the South Carolina State Museum. He lives with his family in Charlotte, North Carolina.

'Touching . . . a quiet, gentle, moving novel' Observer Queenie thought her first letter would be the end of the story. She was wrong. It was the beginning. When Queenie Hennessy discovers that Harold Fry is walking the length of England to save her, and all she has to do is wait, she is shocked. Her note had explained she was dying. How can she wait? A new volunteer at the hospice suggests that Queenie should write again; only this time she must tell Harold everything. In confessing to secrets she has hidden for twenty years, she will find atonement for the past. As the volunteer points out, ‘Even though you’ve done your travelling, you’re starting a new journey too.’ Told in simple, emotionally-honest prose, with a mischievous bite, this is a novel about the journey we all must take to learn who we are; it is about loving and letting go. And most of all it is about finding joy in unexpected places and at times we least expect. From the author of the 2 million+ copy, worldwide bestseller, The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry, an exquisite, funny and heartrending parallel story. COMING IN JUNE 2020 - the heart-warming Miss Benson's Beetle . . .

From the New York Times bestselling author of The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry comes an exquisite love story about Queenie Hennessy, the remarkable friend who inspired Harold’s cross-country journey. “This lovely book is full of joy. Much more than the story of a woman’s enduring love for an ordinary, flawed man, it’s an ode to messy, imperfect, glorious, unsung humanity.”—The Washington Post A runaway international bestseller, The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry followed its unassuming hero on an incredible journey as he traveled the length of England on foot—a journey spurred by a simple letter from his old friend Queenie Hennessy, writing from a hospice to say goodbye. Harold believed that as long as he kept walking, Queenie would live. What he didn’t know was that his decision to walk had caused her both alarm and fear. How could she wait? What would she say? Forced to confront the past, Queenie realizes she must write again. In this poignant parallel story to Harold’s saga, acclaimed author Rachel Joyce brings Queenie Hennessy’s voice into sharp focus. Setting pen to paper, Queenie makes a journey of her own, a journey that is even bigger than Harold’s; one word after another, she promises to confess long-buried truths—about her modest childhood, her studies at Oxford, the heartbreak that brought her to Kingsbridge and to loving Harold, her friendship with his son, the solace she has found in a garden by the sea. And, finally, the devastating secret she has kept from Harold for all these years. A wise, tender, layered novel that gathers tremendous emotional force, The Love Song of Miss Queenie Hennessy underscores the resilience of the human spirit, beautifully illuminating the small yet pivotal moments that can change a person’s life.