Val Wood Popular Books

Val Wood Biography & Facts

Val Wood, also known as Valerie Wood, is a British author of historical romance novels. She has written over 25 novels, all set in and around the city of Kingston upon Hull published by Transworld. She was born in Castleford and lives in Beverley, East Riding of Yorkshire Literary career Wood's first novel, The Hungry Tide, was published in 1993 after winning the Catherine Cookson Prize for Romantic Fiction. Wood has released many novels including The Innkeeper's Daughter, and The Doorstep Girls which were named in The Times best-seller list in 2013 and 2015 respectively. Her 19th novel, His Brother's Wife, was released in September 2013 and reached number 11 in the Bookseller charts. The Hungry Tide was also re-released to celebrate the novel's 20th anniversary along with the rest of the author's back catalogue, many titles of which have made the Times best-seller list. Support for tourism and libraries Val Wood takes inspiration from the heritage of her surroundings, and in 2012 she launched a website and trail to coincide with the release of her novel The Harbour Girl and to promote tourism in both Scarborough and Hull where the novel is set. The trail was promoted via a free library tour in summer 2012. A further trail was created to promote tourism in Beverley and coincided with the reissue of her novel The Kitchen Maid. Wood is a proponent of the benefits of library services. In November 2012 her catalogue of books were named amongst the top loaned titles in UK libraries on BBC Radio 4's Open Book show presented by Mariella Frostrup and in 2016 Val was featured in the BBC Television documentary series The Books That Made Britain. Background and personal life When she is not writing, Wood volunteers for a number of charities including Hull and District Talking Magazine where she has been a reader and editor for 28 years. Wood is also patron of Home Start and Friends of Hull Memory Clinic and has spoken at a number of events to raise awareness of dementia issues. Dementia is an issue close to Wood's heart after losing her husband Peter to dementia in 2009. In 2016 Val was announced as the Vice President of HERIB and in 2017 Val was awarded an Honorary Doctorate from The University of Hull. Books The Hungry Tide (1993) Annie (1994) Children of the Tide (1996) The Romany Girl (1998) – also published as The Gypsy Girl Emily (1999) Going Home (2000) Rosa's Island (2001) The Doorstep Girls (2002) Far from Home (2003) The Kitchen Maid (2004) The Songbird (2005) Nobody's Child (2006) Fallen Angels (2007) The Long Walk Home (2008) Rich Girl, Poor Girl (2009) Homecoming Girls (2010) The Harbour Girl (2011) The Innkeeper's Daughter (2012) His Brother's Wife (2013) Every Mother's Son (2014) Little Girl Lost (2015) Steven's War (2016) No Place For a Woman (2016) A Mother's Choice (2017) A Place to Call Home (2018) Four Sisters (2019) The Lonely Wife (2020) Children of Fortune (2021) References External links Val Wood's Official Website Val Wood's Kitchen Maid Trail Val Wood – Profile at Random House Publishers. Discover the Val Wood popular books. Find the top 100 most popular Val Wood books.

Best Seller Val Wood Books of 2024

  • The Crew synopsis, comments

    The Crew

    Margaret Mayhew

    Perfect for fans of Katie Flynn and Donna Douglas, a saga full of the heartwrenching emotion and drama of World War II from bestselling author Margaret Mayhew.READERS ARE LOVING TH...

  • The Girls in Blue synopsis, comments

    The Girls in Blue

    Lily Baxter

    When her home is destroyed in a bombing raid over London, Miranda Beddoes is forced to take refuge with her grandparents down on the Dorset coast. With both her parents doing their...

  • A Rose and a Promise synopsis, comments

    A Rose and a Promise

    Katie Flynn

    Liverpool, 1944Though they may be posted miles apart, Cadi and Jez's love for one another is stronger than ever until Cadi receives a heartbreaking call from Jez's base.Cadi races...

  • The Little Ship synopsis, comments

    The Little Ship

    Margaret Mayhew

    From bestselling author Margaret Mayhew, an emotional and gripping wartime saga, full of the tension and adventure of World War Two. Perfect for fans of Katie Flynn, Donna Douglas ...

  • The Apple Tree synopsis, comments

    The Apple Tree

    Elvi Rhodes

    Perfect for fans of Maeve Binchy and Rosamunde Pilcher, this is an emotional and moving novel about fresh starts and new beginnings by multimillion copy seller Elvi Rhodes.READERS ...

  • A Wartime Nurse synopsis, comments

    A Wartime Nurse

    Maggie Hope

    As bombs begin to fall, her strength will be tested...A newly qualified nurse, Theda Wearmouth is delighted to gain a place at Newcastle Hospital. But the onset of war brings trage...

  • A Nightingale Christmas Promise synopsis, comments

    A Nightingale Christmas Promise

    Donna Douglas

    For the first time, a Nightingale nurses novel set during the First World War. Follow the senior staff as they overcome the trials of their training years. From Sunday Times top te...

  • Shelter from the Storm synopsis, comments

    Shelter from the Storm

    Ellie Dean

    THE ELEVENTH CLIFFEHAVEN NOVEL BY SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLING AUTHOR ELLIE DEANIt is 1943 and April Wilton is devastated when she is forced to leave Portsmouth and the WRENs where she...

  • Lights Out Liverpool synopsis, comments

    Lights Out Liverpool

    Maureen Lee

    Number One bestseller Maureen Lee's first novel of the hugely popular Pearl Street series.'With her talent for storytelling, queen of sagawriting Maureen Lee weaves intrigue, love ...

  • Where the Heart Lies synopsis, comments

    Where the Heart Lies

    Ellie Dean

    THE FOURTH CLIFFEHAVEN NOVEL BY SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLING AUTHOR ELLIE DEANFebruary 1941. Can love survive in a time of war? Julie Harris is working in London’s East End as a midwif...

  • Orphan Girl synopsis, comments

    Orphan Girl

    Maggie Hope

    She's no more than an unpaid servant...Lorinda is only a child when tragedy deprives her of her true family and, sent to live with her aunt in her boarding house, she grows up desp...

  • First Love, Last Love synopsis, comments

    First Love, Last Love

    Katie Flynn

    A powerful story of two sisters, and the love that changed their livesIt wasn't a privileged childhood, but it was a happy one. Sybil and Lizzie Cream, brought up in a fisherman's ...

  • The Corner House synopsis, comments

    The Corner House

    Ruth Hamilton

    If you like Dilly Court and Catherine Cookson, you'll love this emotional and powerful story of revenge and retribution from the Sunday Times bestselling author Ruth Hamilton. "I b...

  • Far From Home synopsis, comments

    Far From Home

    Ellie Dean

    THE SECOND CLIFFEHAVEN NOVEL BY SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLING AUTHOR ELLIE DEANIt is 1940 and Staff Nurse Polly Brown has been granted a posting at Cliffehaven Memorial Hospital on the ...

  • The Nurses of Steeple Street synopsis, comments

    The Nurses of Steeple Street

    Donna Douglas

    FROM THE SUNDAY TIMES TOP TEN BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF THE NIGHTINGALE SERIES COMES THE FIRST BOOK IN DONNA DOUGLAS' NEW NURSES OF STEEPLE STREET SERIES.Welcome to the district nurses...

  • The Nightingale Sisters synopsis, comments

    The Nightingale Sisters

    Donna Douglas

    To the student nurses at The Nightingale hospital, the ward sisters are heartless and frightening, with impossibly high standards. But the sisters have troubles of their own... Vi...

  • Always in my Heart synopsis, comments

    Always in my Heart

    Ellie Dean

    THE FIFTH CLIFFEHAVEN NOVEL BY SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLING AUTHOR ELLIE DEANUnited by love, separated by war . . .As the Japanese begin their assault on Singapore, Sarah Fuller is for...

  • The Pathfinder synopsis, comments

    The Pathfinder

    Margaret Mayhew

    Perfect for fans of Katie Flynn, Fiona Valpy and Kristin Hannah, a powerful and moving saga set in the aftermath of World War II from bestselling author Margaret Mayhew. READERS AR...

  • Shipyard Girls in Love synopsis, comments

    Shipyard Girls in Love

    Nancy Revell

    THE SUNDAY TIMES TOP TEN BESTSELLER ‘Nancy Revell knows how to stir the passions and soothe the heart!’ The Northern Echo Sunderland, 1941With a brief break in air raids providing ...

  • District Nurse on Call synopsis, comments

    District Nurse on Call

    Donna Douglas

    THE BRAND NEW BOOK BY SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLING AUTHOR DONNA DOUGLASHer second book in The Nurses of Steeple Street series The Nightingale Christmas Show is available to PREORDER N...

  • Keep Smiling Through synopsis, comments

    Keep Smiling Through

    Ellie Dean

    THE THIRD CLIFFEHAVEN NOVEL BY SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLING AUTHOR ELLIE DEANJune 1940. Rita Smith swore she would never lose heart . . .Despite losing her mother at a young age and he...

  • The Hungry Tide synopsis, comments

    The Hungry Tide

    Val Wood

    As the sea claims the land, can she claim the love she deserves?In the old fishing town of Hull, Sarah Foster's parents have been fighting a constant battle with poverty, disease a...

  • The Nightingale Nurses synopsis, comments

    The Nightingale Nurses

    Donna Douglas

    ‘Pay attention please, nurses. The next six months will be the most important of your lives’It’s the final year of training for three young nurses at The Nightingale Hospital… Hele...

  • Daughters Of The Moon synopsis, comments

    Daughters Of The Moon

    Susan Sallis

    Lose yourself in this moving story of a sanguine bond between sisters. Perfect for fans of Maeve Binchy, Rosamunde Pilcher and Fiona Valpy; you won't be able to put it down.'Full o...

  • Some Lucky Day synopsis, comments

    Some Lucky Day

    Ellie Dean

    THE SEVENTH CLIFFEHAVEN NOVEL BY SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLING AUTHOR ELLIE DEANMay 1942. War can bring hope as well s heart ache . . . Kitty Pargeter loves the life she’s leading as a ...

  • With a Kiss and a Prayer synopsis, comments

    With a Kiss and a Prayer

    Ellie Dean

    THE FOURTEENTH CLIFFEHAVEN NOVEL BY SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLING AUTHOR ELLIE DEANCliffehaven, May 1944 The tension is rising for Peggy Reilly and the inhabitants of Cliffehaven as the...

  • The Doorstep Girls synopsis, comments

    The Doorstep Girls

    Val Wood

    Ruby and Grace have grown up in the poorest slums of Hull. Friends since early childhood, they have supported each other in bad times and good. But their families are bound togethe...

  • All My Tomorrows synopsis, comments

    All My Tomorrows

    Ellie Dean

    THE SIXTH CLIFFEHAVEN NOVEL BY SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLING AUTHOR ELLIE DEANIt was a time of friendship, family, love and loss . . .In defending herself against her brutal husband, ei...

  • Mersey Girl synopsis, comments

    Mersey Girl

    June Francis

    Happiness always comes at a cost...Having grown up in a convent after the death of her mother, Lizzie Knight has never known what it’s like to have a real family. So when a strange...

  • Sweet Memories of You synopsis, comments

    Sweet Memories of You

    Ellie Dean

    THE TENTH CLIFFEHAVEN NOVEL BY SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLING AUTHOR ELLIE DEAN‘I’m not working on a factory floor or digging for victory, but in my own small way I do what I can for tho...

  • Midsummer Meeting synopsis, comments

    Midsummer Meeting

    Elvi Rhodes

    Let multimillion copy seller Elvi Rhodes sweep you away with this moving and heartwarming saga set by the sea. Perfect for fans of Rosamunde Pilcher and Maeve Binchy.READERS ARE LO...

  • Bluebirds synopsis, comments

    Bluebirds

    Margaret Mayhew

    From bestselling author Margaret Mayhew, a gripping wartime pageturner, full of the tension, emotion and adventure of World War II. Perfect for fans of Katie Flynn, Donna Douglas a...

  • Sealed With a Loving Kiss synopsis, comments

    Sealed With a Loving Kiss

    Ellie Dean

    THE NINTH CLIFFEHAVEN NOVEL BY SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLING AUTHOR ELLIE DEANAfter the death of her parents in a bombing raid, Mary Jones discovers a secret in the pages of father’s di...

  • Children Of The Tide synopsis, comments

    Children Of The Tide

    Val Wood

    It is the late 1850s and a tired woman holding a baby walks from Hull to one of the big houses in Anlaby – the home of the wealthy Rayners. She knocks at the door, and shoves the b...

  • Those In Peril synopsis, comments

    Those In Peril

    Margaret Mayhew

    A powerful and emotional saga set in World War Two, perfect for fans of Katie Flynn, Fiona Valpy and Kristin Hannah.READERS ARE LOVING THOSE IN PERIL!"A feel good, love story that ...

  • Nightingales on Call synopsis, comments

    Nightingales on Call

    Donna Douglas

    From the author of The Nightingale Girls, The Nightingale Sisters and The Nightingale Nurses – perfect for fans of Call the Midwife1937 sees new challenges for the trainee nursesDo...

  • Surface With Daring synopsis, comments

    Surface With Daring

    Douglas Reeman

    Hiding, lying in wait on the sea bed, is EX16.Though one of the most important ships in the Royal Navy, she's not much to look at; she's only 54 feet long, with no defensive armame...

  • The Nightingale Girls synopsis, comments

    The Nightingale Girls

    Donna Douglas

    Three very different girls sign up as student nurses in 1936, while England is still mourning the death of George V. Dora is a tough East Ender, driven by ambition, but also desper...

  • On a Turning Tide synopsis, comments

    On a Turning Tide

    Ellie Dean

    PREORDER NOW:THE SIXTEENTH CLIFFEHAVEN NOVEL BY SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLING AUTHOR ELLIE DEANCliffehaven, October 1944 As the Allied troops draw closer to victory, life at Beach View ...