Romantic stories

Kevin McCoy is a Catholic and Sadie a Protestant in divided Belfast.

Needs an understanding of the religious-political situation in Northern Ireland.

Genres: Romantic, Growing-Up, Coping with

Arthur Ransome is a young English journalist based in Russia during the Great War who is used by both sides to carry information and messages to and fro.

Well-crafted semi-biography of Arthur Ransome's life in Russia around the time of the Revolution. Accepted marital infidelity. Some description of the sexual excesses of Rasputin and others. Love for a country not one's own. Courage in crossing war-torn countries in difficult conditions.

Genres: Historical, War, Biographical, Romantic

A father and mother are convinced that the 20th century will corrupt their three daughters and so they buy a secluded farmhouse and base their life on the Bronte family.

Genres: Thought-provoking, Romantic, Girls

Sam, a Bradford student, gets to know Jenny, a Kingston schoolgirl when he uses her father's camera.

Unexceptional boy-meets-girl story; some references to Sam's previous sex.

Genres: Romantic

Piers Medley, a young Sussex forester at the time of the Reformation, takes in a girl whom he rescues from vagabonds.

Personal religious difficulties in post-Reformation England, including the marrying of professed Religious. Goodhearted generosity in a difficult situation.

Genres: Historical, Thought-provoking, Romantic

16-year-old Ralph Hollis is yearning for a career in the theatre, while his father is furious that he won't find real work.

A young man trying to do what he wants in life without going against his family. The support the family offers even with its spats and storms. The joy and companionship of working in a theatre.

Genres: War, Growing-Up, Family, Romantic

John Franklin is forced to crash land in wartime Occupied France.

Genres: Historical, War, Romantic

Chiara, sent to a convent without any feeling of a vocation, meets Silvano, seeking sanctuary in the nearby monastery when the two houses are asked to provide pigments for the painting in the Basilica in nearby Assisi.

Lightweight whodunnit. Positive and coherent portrayal of the religious life, vocations and love among young people.

Genres: Historical, Growing-Up, Romantic, Detective

Jane Eyre becomes governess to the ward of Mr Rochester, with whom she falls in love.

Genres: Historical, Romantic, Classic, Girls

Art & Myrtle Mumby have to flee when their house, Larklight, is overrun by giant spiders.

Brilliantly imaginative; gently mocking Victorian ideals and sensibilities; quietly reconciling faith and science. Wild battles with gruesome spiders; questionable actions by a powerful being. Easy acceptance of other races and sexes. Undemonstrative love between family members and friends.

Genres: Humorous, Adventure, Fantasy, Growing-Up, Romantic

The story tells of the adventures of John Ridd after his father is murdered by the Doones.

Genres: Romantic, Classic

To trap a brilliant German agent, Richard Hannay has to pose as a pacifist, assisted by Mary Lamington, Blenkiron, Peter Pienaar and others.

Straightforward plot. Elements of endurance and loyalty. A subtle, if unredeemed, villain. Some demeaning references to native Africans. War as a job to be done.

Genres: Adventure, Boys, War, Historical, Classic, Romantic

The four Penderwick sisters befriend Jeffrey when staying in a cottage in the grounds of his mother's house.

Endearing holiday story of four sisters and a boy. Jeffrey's mother, alone since his father left, is about to remarry. Mr Penderwick treats his daughters gently, admonishing them sometimes in Latin.

Genres: Growing-Up, Friendship, Romantic, Girls

The five Bennett sisters: Jane, Elizabeth, Lydia, Kitty and Mary are at or near marrying age; their mother is keen to marry them off and rejoices when Mr Bingley, a personable young man, comes into the neighbourhood with his friend Mr Darcy and seems interested in her eldest daughter.

Genres: Romantic, Classic, Girls

Erstwhile King Rudolf of Ruritania is drugged and then kidnapped the day before his coronation; his guards Sapt and Fritz happen upon Rudolf Rassendyll, an Englishman abroad, who bears an uncanny resemblance to the king, due to the king's ancestor's having fathered a child somewhere in the Rassendyll ancestry.

Swashbuckling adventure with a dashing hero, a bearded villain and a lovely heroine.

Genres: Historical, Adventure, Boys, Romantic, Classic

Ellen, defying her aunts' idea of what a modern young woman should do, takes up the role of Housekeeper at a school in Austria run on alternative lines for children of rich parents.

Marriage as merely a convention. Generosity and maternal care by Ellen for the children and others in her charge. Bravery of those helping Jews escape from Nazi detention. Ironic view of militant spinsters, pretentious playwrights, and alternative lifestyles.

Genres: Growing-Up, Thought-provoking, Romantic, School

Art, Myrtle and Mrs Mumby visit the new Starcross hotel on an asteroid near Mars only to discover that a more sinister scheme is afoot, involving mind-controlling top hats, a time-travelling ship from the American War of Independence, and a set of French Secret Agents.

Imaginative cybersteam adventure story. Slightly less pacy than the original. All manner of heroism, bravery, self-sacrifice, humour, and gentle romance.

Genres: Humorous, Adventure, Fantasy, Growing-Up, Romantic

The Duke of Avon, a French-English aristocrat, rescues Leon, a Paris streen urchin from his brother's abuse by employing Leon as a page.

Genres: Historical, Romantic

Jean Paget a young Englishwoman who speaks Malay is caught in Malaysia when the Japanese invade.

Genres: War, Romantic, Classic

The story of the voyage of several hundred Jews fleeing prewar Europe across the Atlantic.

Genres: Historical, War, Romantic

Susan lives with her mother and has no idea who her father is.

Genres: Romantic, Family

Meg crosses dimensions to where The Dark Thing is holding her father captive, taking Charles Wallace and Calvin to help her free him.

Intriguing if slightly dated sci-fi morality tale. Strong bonds of family and friendship. A warning about creating a perfect state if the cost is the loss of individuality and love.

Genres: Adventure, Thought-provoking, Fantasy, Growing-Up, Romantic, Friendship