A stranger can change your life in a moment of kindness 

 1952: Bella is a young French Jew in post-war London, having lost everything in WWII. When she meets Adebayo, a doctor from Nigeria, Archibald's Café is the only place they feel like they belong.

1977: With London tense with anger, Amara decides to take action.

2010: Gina is a daydreaming artist whose efforts crumble into disaster. Her hopes for a career are over as she finds herself making lattes at the café where her grandparents went on their first date.

Across the lives of three generations of women, London can be a harsh and beautiful place. Yet, chance friendships hold people together, when the world feels like it is falling apart.

Fans of Clare Pooley and Freya Sampson will love The Café on Manor Lane
‘A powerful story of hope, community and friendship… a real love letter to London’ Katie Lumsdon, Author of The Secrets of Hartwood Hall

‘A beautiful story about the power of community and friendships’ Eleanor Goymer, Author of The Fallback

‘A heartwarming and necessary story to make you fall in love with London’ Eve Edwards, Author of The Summer of Wishful Thinking

‘Amidst all the ugliness in the world…friendship, kindness, chosen family and community can heal’ Tina Baker, Author of What We Did in the Storm

The Café on Manor Lane, By Amelia Kyazze, Read by Jane Ajia

The New York Times bestselling author of The Diamond Eye and The Rose Code returns with a haunting and powerful story of female friendships and secrets in a Washington, DC, boardinghouse during the McCarthy era. 

 Washington, D.C., 1950

Everyone keeps to themselves at Briarwood House, an all-female boarding house in the heart of the US capital, where secrets hide behind respectable facades.

But when the mysterious Grace March moves into the attic room, she draws her oddball collection of neighbours – a poised English beauty, a policeman’s daughter, a frustrated female baseball star, and a rabidly pro-McCarthy typist – into an unlikely friendship.

Grace’s weekly attic-room dinner parties and window-brewed sun tea become a healing balm on all their troubled lives, but she hides a terrible secret of her own. And when a shocking act of violence tears the house apart, the Briar Club must decide once and for all: who is the true enemy in their midst?

Capturing the paranoia of the McCarthy era and evoking the changing roles for women in postwar America, The Briar Club is an intimate and thrilling novel of secrets and loyalty put to the test.

'This powerful, unforgettable historical romance is for fans of Mary Anna Evans's Justine Byrne series and stories with strong women characters' Starred Library Journal Review

'Compulsively readable, The Briar Club will find eager readers in those who love woman-led historical fiction with rich, appealing characters' Starred Booklist Review

'Blending suspense with themes of class struggle and female empowerment, this is a thrilling addition to Quinn's repertoire’ Glamour Magazine

The Briar Club, By Kate Quinn, Read by Saskia Maarleveld

On today’s Stool Pigeon Saturday, Anthony interviews Steve North, Old Idaho Penitentiary Volunteer and Commander of the Boise Chapter of the Forty and Eight. Steve dives into the captivating history of the Merci Train Boxcar, a symbol of gratitude from France to the United States after World War II. He shares insights about the enduring friendship between the two nations and the incredible stories of generosity and connection that emerged in the aftermath of war. 

For more information, pick up Boxcar Diplomacy by Jane Sweetland:
https://store.history.idaho.gov/GiftShopItem.aspx?I=1526

Steve North's Captivating Conversation:
https://youtu.be/kXa2hL_w9fw

Jane Sweetland's Captivating Conversation:
https://youtu.be/DhJmBsOO7y8

http://mercitrain.org/
https://www.fortyandeight.org


Oral History:
Truman, Harry S. "President Truman's Radio and Television Address Concluding a Program by the Citizens Food Committee." Delivered from the White House, Washington, D.C., October 5, 1947. National Archives Identifier (NAID) 325599790.

News coverage clip provided by Jane Sweetland.

Stool Pigeon Saturday - Steve North On The 75th Anniversary of the Merci Train Boxcar

The heartwarming brand-new instalment in the Cornish Girls saga series, perfect for fans of Ginny Bell and Elaine Everest

The war is over and now the healing can begin… 

 Cornwall, 1946.

Spirited Sheila is still reeling from the loss of her husband. But she’s eager to run his Porthcurno shop, despite her daughter’s objections. The villagers are facing hard times, and she wants to help them rebuild.

Joan is happy to swap the munitions factory for the fields as a Land Girl. It’s her way of giving back. She’s always preferred books over boys. But when she meets Arthur, a war-torn soul recently returned from France, she can’t ignore her feelings.

Meanwhile, Selina is heartbroken when her soldier beau breaks off their engagement to marry another. But with heartbreak comes hope, as it reunites her with her estranged sister, Bella, and her young family. And when Bella faces her own hardships, Selina throws herself into supporting her.

The fighting has stopped, but are the Cornish Girls ready to let go of the past and embrace a hopeful new future?

Readers love the Cornish Girls:

‘It all makes for such beautiful, heartfelt and inspiring reading. It’s another great one in a reliably awesome wartime series!’ Reader Review, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

‘Betty Walker writes brilliantly.’ Reader Review, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

‘Loved it, it’s like catching up with old friends.’ Reader Review, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

‘This is lovely historical fiction which tugs hard at the heart.’ Reader Review, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

‘Five stars from me.’ Reader Review, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

‘Returning to the Cornish Girls is like visiting old friends, guaranteed to brighten up your day!’ Reader Review, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

‘So pleased to be back with the Cornish girls again. I love these books, such a pleasure to read about the land girls still working hard even though the war is over.’ Reader Review, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

A New Hope for the Cornish Girls, By Betty Walker, Read by Annette Holland

From the author of The Ashes of London, comes a new historical mystery set in the last days of WWII 

 'Ten out of ten' The Times

‘A grand piece of work – a triumph and one of Taylor’s best’ MICK HERRON

'A wonderfully unique novel from the master of historical crime fiction. Beautiful, haunting, and quite brilliant' LAURA SHEPHERD-ROBINSON

‘As good as I’d expect from a master of the craft’ VAL MCDERMID

'A wonderful, subtle novel, set in a strange, enclosed world. Beautiful writing and a gloriously satisfying ending' ANN CLEEVES

__________

England, May 1945

Monkshill Park School for Girls seems a world away from the violence that engulfed Europe during World War II. Yet its lonely, decaying grounds have witnessed a murder.

Annabel Warnock, a teacher with a secretive past, left for the holidays and never came back. Both teachers and girls assume she simply walked out, but the truth is quite different. Her body tumbled from the Maiden’s Leap, a viewpoint on the clifftop Gothic Walk, and was washed out to sea.

But Annabel herself is still trapped at Monkshill, unable to move on. As she haunts the grounds and school, she discovers a hidden world – students, staff and servants are riven with deadly rivalries and dangerous tensions.

And one of them is her killer…

A Schooling in Murder, By Andrew Taylor, Read by Nathalie Buscombe

After Deployment is a raw and emotional hard rock anthem that captures the silent battles soldiers face when the war ends—but the fight within never does. With gritty, raspy vocals, cinematic guitars, and thunderous drums, this track channels the pain of returning to a world that no longer feels like home.

It’s a confession from the heart of a soldier who survived the front lines but struggles to survive the quiet. Every riff, every lyric, bleeds the truth of life after deployment.

🎸 Genre: Hard Rock / Emotional Rock Ballad
💿 Album: After Deployment
🎤 Artist: Milsim Operative

Lyrics & Music © 2025 Siddhartha Chen (RealAsianRobot). All Rights Reserved.
This track was created with AI-assisted production tools under the artistic direction of Siddhartha Chen (RealAsianRobot).

After Deployment

Publishers of award-winning fiction and non-fiction audiobooks for adults and children. Listen to exclusive clips from our books and free audioook extracts here on Soundcloud.

“Behind Gray Walls” is a podcast featuring stories from the men and women who lived and worked at the Old Idaho State Penitentiary. Each week, Anthony, Samuel, and Skye explore prisoners whose crimes led them to serve time at the "Old Pen." Their history is explored in depth and compared to corrections topics faced in communities today.

To support this podcast, visit: https://history.idaho.gov/donate/donation-payment/

🎮 Singapore-based creator, gamer, and lyricist.
I craft AI-powered music that crosses every genre — cinematic, chill, chaotic, and everything in between. Every track carries the same energy, imagination, and emotion that fuel my livestreams and stories.

🎧 Where gaming meets sound. Where creativity becomes infinite. https://linktr.ee/realasianrobot

New tracks tagged #post-war