Celia J Anderson

May Rosevere has lived in the Cornish village of Pengelly almost all her life. And it’s been a long life, for May is just three months shy of her 111th birthday. May claims her longevity is a result of clean living: four slices of toast with butter every morning and a few glasses of sherry in the evening, but the truth is, May is nursing a secret. She is a memory harvester, someone whose youthful appearance and long life is the result of living off the memory echoes of others. These echoes are imparted into objects people leave behind, which May has spent her life collecting.

May is desperate to reach what she sees as the magical age of 111, but living alone with few visitors means it’s hard to come by objects that hold new memories. In her attempt to prolong her life, May makes some big decisions, the consequences of which she could never have foreseen…

‘A brilliantly original and enchanting tale’ – The Sun

‘Wonderful characters make this a great read’ – Good Housekeeping

‘Truly unique… unforgettable’ – Women’s Weekly

Tucked away amongst the winding, cobbled streets of Pengelly in Cornwall, the old stone cottage on Memory Lane is full of secrets. Brimming with trinkets and treasures, there are thousands of stories hidden within its walls.

Fifty-four-year-old Grace Clarke arrives in Pengelly determined to uncover the secrets of her past. Standing outside the little cottage, she feels sure that the answers she craves lie inside. The truth about her mysterious long-lost mother and the even more mysterious gifts she was born with…

Years of mystery lie inside the case, just waiting to be unravelled…

After fifty-eight years of playing it safe, Lucia Lemon wants something more from life. If only she knew what…

Until she receives a package in the post from an old friend that will change her life forever. Inside, she finds a bundle of cash, a collection of old maps, and a beautiful compass that no longer points north.

Holding the compass in her hand, Lucia suddenly feels hopeful – for the first time ever, life feels full of possibility and the open road is calling. If only she’s brave enough to answer it…

Amid the salt marshes and rolling fields of Periwinkle Bay, Magda Conway is enjoying her retirement in ivy-clad Mistletoe Cottage.

Yet with three weeks to go until Christmas, as the fairy lights twinkle and the trees go up around the village, her peace is disrupted when she’s left in sole charge of her two mischievous grandchildren.

Before long, she’s at her wit’s end – but high on a kitchen shelf lies her mother’s handwritten recipe book. And as she turns to it for advice, she finds more than just recipes between its tattered covers: there’s a pinch of magic too, and maybe even a sprinkling of love . . .

Kate dreamed of a happy marriage, a house full of children and a fulfilling teaching career. But after twenty-five years of married life and about to hit the big 5-0, it’s clear that her dreams haven’t quite come true. Then her husband leaves her for his golf partner, forcing Kate to take stock of what has become of her life.

Luckily, new friendship comes her way in the form of three feisty older women who take Kate under their wings, plus a new flame (could it be more . . .?) sparks with local divorced dad, Milo. As her big birthday approaches, Kate’s zest for life begins to return.

But opening herself up means making herself vulnerable to being hurt all over again . . .

As she turns 50, will Kate be brave enough to find happiness, and grab hold of it with both hands?

Ingrid is desperate to sell up and move on. She no longer needs the large house or the treasures (and tat) collected by her late husband, Tommy, an auctioneer. Then there’s the debt he left her with, too.

So, she jumps at the chance to downsize and move to the beautiful village of Willowbrook on a temporary lease. She’ll open a pop-up shop for just one year – to dispose of Tommy’s accumulated goods – and then move on. No getting embroiled in village life.

But Ingrid hasn’t reckoned on Willowbrook’s extrovert local ladies (known as the Saga Louts). Or handsome local craftsman Joel, with whom there’s a definite attraction. They all want to help set up her shop, ‘The Treasure Trove’.

Surprisingly, it turns out Ingrid can also help them.

Will she ever achieve the fresh start and simpler life she craved? Or will Ingrid discover a wonderful new way to move onwards and upwards?

The peaceful village of Willowbrook seems to be the ideal place for a new lease of life – at least according to Nell’s husband, Barney. With an empty nest and coming towards retirement, he’s persuaded her to try country living. Their cottage even has an annexe that’s perfect for Barney’s widowed father, Frank.

Nell is less sure about this fresh start… and it’s not long before cracks in her thirty-year marriage begin to appear. Instead of spending more time together, she and Barney seem to be drifting apart. Frank, too, is unsettled.

A weekly community group exploring the secret of happiness provides a way for Nell and her father-in-law to navigate their new surroundings. Nell finds some friends, and Frank is quickly taken in hand by the neighbourhood matriarchs – the self-styled ‘Saga Louts’!

But will questioning what makes her happy push Nell even further away from Barney, especially when she discovers the secrets her husband has been keeping? Or can opening up to others help old wounds heal and bring them back together once more? What really is the secret to happiness?

Forty-something Molly is starting to realise – with growing horror – that life isn’t just passing her by, it has completely gone without her. Her husband, four children and large collection of animals are chaotic and demanding, and her job as a playgroup assistant has lost its power to inspire her.

When temptation strikes and Molly is desperately attracted to the charismatic village headmaster, she is outraged to discover that her husband Jake has beaten her to a fling, and even worse, has done this with one of Molly’s closest friends!

With the whole family plunged into turmoil for a variety of reasons, Molly is forced out of her comfort zone to make decisions that will affect her marriage, her children, her parents and her friends. Can she reclaim her life, and learn to love it again as she does so?

When Molly loses her husband unexpectedly, she’s left with a growing sense that she never truly knew the man she shared her life with. Together since their schooldays and parents to four children, Molly had always believed their story was simple – until Jake’s absence begins to reveal hidden chapters.

Then, a series of intriguing boxes starts arriving at her door, each one containing a clue to Jake’s secret past. Sent by her best friend, these parcels urge Molly to confront truths she never imagined.

Along the way, she meets Tom, a talented artist determined to break free from the limitations of his own life. Tom and Molly are passionately drawn to one another, but can they each find the courage to start again?

As the last boxes lead Molly to ever more surprising revelations, will she hold more tightly on to the past – or embrace the possibility of new love?

Vee is nervous about returning to the village of Willowbrook. Not only is Dragonfly Cottage – the house her late mum left her – in need of a total refurb, but the neighbours still remember Vee as a troublesome teen, even though she’s now in her fifties.

Luckily, Vee’s quickly swept up by the Saga Louts, three irrepressible women whose friendship, humour and zest for life prove impossible to resist. With Rick, the handsome local handyman who’s helping to renovate the cottage also at her side, Vee begins to feel like it’s never too late to start again.

When the group set off on a road trip to France, laughter, friendship and plenty of vin rouge are on the cards. But some surprising revelations are about to come out, too…

Can Vee finally come to terms with the past and seize her future with both hands?

Aspiring writer Mab has hit rock bottom. She’s stuck in a dead-end job, her landlord’s on the warpath and her love life is in tatters. But just as she makes a life-changing decision, fate chooses to deliver the man she’s been waiting for.

Leo has inherited a crumbling old shop in the heart of their sleepy market town and plans to turn it into a cosy haven of books and chocolate – and he wants Mab’s help.

Soon, Mab finds herself swept up by gorgeous Leo’s enthusiasm for the renovation, despite his disapproving, glamorous fiancée. But as the fizzing attraction between Mab and Leo deepens, how can she confess to the choice she made, and the secret she’s keeping?

With a future she never imagined taking shape around her, is Mab brave enough to rewrite her own story?