Showing results by narrator "Charlotte Strevens" in All Categories

In 1895, nine American heiresses travelled across the Atlantic to bag themselves husbands and titles. For the English gentlemen the girls married it was a way to secure their estates. For the girls who came from new money, marriage was a means to obtaining social prestige. The Transatlantic Marriage Bureau tells the stories of these nine heiresses and the remarkable women who made it happen - the unofficial marriage brokers Lady Minnie-Paget and Consuelo Yzanga, Duchess of Manchester.

In 1939, a young girl sits alone in a station waiting room in Marseilles. Half-Jewish Ilse has been sent out of Nazi Germany to safety in Morocco by her mother. But her journey takes her back to France, where she cannot escape the Nazi occupation. Blown about by circumstances beyond her control, she must grow up alone in a demi-monde of refugees, whores and freedom fighters.

When governess Anna Arbuthnot arrives at Ridley Hall, she finds a house in deep mourning. Lyndon Wilder, oldest and most beloved son of Lord and Lady Charles has been killed in the Napoleonic Wars, leaving behind him a now orphaned daughter, Lottie and other undiscovered troubles. Anna finds it easy to establish a bond with her young charge, but other relationships in the house begin to strain under the weight of Lyndon's absence

Clarice Beech has two passions in life: animal rescue and Detective Inspector Rick Beech. She is devoted to the first, but she and Rick have been separated for the past six months - life without him is hard. Clarice shares her other love, for contemporary ceramics, with the charming Lady Vita Fayrepoynt. When Vita's adopted three-legged ginger cat, Walter, disappears from Weatherby Hall, Clarice is called in to find him.

She's only been gone two hours. Her husband, David, was meant to be looking after their two-week-old daughter. But when Alice Fancourt walks into the nursery, her terrifying ordeal begins, for Alice insists the baby in the cot is a stranger she's never seen before. With an increasingly hostile and menacing David swearing she must either be mad or lying, how can Alice make the police believe her before it's too late?

Uniquely disturbing and deeply erotic, this collection confirms Sarah Hall as one of the greatest writers of her generation. From the heathered fells and lowlands of Cumbria with their history of smouldering violence, to the speed and heat of summer London, to an eerily still lake in the Finnish wilderness, Sarah Hall evokes landscapes with extraordinary precision and grace.

Castles in the Air is a beautifully written, autobiographical story of rescuing an ancient mansion. Gwydir Castle was inhabited by ravers and rats until Judy Corbett and her husband Peter Welford found and acquired this 500-year-old house mouldering in the foothills of Snowdonia. Despite the toads, strange smells and squatters, they decided to mortgage themselves to the hilt to bring the castle back to life.

Plain Emma Stephenson might not look like a tycoon's glamorous assistant, but for Luca D'Amato - a playboy who likes to play - breaking through her no-nonsense attitude is his favourite new game. Sensible Emma thought all they'd be sharing was an office - not a bed! But she's learning fast what being Luca's personal assistant really means! Now he's standing there offering her a promotion - and she's trying to find the words to tell him she's pregnant!

University professor Nina is at a turning point. Her work seems increasingly irrelevant, her doctor husband is never home, relations with her difficult daughter are strained and their beautiful house is scheduled for demolition. When her daughter decides to move into another house they own, things take a very dark turn. The young woman living there disappears, leaving her son behind, the day after Nina and her daughter pay her a visit. With few clues, the police enquiry soon grinds to a halt, but Nina has an inexplicable sense of guilt and begins her own investigation.

A best-selling novelist since 1921, Georgette Heyer is known across the world for her historical romances set in Regency England. This is the ultimate, definitive guide to Georgette Heyer's novels, her heroines, her villains and dashing heroes, the shops, clubs and towns they frequented, the parties and seasons they celebrated, how they ate, drank and dressed, socialised, shopped and drove. An utterly delightful and fun read, compelling in its historical detail, this is a must-hear for any Georgette Heyer fan.

When Olivia's beloved Aunt Grace passes, she leaves everything to her niece, with one condition: Olivia must travel to Prague and deliver a message to Grace's long-lost true love, Marek. The trouble is, Olivia's world is getting smaller. Since her husband left her one heartbreaking Christmas Eve, she has found even getting into town a challenge, let alone travelling by herself to a different country. But this is one adventure she has to take, if she is to honour Grace.

From the bestselling author of Room comes a delicious tale of secrets, betrayal and forbidden love The Sealed Letter is a page-turner with a jaw-dropping ending’ Stylist. Helen Codrington is unhappily married. Emily ‘Fido’ Faithfull hasn’t seen her once-dear friend for years. Suddenly, after bumping into Helen on the streets of Victorian London, Fido finds herself reluctantly helping Helen to have an affair with a young army officer.

'Good people, I am come hither to die and by a law I am condemned to the same.' These were the words uttered by 17-year-old Lady Jane Grey as she stood on the scaffold on a cold February morning in 1554. Forced on to the throne by power players at court, Queen Jane reigned for just 13 days before being imprisoned in the tower, condemned for high treason and executed.

Sheikh Prince Ibrahim refuses to bow to the duty that has destroyed his family by locking away his emotions and shunning his royal responsibility. Until the desert calls...One searing kiss is all it takes for Georgie to know Ibrahim is trouble. And she's had more than enough of that to last her a lifetime! Can Georgie ever truly be with Ibrahim, or will his duty always get in the way?

As an illegitimate child, Frederica Bracewell was treated like a servant by her uncle. But when she encounters the new gamekeeper, shy Frederica starts to feel like a true lady....

After a debauched existence, Lord Robert Mountford revels in the simplicity of a gamekeeper's lifestyle. Until temptation strikes! Frederica is a far cry from the ladies of the ton, but she may just be his undoing...and unmasking!

Cousin to Elizabeth I - and possibly Henry VIII's illegitimate granddaughter - Lettice Knollys had a life of dizzying highs and pitiful lows. Entangled in a love triangle with Robert Dudley and Elizabeth I, banished from court, plagued by scandals, embroiled in treason, Lettice would lose a husband and son to the executioner's ax. In the first ever biography of this remarkable woman, Nicola Tallis takes us through her dramatic life and the grand sweep of the Tudor Age and the events that define it.

Without Churchill's inspiring leadership, Britain could not have survived its darkest hour and repelled the Nazi menace. Without his wife, Clementine, however, he might never have become Prime Minister. By his own admission, the Second World War would have been 'impossible without her'. Clementine was Winston's emotional rock and his most trusted confidante. Yet her ability to charm Britain's allies and her humanitarian efforts on the home front earned her deep respect.

Edith Wight can't wait to stay with her uncle - vet to magical animals and beasts - for the Christmas holidays. She's expecting to be reunited with all her friends, both animal and human, and celebrate the holidays together. But one of the few phoenixes left in the world is missing and in peril. The Secret Animal Society heads to a remote part of Bavaria to track down the bird, only to encounter a new foe more deadly and dangerous than they could have possibly imagined - who is using phoenix ashes to create new hybrid beasts to sell to the evil Syndicate.

Four girls have disappeared in North London. Three are already dead. Britain's most prolific child killer, Louis Kinsella, has been locked up in Northwood high-security hospital for over a decade. Now more innocents are being slaughtered, and they all have a connection to his earlier crimes. Psychologist Alice Quentin is doing research at Northwood. She was hoping for a break from her hectic London life, but she'll do anything to help save a child - even if it means forming a relationship with a charismatic, ruthless murderer.

Wimbledon, England, 1889. When Theodore Crozier is found dead the neighbourhood hopes the cause may be suicide, if only to spare further pain for both his dutiful wife, Laura, and beloved brother, Titus. However, there is more to the matter - a whisper of murder.... Inspector John Joseph Lintott of Scotland Yard is sent in to investigate, and the further he delves into the mystery the more tangled it becomes. Is Laura the pious, meek wife she appears to be? Could the rumours be true about her unnatural relationship with Titus? Was Theodore Crozier murdered by someone in his household?