Showing results by author "Valerie Martin" in All Categories

After a violent coup in the United States overthrows the Constitution and ushers in a new government regime, the Republic of Gilead imposes subservient roles on all women. Offred, now a Handmaid tasked with the singular role of procreation in the childless household of the enigmatic Commander and his bitter wife, can remember a time when she lived with her husband and daughter and had a job, before she lost everything, even her own name.

It’s 1954 on far-flung Verona Island, a tropical paradise with a fragile economy and a rising crime rate. Prostitution is legal and Lila Gulliver is proud of her business, a high-end brothel where her clients are guaranteed privacy and discretion. When Carità Bercy, a young, destitute, and beautiful blind woman arrives at her door seeking employment, Lila decides to give her a chance. Carità proves a valuable asset to the house, as well as a psychological puzzle to her employer.

When Jan Vidor, an American writer and academic, rents an apartment in a Tuscan villa for the summer, she plans to spend her break working on a novel about Mussolini. Instead, she finds herself captivated by her aristocratic landlady, the elegant, acerbic Beatrice Salviati Bartolo Doyle, whose family has owned Villa Chiara for generations. Jan is intrigued by Beatrice’s stories of World War II, particularly by the tragic fate of her uncle Sandro, who was mysteriously murdered in the driveway of the villa at the conclusion of the war.

Cat brothers Cecil and Anton are as different in personality as they are in looks. Cecil, stocky and black with white patches, thirsts for seafaring adventure as he roams the docks of his harborside home, taking day trips on fishing boats when the chance comes along. Slim, gray Anton prefers listening to the sailors' shanties at the town saloon. But one day when Anton does venture to port, he's stolen off the dock, and the next thing he knows, he's at sea.

Terrible news has reached cat brothers Anton and Cecil: their rodent friend Hieronymus has been captured. Anton and Cecil must try to rescue the mouse who once saved Anton's life. Boarding one of the monstrous machines the mice call "landships," the brothers travel to the Wild West.

In 1872, the American merchant vessel Mary Celeste was discovered adrift off the coast of Spain. Her cargo was intact, but the crew was gone. They were never found. While on a voyage to Africa, an unproven young writer named Arthur Conan Doyle hears of the Mary Celeste and decides to write an outlandish story about what took place. This story causes quite a sensation back in the United States, particularly between sought-after Philadelphia spiritualist medium Violet Petra and a journalist named Phoebe Grant, who is seeking to expose Petra as a fraud.

Tuckered out from a journey across the Wild West, cat brothers Anton and Cecil are ready to head east for home - until a minor stop to change trains in Chicago turns into a major escapade. The brothers are recruited by a police bloodhound to help solve a case: puppies are disappearing right off their leashes! Anton and Cecil's search takes them deep into the heart of the 1893 Chicago World's Fair, where they befriend exotic animals, ride the newly invented Ferris Wheel, and look for clues amid the crowds of fairgoers.

The Confessions of Edward Day follows a young man through the 1970s and early 80s as he strives for love and fulfillment. While attending a lush party on the Jersey shore, Edward encounters two fellow thespians who change the course of his life forever. The beautiful Madeleine Delavergne quickly becomes his heart's desire, while Guy Margate - after saving Edward from drowning - morphs from a savior into his chief rival on stage and for Madeleine's affections.

We’ve all said it at some point: "I’m just a creature of habit." And sure, there’s a lot to say for consistency and routine. But what about that other saying— “the only constant in life is change"? Maybe we’re creatures of change, too. In this podcast, we’ll explore change from a variety of perspectives: stories of people who’ve made huge changes in the trajectory of their lives, others who have made small but lasting and impactful changes in their day-to-day lives, and we’ll also nerd out about the science of human behavior— how we can get better at executing the small ...