Showing results by narrator "Charlotte Strevens" in All Categories

Autumn, 1210: A year ago, King John was excommunicated - and now his men have come to take over Hawkenlye Abbey. Abbess Caliste, Helewise’s successor, worries how she is to feed the nuns under her care, let alone conduct her good works. Meanwhile, Helewise has moved into Hawkenlye Manor with Josse, and their lives are full of family and warmth. But after a visit to St Edmund’s Chapel, Helewise’s 11-year-old granddaughter, Rosamund, goes missing - and soon all that they hold dear is threatened....

More adventures of the irrepressible Iggy as told by her sister Flo, by Jenny Valentine, winner of the Guardian Children’s Fiction Prize for her debut novel, Finding Violet Park. This is the third outing for Jenny Valentine’s endearing siblings, and this time they’re full of plans for the school holidays. Will they go camping, or to the seaside? Or have Mum and Dad got something entirely different up their sleeves? Whatever they do, readers can be sure of plenty of laughter.

The first of a new series of young fiction by Jenny Valentine, winner of the Guardian Children’s Fiction Prize for her debut novel, Finding Violet Park. IGGY AND ME is a series of family stories featuring the mishaps and shenanigans of the irrepressible 5-year-old Iggy as seen through the eyes of her big sister Flo. Funny and endearing, each chapter is a complete and satisfying story in its own right, perfect for newly-confident readers to enjoy alone, or for reading aloud at bedtime.

After the death of her husband, Ellie needs a change to her life and enrolls in a garden course in Tuscany. Here she begins relationships with her fellow students. Nerine, an eccentric character in her 70s, and the much younger Max. Through the teaching of Salvatore, who runs the course, Ellie finds that universal truths are still potently relavant.

'I love puzzles, and finding answers is the only truly enjoyable part of what I do.' This is because Professor Patricia Wiltshire is a forensic ecologist, her days spent at crime scenes collecting samples, standing over dead bodies in a mortuary, or looking down her microscope for evidence. Nature has given us a messy, imperfect world, but her job is to help make sense of it when we need it to most. A pioneer of forensic ecology - using the natural world to help solve crimes - Patricia has been involved in some of the most high-profile murder cases.

Gina Donovan arrives in Florence on a beautiful spring morning to stay with an old friend. She is hoping for nothing more than a break from her demanding young family, but as she soon finds out, this most ancient and beautiful of cities has its dark side. Within hours of her arrival, Gina meets the elegant Frances Richardson, who invites her to her birthday party. As Gina learns, Frances' party is the highlight of the expatriate calendar. This year it is to be held in the gardens beneath the city's medieval wall.

1925. London's fashionable Bright Young Things have descended on Wychbourne Court, the Kentish stately home of Lord and Lady Ansley, for an extravagant fancy dress ball and midnight Ghost Hunt. Chef Nell Drury knows she's in for a busy weekend - but she doesn't expect to encounter sudden, violent death. When a body is discovered in the minstrels' gallery during the Ghost Hunt, Nell is determined to unmask the killer among them. Could the Wychbourne Ghosts hold the key to the mystery?

Inspired by her uncle, Lisa Samson has communed with trees since her childhood. Tragically, a disease from mainland Europe now poses a very serious threat to the ash tree's survival. Epitaph for the Ash explores how barren our landscape could become without the ash's familiar branches protruding from limestone scars and chalky cliff faces.

Queen Victoria had over 30 surviving grandchildren, and to maintain and increase power in Europe, she hoped to manoeuvre them into dynastic marriages. Yet they often had plans of their own, and her matchmaking was further complicated by tumultuous international upheavals. Queen Victoria's Matchmaking travels through the glittering, decadent palaces of Russia and Europe, weaving in scandals, political machinations and family tensions.

When beautiful cloth merchant's daughter Elizabeth Williams is widowed at the age of 22, she is determined to succeed in the business she has learned from her father. But many are opposed to a woman making her own way in the world, and Elizabeth could have powerful enemies - enemies who know the truth about her late husband. Then Elizabeth meets kindly, ambitious merchant turned lawyer Thomas Cromwell.

Sarah Hall is an exquisite chronicler of landscapes - rural, industrial, psychological - and these haunting stories reveal a writer at the peak of her powers. Rich in the mythic symbolism of wilderness and wasteland, these tales blur the natural and urban, mundane and surreal, human and animal. Written in Hall's lyrical prose, this uncannily disturbing collection glitters with poetic and erotic imagery.

A moving tale of laughter and loss from best-selling Cathy Hopkins. Emily and her dad have been on their own since her mum left. But Emily has a secret: she still sees her mum, and people are beginning to worry about her. Because Emily's mum isn't coming back.... But as her friendship with Mark starts to develop into something more, can Emily find the strength to start letting go?

The stage is set.... Deborah O’Hara loves leading her troupe of actors. But when she becomes entangled in a web of secrets spun by the rakishly handsome Damian Beaumaris, Duke of Cirencester, she is forced to play the hardest role of her life. That of the stunning but disloyal Paulette, the Duke’s widowed sister-in-law. To regain the honour of his family Beau needs Deb’s help. But, despite his intentions, he doesn’t bargain on the forbidden sparks that fly with his beautiful leading lady….

Winter, 1211. Former abbess Helewise moves back to her cell near Hawkenlye Abbey to help the needy, putting a strain on her relationship with Sir Josse D’Acquin, who is called to examine the bodies of three men, one of whom bears a complicated symbol carved into his chest: a symbol that signifies vengeance. Meanwhile, far from home, Sir Josse’s son, Ninian, has become involved in the cause of the doomed Cathar people, soon to be swept up in a fight that they cannot hope to win.

Glamorous debutantes, heartbreak and discovering just what is worth fighting for in the new historical novel from Sunday Times best seller Adele Parks. It's1914. Vivian, a young, impassioned debutante is hurried into a pedestrian marriage to cover a scandal. War breaks out on her wedding day - domestically and across Europe.

A darkly whimsical and wickedly funny tale about a 12-year-old maid who finds herself at the very heart of a conspiracy involving mischief, ghosts, and intrigue. Just right for fans of Lemony Snicket and Neil Gaiman, Anyone but Ivy Pocket is the first book in a four-book series.

Recently divorced, Tessa Parker runs a successful B&B in a seaside town. During a surprise visit from Australia, a long-lost aunt lets slip a family secret that unsettles her fragile world.In shock, and feeling betrayed by her whole family, Tessa confides in her ex-husband just as he reveals he has a new woman in his life. Struck unexpectedly by jealousy; balancing her own turmoil against the demands of parenting, Tessa tries to trace her birth father, with devastating results. Yet she fails to see how this is a crucial moment in her children's lives.

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?

England, 1087. On her sister’s wedding day, Lassair meets an attractive and enigmatic stranger who brings a breath of the fascinating outside world to her backwater Fenland village. When he asks Lassair to use her unique talents to help locate a mysterious treasure, she accepts despite the dangers. But this is no ordinary treasure hunt; the object of the perilous search is 500 years old and has a terrifying power of its own….

The second of a new series of young fiction by Jenny Valentine, winner of the Guardian Children’s Fiction Prize for her debut novel, Finding Violet Park. More funny and endearing family stories featuring the irrepressible 5-year-old IGGY as seen through the eyes of her big sister Flo, the ME of the title. Whether learning to swim, or playing at home, going on a day trip or baking birthday cakes, Iggy and Flo add sparkle to everyday activities.