Showing results by narrator "Nathaniel Priestley" in All Categories

The Tour de France may provide the most obvious fame and glory, but it is cycling’s one-day tests that the professional riders really prize. Toughest, longest and dirtiest of all are the so-called ‘Monuments’, the five legendary races that are the sport’s equivalent of golf’s majors or the grand slams in tennis. Milan–Sanremo, the Tour of Flanders, Paris­–Roubaix, Liège–Bastogne–Liège and the Tour of Lombardy date back more than a century, and each of them is an anomaly in modern-day sport. Peter Cossins tells the history of these extraordinary races and the riders they have immortalised.

Two Brits, George and Mark, set off from New York City to explore the back roads of America. In this calamity-ridden travel tale, George sets out in true clichéd fashion to discover the real America. Throw in plenty of run-ins with the police, rapidly dwindling finances, and Josephine - the worst car in the world - and you have all the ingredients for a classic American road trip. Will George and Mark make it all the way to California? And then there is Rachel, George's girlfriend, left back in England.

Peregrine Ashby, the newly and unexpectedly titled Earl of Rutland, is muddling through the affairs of becoming a suddenly wealthy and titled man of means. After the disaster of his parents’ loveless marriage, he’s sworn off wife-hunting. But when he stumbles quite literally into a mysterious beauty wearing a mask at a ball who begs for his help, he can’t deny her. After the magic of the night is over and the mysterious beauty has vanished, he remains haunted by her and what might have been.

The Cure remain, 40 plus years into their career, one of the biggest rock bands in the world. Amidst the record-setting Shows of a Lost World Tour winding down, acclaimed music journalist Simon Price has crafted a first of its kind history of this band that will satisfy legion of fans eagerly awaiting The Cure’s new album. Curepedia is a career-spanning and in-depth biography of Robert Smith and company, chronicling their 40 plus year history with hundreds of entries organized in an A-to-Z fashion.

Recently widowed, Rebecca Parcell is too busy struggling to maintain her farm in Morristown to give a fig who wins the War for Independence. But rumors are spreading in the winter of 1780 that she's a Loyalist sympathizer who betrayed her husband to the British-quite a tidy way to end her disastrous marriage, the village gossips whisper.

I’ve been on edge the whole time because 15 years ago when we were living in this city my husband Jack did something that ripped our lives apart. I swore I would never come back here, but Jack insisted. One afternoon, in the blur of a crowd, I lose sight of my son. I can’t find him anywhere. Frantic, I call my husband. But what he tells me next shakes me to the core....

When Dietrich von Hildebrand converted to Catholicism in 1914, he was surprised to find that, despite an abundance of books on the dangers of impurity, there were practically none on the positive values of purity. “So,” writes Alice von Hildebrand, widow of Dietrich, in a new foreword to the book, “this is what he set out to do in In Defense of Purity: to explore purity as a positive reality and only in light of its beauty to describe its contrary.”

Once a thriving city—now a foul necropolis, ruled over by the arisen dead. The fallen city of Brigganden now poses a threat to the neighboring lands, its demonic warlord slaughtering all who venture near. Reza, a member of an elite code of knights, leads the only troop willing to stand against the hellish army—risking not only her life to the vile arisen, but the lives of her only friends. As they struggle to survive the rising tide of evil, fulfilling their mission becomes the least of their priorities.

Twelve years ago, Noah Palmer went for a bike ride and never came home. His body was found in the Box Hill woods, a five-pointed star carved in his chest. He is the fourth victim of a serial killer who has never been caught. Now, a young woman is involved in a shooting outside Harrods in central London. Her DNA shows a familial match to the Box Hill cold case. Detective Rob Miller leads the investigation. To solve this mystery, Rob’s going to have to go off-book, potentially putting his career—and already complicated love life—on the line.

At 19, Christopher "Kit" Hollingsworth is spared the noose, but sentenced to serve seven years in Australia as a convict. The men who betrayed him have plans to make sure he never returns to England. But Kit's strong will and thirst for vengeance ensure his survival.

1264. Storm clouds are gathering as Simon de Montfort and the barons of the realm challenge the power of Henry III. The barons demand reform; the crown demands obedience. England is on the brink of civil war. Adam de Norton, a young squire devoted to the virtues of chivalry, longs only to be knighted, and to win back his father's lands. Then a bloody hunting accident leaves him with a new master: the devilish Sir Robert de Dunstanville, who does not hesitate to use the blackest stratagems in pursuit of victory.

Debby Morris, mother of two, goes to a Christmas party at historic Hollyhock Manor in Marlow, and never comes home. Her phone, handbag and Santa’s elf hat are found in a park near the River Thames. The police issue a nationwide search, but Debby is nowhere to be found. Three weeks later, Debby’s body, still in her elf costume, is discovered five miles downstream from where she disappeared. Detective Rob Miller is pulled from compassionate leave and put in charge. He’s still reeling from his last botched case, and he knows all eyes are on him—waiting to see if he’ll crack.

There are countless books on music with much analysis given to musicians, bands, eras and/or genres. But rarely does a book delve into what's going on inside us when we listen. Michel Faber explores two big questions: how we listen to music and why we listen to music. To answer these he considers biology, age, illness, the notion of 'cool', commerce, the dichotomy between 'good' and 'bad' taste and, through extensive interviews with musicians, unlocks some surprising answers.

As one of London’s biggest heartbreakers, Derrick, Viscount Seabright, has all the freedom in the world to choose any woman he wishes to marry...someday...when he actually wishes to marry. But for now he’s content to seduce anyone at his leisure...anyone that is except for Arianna Asgil. Derrick has spent years trying not to admit his best friend’s little sister has grown up into a beauty...an infuriating one. He’s a damned saint for resisting the urge to silence her during an argument with a kiss, especially when she’s flushed and furious at him.

Few sports have had a more eventful last 50 years than rugby union. Even fewer involve such a range of different cultures, contrasting characters or diverse geographical settings. With the 2023 Rugby World Cup in France and the 200th anniversary of the game’s ‘birth’ on the horizon, Around the World in 80 Minutes sets out to find the game’s most inspiring people and places. Observant, amusing and thought-provoking, the book takes listeners on a global journey to meet key figures from rugby’s ‘golden age’ between 1973 and 2023.

More than a decade ago, Madeline Wilson established herself as one of the most controversial and successful figures in modern British media. Even so many years later, she is best remembered as the figure behind a twelve-month public campaign against a man the police failed to convict of murder, which ended in a re-trial and conviction for manslaughter. Now, he has just been released. After a night out in late February with her father, Sam, and Ben, Madeline is kidnapped. What follows is a chase, as Ben and Sam seek to uncover the kidnapper, and the truth behind the original case.

1265. England has a new master. Simon de Montfort's victory at the Battle of Lewes has made him king in all but name. He has vowed to restore the rights and liberties of the kingdom, but now even his friends grow wary of his power. As old alliances break down, new rebellions gather strength. The captive king's supporters muster, vowing to overthrow the new regime. Meanwhile Adam de Norton, who won the honour of knighthood on the field at Lewes, has reclaimed his ancestral lands. A peaceful and prosperous future lies before him - until he receives a summons he cannot refuse.

Professor Elliot Brand was done with adventures. When his former lover Ashra Shah calls him to Antarctica, he knows he is getting himself into trouble. Guarded by a military unit, hidden deeply in the uninhabitable parts of the frozen continent, a ruin was found that could be the most significant archeological find in history. Elliot Brand doesn't need long to understand that if they don't act fast, it might very well be the last one, too...

There are countless books on music with much analysis given to musicians, bands, eras and/or genres. But rarely does a book delve into what's going on inside us when we listen. Michel Faber explores two big questions: how do we listen to music and why do we listen to music? To answer these questions, he considers a range of factors, which includes age, illness, the notion of "cool," commerce, the dichotomy between "good" and "bad" taste and much more.

It was supposed to be a simple case: a young man arrested for armed assault. But it was just the beginning. As Rodney Middleton awaits trial, Detective Jack Warr is warned by his mentor DCI Ridley that they have only scratched the surface of the man's crimes. Then DCI Ridley is suddenly removed from his post. No one is to contact him - and no one will say why.