British Life

Ruby Lennox begins narrating her life at the moment of conception, and from there takes us on a whirlwind tour of the 20th century as seen through the eyes of an English girl determined to learn about her family and its secrets.

Sourcebooks is bringing the internationally acclaimed New York Times bestseller back for a new generation of listeners. Jennie Churchill was not merely Winston’s mother. She was the most captivating and desired woman of her age. Originally from Brooklyn, Jennie became the reigning queen of British society. Beautiful and defiant, she lived with an honesty that made her the talk of two continents.

There are some who would argue that in the 21st Century a monarchy, of any description, is an outdated institution, but paradoxically, it only takes the merest hint of a Royal scandal or conspiracy for the world press to be in hot pursuit of the story. What’s more, any newspaper or magazine fortunate enough to get a Royal exclusive, even in our modern age, is guaranteed to increase circulation dramatically, suggesting that there is as much interest in the monarchy as there has ever been. So how did it all begin? Well, for the British, the answer to that question is quite simply when the ...

When you look back in history at royal romances, surprising as it may seem, few have happy ever after endings, and in many instances the idea of “Love and Marriage” being inextricably linked is not quite as common as you might at first think. In fairy stories handsome Kings and Princes regularly sweep fair maidens off their feet, transforming them into Princesses and Queens, and although a rarer occurrence, a Royal Princess can create a Prince out of the most unpromising of characters! From King Arthur through to Prince Charles and Diana, Royal Romances - The British Monarchy gives you ...

Jane Cleveland and Prudence Bates were close friends at Oxford University, but now live very different lives. Forty-one-year-old Jane lives in the country, is married to a vicar, has a daughter she adores, and lives a very proper life in a very proper English parish. Prudence, a year shy of 30, lives in London, has an office job, and is self-sufficient and fiercely independent - until Jane decides her friend should be married. Jane has the perfect husband in mind for her former pupil: a widower named Fabian Driver.

The secret baby JAFF you didn’t know you wanted! The night of the Netherfield Ball, Fitzwilliam Darcy watches Elizabeth Bennet dance twice with Mr. William Collins and knows what the man intends. When Mr. Darcy’s own dance with the lady in question goes disastrously, he despairs of ever wooing her from the man who duty demands she wed. He takes solace in absinthe, as one does. Elizabeth is not the least bit pleased at the prospect of marrying Mr. Collins and begins drinking heavily, too. When a very inebriated Mr. Darcy appears and takes her off to his room, she doesn’t resist. She ...

Renowned biographer Andrew Morton takes an in-depth look at Britain’s longest reigning monarch, exploring the influence Queen Elizabeth has had on both Britain and the rest of the world for much of the last century. From leading a nation struggling to restore itself after the devastation of the second World War to navigating the divisive political landscape of the present day, Queen Elizabeth has been a reluctant but resolute queen. This is the story of a woman of unflagging self-discipline who will long be remembered as mother and grandmother to Great Britain.

Wilmet Forsyth is bored. Bored with the everyday routine of her life. Bored with teatimes filled with local gossip. Bored with her husband, Rodney, a civil servant who dotes on her. But on her 33rd birthday, Wilmet's conventional life takes a turn when she runs into the handsome brother of her close friend. Attractive and enigmatic, Piers Longridge is a mystery Wilmet is determined to solve. Rather than settling down, he lived in Portugal, then returned to England for a series of odd jobs. Driven by a fantasy of romance, the sheltered, naïve Englishwoman sets out to seduce Piers.

A yearning to be free... Katherine was just nineteen when she met Basil Duckworth. He was charismatic, worldly, and impossible to resist as he spoke of freedom, adventure, and a life lived beyond the ordinary. With no hesitation, young and somewhat naive Katherine left everything behind and ran off with Basil, believing she had found the man of her dreams. For a while, it felt like the right choice. As they travelled from place to place chasing Basil's musical career, there were nights filled with laughter, stolen kisses under starlit skies, and promises whispered like prayers. But slowly, ...

Anybody who visits London at the height of the summer will soon realize that the United Kingdom’s capital city attracts sightseers from every far-flung corner of the globe. And what’s on their list of attractions to see? Nine times out of ten it will be Buckingham Palace, often followed by the Tower of London, and since the tragic death of Diana, Princess of Wales in 1997, her former residence, Kensington Palace. In an age when the monarchy, British or otherwise, is accused of being an outdated institution, the tourists still flock in their millions to follow in the footsteps of Royalty...

This is the riveting story of Noor Inayat Khan, the descendant of an Indian Prince Tipu Sultan, the Tiger of Mysore, who became a British secret agent for SOE during World War II. Born into an illustrious Indian family in 1914 and brought up in the non-violent Sufi religion, Noor seemed an unlikely secret agent. Yet she became the first female radio operator to be landed in enemy-occupied France, and refused to abandon her post in Paris in 1943, continuing her work under extremely dangerous circumstances.

Welcome to the Yellow Feather Ranch! I am so glad you could find your way here! Set against the backdrop of the idyllic countryside of Dixon, England, "The Yellow Feather Ranch" invites you on a journey back to the summer of nineteen-sixty-nine. Mary Reilly, a sixty-one-year-old inheritor of a rundown farm turned holiday horse ranch, is determined to breathe new life into her family's legacy. With the help of her spirited children and grandchildren, Mary embarks on a daring venture to transform the Yellow Feather into a thriving destination. But as the Grand Opening approaches, Mary ...

The BFG is no ordinary bone-crunching giant. He is far too nice and jumbly. It's lucky for Sophie that he is. Had she been carried off in the middle of the night by the Bloodbottler, or any of the other giants - rather than the BFG - she would have soon become breakfast. When Sophie hears that the giants are flush-bunking off to England to swollomp a few nice little chiddlers, she decides she must stop them once and for all. And the BFG is going to help her!

Leah was unemployed, broke, and desperate. A few years earlier, a fatal car crash took the lives of Leah’s beloved husband and their two babies, leaving her disabled. Life looked bleak. Then she met Mason. He was charming, charismatic, persuasive, and a successful businessman, well respected in the community. His teenage daughter did nothing to welcome Leah into the family, but life is never perfect. And the nightmares began the day the dog died… Two years into her second marriage, Leah Brand’s world is turned upside down. Inanimate objects move, her clothes are left out for the ...

Embark on an exhilarating journey through maritime history with John Whall, the daring boy sailor of Queen Victoria's Navy. At the tender age of 15, Whall found himself aboard Nelson's legendary HMS Victory, where he honed his skills amidst the creaking timbers and billowing sails of the mighty vessel. From those early days of training to his illustrious tenure spanning more than 10 ships and nearly a decade, Whall's adventures offer a captivating glimpse of life at sea in a pivotal era when sail gave way to steam. Traversing the globe aboard Her Majesty's ships, Whall's story unfolds ...

A captivating portrait of one of history’s most compelling figures—Winston Churchill—told with the usual wit and charm of Leonard Wibberley (author of The Mouse that Roared). Many books have been written about Winston Churchill at his finest hour as Britain’s leader during World War II, but few tell the stories of the his youth—as a rebellious schoolboy, as a daring young soldier who took part in cavalry charges and in hand-to-hand combat in India and Africa, and as a brazen foreign correspondent, covering wars in Sudan, Cuba, India, and South Africa. This entertaining biography ...

Only days before Britain declares war on Germany, Harry Clifton, hoping to escape the consequences of long-buried family secrets, and forced to accept that his desire to marry Emma Barrington will never be fulfilled, has joined the Merchant Navy. But his ship is sunk in the Atlantic by a German Uboat, drowning almost the entire crew. An American cruise liner, the SS Kansas Star, rescues a handful of sailors, among them Harry and the third officer, an American named Tom Bradshaw.

A quirky, dark-edged mystery full of twists, turns and playful surprises Max Black, retired stock broker and single parent, is facing a crisis. His daughter has left for university, and despite the companionship of his faithful Cairn terrier Monty, he feels panicked, untethered and not very well. His doctor tells him to get out more, change his lifestyle and find himself a job. Could Duntisbourne Hall, a rundown stately home recruiting tour guides, be the answer to his empty-nest syndrome? Joining the team of eccentric retired professionals who shuffle the general public around on tour, he ...

David Coverdale is one of rock’s most enduring and enigmatic frontmen. From his humble beginnings in Saltburn-by-the-Sea, North Yorkshire, to commanding arenas across the world, his voice became both weapon and invitation: a velvet roar capable of seduction and authority. This definitive biography traces his complete life story, following his rise from teenage bands in working men’s clubs to the whirlwind audition that placed him in Deep Purple in 1973, a position that changed the course of his life forever. Coverdale’s tenure with Deep Purple produced landmark albums such as Burn and...

It is the summer of 1919, and Constance Haverhill is without prospects. Now that all the men have returned from the front, she has been asked to give up her cottage and her job at the estate she helped run during the war. While she looks for a position as a bookkeeper or—horror—a governess, she’s sent as a lady’s companion to an old family friend who is convalescing at a seaside hotel. Despite having only weeks to find a permanent home, Constance is swept up in the social whirl of Hazelbourne-on-Sea after she rescues the local baronet’s daughter, Poppy Wirrall, from a social faux pas.