Mostrando resultados por narrador "Penelope Freeman" en Todas las categorías

Summer, 1938, and for the second time Britain is threatened by war with Germany. This time civilians too will be in the front line. In London, two very different families are brought together by the war. Doctors, Amy and Dan, have twins, 18-year-old Tessa and Charlie. Nora, a working-class wife and mother, has a twelve-year-old daughter, Sara, whose dream is to become a doctor, a wild idea for a working-class child. Together, and helping each other, the two families struggle to survive and endure the six years of war, and Sara fights to reach her impossible dream.

DCI Monika Paniatowski has a bitter personla history with Chief Superintendent Kershaw, but that is not the only reason she doesn’t want the investigation into the sudden – and probably violent – disappearance of his wife, Elaine, landing on her desk. Why should all the resources be channelled into this one case?Why doesn’t somebody take an interest in the disappearance of a young prostitue called Grace Meade?

Phoebe Parsons is destitute, disgraced and alone. After her mistress tragically dies, Phoebe is forced back onto the poverty-ridden streets of Manchester by her unforgiving new master. Desperately searching for work as a domestic maid, Phoebe soon discovers her reputation is in ruins. Fearing for her future and haunted by the harshness of her abandonment, Phoebe finds herself living with thieves and drunks in the smog and squalor - until she meets Victor Hayes.

Dover, 1864: Violet Rayfield leads a happy life with her family in a beautiful terrace on Camden Crescent. But Violet’s seemingly perfect world is shattered when her father makes a decision that costs her family everything. Now Violet must sacrifice all she holds dear, including the man she loves. As Violet strives to pick up the threads of her existence, a series of shocking revelations leaves her feeling even more alone. But where one door closes, another opens, and the embroidery skills Violet perfected while a young woman of leisure win her vital work.

When a young girl, Jill Harris, is murdered, the case soon becomes personal for Monika Paniatowski. She saw the victim looking distressed only hours before she was killed, and Jill was the same age as her own daughter, Louisa. Driven by guilt and pity, Monika throws herself into the investigation, but both the chief constable, who is away, and Colin Beresford - her right-hand man - think she is too emotionally involved to handle it. What none of them know is that the killer is planning to strike again....

Seamstress Elowyn Liddicot's family believe they've secured the perfect future for her in the arms of Nathan Cardew. But then one evening, Elowyn helps to rescue a dying man from the sea, and everything changes. William Cotterell, wild and self-assured, refuses to leave her thoughts or her side - but surely she can't love someone so unlike herself? With Elowyn's dressmaking business suddenly under threat, her family's pressure to marry Nathan increasing and her heart decidedly at odds with her head, Elowyn doesn't know whom to trust anymore.

The stirring second instalment in Terri Nixon's Penhaligon Saga series. 1910. Anna Garvey and her daughter are still running the Tin Streamer's Arms in Caernoweth, Cornwall, and it finally seems like she has left her tumultuous history behind in Ireland. Meanwhile, Freya Penhaligon has blossomed and is now the object of increasing affection of Hugh, the elder son of the wealthy Batten family.

From the deserts of North Africa to the waters of Scotland, the Second World War touches the lives of two women from two very different worlds.In Alexandria, Fran finds her world turned upside down as Rommel's forces advance on the idyllic shores of Egypt. The life of luxury and stability that she is used to is taken away as she finds herself having to deal with loss, heartache and political uncertainty.

For Abigail Chiswell, the Colne river front in Colchester, Essex, is a second home. With its own sights and sounds - of crowded quaysides, fishing smacks and packed oyster barrels - it means more to her than all the lofty rooms and comforts of her father's home. When she falls for local fisherman Matthew Bateman, Abigail's family loyalty is stretched to breaking point. While Hiltop House represents the pinnacle of her father's wealth and success, for Abigail its very luxury keeps her from the life - and the man - she loves.

In 1984, two young mothers meet at a toddler group in Birmingham. As their friendship grows, they share with each other the difficulties and secrets in their lives: Joanne, a sweet, shy girl, is increasingly afraid of her husband. The lively, promising man she married has become hostile and violent and she is too ashamed to tell anyone. When her mother, Margaret is suddenly rushed into hospital, the bewildered family find that there are things about their mother of which they had no idea.

Ellie Tyler dreams of a life beyond that of her drunken, tyrannical father and the dangerous East London gangland. Her only refuge is in her artistic talents, which she hopes will one day help her escape. But when forced to give up her education and endure horrific abuse at the hands of her father, before finally being abandoned by the man she loved, Ellie runs away to a small Essex village. After landing a job at the silk mill, and with the encouragement of Alex, the mill owner, Ellie starts to rebuild her life.

Janet Florin has been missing for almost a week, and family friend Trisha Marlowe, desperate for news, hires Sal Kilkenny to track her down. Ramin's brother, Berfan, is missing too. A failed asylum seeker, likely to be returned to Iran, has he disappeared to escape deportation? His brother says not. And when Sal hears that Berfan has been seen in Manchester, the chances of finding him look good.

Spirited Paula O'Brien wants to escape her family home and start a new life, but is scared of defying her abusive father. He had her put away in an asylum as a child and he threatens her with the same treatment if she disobeys him now. When she sees a newspaper advert for a live-in nanny, her best friend persuades her to apply. When grieving widower Jeffrey Lawson invites Paula to an interview, she doesn't realise it will change her life forever. And Jeffrey doesn't expect to meet a woman like Paula.

Forced into retirement, history professor Ellen Kershaw finds herself at a loose end. So when she is contacted by a reclusive billionaire, with an unusual proposition, her interest is piqued. Theodore Shepherd is funding a museum for diaries, and he wants Ellen to curate it. A live-in position at a Gothic stately home in the middle of Dartmoor, it's just the escape she needs whilst she works out what to do with the rest of her life. Ellen soon finds herself immersed in the stories and diaries that await her.

There were four of the Thorpe family in the Anderson shelter the night of the raid on Coventry. Mum and Dad, Florrie and little May. Jack was missing... he was one of those who did not return from Dunkirk. When Daisy and Marcus, sixth formers in Coventry, are given a project on the bombing of the city in 1940, they go to talk to May, now living in sheltered accommodation but full of memories of the war. The two youngsters both have their problems and as their lives unfold they strike up an unlikely friendship....

Ten-year-old Magda Brodie’s world is torn apart when her mother dies in the workhouse two weeks before Christmas. Her wastrel father arranges for her sisters to be sent to their grandparents in Ireland and for her younger brother to be adopted, leaving Magda distraught with worry as her family are scattered far and wide. Magda, as the eldest girl, is sent to live with her Aunt Bridget who, for whatever reason, holds a bitter resentment towards Magda. But adversity makes Magda strong and determined.

Janie and her husband, James, have a strong, loving marriage. A move from an inner-city slum to a peaceful new estate outside of Bolton should have been a fresh start for them and their three children. But when war is declared and James announces he has signed up, Janie fears it's the beginning of the end. Waving goodbye to their menfolk is a sacrifice that families are making all over the country and Janie does her best to make do, forging friendships in her new community.

It's 1964. England has shaken off its post-war gloom and the world is full of possibilities. Best friends Sandra and Linda live on a housing estate in Essex. They are aspiring mods: they have the music, the coffee bar and Ready Steady Go! on a Friday night. Having landed their first jobs, Linda and Sandra look set. But the world is changing rapidly, and both girls have difficult choices to make. As Sandra blindly pursues a proposal, Linda finds herself drawn to causes she knows are worth fighting for.

Summer, 1939. The de Lacey family believe they are ready for the changes the war will bring. Elizabeth, the eldest daughter, is due to return home from her grandparents’ farm in France and is expected to marry Captain Max Coburn. But when Grandpère suffers a stroke, her future is changed. Instead of returning home, Elizabeth chooses to stay and help her grandparents. Max is also stationed in France – but will the war threaten to separate them for ever? Meanwhile, in the village of Nayton, Lucy Storey dutifully cares for her father the stationmaster.

Soundings and Choc Lit present the audiobook edition of A Christmas Secret. When Hugo McCreadie steps into Isla Brodie’s pet portrait studio to get a 'Festive Furball Photo Shoot' for his sister’s cat Schubert, he does question his sanity. But he knows the photographs will be the perfect Christmas present for his eccentric sister, Nessa - and he finds himself quite taken with ditzy, animal-loving Isla Brodie, too. Will a Christmas secret from long ago prevent Hugo and Isla’s new friendship from going any further? Or will a certain big, black cat take matters into his own paws?