Showing results by narrator "Eleanor" in All Categories

Joseph and Harriet Blackstone emigrate from Norfolk to New Zealand in search of new beginnings and prosperity. But the harsh land near Christchurch where they settle threatens to destroy them almost before they begin. When Joseph finds gold in the creek he is seized by a rapturous obsession with the voluptuous riches awaiting him deep in the earth.

Nikolai Leokov never thought he'd fall in love with the only girl he's ever befriended. Valentina Tomic has issues with commitment after the ultimate betrayal. When Tina decides to make broody Nik's day better, she never thought she would end up friends with the hard man. Nik has never had a woman be so affectionate to him without expecting something in return.

Dairy farmer Robin Meredith has just buried his Californian wife Caro who, though a central figure at the farm for more than twenty years, had remained a mystery to the family. With Caro gone, her adopted daughter Judy feels cut adrift. To Robin’s brother, Joe, Caro had been the emblem of a freedom he’d glimpsed in America and his grief is far deeper than the family suspects. Even Robin and Joe’s parents, entrenched in the adjoining farm, feel suddenly vulnerable to time and change as well.

In late 1960s Appalachia, many things loom darkly over June Branham: the Vietnam War is dividing the country, and a strip mine is eating away the mountain at the head of the holler where she lives, threatening the natural landscape and the only way of life she has ever known. While still in high school, June has fallen in love. She is pregnant, and the father may be Ellis Akers. Ellis is the son of Solomon, a mortal enemy of June’s stepfather, Isom. The feud is so old it fuels two vengeful men with the power of long animosity between rival families.

For millions of people, both in Britain and across the world, Elizabeth II is the embodiment of monarchy. Her long life spans nearly a century of national and global history, from a time before the Great Depression to the era of COVID-19. Her reign embraces all but seven years of Britain's postwar history; she has been served by 15 UK prime ministers from Churchill to Johnson, and witnessed the administrations of 13 US presidents from Truman to Trump. The vast majority of Britons cannot remember a world without Elizabeth II as head of state and the Commonwealth.

Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Tennessee Williams is one of the three most important American dramatists of the 20th century, alongside Arthur Miller and Eugene O'Neill. Acclaimed for their lyrical language, dark themes and vivid portrayal of the American South, his works have spawned several Oscar-winning films and been translated and performed worldwide. Collected here are some of the best, beginning with the play that launched Williams' career: The Glass Menagerie.

Elizabeth Jane Howard (1923-2014) wrote brilliant novels about what love can do to people, but in her own life the lasting relationship she sought so ardently always eluded her. She grew up yearning to be an actress; but when that ambition was thwarted by marriage and the war, she turned to...

One girls’ trip. One push from a cliff. One betrayal she never saw coming. For Quinn, the trip should have been simple—laughter, memories, and a chance to reconnect with her four closest college friends. But when she’s shoved from a cliff overlooking the ocean, everything changes. Miraculously, she survives the fall. The bigger question is why—and who among them wanted her gone. As Quinn struggles to recover with the help of strangers, questions consume her every thought. The faces of her friends haunt her; what once felt like trust now feels like betrayal.

When Isabel Cosgrove is informed by her father that he lost her hand in marriage while playing cards with Charles Galbraith—the gentleman she’s been admiring from a distance for years—she is filled with dismay. Charles Galbraith didn’t intend to become engaged as a result of a drunken wager at cards, but after the woman he loves spurns him, what does it matter whom he marries? But even Miss Cosgrove, the fiancée he won by wager, seems intent not to marry him—a fact that both relieves and piques him.

In a world where anyone can create a life-destroying curse, only one person has the power to unravel them. Kellen does not fully understand his talent, but helps those transformed maliciously—including Nettle. Recovered from entrapment in bird form, she is now his constant companion and closest ally. But Kellen has also been cursed, and unless he and Nettle can remove his curse, Kellen is in danger of unravelling everything—and everyone—around him.

Welcome to Fia’s world. Fia hates the dead. If a spirit gets too close, their final moments become her reality. It’s no big surprise she’s developed a raging case of necrophobia, and people think she owns the deluxe edition of crazy. Fia is desperate for a dead-free zone. Signing on with a wilderness search and rescue team seems like the perfect fit - no earthbound spirits in the empty woods, right? Bad assumption. Big mistake.

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER A sweeping fantasy about a witch who must navigate a ruthless marriage competition—and try not to fall in love along the way. Part twisting mystery, part thrilling romance, The Weaver Bride is an unputdownable romantasy steeped in a lush magical world. Lovett...

Two exes reach a new level of awkward when forced to take a road trip together in this endearing and humorous novel by the author of the international bestseller The Flatshare. What if the end of the road is just the beginning? Four years ago, Dylan and Addie fell in love under the Provence sun...

Starting AD 400 (around the time of their invasion of England) and running through to the 1100s (the 'Aftermath'), historian Geoffrey Hindley shows the Anglo-Saxons as formative in the history not only of England but also of Europe. The society inspired by the warrior world of the Old English poem Beowulf saw England become the world's first nation state and Europe's first country to conduct affairs in its own language, and Bede and Boniface of Wessex establish the dating convention we still use today.

France 1944: Frankie opens her eyes and winces. The daylight coming through the shutters is acid-bright, but that’s not what is causing her pain. As she tries to speak through burned and blistered lips, she realises there is only darkness where her memories should be. She is fed sips of water by a kindly old French man, Antoine, who tells her that his grandson found her lying next to her burning plane, crying out for a man called Michael. A man she cannot remember.

Historian Nora Zvezda is gunning for a promotion at the Chicago Field Museum. The discovery of two ancient Greek weapons unlike any she's seen before might be her big break—but the artifacts are more than they seem. Trying to uncover their secrets, Nora enlists the help of professor of ancient languages, Dr. Adam Scott, an undeniably handsome man of intrigue. Nora has been too busy to worry about romance, but Adam seems to be overflowing with charm—and secrets, the biggest being his rank among the Eteria, a secret society of powerful sorcerers.

From the international bestselling author of Baby Doll comes a post-apocalyptic mystery exploring the unshakeable bond between mothers and daughters and the sacrifices we make for the people we love. If you knew the world was ending, what lengths would you go to protect the people you love? How...

Two girls went into the woods. Only one came back. . . . Detective Chief Inspector Jonah Sheens is on the trail in this “riveting” (Publishers Weekly) crime novel from the acclaimed author of She Lies in Wait, Watching from the Dark, and Lie Beside Me ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR...

The call comes through on DI Jemima Huxley's day off. A family of five brutally attacked in their own home. Bradley and Sally Rathbone and their teenage niece and nephew are dead. Only fourteen-year-old Millie survives, found in a broken heap at the bottom of the stairs. It's an unlikely crime scene: a comfortable five-bedroom property in one of Cardiff's most exclusive suburbs. Jemima quickly deduces this was no random burglary gone wrong. These killings were vicious, personal — and carefully planned. But why would someone target an ordinary family going about their everyday business?

Nursing student Lena Lowery faces a grim diagnosis and a dangerous surgery. In an antique armoire, Lena discovers a Civil War-era gown that holds an unimaginable cure...a trip back in time to when the house served as a hospital. Confederate Sergeant Caleb Dockery lost his brother, his eye, and nearly his life. Stuck in a makeshift infirmary, he's counting the days until he can return to duty and seek revenge. When a stranger appears, he suspects she's a spy. If he can't return to duty and find revenge for his brother's death, he can serve his country by stopping this traitor.