Showing results by narrator "Annie Aldington" in All Categories

Kent, 1828. Lizzie Carey of Castle Bay is trapped in a life she never chose - endless days of cooking, cleaning, and caring for her five younger siblings after her elder sister Nell's marriage. She longs to escape, but it seems like an impossible dream. That is, until she meets the enigmatic Mrs. Simmonds, who promises Lizzie a future far beyond the confines of her small town. The allure of a new life in Canterbury draws Lizzie into a world she never imagined, but it soon becomes clear that nothing is as it seems . . .

Sheltered and naïve Carmen Darby has lived under the thumb of her father Rex, a brutal criminal businessman, her whole life. But when Rex announces his retirement and plans to leave his vast wealth to his three daughters, Carmen doesn't thank her father as effusively as he'd like, enraging him. Cast out from her home, Carmen assumes a new identity and starts her life over, but she knows she can't outrun the sins of her family for ever.

When nightmares become reality, how do you find the strength to keep hope alive? When eleven-year-old Danny Stone is kidnapped on his way home from school, panic grips his parents, Martha and Richard. As authorities scramble to find answers, their home in Bristol becomes a battleground of suspicion - until a ransom demand arrives, leaving Martha ready to pay any price. But as Richard hesitates, secrets begin to unravel and Martha fights to untangle her husband's web of deception while the fate of their son hangs by a thread.

A Mother Forever is the moving story of one woman's journey through the hardest trials of her life and how the love of friends and family pulls her through. From the bestselling author of The Woolworths Girls Elaine Everest, this book tells the tale of Ruby and how it all began . . . 1905: Ruby...

Jolie Conway’s world is shattered the day her boyfriend, Steve Jenkins, is arrested for a brutal murder. Clutching her new baby to her chest as the police drag her first love and father of her child away, Jolie can’t believe what they’re saying: Steve is a killer with blood on his hands, and darker secrets than she could imagine. Fragile, broken, and left to raise baby Kane alone, Jolie hopes the worst is behind her.

Winifred Foley grew up in the 1920s, a bright, determined miner's daughter - in a world of unspoilt beauty and desperate hardship, in which women were widowed at 30 and children died of starvation. Living hand to mouth in a tumbledown cottage in the Forest of Dean, Foley - 'our Poll' - had a loving family and the woods and streams of a forest 'better than heaven' as a playground. But a brother and sister were dead in infancy, bread had to be begged from kindly neighbours and she never had a new pair of shoes or a shop-bought doll.

Dolly Blanchard dreams of a bigger life. She wants to make a mark on the world, not simply wait for a husband to come along. So when an impoverished actress offers her a lifeline, Dolly flees to London, determined to make it on the stage and prove to her family – and herself – that she can strike out alone.

What is it like to broadcast the fateful words "Mayday, Mayday, Mayday," then jump into the unknown? The members of one of the world's most unusual brotherhoods provide the answers in this incredible book. Formed during the Second World War to celebrate the survival of pilots who had been forced to bail out over water, the Goldfish Club has taken on new members ever since. They share one pivotal moment, but their experiences beyond this couldn't be more different.

Excitement is running high in the Adams family. Mr Finch, after a long career in secret government work, is to be knighted - which means that Chinese Lady will become a real 'Lady'! What with having to find a new outfit suitable for the occasion, and worrying about whether she'll have to curtsey to the king, the redoubtable matriarch of the Adams family scarcely knows if she's coming or going.

1952. With smog blanketing London, little Grace is in trouble. Her grandmother is dangerously ill but she doesn't want Grace to tell anyone as she's worried they will take her away. But with no money and their food supplies dwindling, what's a little girl to do? Winnie Berry knows something is wrong when she catches Grace trying to steal some food. And she soon realises it won't be long before Grace is alone in the world. The big-hearted owner of Battersea Tavern, Winnie has taken in more than her share of waifs and strays. But will this orphan child be more trouble than she's worth?

'This heartfelt story is perfect for fans of Dilly Court and Katie Flynn' - Candis 'Gritty and moving story-telling' - Peterborough Telegraph Annie Murray's The Pearl Button Girl is book one in the Children of Birmingham series, starting in Victorian Birmingham and following the trials and...

Random House presents the audiobook edition of The Liberty Girls written by Fiona Ford, read by Annie Aldington. ***THE SECOND NOVEL IN THE COMPELLING LIBERTY GIRLS SERIES. Perfect for fans of Nancy Revell, Elaine Everest, Nadine Dorries and Mr Selfridge.*** March, 1942: new mother Alice Milward...

After the brutal gangland murder of her husband Terry, Tracey Tempest just wants to move on. She’ll never get over Terry’s betrayal, but she’s determined his shady past won’t spoil life for her and her beloved boys Ricky and Jamie. Max Hardcastle just wants a quiet life and to maybe see how things go between him and Tracey. He knows she’s been hurt in the past, but he’s nothing like Terry and he’ll do anything to keep Tracey happy and safe. But some people have other ideas.

Gosport, 1941. Fourteen-year-old Vera has led a sheltered life with her overbearing mother. But her world is turned upside down with the arrival of the Lovell family. Vera quickly befriends the daughter, Angela, who opens Vera's eyes to what she has been missing. But Vera invites the unwanted attention of Angela's father, with devastating consequences. Outraged at the news that her teenage daughter is pregnant, Vera's mother sends her to a home for wayward girls.

Torn between two nations, she will risk everything Seventeen-year-old Elise Bouchard has always called Northern France home. But when her English father, Sidney Cooper, is captured by the Nazis, her world is shattered. Fearing for her safety, Elise is forced to abandon the only life she has ever...

Kent, 1953. The Woolworths Erith store, a beloved cornerstone of the community, faces closure if the December turnover fails to increase. And, as if store manager Betty Billington doesn't have enough on her plate, personnel shortages and a troublesome new employee add to the strife. With...

ESCAPE WITH A FEEL-GOOD READ FROM THE MULTI-MILLION-COPY BESTSELLER Kate Lewis is thirty-five and feeling restless. She's fed up of worrying about the ironing and would like her husband Jeffrey to pay more attention to her than his golf clubs. There must be more to life than this! Kate enrols...

As the current head of the family firm, Jimmy Carter has decided it’s time for him to step down and for one of his other brothers to lead the family. Except only one of his brothers wants the job – the youngest Carter brother - reckless hot-head Jonny. Carla Carter has never forgiven her tramp of a mother for cheating on her beloved dad, Sonny and she’s determined to avenge him in the most perfect way: by stealing from the man who stole everything from her. Her Uncle Jimmy would never consider Carla’s plan – it’s way too risky and dangerous. But Jonny needs to prove himself.

Clinging tightly to the penny in her palm, Flora’s fortune was about to change… Flora is forever grateful for the day the Stewart family rescued her from her life of poverty on London’s streets. Adopted as one of their own, she shed her rags and was finally given a place to call home. When a twist of fate calls her back to the cobbles, Flora’s new life is torn apart. Flora must make her own way if she is ever to find where she truly belongs…

The options for the penniless daughter of a deceased earl are few indeed in Regency England. So, following the suspicious death of her father, the Earl of Morton, and the discovery that she and her much younger sister have been left without income or home, Lady Caroline takes a post as a lady's companion to the wealthy widow Frogerton. Just as Caroline is getting accustomed to her new position, her aunt, Lady Eleanor Greenwood, invites her and her employer to a house party in the countryside to celebrate her youngest daughter's birthday. But all is not well at the Greenwood estate.