Showing results by narrator "Frances Butt" in All Categories

Warsaw, 1939. The Nazi invasion shatters the city, as Nazi banners rise, hunger gnaws, and walls create a ghetto. SS patrols prowl and trains stand ready for “resettlement” camps of Treblinka. Granted access to the ghetto as a “public health specialist,” Irena Sendler steps through the gates with forged papers and begins with the smallest, most dangerous act: smuggling children out and away from certain death. With help from a group of rebels, Jewish residents, and her lover, Irena builds a pipeline under the occupier’s nose, using any means necessary, including the city’s sewers.

When the formidable Marchioness of Bandberry arrives at Ashcombe Hall, Lady Ellen feels the weight of her critical gaze upon her. But pomp and pageantry soon give way to scandal when a London journalist is found dead on Ellen’s drive. And his body has been marked with the chilling symbol of the Vigilante Slasher.

Dominic Stevens, Baron Warwicke, comes home bearing the physical and emotional scars of battle. Haunted by fragmented memories and burdened by duty, he’s stunned to learn he has a wife—a woman he does not remember marrying. Dorothea rejoices when Dominic comes to remove her from her brother’s abusive household. But the man who stands before her now is colder, harder...a shadow of the husband she once knew. Still, she is determined to reach the heart he has forgotten, believing the man she married is still there, merely buried beneath the pain.

A Room of One's Own is an extended essay, originally delivered in 1928 as two lectures at two of Cambridge University's women's colleges—Newnham College and Girton College. Through the use of several metaphors, lauded author Virginia Woolf explores the social injustices and structures that prevent women from engaging in free expression and contributing to literature.

Marooned after a garden party turns sinister, Lady Ellen finds herself in the midst of an unsettling mystery. An unexpected summer storm leaves occupants and visitors, including Ellen, Lottie and Captain Hamilton, contained within Moor House and grounds after it is cut off from the outside world. When a priceless Egyptian artefact is stolen, the thief leaves the man guarding it brutally maimed.

Lady Ellen settles back into life at Ashcombe Hall and eagerly awaits the return of Captain Ernest Hamilton from Cairo. But her peace is shattered when a notorious thief is found dead on the neighbouring Worthington estate. Heading over to console Lady Jane Worthington, Ellen’s day takes an unexpected turn—a plane crashes on her land, piloted by flame-haired Alex, the Duke of Loxborough, who is once again masquerading under a pseudonym. As charming as he is, Ellen is unnerved by his presence—she does not trust him.

Lady Ellen finds herself presented with another mystery! Lady Ellen spends her last fortnight in Branden Bay relaxing at The Grand Hotel. However, the peaceful holiday she desired is again interrupted when the dance host is found dead in the ballroom. The Frenchman was far from popular and there are a few suspects who would appear to wish him dead, as well as those who benefited from his demise. However, no one appears to know his history.

Lavinia never asked to be fought over. But now her childhood sweetheart has waged a war that threatens to destroy everything she holds dear, all because Lavinia's father has promised her to somebody else–Aeneas. Aeneas, rumored to be the son of Venus, is famed for his bravery, cunning, and his vision for a new great Empire. He is also secretive, slippery—and Lavinia wonders why he will never discuss the past he left behind. So when a stranger arrives in the camp with stories about Aeneas that suggest he is not what he seems, Lavinia realizes she has to take her future into her own hands.

Following a less-than-picture-book childhood, Bella West has got used to moving around – putting down roots opens you up for disappointment and heartbreak. But since arriving in the idyllic Somerset village of Lower Brambleton, something has changed. When Noah Hathaway's beloved Grandpa Jack passes away it falls to him to deal with his estate including his charming but run-down cottage in Lower Brambleton, not forgetting Jack's cantankerous cat Monty.

Can Lady Ellen of Ashcombe Hall finally savour a relaxing break at Millars Hotel? Not quite. Her plans take an unexpected turn when a sightseeing tour of Branden Bay Castle turns deadly. The picturesque castle in Branden Bay stands proudly above the town and beach. Lady Ellen finds herself thrust into the heart of a chilling mystery when a tragic incident unfolds, and a soul plummets from one of the castle’s turrets. On a blustery day, it seems like a dreadful accident, but the police suspect foul play.

It’s 1924. Lady Ellen of Ashcombe Hall is on a relaxing hotel break to recuperate. Her nemesis is found dead in the restaurant, face down in his pea and ham soup. Can she confront her past to solve the mystery? Lady Ellen seeks respite in the charming seaside town of Branden Bay, whilst her home, which was used as a convalescent home for war veterans, is being refurbished to its former glory.

When she first married at fourteen, Otrera imagined a relationship full of love. A partnership. Years later, living in destitution with her abusive husband, she knows that no such thing exists with a man. It is simply a woman's lot in life to accept the treatment of her husband. Until it's not. Rallying the women around her, Otrera fights back, taking no prisoners. Because it's clear to her: when men are in power, freedom isn't granted. It's bought with blood. It's a price she is more than willing to pay, if it means building a new life with other women far from the reaches of their abusers.

Thea Ashcombe, a fiercely independent single mum, is about to face her toughest challenge yet: Christmas on a shoestring. As the festive season looms, Thea’s feeling a little like their old family Christmas tree - tired and lacking in sparkle! Nick Saint, the quiet and devoted farm shop manager in the idyllic village of Lower Brambleton, has secretly liked Thea for years. Trapped in the friend zone since high school, he's given up hope of Thea seeing him as anything more than reliable ‘Saint’ Nick...

For many centuries the figure of the witch has haunted our imagination and our nightmares. There have been many attempts to quash our fascination with these wielders of forbidden powers, but all have failed. We invite you now on a journey through a moonlit world, where every shadow tells a tale of magic, persecution and persistence. In this fascinating volume, discover witches real and legendary, who once terrorized, devoured, helped or empowered their communities, but who are now largely forgotten.

The Devil's Liar is the ninth in the best-selling Psychic Surveys series, that feature plot twists, compelling characters, and a mystery at its dark heart. As a young woman, Theo was confronted by the spirit of a child who had killed other children, but decided she could be of no help, shutting down all possibility of further communication. Now older and wiser, Theo comes to regret that decision and wants to make amends, involving the Psychic Surveys team in her quest.

It is the sixth century. The Romans have been gone for over 100 years, and Britannia is sinking into darkness. Kingdoms clash, and invaders flood the shores – the Jutes, the Angles, and now the bloodthirsty Saxons. Only Uther Pendragon has kept the West safe, defying, too, the rising tide of Christianity. But now, Uther is dead. And if the West falls, all of Britannia will follow. Deep in a secluded valley, hidden from the world, Arthur and Morgan have grown to adulthood under the care of their foster parents.

After suffering the tragic loss of her best friend, Lottie Beck is struggling. Aged eighteen, she's flunked school and spends her days lying in a darkened room, doing nothing. Finally, she is forced to get a job in Silver Birches Care Home. Once there, and after meeting the residents, particularly the feisty, no-nonsense Bobby, she settles in, appreciating how much history lies behind each person. A history she can read, in her own special way, via the simple touch of a hand.

This edition of Shelley's second novel, transcribed and introduced by Deanna Koretsky, explores the work both as a complex portrayal of taboo desires and as an intergenerational story of reckoning with the horrors of racism and patriarchy. Mathilda is often understood as biographical, but this edition also highlights the issues of justice, gender, and rights.

In The Seven Dials Mystery, Queen of Crime Agatha Christie reintroduces characters from her earlier novel, The Secret of the Chimneys. This time, it's the murder of Gerald Wade, as well as the seven alarm clocks found in his room the next morning, that set Bill Eversleigh and Eileen Bundle Brent on the trail. From a seedy nightclub to a secret formula being sold to a British Air Minister, this mystery has twists and turns a-plenty!

Escaping a past she chose to forget. She must face it head on. Jaz has been selling high performance cars to high performing football players in the north of England. And is on her way to achieving her goal of becoming a millionaire. Until she receives a call telling her that her estranged mother is in a critical condition in hospital.