Showing results by narrator "Barbara" in All Categories

The year is 1920: Flying in the face of convention, legendary American adventuress Beryl Helliwell never fails to surprise and shock. The last thing her adoring public would expect is that she craves some peace and quiet. The humdrum hamlet of Walmsley Parva in the English countryside seems just the ticket. And, honestly, until America comes to its senses and repeals Prohibition, Beryl has no intention of returning stateside and subjecting herself to bathtub gin.

Father of cyberpunk William Gibson’s original script for Alien III, written in 1987 as a sequel to Aliens, never made it to our screens, although it went on to achieve cult status among fans as the third instalment that might have been after being leaked online. This terrifying, cinematic multicast dramatisation - directed by the multi-award-winning Dirk Maggs - is the chance to experience William Gibson’s untold story and its terrifying, claustrophobic and dark encounters between humans and aliens, as a completely immersive audio experience.

Patrick Hamilton is renowned for his gritty, slice-of-life tales chronicling the hopes, dreams and obsessions of London's working class in the inter-war years. This collection brings together his key pieces, together with some lesser-known classics and a bonus 2004 documentary exploring his achievements and legacy.

Amelia Peabody inherited two things from her father: a considerable fortune and an unbendable will. The first allowed her to indulge in her life's passion. Without the second, the mummy's curse would have made corpses of them all.

For the very first time, Judi opens up about every Shakespearean role she has played throughout her seven-decade career, from Lady Macbeth and Titania to Ophelia and Cleopatra. In a series of intimate conversations with actor & director Brendan O'Hea, she guides us through Shakespeare's plays with incisive clarity, revealing the secrets of her rehearsal process and inviting us to share in her triumphs, disasters, and backstage shenanigans.

With 22 million of her books in print, and 12 consecutive New York Times best-sellers to her credit, Amanda Quick is a phenomenally popular author of historical romances. With This Ring, set in Regency England, sends a beautiful, headstrong woman on a perilous quest for the Forbidden Rings of Aphrodite. To recover her family’s meager fortunes, Beatrice Poole must locate the antiquities stolen from her favorite uncle shortly before his highly suspicious death.

Liz Parker dreams of being a gumshoe, like her hardboiled heroes Philip Marlowe and Mike Hammer. But instead, she's stuck as secretary at the Ace Agency, a small-time investigation bureau above a curry house in the backstreets of Birmingham. Her lecherous boss, Mr Antrobus, is too tied up with typist Gloria to pay much attention to the cases that come in - so Liz decides to solve them herself.

Maria and Richard Reynolds are happily married, but broke. With debts piling up and their house falling down, there’s only one thing for it: they have to start taking in lodgers. Their new housemates are two equally cash-strapped students - Ruby, who’s conscientious and dedicated, and Paul, who finds academic pursuits more of a challenge.

The sun rides high over the British Empire and the light still sparkles brightly in Amelia Peabody's eye as she returns for her second adventure in archaeology and romantic mystery as recounted in her lively journal, The Curse of the Pharaohs.

As soon they are released, Amanda Quick’s romances shoot to the top of best seller lists. With over 22 million copies of her books in print, she is one of today’s hottest authors. Set in Regency-era England, Mischief offers a sparkling mixture of wit and intrigue that has become Quick’s trademark. Beautiful, headstrong Imogen Waterstone has recruited the darkly infamous Earl of Colchester to help her seek revenge for the murder of her best friend. As they set a trap for the villain, Imogen and Colchester fearlessly encounter the threats and dangers that come their way.

Anthony Trollope was one of Victorian England’s most popular and prolific authors. He worked for the Post Office while establishing himself as a writer, and is credited with introducing the pillar box to Britain. Best known for his ‘Barsetshire’ and ‘Palliser’ novels, he wrote over 50 works in total, including short stories, travel books, biographies and a posthumously published autobiography. Collected here are a selection of superb adaptations of his much-loved novels, as well as a fascinating documentary and an original radio play by Patricia Cumper.

An enchanting New York Times and international best seller and award-winner about life, art, literature, philosophy, culture, class, privilege, and power, seen through the eyes of a 54-year-old French concierge and a precocious but troubled 12-year-old girl.

After single-handedly thwarting hijackers on a flight to the Middle East, a young American woman has become an instant celebrity. Following television interviews at the airport in Damascus, she disappears. Was she kidnapped by the terrorists, or is she just hiding? Posing as the girl’s aunt, Mrs. P. searches for her "niece" and uncovers a sinister plot that could send shock waves around the world.

Amelia Peabody, archaeologist and woman extraordinaire, should have greeted the approaching excavation with transports of joy. Nothing in the world could compare with exploring the muddy, musty corridors of some bat-infested pyramid. And at Dahshoor, to which she was headed, there existed some particularly fine specimens.

Upon the death of her father, Henry VIII, Queen Mary assumes the throne after a long exile. Her first order of business is to wed the devout Prince Philip of Spain, creating a powerful alliance that will transform Mary's fanatical dream of ridding England of Protestantism into terrifying reality.

Recently orphaned, young Rose Campbell is sent to the "Aunt Hill", where Uncle Alex, her six aunts, and seven boy cousins live in noisy confusion. It is nothing like the quiet girls’ boarding school that has been Rose’s home for the past year. Surrounded by a bewildering array of pets, relatives, and unfamiliar foods, the fragile girl wonders if she will ever get used to this new life. Fortunately, Uncle Alex is her guardian. He keeps the aunts from coddling her too much, and makes sure that she has plenty of time to play outside with her cousins.

Embark on a dreamy escape with "Fantastical Bedtime Stories for Adults." Immerse yourself in a collection of bedtime tales designed to transport you to serene narratives and calming meditation adventures, offering solace in the face of stress, insomnia, overthinking, and anxiety. Picture this: Instead of grappling with the strains of the day and wrestling with anxious thoughts, envision yourself entering a realm of enchanting stories and soothing meditations crafted to gently guide you into a restful night's sleep.

Penguin presents the audio edition of Celestial Navigation by Anne Tyler. Jeremy is a childlike, painfully shy bachelor who has never left home. He lives on the third floor of his mother's boardinghouse and spends his days cutting up coloured paper to make mosaic sculptures - until the day his mother dies and the beautiful Mary Tell arrives to turn his world upside down. From the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Amateur Marriage and Digging to America.

E. F. Benson is probably best known for his wickedly satirical ‘Mapp and Lucia’ series. A prolific writer, his works included novels, biographies and supernatural fiction. His versatility is showcased in these dramatisations and readings, which range from the hilariously comic to the horribly chilling.

Anne Shirley, the mischievous, carrot-topped waif of Anne of Green Gables, has grown into a lovely young woman who leaves the security of Prince Edward Island to enroll at Redmond College. There, she discovers a professor who believes education is wasted on women, ponders the security offered in marriage proposals, and a host of other questions of young adulthood.