Showing results by narrator "Claire Morgan" in All Categories

Raven-haired Minerva, eldest daughter of an impecunious vicar, When the Reverend Charles Armitage, an impecunious country vicar in Regency England, announces that raven-haired Minerva, the eldest of his six daughters, is to have her coming-out in London, the news is not well received by the rest of the family. Mrs. Armitage has one of her Spasms and has to be brought round by burning a quantity of feathers under her nose. Annabelle, the nearest in age to Minerva, is clearly jealous, the boys are all surly, and the other girls just start off crying.

It's not just hems that are frayed in Applewell... Gracie rescues old clothes and cast-offs from Applewell's charity shop, making them into cute and fresh outfits, which she then sells in her little shop. Turning a profit is hard at the best of times, let alone when new arrival Lucas appears... After running away from the village in his teens, Lucas has finally returned to an uncomfortable amount of fanfare and gossip. His job requires him to streamline homeless charity, UnderCover, and his plans to do so risk putting Gracie out of business.

Best friends Hollie and Niamh tell each other everything. Behind the village of Abingworth’s closed doors, every family has its secrets—and their doors might hide the worst ones of all. One day Hollie tells Niamh about a devastating discovery, swears her to secrecy, then vanishes. The villagers claim to know nothing. But when Hollie’s body is found, the police know one of their number isn’t just a liar, but a killer....

When her grandmother dies, Catherine Llewellyn finds herself alone in the world. Her inheritance is a comfort, but her grandmother's will states she must go to the family home, Langland Hall, to live with her two unknown cousins, Garth and Jonathon. The harsh and inhospitable coast is a sharp contrast to Catherine's previous country existence, and the welcome she receives from Garth is equally cool. Only Jonathon seems happy to welcome her to her new home. But no sooner has she arrived than she realises that something dangerous is waiting for her.

A fresh, funny and accessible retelling of Jane Austen's best-known story. Elizabeth Bennet is the second eldest in a family of five daughters. Although their mother is very keen to see them all married to wealthy men, Elizabeth is determined that she will only ever marry for love. At a ball, Elizabeth meets Mr Darcy, who at first she believes is proud and haughty. But perhaps there is more to him than first meets the eye....

Daphne Armitage is the acknowleged beauty of that family of renowned belles, but beauty is more than skin deep. Black-haired, exquisite Daphne is certain she can avoid the turmoil of true love by demanding nothing more of a husband than to be an elegant companion. Teh self-absorbed Mr Archer seems to fit the bill to perfection. But when Mr Simon Garfield agitates Daphne's calm outward manner, the results are dramatic and delightful!

Gwenllyn Lyons has been raised by her grandmother in the Wye Valley. One afternoon, they come across a man lying injured by the river bank. They nurse him, but nothing seems to help him regain his lost memories. Gwenllyn realises that she can't imagine what it would be like without this man in her life. As her love for the mysterious stranger grows, she cannot help rejoicing when she realises he feels the same way about her. Gwenllyn's only fear is that some day his past may come to haunt them - a different life, where another woman might be waiting for him.

Charlotte knew nothing of her parents except that they'd died when she was a child. And when her aunt's will leaves no provision for her, Charlotte must leave the only home she's known for the uncertain protection of an uncle she's never met at his manor house, Plas Melyn. Plas Melyn seems cold and unwelcoming, but when acts of violence that can only be directed at her occur, Charlotte has to wonder why anyone would want to kill a poor orphan.

Married life hasn't been easy for Hope Murton - her mother-in-law, Marjorie, is overbearing and critical, and Hope's husband, Ralph, refuses to stand up for himself. Eventually Hope persuades him to move out and to set up a new home at Badgers Brook with their small son, Davy. Soon they are beset by tragedy when a road accident leaves Ralph confined to a wheelchair. He takes the only way out he can think of, leaving Hope destitute. Desperate not to return to her mother-in-law's house, she turns to friends for help, including local Trader Peter Bevan.

Shattered by the discovery of her husband's affair, Liv knows they need to leave the chaos of New York to save their marriage. Maybe the road trip they'd always planned, exploring America's national parks - just the two of them - would help heal the wounds.

London, 1601. Honesty, a storyteller seeking fame and fortune, befriends Alice, a maid to Queen Elizabeth I. But can Alice be trusted? A tale of intrigue, scheming and plots, set in the spellbinding world of the Elizabethan court, leads to a thrilling adventure where nothing is as it seems.

Miriam Ryan was the MD of a successful events and catering company, but these days, even the thought of chopping an onion sends her stress levels sky rocketing. A retreat to the Welsh village of her childhood holidays seems to offer the escape she’s craving. Enter a cheery pub landlord, a lovesick letting agent, a grumpy astronomer - not to mention a surprise supper club that requires the chopping of many onions - and Miriam realises her escape has turned into exactly what she was trying to get away from.

Evie is forever crossing swords with her twin. While she practises her after-school fencing, Tallulah is winning movie auditions. Neither of them could have imagined how their worlds would collide; but when Tallulah goes to Hollywood, Evie goes, too—as her sister's identical stand-in. And everything changes when the film needs some all-action sword-play. Now Evie's the one enjoying the limelight—that is, until Tallulah goes missing.

When Ella Burton takes a job as a lowly cleaner at the glamorous Palace theatre in Swansea, she is surprised by how quickly she takes to the job - it's as if she was born for a life in the theatre. Unlike Kathleen, who wants her name in lights, backstage is where Ella's heart lies, running the show under the watchful eye of Anthony. It's not long before she realises that she has fallen in love.

Ever wanted to get away from it all...? Wanda lives in the middle of nowhere. On a farm on the edge of a hill that's not quite high enough to be a proper mountain, in a little village that's seen better days. She's always dreamed of escaping, of travelling the world, but life has got in the way. When her mother ends up in hospital and her sister is preoccupied and pregnant with twins, Wanda has to take responsibility for the farm and the campsite on its green fields.

Her heart belongs to the five children she has raised, all of them orphans from the Welsh-English war. Her beauty as enchanting as her magic, the proud Wynne ab Gruffydd, Seeress of Radnor, would wage war to protect her children, regardless of the cost to herself. When Sir Cleve FitzWarin is dispatched to Wales to reclaim his liege lord’s orphaned offspring - and secure the handsome riches that come with his success - he meets Wynne head-on and quickly finds himself ensnared in her magical trap.

Can their marriage be mended in time for Christmas? Lottie has always been thrifty. As a mother of three, it's even more important that she stretches the household budget as far as possible. Luckily, Lottie’s penchant for taking broken items and upcycling them has worked wonders for living on a shoestring. Henry can’t face telling Lottie he’s been made redundant. Instead, he pretends to go to work as usual while frantically job hunting. The race is on to find another role before Lottie discovers he’s another useless item for her collection – one that is beyond repair.

Heartbroken after the loss of her fiancé, Fern travels to her aunt’s house in Italy to find peace and solace. There, overcome by the beauty of the landscape and consumed by a history she finds fascinating, she is catapulted into the life of the beautiful but reckless Cecilia, a sixteenth century lady of Venice.

Marie Masters has been happily married for nine years, but she can’t help but feel her once-loving husband Ivor is no longer the man she married. He’s increasingly prone to drink and gambling and has become strangely secretive. Worried that Ivor’s behaviour is putting their growing family at risk, Marie decides to follow her husband. Marie learns that Ivor is spending time at a run-down house called Badgers Brook, but that’s only the beginning of it.

When her beloved father dies, Manon Jenkins is left homeless and alone. She longs for Caradoc Jones, son of a famous Welsh cattle drover, and, in desperation, she accepts a job as chaperone to Caradoc's spoilt sister Georgina, and joins the drovers on the road to Smithfield market in London. Non struggles to be accepted by the other women on the journey, as they walk long miles over rugged terrain. One heady, star-filled night, Caradoc finally becomes her lover, but she is devastated when he refuses to marry her.