Showing results by narrator "Heather Long" in All Categories

The perfect gift book, featuring the writing of Meryl Streep, Bill Bailey, Emilia Clarke, Olivia Colman, Caitlin Moran, Richard Ayoade, Emily Watson and others, to coincide with the upcoming movie Last Christmas, starring Emma Thompson, Emilia Clarke and Henry Golding. When you think back to Christmases past, what (if anything) made it magical? This is a beautiful, funny and soulful collection of personal essays about the meaning of Christmas, written by a unique plethora of voices from the boulevards of Hollywood to the soup kitchens of Covent Garden.

It's November 2022. The human race has been wiped out by the 6DM virus (Six Days Maximum - the longest you've got before your organs disintegrate and you melt from the inside out). The end of the world as we know it. Yet someone is still alive. Alone in a new world of burning cities, rotting corpses and ravenous rats, one woman has survived. A woman who has spent her whole life compromising what she wants and hiding how she feels to meet other people's expectations. But with no one else left, who will she become now that she's completely alone?

Pieta has a secret. Ten years ago, Pieta was kidnapped by a man calling himself The Blindfolder who said he wouldn't kill her if she kept her eyes closed for 48 hours. She never told anyone what happened to her, vowing to move on with her life. But when The Blindfolder starts hunting down his past victims, Pieta realises she may finally be forced to tell her deepest secret to stay alive....

The fastest milk-bottle-delivery girl in East Yorkshire, Evie is tall as a tree and hot as the desert sand. She dreams of an independent life lived under the bright lights of London (or Leeds). The two posters of Adam Faith on her bedroom wall (‘brooding Adam’ and ‘sophisticated Adam’) offer wise counsel about a future beyond rural East Yorkshire. Her role models are Charlotte Bronte, Shirley MacLaine and the queen. But, before she can decide on a career, she must first deal with the malign presence of her future stepmother, the manipulative and money-grubbing Debbie.

In Vaxxers, we hear directly from Professor Gilbert and her colleague, Dr Catherine Green, as they reveal the inside story of making the Oxford AstraZeneca vaccine and the cutting-edge science and sheer hard work behind it. This is their story of fighting a pandemic as ordinary people in extraordinary circumstances. Sarah and Cath share the heart-stopping moments in the eye of the storm, they separate fact from fiction, they explain how they made a safe vaccine in record time with the eyes of the world watching and they give us hope for the future.

Lucie Hart is a fledgling actress, her confidence having been shattered by her manipulative ex. Making ends meet by performing Shakespearean monologues full of romance she doesn’t believe in, she can see her dreams getting further out of reach. Theo Larkin has already taken Hollywood by storm and his next conquests are Shakespeare’s greatest works – and his incensed leading lady. Always short of money, Lucie can’t afford to waste the opportunity to bring crowds to her shows. And when a well-publicised bust-up leaves Theo’s reputation hanging by a thread, he is desperate to prove his worth.

A winter wedding of old friends should be the event of the year. Gathering near their former school for a lavish week-long celebration, it’s a chance for Nory Noel to reunite with her best friends. But now in their thirties, that group has long since drifted apart. Nory suspects she’ll spend the week wrestling into spanx, and dodging questions about her non-existent plus one. Only her fearless, fabulous best friend Ameerah can persuade her to go. At the venue of a stunning Kent castle, it’s not long before personalities clash and old tensions begin to bubble up.

1972. Ten years on from the events of The Miseducation of Evie Epworth and Evie is settled in London working for the BBC. She has everything she's ever dreamed of (a career, a leatherette briefcase, an Ossie Clark poncho) but, following an unfortunate incident involving Princess Anne and a Hornsea Pottery mug, she finds herself having to rethink her life and piece together work, love, grief and multiple pairs of cork-soled platform sandals.

At 104 years of age, Mrs Elsie Drake of Granville Gardens, London, is the sixth oldest woman in Britain. But fed up with sitting in her armchair all day, Elsie is ready for new adventures. And so, armed with a computer she can barely operate, she fires off dozens of letters to everyone from the Prime Minister to Greggs Bakeries, to see if they can help. Whether offering her services as the new Arsenal football mascot dressed as a giant hare, or simply sending Sainsbury's a load of meat, no one can escape the clutches of Elsie Drake.

When Ruth Miller returns a dropped scarf to Elena Shilkov, she is whisked from a dreary shared house to a world of unimagined luxury. The super-rich Russian wants a new personal assistant and won't take no for an answer. Ruth gets accommodation, a credit card and a complete wardrobe makeover. And she's good at the job; distributing gifts, attending galas, dealing with the high-society movers and shakers fighting for Elena's attention. Then the sinister truth begins to reveal itself, that nothing is quite what it seems in Elena's dangerous, deceptive world.

England 1835. Eliza Acton is a poet who dreams of seeing her words in print. But when she takes her new manuscript to a publisher, she’s told that ‘poetry is not the business of a lady’. Instead, they want her to write a cookery book. That’s what readers really want from women. England is awash with exciting new ingredients, from spices to exotic fruits. But no one knows how to use them. Eliza leaves the offices appalled. But when her father is forced to flee the country for bankruptcy, she has no choice but to consider the proposal.

When Jessica, a young British woman, discovers a shocking secret about her birth, she travels to Switzerland in search of answers. She knows her mother spent time in the country writing an article on the Swiss women’s rights movement, but what she doesn’t know is what happened to her while she was there. Can Jess summon the courage to face the truth about her family, or will her search only hurt herself and those around her even more?

A missing girl returns unharmed, and a family torn apart by tragedy begins to heal. But strange things start to happen to the Wick family. The media are tipped off, throwing them into a spotlight they cannot hide from. DNA results go missing. Holes begin to appear in the girl’s story. Is the mysterious girl Abigail Wick? Who is the stranger on the boat who took Abigail? What happened 14 years ago? Only one person knows the truth.

1941. Whilst London is battered by air raids, Felicity 'Fliss' Carmichael has troubles of her own. Still reeling from catching her fiance cheating, she flees to her childhood home at St. Winifred's Rectory, reuniting with her sister Prue and Hester Katz, a Jewish doctor sheltering there. Though heartbroken, Fliss finds purpose again as a journalist. On assignment, she crosses paths with Detective Inspector Timothy Wallace, who shares her passion for truth and justice – though not her political beliefs. Despite their differences, an instant spark ignites between them.

Animals bond people and transcend class, financial and cultural barriers. Pets matter to people more than anything, but what happens to those people who can't afford pet insurance or vet's bills? Animal Matters is a diary of real-life cases written during a year of Charlotte's career working as a veterinary surgeon in a 24-hour inner-city London animal charity hospital. The audiobook provides listeners with a revealing, honest, emotional experience, with deeply sad moments followed by amusing and unimaginable ones.

Is the life of a famous rock star's daughter all it's cracked up to be? And what about dating your fellow band member just as you hit the big time? Jessie is still getting used to being a celebrity and the daughter of one of the world’s biggest rock stars. With her own music career on the rise, a gorgeous love interest and a fun group of friends, it seems Jessie’s glamorous LA life couldn’t get any better...but things are about to get really complicated.

Kate, Daniel and Luke met at university. Unlikely best friends, Daniel and Luke's bond has nevertheless stood the test of time, through marriages, children and tragedies. But midlife has crept up on them, and hidden truths are beginning to surface. Kate feels alone in her marriage and begins to seek answers elsewhere. Luke's recklessness and hedonism are spiralling out of control, putting pressure on the family life he hoped would save him. And Daniel has discovered a secret that threatens to overturn everything.

London E17, 2019, a yellow kitchen stands as a metaphor for the lifelong friendship between three women: Claude, the earnest baker, fragile and goal-orientated Sophie and stubborn and political Giulia. They have the best kind of friendship, chasing life and careers; dating, dreaming and consuming but always returning to be reunited in the yellow kitchen. That is, until a trip to Lisbon unravels unexplored desires and the friendship between Claude and Sophie becomes intimate. Having sex is one thing, waking up the day after is the beginning of something new.

Enjoy these short stories from Enid Blyton, the world's favourite storyteller. From fairies hiding in flowers to toy trains having a secret meeting, this fun collection is filled with magic, mischief and more!

Immerse yourself in the enchanting prose which makes Mrs Dalloway a timeless classic, celebrated globally as one of Virginia Woolf's greatest novels. While Mrs Dalloway meticulously prepares for a grand evening soirée, she is interrupted by the arrival of an old admirer, who unknowingly ignites a cascade of memories and reflections that threaten to consume her. Weaving you in and out of her characters' minds, Mrs Dalloway will leave you convinced that Virginia Woolf possesses an unparalleled understanding of human nature.