Showing results by narrator "Phyllida Nash" in All Categories

In 1673, fifteen-year-old Maria d’Este travelled from Italy to marry James, Duke of York, the future King of England and a man twenty-five years her senior. Thrust from a pious life on the path to become a nun, at the debauched court of Charles II she set about recreating the world she’d left behind – a world where women were highly educated, exercised power and celebrated art and artists with concentrated patronage.

Viv, who’s in the House of Lords, had the idea for the festival on the twentieth anniversary of the day her first husband left her. Six months later, crowds descend on the grounds of a dreamlike chateau in the South of France, avidly awaiting the experience of a lifetime, Viv’s inaugural Festival for the Broken-Hearted. Everyone is in fancy dress. No one knows who anyone is. They wander the beautiful woods with just one night to change everything. And to crown it all, a very special guest is expected.

Deep in the Somerset countryside, the Combe Pomeroy village library hosts a monthly book club. From a book club French exchange trip, to many celebrations at the farm, this is the year that everything changes, that lifelong friendships are tested, and for some of the women, they finally get the love they deserve.

Ella loves her kitten, Fluff, and worries about her going missing again. But Fluff is enchanted by being outside, especially when it starts snowing and she has the pretty snowflakes to play with. But suddenly a blizzard sets in and Fluff loses her way.

Mia still hasn't got over her cat's death - she had Tibby for as long as she can remember and can't ever imagine having another pet. But one day, just before Christmas, she finds out that her friend's cat has had kittens. Over the holidays she goes round to play with them. Mia's parents think she has coped with Tibby's loss, and surprise her by saying she can have the last kitten, Whiskers.Mia's not sure she's ready yet - although she loves Whiskers, she feels guilty about Tibby.

Sophie often sees old Mr Jenkins walking his Labrador puppy, Buttons, and wishes she could have a dog of her own just like her. Buttons loves the outdoors and is always running off even though she knows she shouldn’t. Then one day, Sophie sees Buttons climb out of the window. She thinks she’s running away again, but Buttons isn’t playing around this time - something at home is very wrong. But how can she let Sophie know...? A moving animal story from best-selling author Holly Webb.

Playtime for Rascal: School Sports Day is coming up and Ellie is worried she’ll be last at everything. But then she comes up with an excellent idea - she can practise for the events with Rascal! After all, the playful puppy is better at running and catching things than she is. Can Rascal save the day? Rascal’s Sleepover Fun: It’s Ellie’s birthday soon, and she’d love to have a sleepover party. She knows that Rascal would love one too!

From an obscure country parsonage came the most extraordinary family of the nineteenth century. The Brontë sisters created a world in which we still live the intense, passionate world of Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights; and the phenomenon of this strange explosion of genius remains as baffling now as it was to their Victorian contemporaries. In this panoramic novel we see with new insight the members of a uniquely close-knit family whose tight bonds are the instruments of both triumph and tragedy.

Twins Georgia and Adam can't wait to go on their holiday to Cornwall - especially as it's the first time they're taking their new puppy, Lucky, with them. Lucky loves the seaside - chasing the waves, digging in the sand and the long cliff-top walks. One morning, unable to wait for Georgia and Adam, he sets off on his own. Unaware of the dangers, Lucky falls down a cliff and finds himself stranded, alone and hungry, and in need of rescue. Meanwhile, the search is on to find Lucky, but no one seems to have seen the little dog. How will Georgia and Adam ever find Lucky?

Siblings Billa and Ed share their beautiful, grand old childhood home in rural Cornwall. Their lives are uncomplicated. With family and friends nearby and their free-and-easy living arrangements, life seems as content as can be. But when postcards start arriving from a sinister figure they thought belonged well and truly in their pasts, old memories are stirred. Why is he contacting them now? And what has he been hiding all these years?

A werewolf video leaves Micky terrified of dogs. Mum decides the only answer is to get Micky a puppy of his own. To everyone's surprise, including Micky's, he chooses a werepuppy. But Wolfie turns out to be a very special pet...and a real joker!

When one of the houses in an exclusive cul-de-sac is sold to students, dramas begin to unfold and secrets long hidden come to the surface. Local battle-axe Sheila Colby is appalled when Ned Short sells his house as student accommodation. The residents of Dartmouth Circle look on themselves as an exclusive little club, where everyone knows each other and privacy is respected. But now that is about to end and all kinds of things long hidden will come out into the light of day, with dramatic consequences.

Rosie loves visiting the stray cats that live on the farm near her gran’s house. Her favourite is a tiny kitten who she calls Ginger, because of the gorgeous colour of his fur. At first Ginger is very shy, then slowly he learns to trust Rosie. But when the farm is sold to developers and the builders start work, the little kitten is terrified - all the other cats have disappeared and he’s all alone. Suddenly the world is a very scary place...A moving animal story from bestselling author Holly Webb.

A Family Man tells the story of 31-year-old Matt Webster, who arrives home from work one day to find that his wife, Kath, has walked out, leaving him to care for their four-year-old son. Shock and hurt are compounded by the challenge of suddenly having to juggle work with being a single parent. While the needs of his confused, unhappy little son come first, Matt embarks on the difficult quest to find out what could have driven his wife to abandon their child. It is only as the truth emerges that he learns the full heartbreak and joy of unconditional love.

A werewolf video leaves Micky terrified of dogs. Mum decides the only answer is to get Mickey a pet of his own. To everyone's surprise -including Micky's - she chooses a werepuppy. But Wolfie turns out to be a very special pet - and a real joker!

Acclaimed Swedish author Camilla Grebe makes her solo American debut with a psychological thriller as cunning in its twists as it is captivating in its storytelling. A young woman is found beheaded in a business tycoon's marble-lined hallway. Jesper Orre, the scandal-ridden CEO of the retail chain Clothes&More, has vanished. Who is the dead woman? And who is the brutal killer who wielded the machete?

Jasmine is thrilled when the neighbours ask her to cat-sit while they go away for Christmas. Now she’ll be able to spend her whole holiday with the beautiful Star. Star loves playing with Jasmine and soon the pair are inseparable. But what Jasmine doesn’t know is that Star has a secret. Although it is cold and dark outside, the time has come for Star to leave Jasmine and her warm, safe home and find a place to hide. But where should she go? Another touching animal story from best-selling author Holly Webb.

Eleanor Lee is fiercely independent. She has lived alone well into her nineties, despite her now near-total blindness. Now, finally, she has been persuaded by her children to move into a home. She employs Peter, a recent graduate nursing a broken heart, to spend the summer sorting through her attic – papers, photographs, books and letters – ahead of the move.

Miss Seeton returns! A new original (the first in almost 20 years) for this classic series of humorous cozy mysteries created by Heron Carvic. It's practically a royal marriage! The highly eligible son of Miss Seeton's old friends Sir George and Lady Colveden has wed the daughter of a French count.

When Miss Seeton walks out after a performance of Carmen and witnesses a real-life stabbing, all she can recall is a shadowy figure. But how could she have guessed that her latest artistic endeavor is a picture-perfect portrait of the killer? Her sketch puts her in a perilous position, for back at her recently inherited cottage in Plummergen village, she's fated to be a sitting duck...for murder most foul!