Showing results by narrator "Joanna Stephens" in All Categories

A traditional Regency romance, drawing room rather than bedroom. Nell Caldicott awaits the return of her violent sailor husband with trepidation, but for once her fears are not realised. Her husband’s ship, the Brig Minerva, has sunk off the Cornish coast. Nell is free, but her husband has left her with little money and many questions about his past. Gradually, as his secrets are laid bare, she realises she didn’t know her husband at all. Can she uncover the truth? And can she ever learn to trust a man with her heart again?

Caroline Milburn and her younger sisters live in two cramped rooms, struggling to survive by their skills in lace making and weaving. When their previously unknown grandfather drowns on the Brig Minerva and bequeaths them a cottage in the country, their lives seem set to improve. But where will the daughters of a linen draper fit into rural life, now that they are better off? How will Caroline find husbands for her younger sisters? Why have purses of money been buried in the garden? And why are the neighbours so interested in them?

Lord Augustus Marford has only one interest in life - horses. It’s an expensive hobby. When his brother, the Marquess of Carrbridge, finds himself in financial trouble after his agent disappears with much of his fortune, Gus is happy to help the family finances by finding work with horse auctioneers Tattersalls. His first job takes him to the wild Northumberland coast to assess some stud horses for the eccentric Duke of Dunmorton.

Malcolm Gage walked out of his brother’s life 16 years ago when they both wanted to marry the same woman. Malcolm lost that battle, and he’s never forgiven his brother for it, preferring to live in poverty as a schoolmaster, rather than swallow his pride and go home. But now an unusual condition in a will pushes him back into the family fold. If he can teach his nephew well enough to admit him to the Society of Gentleman Linguists, he will inherit a fortune and will never be poor again. The only catch - he has to stay under his brother’s roof for three months.

Belle is the plain one of the six Allamont sisters, happy with her books. When their father dies suddenly, his will leaves large dowries for his six daughters, but only if they marry in the proper order, the eldest first. With Amy betrothed, now Belle must find a husband.

Michael Plummer has never forgotten the woman he fell passionately in love with a few years ago. He was courting a beautiful heiress, in the hope of rescuing his family from financial ruin and the loss of their home, but it was her companion who won his heart. When she ran away from him, Michael was plunged into despair. Now both women have returned, and he has a chance to correct the mistakes of the past. But does he have the courage to do the right thing this time?

The sinking of the Brig Minerva results in many deaths, while for others, the future is suddenly brighter. But it’s not always easy to leave the past behind.... Evie Parfitt is almost 30, penniless, and with no prospect of ever marrying. She has her hands full helping turn a jewel merchant’s willful heiress into a lady able to move in good society. When the sinking of the Minerva leaves her charge an orphan and she selects a notorious rake as her guardian, Evie is determined to protect both of them from his attentions.

Lord Humphrey Marford has a way with cards, dice, and gambling of all forms. He’d love to start his own gaming house, but that takes a lot of money, far more than he or his brothers can come up with. His only solution is to marry an heiress, and he can’t be too choosy. Miss Hortensia Blythe seems perfect - pretty, charming and very, very rich, she’s just home from India where her father made a fortune and left her every penny of it. But even as he courts the ladylike but rather dull Miss Blythe, Humphrey is drawn to her companion.

Connie’s older sisters have managed to find husbands, but now it’s her turn, and she is not sure she wants to marry at all. Having only just escaped her late father’s restrictive regime, she’s reluctant to surrender her freedom to another man just yet. If only she could find one who would fall so adoringly in love that he would do anything for her.

Susannah Winslade is 26 and drifting into perpetual spinsterhood as she tries to care for her sick stepmother, look after her young brothers and sisters, and keep her father sober and solvent. Her brother Henry isn’t much help, either. She doesn’t mind. Once upon a time, she met the perfect man and until someone like him comes into her life again, she’s happy at home, with her wildflower painting for solace. Samuel Broughton has come to Great Maeswood to make a new start as a country physician.

Amy is a shy, timid soul, browbeaten by her domineering father until she's terrified to do or say anything without his approval. When he dies suddenly, his will leaves large dowries for his six daughters, but only if they marry in the proper order, the eldest first. Amy must now find herself a husband, and soon, so her younger sisters can marry in their turn. There are several possible suitors, but will any of them come up to scratch? And how will Amy choose without her father to guide her?

A trilogy of contemporary plays inspired by tales from The Arabian Nights: Arabian Afternoons includes The Casper Logue Affair by Sebastian Baczkiewicz, The Porter and the Three Ladies by Rachel Joyce and A Dish of Pomegranates by Peter Jukes.

A BBC Radio 4 comedy drama written by the award-winning screen and stage dramatist Marcy Kahan, and starring Stephen Mangan as Ed, whose life is about to change forever when he accidentally puts National Treasure Penhaligon Rhinehart into a coma. First broadcast as the 'Afternoon Play' on 14...

A BBC Radio 4 semi-autobiographical play by BAFTA award-winning writer Trevor Preston, telling the story of Charlie, who suddenly re-discovers the passion and energy of his youth. 'Small Acts of Kindness' was originally broadcast as the 'Afternoon Play' on 15 March 2011. In the late 1950s...

Feya Broon, a Scottish half Gypsy, knows what it is to go hungry. Trapped in the Edinburgh tenements with a father lost to his past and only the faded memory of her mother's faith, Feya is desperate to provide for her siblings. When an ill-conceived plan leads to thievery, she finds herself in the last place she'd ever want to be - captured by a palace guard. But there's something about this man that tears at every preconceived notion she's ever had about the haughty English.