Showing results by narrator "Michael Jayston" in All Categories

Brought to you by Penguin. In The Night Manager, an ex-soldier helps British Intelligence penetrate the secret world of ruthless arms dealers. At the start of it all, Jonathan Pine is merely the night manager at a luxury hotel. But when a single attempt to pass on information to the British...

'An unputdownable thriller about corrupt power and sex' Sunday Telegraph 'Guaranteed to keep you awake' The Times A body washes up on the deserted coastline of America's most exclusive holiday retreat. But it's no open-and-shut case of suicide. The death of Robert McAra is just the first piece...

Brought to you by Penguin. Fatherland is set in an alternative world where Hitler has won the Second World War. It is April 1964 and one week before Hitler's 75th birthday. Xavier March, a detective of the Kriminalpolizei, is called out to investigate the discovery of a dead body in a lake near...

As the French enter the American War of Independence, young Richard Bolitho is given command of the fast, well-armed sloop Sparrow. He has a chance to prove his ability, but danger threatens - as real and deadly as the enemy itself.

The gathering might of revolutionary France prepares to engulf Europe in another bloody war. As in the past, Britain will stand or fall by the fighting power of her fleet. For Richard Bolitho, the renewal of hostilities means a fresh command.

The Mediterranean, 1793. Despite Britain's successes, the outcome of the sea war is still in the balance. As soon as his ship's refit is completed, Captain Richard Bolitho is ordered to join the blockade off the French coast.

The Cold War is over and retired secret servant Tim Cranmer has been put out to pasture, spending his days making wine on his Somerset estate. But then he discovers that his former double agent Larry ­- dreamer, dissolute, philanderer and disloyal friend - has vanished, along with Tim's mistress. As their trail takes him to the lawless wilds of Russia and the North Caucasus, he is forced to question everything he stood for.

Despatched on a secret mission, the company of a 28-gun frigate must face the hazards of conspiracy, treason, and piracy. And recently appointed third lieutentant Richard Bolitho must learn to accept his new responsibilities as a King's officer.

Brought to you by Penguin. John Julius Norwich expertly examines the history of the oldest continuing institution in the world, tracing the papal line down the centuries from St Peter to the present Of the 280-odd holders of the supreme office, some have unquestionably been saints; others have...

January 1782, Portsmouth. His Britannic Majesty's frigate Phalarope is ordered to the assistance of the hard-pressed squadrons in the Caribbean. Aboard is her new commander - Richard Bolitho. To all appearances the Phalarope is everything a young captain could wish for. But beneath the surface she is a deeply unhappy ship - her wardroom torn by petty greed and ambition, her deckhands driven to near mutiny by senseless ill treatment.

October 1772, Portsmouth. Sixteen-year-old Richard Bolitho waits to join the Gorgon, ordered to sail to the west coast of Africa and to destroy those who challenge the King's Navy. For Bolitho, and for many of the crew, it is a severe and testing initiation into the game of seamanship.

In this final volume of diaries, Tony Benn reflects on the compensations and the disadvantages of old age. With the support of a small circle of friends and his extended family, he continues his activities on behalf of social justice, peace and accountability in public life, to a background of...

Spring 1802. Richard Bolitho is summoned to the Admiralty to receive his orders for a difficult and thankless mission.... The recent Peace of Amiens is already showing signs of strain as old enemies wrangle over colonies won and lost during the war. In the little 64-gun Achates, Bolitho sails west for the Caribbean, to hand over the island of San Felipe to the French. But diplomacy is not enough.

Spithead, 1784. His Majesty's frigate, Undine, sets sail for India and the seas beyond. Europe may be at peace - but in colonial waters the promises of statesmen count for little and the bloody struggle for supremacy still goes on. Richard Bolitho would have cause to remember his admiral's words: 'The task I am giving you would be better handled by a squadron'.

New York, 1777. As the American Revolution rages on the mainland, the British Navy prepares for action at sea. Against a growing fleet of American and French privateers, the Navy must maintain its blockade of Washington's vital military supplies. Caught up in the turmoil, junior officer Richard Bolitho finds himself having to make momentous decisions in the heat of battle, decisions that will affect the lives of many men, and perhaps the outcome of history.

When the Department - faded since the war and busy only with bureaucratic battles - hears rumours of a missile base near the West German border, it seems the perfect opportunity to regain some standing in the Intelligence world. Desperate for glory and determined to outdo their rivals at the Circus, including George Smiley, they send deactivated agent Fred Leiser back into East Germany, armed only with some schoolboy training and his memories of the war. In the land of eloquent silence that is Communist East Germany, Leiser's fate is no longer his own.

In March 1808, as Napoleon holds Portugal and threatens his old ally Spain, Vice-Admiral Sir Richard Bolitho is dispatched once more to the Cape of Good Hope to establish a permanent naval force there. Setting aside his bitter memories and the anguish of a friendship betrayed, Bolitho takes passage in the ill-fated Golden Plover. With him sail others commanded by duty and lured by danger - and those who wish only to escape.

Plymouth, July 1801: Richard Bolitho's small squadron, still repairing battle scars earned in heavy action at Copenhagen, has been months away from the sea. But the Admiralty needs Bolitho. After eight years of war with France, Britain must make a gesture that will show her strength and determination - and one which will dramatically weaken the French cause. The Admiralty wants to attack, so Rear-Admiral Bolitho must follow his flag's tradition of victory.

In February, 1806, the frigate carrying Vice-Admiral Sir Richard Bolitho drops anchor off the shores of southern Africa. Bolitho's instructions are to assist in hastening the campaign in Africa where an expeditionary force is attempting to recapture Cape Town from the Dutch. Bolitho is still brooding over the loss of his flagship, and hi socntinuing personal troubles are only brightened by his love for Catherine, Lady Somervell.

It is 1811, and in this, the 22nd Richard Bolitho novel, Alexander Kent's sensitive and compassionate hero is recalled to duty after only two and a half months' peace in Cornwall with his beloved Catherine.