Showing results by narrator "Olivia Vinall" in All Categories

It's 1852 and Margaret Lennox, a young widow, is offered a position as governess at Hartwood Hall. She quickly accepts, hoping this isolated country house will allow her to leave her past behind. Cut off from the village, Margaret soon starts to feel there's something odd about her new home, despite her growing fondness for her bright, affectionate pupil, Louis. There are strange figures in the dark, tensions between servants and an abandoned east wing. Even stranger is the local gossip surrounding Mrs Eversham, Louis's widowed mother, who is deeply distrusted in the village.

It is 1946 and in the village of Oakbourne the men are home from the war. Their bodies are healing but their psychological wounds run deep. Everyone is scarred - those who fought and those left behind.

Whip-smart librarian Peggy Sparks is determined to make sure that her brother Joe returns from the frontline to their London home, which they share with their beloved mother and grandmother. So when she is offered a once-in-a-lifetime job at the heart of the war effort, Peggy jumps at the prospect of making a real contribution to her country. But when she finds herself working under the fanciful socialite Lady Marigold Cecily, Peggy discovers that those around her are more keen on dancing at the Café de Paris than on ending the war.

A dazzling mixture of crime, romance, magic and myth from the acclaimed author of The Psychology of Time Travel. The Kendrick family have been making world-famous dolls since the early 1800s. But their dolls aren't coveted for the craftmanship alone. Each one has a specific emotion laid on it by its creator. A magic that can make you feel bucolic bliss or consuming paranoia at a single touch. Though founded by sisters, now only men may know the secrets of the workshop.

A buried corpse disappears. A child is kidnapped. A woman suddenly vanishes. The only clue - mysterious Chinese symbols; left behind at each of the crime scenes in a provincial town in Northern Denmark. In the eye of the storm is Eva. After suffering a deeply sorrowful tragedy - where her long-awaited daughter is stillborn - Eva is fighting to get her life back on track together with her husband who recently, and inexplicably, became paralyzed and is now unable to take care of himself. In an attempt to escape her grief, Eva embarks on her own investigation to find out who is behind these violent crimes.

In this fascinating and deeply researched book, Sharon Marcus challenges everything you thought you knew about our obsession with fame. Icons are not merely famous for being famous; the media alone cannot make or break stars; fans are not simply passive dupes. Instead, journalists, the public, and celebrities themselves all compete, passionately and expertly, to shape the stories we tell about celebrities and fans. The result: a high-stakes drama as endless as it is unpredictable.