Showing results by publisher "Bolinda audio" in 20th Century

In 1914, when the war draws the young men of Britain away to fight, it is the women who must keep the nation running. Two of those women are Peggy and Maude, twin sisters who work in the bindery at Oxford University Press in Jericho. Peggy is intelligent, ambitious and dreams of going to Oxford University, but for most of her life she has been told her job is to bind the books, not read them. Maude, meanwhile, wants nothing more than what she has. She is extraordinary but vulnerable. Peggy needs to watch over her.

When Jack Kelly, a captain in the Australian army, shows compassion towards his prisoner Paul Mann, a brave and high-ranking German officer, an unexpected bond is formed. But neither could imagine how their pasts and futures would become inextricably linked by one place – Papua. The Great War is finally over and both soldiers return to their once familiar lives, only to find that in their absences events have changed their respective worlds forever.

They've come from unlikely corners of the British Empire: brickworker's daughter Annie, wealthy flapper Ridley, refined Parsi aristocrat Dorelia and disheartened schoolteacher Norma. Their illicit meetings rapidly become a lifeline in a world where knowledge is power, and women are fed lies and half-truths. They start with small misdemeanours – getting their hands on banned books, stealing back historical records claimed by the men's colleges. But over time, they become aware of a true literary injustice – and they slowly formulate a plan to put this historical wrong to right.

During World War I, the ancient manor house of Greyladies in rural Wiltshire is requisitioned for a hospital. Living in Swindon, Phoebe Sinclair is unaware of any connection to Greyladies and the Latimers. She loses her job when her German employers are interned because of the war. When Phoebe is posted to the hospital at Greyladies, she feels she's come home. But Frank is still pursuing her and Corin has his own problems. With obstacles at every turn, can Phoebe find happiness and embrace the role of mistress of Greyladies?

1943, Brisbane: The war continues to devastate and the battle for the Pacific threatens Australian shores. For Ellie O'Sullivan, helping the war effort means utilising her engineering skills for Qantas as they evacuate civilians and deliver supplies to armed forces overseas. With her country's freedom at risk, Ellie works with a group of elite women who enter a world of volatile secrets; deciphering enemy communications to change the course of the war.

When Jess bumps into Milan unexpectedly, sparks are reignited, and she wonders if she made a mistake finishing with him in Amberton. But matters are complicated when a film company arrives at Bentley Priory to make a morale-boosting film about the RAF. The lead actor is none other than Leonard Steele, a man from Jess’ past who could ruin everything she has worked so hard to build.

As the armies of the British Empire march across the world in brutal conquest, Lieutenant Griff Whitaker resigns his commission under a burden of shame, intending to disappear – permanently. By uncanny chance, Ariadne and Griff are separately drawn to the secluded valley of the famed Jenolan Caves. Friendship blooms amid this place of peace and natural wonder. As desire ignites, Griff regains his passion for music and his violin, and begins to hope for another way of being in this world – while Ariadne's own talents and heightened perceptions might well defy the laws of science altogether.

At RAF Fenthorpe, instrument repairer Thea is helping her sister, Pearl, plan her wedding alongside fellow WAAF and maid of honour Jenny. A misfit amongst the women on the base, though, Thea is struggling to get others onboard. When Flight Sergeant Fitz makes a point of befriending and standing by her, sparks fly between the two. And when Fitz’s crew member, Jack, faces being stripped of his rank due to cowardice, Thea throws herself into seeking justice and support for him.

Wiltshire, December 1915. Widow Olivia Hanbury is persuaded by her cousin Donald to move in with his meek little wife while he is serving in France. When he's wounded and returns home to convalesce, tensions immediately rise between him and lively Olivia. But things begin to look up when Olivia becomes involved in starting the new Women's Institutes and is introduced to Alex, an antiques dealer. Meanwhile, Phoebe Latimer is holding the fort at Greyladies, an ancient manor house, while her husband is away at war. But someone is attempting to rid Greyladies of the German internees based there.

Eighteen-year-old Junie Wallace is a smart girl and, with two brothers away at war and a third recently killed in action, she knows there is only one way to save the family farm for her grieving parents. Unfortunately, that solution involves marrying the unscrupulous Ernest, and breaking the heart of the young drover she loves, Michael. But the war is looming ever closer, and when Pearl Harbour brings the threat of Japanese aggression to Australian shores, the fates of many becomes inextricably interwoven.

It is 1939, and working-class Evie Bishop has received a scholarship to study mathematics at Oxford when tragedy turns her life upside down. Evie must seek a new future for herself and, inspired to contribute to the war effort, joins the Women’s Auxiliary Air Force as an Ops Room plotter. Posted to a fighter station on the Sussex Coast, Evie befriends two other WAAFs. But the German bombers seem to know more than they should about the base’s operations, and soon Evie, May and Jess are caught up in a world more dangerous than they ever imagined.

1930. Seventeen-year-old Iris Mitchell dreams of designing clothes, but there's little spare cash for fashion in their shanty-town home. By day, Iris scrubs the floors at Caron's, an upmarket department store. By night, she designs and sews in her family's tiny, crowded house. When John reappears, passions are reignited, and Iris must face not only their religious divide, but the apparent impossibility of having a career once married.

Italy, 1943. The girl rushes down the winding streets, tucking the handwritten menu into the wicker basket and thinking only of the code hidden on the delicate paper. Present day. Arriving in Caccipulia, Callie grips the faded restaurant menu. Found hidden in her family home, she is certain it will lead her to the truth about her grandmother's life in Italy during World War II. Local café owner Oliver's eyes light up when he sees the menu. During the war, one brave family secretly fed desperate Jewish families. Callie's heart soars at the thought that her grandmother was involved.

Pearl has given up on her dreams of being a journalist after being denied a promotion because of her gender. Joining the WAAF as a radio telephone operator for Bomber Command, Pearl's new job at RAF Fenthorpe serves two purposes – providing an income for her grandmother, and keeping a close eye on her younger sister, Thea, an instrument repairer at another Lincolnshire bomber station.

The slums of Poor House Lane are no place to bring up a child, and Kate O'Connor struggles to make ends meet when her beloved husband is killed, leaving her a single mother with a baby to support on the meagre handouts she gleans from charity. So when the childless Tysons, owners of Kendal's shoe factory, offer to adopt her son, Callum, and employ Kate as his nanny, she seizes the chance to ensure he has a better life. To be so close to her son, yet no longer be his mother, is bittersweet.

With tears in her eyes, Giulia listens out for bombers flying overhead. When Tori Coleman discovers that her mother was adopted, her whole world shatters. Just as Tori is getting closer to answers, an unexpected call from Jeremy stops her in her tracks.

At 17, Veronica O'Shay is happier running wild on the family farm than behaving in the ladylike manner her mother requires, and she despairs both of her secret passion for her brother's friend Jack Murphy and what promises to be a future of restraint and compliance. But this is 1913 and the genteel tranquillity of rural Beecroft is about to change forever as the O'Shay and Murphy families, along with their friends the Dwyers, are caught up in the theatre of war and their fates become intertwined.

It’s 1917, three years into the Great War, when Edie takes up a teaching post in the small Australian town of York. Mourning the loss of her beloved brother on the Front and evading her father’s plans for a respectable marriage, she’s glad to keep busy teaching at Miss Raison’s School for Girls. After a little persuasion, Edie agrees to take part in a comfort scheme sending photos of home to the troops. Edie’s new venture throws her into the path of the family secrets, scandals and class complexities of her new town – and a handsome, exasperating man her father would never approve of.

1942, Amsterdam. The Nazi occupation has shattered the lives of inseparable best friends Hannie and Sonja. The canals and rainy cobbled streets they once strolled down are now patrolled by soldiers day and night, who arrest people at will and beat those who resist. Hannie can’t stand by and watch the lives of the innocent be destroyed by the evil occupiers. At great danger to herself, she joins the underground resistance, where she meets the charming and mysterious Jan. She covers her bright red hair to avoid detection by the Nazis while distributing fake IDs.

Cathy was a happy, blushing bride when Britain went to war with Germany three years ago. But her youthful dreams were crushed by her violent husband, and even when he’s conscripted she knows it’s only a brief respite - divorce is not an option. Cathy, a true Brogan daughter, stays strong for her beloved little son, Peter. When her husband is declared missing in action, Cathy can finally allow herself to hope - in just 6 months she will legally be a widow. In the meantime, she has to keep Peter safe and fed.