Showing results by publisher "Audible studios" in Historical Fiction

Why has their grandmother bothered keeping a menu from a restaurant that closed years ago, a restaurant that never served very good food in the first place? Three cousins listen to Gee's own story, set in the early days of lunch counter sit-ins in Nashville, a time when a black child could sit up front in a city bus but still could not get a milk shake at a downtown restaurant.

In ‘The Pirate Lord’, Tom is a cabin boy for Captain Francis Drake, on a mission to defeat the Spanish galleons and steal their plundered gold. ‘The Pirate Queen’ tells of Cassia O’Malley, the terror of the Irish sea. Her gang of sea-robbers rule the waves - until she is captured…. ‘The Pirate Prisoner’ is the story of Red-legs Greaves, who has been a slave, a pirate and a rich sugar planter.

It's 1940 and war is underway. In Sheffield, England, a brother and sister set out to solve a mystery, brazenly believing that the air-raid signals are only false alarms. In Dachau, Germany, two boys come up with a bold plan to bring an end to the war and help a Polish prisoner escape. But when the bombs falling on Sheffield become a reality, and the German boys’ plan hurls them unwittingly into the midst of the action, the children’s adventures swiftly become a terrifying fight to survive...

Laura has just three weeks to go before her Jewish "coming of age" ceremony, called a Bat Mitzvah, when she is assigned a special project. She is to read the diary of Sara Gittler, a young girl her own age who was imprisoned by the Nazis in the Warsaw Ghetto during the Holocaust. Sara never had the chance to celebrate her coming of age, so Laura is to learn about Sara's life and then share her Bat Mitzvah with her "twin" by speaking of her at the ceremony.

Billy is a street urchin, pickpocket and petty thief. Mister Creecher is a monstrous giant of a man who terrifies all he meets. Their relationship begins as pure convenience. But a bond swiftly develops between these two misfits as their bloody journey takes them ever northwards on the trail of their target . . . Victor Frankenstein.A moving, thrilling story about friendship, trust and betrayal, from bestselling author Chris Priestley. Read by Richard Mitchley.

Kitty is living a happy, carefree life as a dairymaid in the countryside. The grand family she is employed by looks after her well, and she loves caring for the gentle cows and working in the cool, calm dairy. And then, of course, there is Will, the river man who she thinks is very fond of her, and indeed she is of him. Surely he will ask her to marry him soon? Then one-day disaster strikes: Will disappears. So when Kitty is asked to go to London to pick up a copy of Pride and Prejudice, the latest novel by the very fashionable Jane Austen, Kitty leaps at the chance to track down Will.

When his twin brother dies in a freak accident, Douglas’ life begins to unravel. His mother leaves his father, taking Douglas with her to live in the Karoo region, a harsh desert landscape that is a far cry from Cape Town and the seaside life Douglas has always known. In this small village that is wary of outsiders, he makes two friends who change his life forever: a beautiful girl named Marika and an old man named Moses. Immersed in rich language and vivid detail, and set against the backdrop of 1970s South Africa, Karoo Boy is the story of a young man finding his way in the midst of chaos and loss.

Piri is a city girl, but every year she goes to visit her grandmother Babi on her farm in the Ukrainian village of Komjaty. There is a lot that Piri finds strange, even scary, in Komjaty, such as the ghost in the form of a rooster who supposedly haunts the cemetery! But Piri loves country life: making corn bread, eating plums right off the tree, venturing out with her grandmother in the early morning to hunt for mushrooms. And during her time with Babi, Piri learns lessons that will stay with her all of her life, about the importance of honest hard work, of caring for the less fortunate, and of having the courage to stand up for those who cannot stand up for themselves. In these nine stories, Aranka Siegal paints a tender portrait of the love between a grandmother and granddaughter, inspired by her own experiences with her grandmother.

Velvet is a laundress in a Victorian steam laundry. With both her mother and father dead, she is an orphan and has to rely upon her own wits to make a living. The laundry's work is back-breaking and Velvet is desperate to create a better life for herself. Then Velvet is noticed by Madame Savoya, a famed medium, who asks Velvet to come to work for her. Velvet is dazzled at first by the young yet beautifully dressed and bejewelled Madame.

For Seikei, the adopted son of the famous samurai Judge Ooka with a knack for solving mysteries, a trip home to see his real family isn’t cause to celebrate. His brother has become mixed up with local criminals who use the family’s tea shop as a front for a smuggling operation. His sister, meanwhile, has fallen in love with an apprentice to a puppet master who stands accused of murder. Somehow, Seikei senses the two are connected. His loyalties divided between his new family and his old, Seikei must find the real killer before it is too late.

This fascinating story will capture any young listener with a thirst for adventure. Like MacColl's Prisoners in the Palace, Promise the Night propels the listener into an evocative story with an unforgettable protagonist, while bringing the setting and time period to life. Immediately compelling and action-packed, this work of historical fiction explores the life of Beryl Markham, the fist person to fly solo across the Atlantic from east to west from England to North America.

Toby Tucker is an orphan with a secret. He owns a chest filled with torn paper, and a strange message: Piece your family tree together and you'll find out who you are and when you come from. When he manages to put together a name, the most incredible magic happens. Toby travels back in time and becomes his ancestor! This time he is plunged back to ancient Greece, into Titus's life, where he finds himself dodging the donkey doo.

Dorkius Maximus is a young boy growing up in ancient Rome. This hilarious diary recounts his exploits as, desperate to become a great Roman hero, Dorkius enlists the help of his father's friend, Stoutus, to teach him the noble art of fighting.

But heroism doesn't come naturally to Dorkius. Plus, his dad doesn't listen to him, his friends pick on him, and his mum is more interested in her sacred chickens. Dorkius knows there's a mighty warrior inside him, just waiting to get out - isn't there?

Iggy is excited as he sets off with Dad on his first hunting trip. When they find a set of huge footprints, a heap of bones and a pool of slime, Iggy wants to hunt the creature, but Dad is suddenly anxious to get back. Later, Iggy’s Grumma tells him about the Slimosaur – a great scaly beast which coats you in slime before devouring you in one go. The Urks have had a poor harvest and food is running very low.

Toby Tucker is an orphan with a secret. He owns a chest filled with torn paper and a strange message: Piece your family tree together and you'll find out who you are and when you come from. When he manages to put together a name, the most incredible magic happens. Toby travels back in time and becomes his ancestor! This time Toby is catapulted back into ancient Egypt, into Seti's life, and finds himself clashing with crazy chickens.

When Penelope Fitzsimmons arrives at Langdown Manor to live with relatives she's never met, she feels desperately alone and unwanted - until she meets Fred. They are two of a kind: restless, unconventional and daring - wanting more from life than what's expected of them. But she's an upper-class girl and he's a servant. How can they ever be together when society keeps them apart?

Everyone knows about Anne Frank and her life hidden in the secret annex, but what about the boy who was also trapped there with her? In this powerful and gripping novel, Sharon Dogar explores what this might have been like from Peter's point of view. What was it like to be forced into hiding with Anne Frank, first to hate her and then to find yourself falling in love with her? Especially with your parents and her parents all watching almost everything you do together.

Hilary McKay revisits Miss Minchin's Select Seminary for Young Ladies after the events of A Little Princess and Sara Crewe's happy-ever-after. Sara is much missed - and most acutely by her best friend Ermengarde, who laments that 'nothing is the same as it was before'. But life must go on at Miss Minchin's as new friendships are made, rivalries continued, lessons learned and, most importantly, fairytale endings are had.

Enemy bombers. Gas masks. Evacuation. What was World War Two really like? Five modern children have the chance to find out. They are taking part in Strictly Evacuees, a brand-new reality show.

Thirteen-year-old Molly Gerry and her older sister Colleen's world is rocked when their father dies, leaving them penniless. Their best hope seems to be leaving their small Illinois town to work at a Harvey Eating House in Raton, New Mexico. Molly manages to appear 18 (the minimum Harvey Girl age) in order to get the job and soon catches on to the rhythm of life beside the railroad tracks.