Showing results by narrator "Lucy Scott" in All Categories

My dearest Mr Snippet… World War II has just begun, and newly-married John, a young cadet army officer from London, has been forced to leave behind his beloved wife Rita. As each of them desperately try to hold onto their joint hopes and dreams, will fate grant them the future they dream of, or will the unpredictabilities of a relentless war conspire against them?

Lucia is back—and she's more formidable than ever. In this wickedly funny fifth instalment of E.F. Benson's beloved Mapp and Lucia series, the indomitable Mrs. Emmeline Lucas sets her sights on the quaint village of Tilling. With impeccable manners and a razor-sharp sense of strategy, she schemes her way to the top of the social ladder, charming and outmaneuvering her rivals at every turn.

To her mother's dismay, Gabriella Hazelwood has no interest in marriage or a quiet domestic life - not when she has big dreams of becoming a journalist. When she meets Marco Santorelli, a handsome newspaper heir who believes in her ambitions as much as she does, Gabriella begins to wonder if she can have both a husband and a career. Under the magical stars of Rome, their connection deepens, and a sweeping love story begins . . . until the shadow of war casts a dark cloud over Europe.

First published in 1876, Wilkie Collins’s The Two Destinies follows the lives of childhood friends George and Mary. George is the son of a nobleman, while Mary is the daughter of the nobleman’s bailiff. As the friends grow older and closer, George’s father, determined to end their affair, dismisses the bailiff and moves George to America. Years later, George returns to his native Suffolk to track down his former love. Although she has long gone, he remains determined to find Mary at all costs. But are the two lovers destined to find each other again?

Part of a six-instalment comic book series, Mapp and Lucia, which recounts the eccentric tales of various women in the 1920s and their fight for social status, Trouble for Lucia sees the continued rivalry between the two iconic protagonists, Emmeline Lucas and Elizabeth Mapp. It is the final book in Benson’s hugely successful series. Emmeline ‘Lucia’ Lucas, now Mayor of the small seaside town of Tilling, continues her scheming for social dominance with an inflated sense of self-importance.

Part of a six-instalment comic book series, Mapp and Lucia, which recounts the eccentric tales of various women in the 1920s and their fight for social status, Mapp and Lucia sees the two iconic protagonists – Emmeline Lucas and Elizabeth Mapp – finally cross paths. It is the fourth book in Benson’s hugely successful series. Renowned show-off Mrs Emmeline ‘Lucia’ Lucas decides to take up summer residence in the small seaside resort of Tilling, home to none other than the formidable Miss Elizabeth Mapp.

In a fog-wreathed London, the respected Dr. Jekyll’s experiments on the dual nature of man unleash a brute that feels no moral restraint or remorse. Although excited by this freedom, Jekyll discovers that he is unable to control the power of his vicious alter ego, and is faced with shameful discovery or ignominious death. Haunting and thrilling, this atmospheric fable is one of the world’s greatest short stories.

Sometimes called the greatest detective story ever written, The Hound of the Baskervilles, set on wild and desolate Dartmoor, with its menacing Tors, treacherous mires, and enveloping mists, pits the supernatural in the form of a spectral Hound against the rational mind of Sherlock Holmes, who with his companion Dr. Watson, attempts to solve the savage murder of the local squire, and save his successor from the curse of the Baskervilles.

In a remote corner of early Victorian England, where traditional practices remain untouched by time, Bathsheba Everdene stands out as a beacon of feminine independence and self-reliance. However, when confronted with three suitors, among them the dashing Sergeant Troy, she shows a reckless capriciousness which threatens the stability of the whole community.

First published in 1872, Poor Miss Finch tells the story of Lucilla Finch, a young woman who is blind due to an accident. Lucilla lives with her devoted companion, Madame Pratolungo, and fiancé, Oscar Dubourg. However, experimental surgery offers Lucilla the possibility of regaining her sight. Over time a love triangle emerges between Lucilla, Oscar and Oscar’s identical twin, Nugent.

Romance blossoms when Catherine, a 47-year-old widow, and the 25-year-old Christopher meet at repeated performances of a poorly attended play. However, 1920s London society is shocked by such a match, its disapproval shared by Catherine’s daughter and son-in-law, the curate Stephen. As events unfold, can their relationship survive the opprobrium of those around them as well as the disparity in their ages?

An inspiring and relatable heroine, Esther is a pious young servant girl who endures the terrible fate of becoming pregnant and leaving her workplace to face a desperate future... but she is tenacious and fiery, and dedicated to keeping her son and building her life against unfathomably poor odds. Society’s ills are laid bare, especially the addictive buzz, desperate drive and inevitable destruction of gambling on horses.

The horror of the male experience during World War One was well documented in poetry, memoir, and fiction throughout the 20th century. Women's voices of despair, endurance and anger, however, have often been forgotten. These poems of political fury, widowed brides, industry undertaken, and sons and friends loved and lost, give a heartbreaking insight into the experience of women throughout World War One.