Showing results by narrator "Maria Johnson" in All Categories

Felicity Wren, a woman without family, is bound by societal expectations and a lonely past. Theodore “Tad” Hartford, the son of a successful merchant, is an outsider to the world of nobility. Their arranged marriage, a means to secure Felicity’s future and Tad’s ascension in Society, begins as a duty but quickly becomes something more.

Gaslight flickers. Fog curls through forgotten streets. And in the shadows of great houses and haunted towns, something ancient stirs. In this series of standalone yet interconnected gothic tales, bestselling author Stephanie Marcum leads listeners deep into the heart of Victorian horror—where wealth and privilege mask curses, family legacies are written in blood, and the line between salvation and damnation grows perilously thin.

France, 1940. Nazi forces march towards Paris. Lili Rosenswig's wealthy and eccentric family is ensconced in their country chateau with their sumptuous collection of arts and antiques. The beloved Matisse portrait of Lili's mother has been brought from their Paris salon for safety. It is the day before young lovers Lili and Paul are to be married that they are forced to flee and their fortunes change irrevocably.

In a world invisible to human eyes, the enchanting Faery Realm exists. Entering a secret portal from the mundane to the magical begins Tansy WaterSprite's adventure of sparkling danger. Her evil guardian is stalking her with a different, dark agenda. Only "littles" who have been monitored since birth and passed secret tests are invited to attend the Faery Academy of QuillSnap, but not everyone gets to stay. Those who overcome the dangerous obstacles during the Night of the Purple Moon will determine who stays.

In Silence: The Psychology and the Craft for Emotional Wellbeing, the author―a psychotherapist, university professor, educator, and researcher―takes the listener into a thought-provoking and heartfelt journey. She offers original perspectives and vulnerable stories from her clients, students, and personal life. Drawing on, among others, ethnographic and autoethnographic accounts, Lehmann serves the listener with psychological insights, offering a timely, critical, and thorough viewpoint to contrast with an overload of misinformation about what silence is and how people should feel when quiet.

An aimless life. An unsettled conscience. Can the gentlewoman next door bring a new sense of purpose to this duke run aground in Derbyshire? Nigel Lymington, the new Duke of Warrenton, always played second fiddle to his elder brother’s wild exploits. After rising to the title himself, he tries to live up to his family’s rakish reputation, only to discover that he has neither the temperament nor the money to indulge in the wastrel Warrenton way of life.

was in love with the romance and beauty of the dancing white horses of Spain and Portugal and the artistry of Baroque Classical riding. When my young Lusitano colt arrived from Portugal, his purity and intelligence deeply affected me. His joy and precociousness was captivating. Yet, if I was to turn him into a riding horse, how was I to achieve this without affecting all the connection and engagement I already felt with him? I was in a dilemma, and I began to realize I wanted more than the prescribed horsemanship offered for Unico within its lens of goals and competitiveness.

It is 1535, and in the tumultuous years of King Henry VIII’s break from Rome, the religious houses of England are being seized by force. Twenty-year-old Catherine Havens is a foundling and the adopted daughter of the prioress of the Priory of Mount Grace in a small Yorkshire village.

After seven long years in Devon, Lady Maud Worlington returns to London to reclaim life on her own terms, but a nefarious shadow and the prospect of financial ruin dog her steps. An impulsive and unforgettable kiss under the mistletoe creates a connection with Geoffrey, the handsome, young Duke of Tilbury. Yet, as pleasant as it is to have a suitor, Maud is not sure how a boy of one-and-20 can prove an equal partner in life and the equal of all the forces mounted against her.

Jack Long is enjoying a rare opportunity to spend an afternoon at the beach alone with his son, when tragedy strikes. Years of heartache follow, but Jack gradually rebuilds his life, eventually finding a measure of peace, until one day, a 12-year-old boy literally cycles into his life, and the nightmare begins again.

I have always wanted to tell my story, not for sympathy or to shock anyone but to show I am human. My life has been far from perfect. It's not one of those broken child books. I am and never will be broken. I am a strong woman with a successful career. Why is it called Fact or Fiction? Sometimes I have said to myself, " You couldn't make this shit up”, but then wonder if people would actually believe me if I told them.

East Berlin, 1982. When Greta Schneider meets Henry Henderson, she is instantly smitten. An engineer on a work visa from Britain, Henry offers Greta a taste of the world beyond the Iron Curtain, a world that she yearns to explore as a translator once she finishes university. For Henry, Greta is simply perfect—bold and beautiful, adding a vital spark to his everyday life.

In Tragedy at Ravensthorpe, Chief Constable Sir Clinton Driffield arrives at the Ravensthorpe estate just in time for an opulent 1920s masquerade—but behind the silk masks and champagne toasts, danger simmers. A mysterious figure is stalking the halls, family tensions threaten to erupt, and whispers of local folklore—including the enigmatic “Fairy Houses”—haunt the estate grounds.

I offer this book is up as another series of meditations. As before it is presented in small meditative vignettes that focus upon the relationship between horse and rider and the inner dialogue and consciousness between them. Through this relationship it explores the sacred and indivisible nature of all life, its connection and non-duality.

Dominic Hawthorne has lived with the guilt of a childhood secret for years. Now, fuelled by alcohol and desperation, he’s driving toward his mother’s house to confront her and finally expose the truth. But when Dominic crashes his car, he ends up in a coma, leaving his fractured family to pick up the pieces. Victoria Hawthorne has built her life around control, and she’ll do anything to protect the secrets that hold her family together. As the past threatens to resurface, Victoria’s ruthless grip on the truth tightens and blood will be spilled to keep it hidden.

After losing a hand at Waterloo and selling out of the military, Captain William Allen has little to live for. But when he encounters the clever and exquisite Margaret Blackburn, the necessity of extricating her from a moneylender's clutches gives him a new purpose in life. If Margaret is to remain in London long enough to realise her goal of becoming a published author, William must convince Margaret's mother that he is a suitor in earnest.

When Eloise Blackburn finds a strange gentleman perched in the leafy branches of an ash tree, she has strong suspicions he is not who he says he is. After all, the neighboring Allen family has never mentioned a cousin named Crispin from the West Indies. And what's this he's saying about a missing inheritance and a secret passageway in Allen Abbey?

Portrait to Landscape: A Landscape Strategy to Reframe Our Future is a groundbreaking book that calls for a transformative shift in our relationship with the natural world. Written by a renowned landscape architect, this book offers a new perspective on our place in the world and a compelling vision for a regenerative future. In an era plagued by environmental disasters and global challenges, the book argues that our exploitative and fragmented relationship with nature is at the root of these issues.

Join Lily as she discovers an old paintbrush in her attic, a seemingly ordinary find that unlocks the door to a world of wonder and possibility. From painting sun-kissed meadows teeming with vibrant wildflowers to crafting majestic mountains that reach the heavens, Lily's brush transforms her bedroom into a canvas of dreams where every stroke tells a story.

Eight-year-old Sharon Rowling has a lot to contend with. Her stunning mum, Maria, literally stops traffic with her beauty, much to the dismay of her dodgy dad, Ricky, who is under height and underemployed. Then there's her three excruciating siblings plus her unhinged Shetland pony, all of whom remain stubbornly oblivious to the fact that Sharon's deepest fear might soon become a reality.