Showing results by narrator "Davina Porter" in All Categories

There's more than one reason why the new West Tisbury police chief officially made 92-year-old Victoria Trumbull her deputy. For one thing, Victoria knows just about everything about everyone in Martha's Vineyard, not to mention their ancestors. She may be 92, but she is as sharp and as sharp-eyed as the proverbial tack. So when Victoria is the only one who spots something amiss among the gravestones of the West Tisbury cemetery, it's no surprise that the police chief listens.

This classic novel has been thrice adapted for the screen by the BBC. Mary Smith relates the story of her time with middle-aged spinster sisters Miss Matty and Miss Deborah. Witty, poignant, and often ironic, Cranford is the tale of what these two women will do to remain respectable, proper, and kind with only moderate means.

Having fled the turmoil of Scotland, Elspeth Monro is learning to love her life in 1775 North Carolina. She likes her new friend and her weaving apprenticeship. But as Loyalists and Patriots strive to recruit her neighbors, a shadowy figure threatens her family.

Popular biographer Carolly Erickson creates intimate and richly detailed portraits of her historical subjects. In this book she offers a provocative new perspective on Josephine and her fabled marriage to Napoleon.

Murder has jarred London's elite. The sons of prominent families have been found at dawn in public places, partially butchered, with strange objects stuffed in their mouths. Once again the local magistrate turns to Sebastian St. Cyr, Viscount Devlin, for help. Moving from the gritty world of London's docks to the drawing rooms of Mayfair, Sebastian confronts his most puzzling - and disturbing - case yet.

The young wife of an aging marquis is found murdered in the arms of the Prince Regent. Around her neck lies a necklace said to have been worn by Druid priestesses - that is, until it was lost at sea with its last owner, Sebastian St. Cyr's mother. Now Sebastian is lured into a dangerous investigation of the marchioness's death - and his mother's uncertain fate.

It's October 1814. London suddenly finds itself in the grip of a series of heinous murders eerily similar to the Ratcliffe Highway murders of three years before. In 1811, two entire families were viciously murdered in their homes. A suspect - a young seaman named John Williams - was arrested. But before he could be brought to trial, Williams hanged himself in his cell. The murders ceased. But when the lead investigator is killed in the same brutal way three years later and others possibly connected to the original case meet violent ends, the city is paralyzed with terror once more.

Victoria Trumbull, 92-year-old native of Martha's Vineyard, is savoring the sea air over Vineyard Sound with her granddaughter, Elizabeth, when she spots a person who seems in trouble near the top of a cliff. Elizabeth goes for help, but it's too late - the man dies before he can be rescued.

Life is good for Cal—and his Panda Bear, Pudding! The family stage-show Panda-Mime is a hit, and there's talk of a Hollywood film. But is it too good to be true? A nosy reporter is sniffing around, and if she discovers that Pudding's a real-life bear, then all their dreams will be dashed.

When the bodies of two men are found shockingly posed in the garden of an elderly countess, Captain Natalia Monte of the Carabiniere is assigned the case. Soon she finds herself shuttling between Naples' decadent art galleries and violent criminal underworld. If she is to succeed in solving the heinous crime, Natalia must deal with not only her own complicated past and allegiances but also those of the city as a whole. A Few Drops of Blood is a riveting and poetic exploration of the violence that lurks in the heart of beauty.

One of the most determined, energetic, and lusty heroines in all of English literature, Daniel Defoe's Moll Flanders will do anything to avoid poverty. Born in Newgate Prison, she was for 12 years a whore, five times a wife (once to her own brother), 12 years a thief, and eight years a transported felon in Virginia before finally escaping from the life of immorality and wickedness imposed on her by society. She is as much a survivor and just as resourceful as Defoe's other great literary creation, Robinson Crusoe.

Nicey Melinda and Sethany Ann are two very old, but very well-loved dolls. This time of year, the dolls are busy planning their yearly Christmas dinner party - with a little help from the two little girls they live with. The girls bundle Nicey and Sethany up to go to the woods for their Christmas tree. After they all decorate the tree with silver nutmegs and golden pears, there is much baking to be done for the party. Oh, what a lovely Christmas they will have! Tasha Tudor’s delightfully nostalgic story conveys the charm of holiday traditions.

The 18th century’s Age of Enlightenment in pre-Revolutionary France continues to fascinate us today. Steegmuller brings his scholarly talents to this collection of the letters of Mme. Louise d’Épinay, best-known for the treatment she received in Rousseau’s Confessions. Eavesdropping on the writings of this intelligent woman, the listener gains not only insights into her friendship with Italian priest-diplomat, Ferdinando Galiani, but also a glance into the life of France’s elite.

Pudding the panda makes everyone smile at Edinburgh Zoo. But what would make her truly happy is a family to take care of - like her heroine, Mary Poppins. Meanwhile, Callum is having a hard time at home. His parents keep arguing; his sister is annoying; and his ninth birthday gift is a certificate for an "adopted" panda when all he’d wanted was Lego. Then by a twist of fate, the unbelievable happens, and the two come together on Callum’s front doorstep.