Showing results by narrator "P.J Morgan" in All Categories

Lucy Honeychurch is a young English girl abroad in Italy for the first time and is ready to experience all the beauty, art, and romance it has to offer. She is hampered by the oppressive attentions of her chaperone, her prim cousin Charlotte, as well as the presence of a substantial British expatriate and tourist community in Florence.

Persuasion has certain similarities with Emma, another late novel by Jane Austen. In both stories, the heroine is a young woman who lives with her widowed father, and who has an enduring attachment to her eventual spouse from the opening of the action. Persuasion also incorporates certain elements common to Austen's earlier novels, such as characters from the military, visits to Bath and calculating and cynical suitors. In the end, Anne Elliot successfully combats the destructive vanity of her father and the machinations of her villainous cousin William.

First published in 1869, Little Women is the story of four sisters growing up against the background of the American Civil War. Alcott wrote the book at the urging of the publisher, Thomas Niles, who was seeking a story about girls that would have popular appeal. Although it was commenced essentially as a children's book, it developed into something of a bildungsroman, which touches on more serious issues such as the difficulties faced by single-parent families, the death of a sibling, and fractured relationships.

The Life and Death of King John was probably written in the 1590s but not published until the First Folio in 1623. Of Shakespeare's 11 history plays, King John is the one which deals with the story of a monarch most removed from Shakespeare's time. The historical remoteness of this ruler, and also the fact that he had no genealogical links with the Tudor dynasty, enabled Shakespeare to present him in a warts and allà fashion.

Will the unlikely romance between the rough and tumble stoker, Mat Burke, and Anna Christopherson, the world-weary daughter of the captain of a coal barge, survive? Set in 1910, the timeless question of, "How does love make us grow?" is pondered. This American classic, Anna Christie by Eugene O'Neill, is a play in four acts and won the Pulitzer Prize in 1922.

When Drake is told that his beloved wife does not have long to live, he clutches at straws for anything that will prolong her life. A mysterious stranger offers him a cure for his wife's illness that appears to be remarkably effective - but, like many miracles, it comes at a cost.

What happens when the princess that never sleeps meets the princess who's cursed to sleep? The Princess and the Pea fights the need for rest as she embarks upon the rescue of Sleeping Beauty. Once awake, the two challenge the real world to find their happily ever after.

An Ideal Husband is an 1895 comedy by Oscar Wilde which revolves around blackmail and political corruption, and touches on the themes of public and private honor. The action is set in London, and takes place over the course of 24 hours.

One morning in the spring of 1958 I woke up in my room at the Hotel Alexandria with a paralyzing hangover (which was not unusual) and an idea for a book (which was). I sat in front of my typewriter, and within a few hours I had produced a chapter-by-chapter outline of a novel. I had all the characters sketched out and knew how they'd relate to one another, and how the rather elementary storyline would resolve itself. I even had a title: Shadows.

J. P. Smythe joins Robin Morgan in the Audible Studios to discuss his latest book, his writing process, and the authors and books that inspire him.

Xero is an expert smuggler. As the ruler of the Tucson Exiles, she hustles supplies for the government and then pumps the desert full of illegal designer drugs on the sly. Catastrophe looms when Yuma goes kaboom, and Trina's cure is destroyed along with it. All that remains is a complicated web spun from Xero's biggest demons: money, germs, and drugs. As she struggles to dig up some Ketacillin, one thought stays with her: Who do you have to kill to get some soap and a hot shower?

When Amadora wins a trip to a Mexican resort, she contacts Madame Eve's 1Night Stand service to live out a one-time fantasy - a night with two hot men. Undercover DEA agents Jason and Angus have been playing it fast and loose with each other. The sex is good, but Jason blames himself for his wife's death during a stakeout and refuses to weigh his heart down with any more guilt. Angus hasn't told Jason how much he cares about him for fear of being pushed away.

Loreley Jones, daughter of the governor of the British Colony of Antigua, is orphaned when a hurricane sinks the ship taking her and her family from London to the Caribbean. After washing up on the shores of the Pirate's Republic of Nassau, she is sold into slavery and her virginity is auctioned off. The highest bidder is the notoriously sadistic Gideon Graves, captain of the pirate ship Jezebel, who holds Loreley against her will.

Were-jaguar and TV personality Riley O'Rourke has been looking over her shoulder ever since she stole from the Dark Queen of the Unseelie faeries. When Riley is contacted by an informant with knowledge that can blow the lid off the story of the year, she can't pass up the opportunity to investigate. What she finds instead is something that puts her at the mercy of the Dark Queen, who's not known for her compassion.

Deep Down Things, Tamara Linse's debut novel, is the emotionally riveting story of three siblings torn apart by a charismatic bullrider-turned-writer and the love that triumphs despite tragedy. From the death of her parents at 16, Maggie Jordan yearns for lost family while sister CJ drowns in alcohol and brother Tibs withdraws. When Maggie and an idealistic young writer named Jackdaw fall in love, she is certain that she's found what she's looking for.

In a society where a common servant girl doesn't have much in the way of prospects, Faith's plain appearance and sharp tongue make a good match even more unlikely. But finding a husband is the least of Faith's worries when she finds herself caught between a beautiful swordswoman and her grotesque, monstrous prey. Given as a reward to the huntress, Faith is beyond terrified.

Attacked as a young adult, Jewel is left scarred and alone. She applies to the 1Night Stand service, believing no one can see past her appearance to love her. But she doesn't expect to be sent to a space station where her date could be any number of unusual alien species.

Four years ago, crime beat reporter Riley O'Rourke changed the world. To be fair, it wasn't entirely her fault. Her mentor, a 3,000-year-old vampire, destroyed Tucson police headquarters during a fight with a sorcerer. Footage of the fight went viral on the internet, and the existence of Preternaturals -vampires, witches, and other were-animals like Riley - was revealed.

Ellen Porter is a stranger to the single life - as much a stranger as she is to facing her same-sex desires. The recent divorcee, desperate to prove that her attraction to women is just a phase, enlists the help of Madame Eve for one night of "getting it out of her system." Aimee Tran has had enough of the Los Angeles bar-hopping scene. In pursuit of a genuine romantic connection, she discovers Madame Eve and decides that maybe, just maybe, a one-night stand will tide her over until she finds The One.

Never acknowledge the fact that you're a girl, and take pride when your guy friends say, 'You're one of the guys.' Tell yourself, 'I am one of the guys,' even though, in the back of your mind, a little voice says, 'But you've got girl parts.'" A girl whose self-worth revolves around masculinity, a bartender who loses her sense of safety, a woman who compares men to plants, and a boy who shoots his cranked-out father. These are a few of the hard-scrabble characters in Tamara Linse's debut short story collection, How to Be a Man.