Showing results by author "Di Riddell" in All Categories

As the days grow shorter and the temperature drops, Halloween approaches. Come, brave listener, pull up a chair, and spend some time with master storyteller Stephen Fry as he tells us some of his favourite ghost stories of all time, in truly terrifying spatial audio. From the headless horseman of Sleepy Hollow to the tortured spirits of M.R. James, from Edgar Allan Poe’s terrifying tale of a doppelganger to Charlotte Riddell’s Open Door that should definitely stay shut, join Stephen as he tells you some truly terrifying tales.

In an Audible Exclusive performance, Holliday Grainger lends her voice to a new unabridged recording of Lady Chatterley's Lover, a novel that was banned until 1960 and is now considered to be one of the most renowned love stories of all time. This production features an exclusive introduction written and narrated by Fern Riddell, a cultural historian who specialises in sex in the Victorian and Edwardian eras.

Young Twig lives in the Deepwoods, among the Woodtrolls, but he isn't one of them. In a brave attempt to find out where he belongs, Twig wanders into the mysterious, fascinating, and sometimes hazardous world beyond the Deepwoods. In his travels he encounters myriad peculiar creatures, like his wise guardian, the Caterbird; the Slaughterers, a peaceful race who butcher animals for their livelihood; and the vicious, bile-swilling Rotsucker.

Far over the Edge, the Mother Storm is brewing: a storm more terrifying than any seen in the lifetime of any Edgelander. Sweeping in from the open sky, it must strike the source of the Edgewater River to bring new energy to the land. But in its way is Sanctaphrax: a magnificent city built on a floating rock and tethered to the land by a massive chain.

A creative call to arms from the mind of Neil Gaiman. Art Matters will inspire its listeners to seize the day in the name of art. Be bold. Be rebellious. Choose art. It matters. Neil Gaiman once said that 'the world always seems brighter when you've just made something that wasn't there before'. This audiobook is the embodiment of that vision. Drawn together from speeches, poems and creative manifestos, Art Matters explores how reading, imagining and creating can change the world, and will be inspirational to young and old.

Ada Goth is the only child of Lord Goth. The two live together in the enormous Ghastly-Gorm Hall. It’s hard for her to make friends and she's rather lonely. Then one day William and Emily Cabbage come to stay at the house, and together with a ghostly mouse called Ishmael they begin to unravel a dastardly plot. Ada and her friends must work together to foil the evil gamekeeper, Maltravers, before it's too late!

In the floating city of Sanctaphrax, fusty old professors scheme and bicker with each other as they study the weather in minute detail - mistsifting, fogprobing, researching the air blowing in from beyond the Edge. But some experiments are best left alone.

Barnaby Grimes is a tick-tock lad, running errands in his city, day and night, and "high-stacking" around the rooftops in search of new mysteries to solve. In this first adventure, Barnaby is attacked one night by an enormous dog. He kills it: but that's not the end of this particular mystery...as Barnaby finds himself swept up in a world of crooked doctors, poor and ill-advised patients, strange tonics, and very expensive furs.

Since his childhood in the Deepwoods, young Twig has always longed to soar above the forest canopy and explore the sky. Now a lowly crew member on his father's sky pirate ship, the Stormchaser, his dream seems fulfilled. But a much higher destiny awaits Twig as plots and treacheries from many years ago bring the lofty city of Sanctaphrax, home of the Edgeworld's most learned academics, to the point of disaster.

In Poems to Fall in Love With, Chris Riddell OBE, political cartoonist for the Observer, has selected his very favourite classic and modern poems about love. This gorgeous collection celebrates love in all its guises, from silent admiration through passion to tearful resignation. These poems speak of the universal experiences of the heart and are brought to life by Juliet Stevenson and David Rintoul. This collection features famous poems, old and new, and a few surprises. Classic verses sit alongside the modern to create the ultimate collection.

Meet Ottoline and her hairy, helpful friend, Mr. Munroe. Ottoline is off to the Alice B. Smith School for the Differently Gifted, but she is rather worried that she doesn't have a special gift. Mr. Munroe is more worried about the ghost who is said to haunt the school halls at night. Does Ottoline discover her hidden talent, and can they expose the spook?

The exceptional talents behind some of the nation’s best-loved books - from The Gruffalo to The BFG, We’re Going on a Bear Hunt to the Charlie and Lola series - the Children’s Laureates are the perfect ambassadors for children’s literature. It’s been 20 wonderful years of the Laureateship and now all 10 former honourees have banded together to celebrate the only way they know how: through stories and poems.

Quint is travelling with his father, Wind Jackal, on a mission to track down and bring to justice Turbot Smeal, the man who started the fire that killed their family. Having left behind his studies at the Knights Academy, Quint is now eager to learn what it really means to be a sky pirate and to learn from his father. But Wind Jackal is consumed by his desire to capture Smeal - and his judgement is flawed. His actions endangers the lives of his crew - and his son.

In the great floating city of Sanctaphrax, blizzards howl through the streets as the Edgeworld descends into an endless winter. Quint, the son of a sky pirate, has just begun his training at the Knights Academy - training that involves heading out over the Edge on tethers to develop his flying skills. But when Quint breaks the rules and head out to Open Sky on his own, he runs into the great sky leviathan known as a cloud-eater.

Rook Barkwater dreams of becoming a librarian knight - sent out to explore the mysteries of the Edgeworld. So when his chance comes, he grabs it. Breaking all the rules, he sets out on a journey to the Free Glades and beyond.

Statistically speaking, only one out of every one thousand sexual acts between a man and a woman will result in a pregnancy. And, as we know, sex does not solely take place just between men and women. So: what is sex for? In this wide-ranging and powerful new history of sex, Dr Fern Riddell will uncover the sexual lives of our ancestors and show that, just like us, they were as preoccupied with sexual identities, masturbation, foreplay, sex and deviance; facing it with the same confusion, joy and accidental hilarity that we do today.

Mark Riddell spent his adolescence in local authority care in Scotland. Born into a Scottish tenement flat, he is forced with the rest of his family to leave his father and watch the slow death of his mother. For the remainder of his early years, his life is characterized by care from half committed relatives, occasional returns to his drunken father's care, and eventually taken into the Scottish care system.

Those who guard us speak of us, in whispers as...'the Immortals.'' Nate Quarter is a lowly lamplighter in the phraxmines of the Eastern Woods.Until treachery forces him to flee for his life - to the mighty city of Great Glade. But these are turbulent times. In far-off Hive - the spectacular city founded by the goblin tribes - the clan leaders are preparing for war. And out beyond the dread Nightwoods, in the fabled gardens of Riverrise, a one-eyed waif jealously guards the life-giving waters of the mystical Riverrise spring.

Women have a long history of keeping the lights burning, from tending ancient altar flames or bonfires to modern-day lighthouse keeping. Yet most of their stories are little-known. Guiding Lights includes true stories from around the world, chronicling the lives of the extraordinary women who mind the world’s storm-battered towers.

How do we model abundance and generosity — in teaching, in learning, in leading organizations, particularly non-profits — when dealing with fiscal austerity and other forms of scarcity thinking? Hope Circuits explores this question, presenting sophisticated ideas that support democratizing higher education for everybody.