Showing results by narrator "Edwina Wren" in All Categories

Achingly sensual, effortlessly lyrical, Janette Turner Hospital's dazzling Orpheus Lost is a powerful and disturbing novel. It is both a love story on a grand scale that spans America, Australia and Baghdad, and an examination of what happens to individuals when terrible mistakes are made in the name of 'national security'.

This ambitious, electrifying work traces the harrowing journey of the famed Sarajevo Haggadah, a beautifully illuminated Hebrew manuscript created in 15th-century Spain. When it falls to Hanna Heath, an Australian rare-book expert, to conserve this priceless work, the series of tiny artifacts she discovers in its ancient binding—an insect wing fragment, wine stains, salt crystals, a white hair—only begin to unlock its deep mysteries.

It's February and most cities are a cold, grey wasteland. But not New York. At least, not my New York. Our college applications are in and it's time to blow off some steam. Best of all, Fashion Week is just around the corner, giving us plenty of opportunities to get dressed up and go completely wild. And just think: the later you stay out, the quicker the days will blur by. See you out there!

In Sam Bloom, Sam tells her own story for the first time - how a shy but determined Australian girl became a nurse and travelled across Africa. How she fell in love with a like-minded free spirit, raised three boys and built a life together on Sydney's Northern Beaches. And then, in a single horrific moment, how everything changed.

As bushfires rage outside the city, three women watch a performance of a Beckett play. Margot is a successful professor, preoccupied by her fraught relationship with her ailing husband. Ivy is a philanthropist with a troubled past, distracted by the snoring man beside her. Summer is a young theatre usher, anxious about the safety of her girlfriend in the fire zone. 

Makedde Vanderwall is one of Australia's most-loved crime characters, and Mak's fans are eagerly awaiting her latest escapades. Mak Vanderwall - beautiful, street-wise daughter of a cop, graduate in forensic psychology, and now PI - is hired by a widowed mother to track down her missing 19-year-old son. Has he come to harm? Or has he run off with a bizarre troupe of shady French cabaret artists sweeping through Australia?

Ming Qong is convinced that girls have changed the world throughout history. So when Ming is thrust back in time to Belgium during WWI, only to be rescued from a burning cellar by Marie -- an experienced spy at only twelve years of age -- she finally has her proof. Marie is involved with a female secret resistance group who risk their lives to outwit the German troops. But Ming now faces a tough choice: will she send coded messages and risk her own life in this war on which the future depends?

It's time to fill out our college applications. Not applying to the Ivy Leagues is not an option, and not getting into them would be a total embarrassment. But I know a few girls who aren't going to let the pressure get them down.

Gus doesn't want to make friends. She also doesn't want to be intrigued by the cat-lady teacher at her new school, or the Riley's Comet project that she and her seaweed-eating science partner are working on together. And she definitely doesn't want to fall in love with her job as the projectionist at the Starlight, a drive-in movie theatre that her family is reviving.

Sarah Williams is a spirited, independent Aussie who has always dreamed of New York City. So when a job opportunity arises to become an au pair for a successful businessman in the heart of Manhattan, Sarah jumps at the chance to follow her dream. What she didn't bet on was a beautiful newborn and a distant, abrasive man whose eyes hold a million secrets. Determined to care for his daughter and face the challenges of the impossible Ben Worthington, Sarah is prepared to follow her heart.

Ming Qong is convinced that girls have changed the world throughout history. She's faced danger and adventure when Herstory sent her to the past to witness girls' bravery in the incredible feats left out of 'histories'. Now Ming asks Herstory for another time-travelling quest – this time, one that is less confronting. Ming finds herself in relative luxury, heading to an unknown destination on a ship carrying royal Saxon sheep, travelling with the girls who care for them.

Whilst living in exile on St Helena, Napoleon exerted an extraordinary influence on young Betsy Balcombe. How did she get from Napoleon's side to the Australian bush? Betsy Balcombe as a young woman lived with her family on St Helena. They befriended, served and were ruined by their relationship with Napoleon. To redeem the family's fortunes, William Balcombe, Betsy's father, betrayed Napoleon and accepted a job as the colonial treasurer of NSW, bringing his family with him.

Welcome back to New York City's glamorous Upper East Side, where the uptown girls get everything and everyone they want. Nabbing the latest Marc Jacobs bag or your best friend's boyfriend isn't always pretty, but it's always pretty cool. It's almost graduation and the lives of New York's private high school elite are really heating up. Everyone's got into college and it's clearly time to party, not that they haven't been doing plenty of that already! Blair and Nate's relationship has moved on to a new level, but will the love affair continue? Or will Nate's love affair with his bong get in the way?

Welcome to New York City's Upper East Side, where Gossip Girl and her friends are the biggest stars...whether or not the cameras are rolling. Lights, camera, scandal! Hollywood is invading New York and Serena is set for her big screen debut. She's already having an off-screen romance with her onscreen lover, Thaddeus. What will that mean for Hamptons-bound Nate? And if Nate is free, what about Blair? Sure, she's off to London to spend time with her royal boytoy, but Nate will always be Prince Charming in her eyes...

It's Chrismastime, and Blair and Serena are best friends again and up to their old tricks: partying hard and breaking hearts from Park Avenue to the Caribbean. Blair's mom and Cyrus are having their honeymoon in Salt Key. And when school lets out for the holiday, Blair, Serena, Aaron, and company head down there to blow off steam after their midterm exams.

Butter has been told there are ghosts at the nearby isolated Howlers Beach, but are there? And how can the children Butter plays cricket with on the beach simply vanish? Who are these children and why do they refuse his help? Butter is certain they're hiding a secret and he's determined to uncover it.

Twenty-five-year-old Claire Shorten had looked forward to spending a romantic weekend in Paris for as long as she could remember, and now it was here - three blissful days of strolling through cobbled streets arm in arm with her beloved, eating copious amounts of baked goods and soaking up the culture through each and every pore of her body. Well, at least that was how she'd pictured it.... Even after her boyfriend dumps her in the most romantic place on earth, Claire is determined not to give up on her dream.

Enter the world of Gossip Girl - a world where espadrille sandals are flown in from Spain, crisp cotton sundresses are made to order, and jealousy and betrayal are the ultimate summer accessories... Serena and Blair are now co-muses to a super-famous designer, who just happens to live next door to Nate's Hamptons estate... But how neighbourly are these new neighbours going to get? And what's this about Vanessa venturing surfside? Who's next, Dan? Never say never...

Twelve-year-old Ming Qong is convinced that girls must have changed the world, even if they are rarely mentioned in history books. So when Ming gets the chance to go back in time, she imagines herself changing destinies from a glittering palace or an explorer's ship. Instead, she ends up in Australia in 1898, living a tough life as Flo Watson on a drought-stricken farm.

It's the spring break and love is in the air. Or is that a blend of Chanel No 9 and Gucci Rush? Blair moves in with Serena and they're back to being best friends. But will the love-fest last or will they end up tearing out one another's newly highlighted hair? Nate is on the straight and narrow with his crazy girlfriend, Georgie. And Vanessa...wait, is that Vanessa shopping at Barneys with a guy in a Lacoste shirt?