Showing results by narrator "Katherine Manners" in All Categories

In 1627 Barbary pirates raided the coast of Iceland and abducted some 400 of its people, including 250 from a tiny island off the mainland. Among the captives sold into slavery in Algiers were the island pastor, his wife and their three children. Although the raid itself is well documented, little is known about what happened to the women and children afterwards. It was a time when women everywhere were largely silent.

Hampered by a controlling father and overlooked by everyone she knows, Serenity Ashworth (Wren to her friends) is determined to do her duty for the war effort and take advantage of the new opportunities for young women like her. So, when a mysterious letter from a Major Belinda Stapleton arrives, Wren is intrigued.

Maddie and her long-term boyfriend, Tom, dream of a life living and working abroad, though right now they’re settling for a lovely vacation in the sunny European beach town. When Maddie is befriended by a lovely-seeming couple, who are living the digital nomad lifestyle, they make her an offer that feels hard to refuse... Swap houses, swap lives – just for a couple of weeks - and see if living abroad is a lifestyle that would really suit them. But as soon as they’ve handed keys over to their home in London, it becomes clear the couple aren’t who they’d seemed to be.

When Becca’s first love shows up on her social media feed, she can’t help but smile fondly. Once upon a time Connor was the love of her life, and though it was over 10 years ago, he’s always held a place in her heart. Then he sends her a message. He sounds happy - still kind and funny, still living across the world in Australia. But he wants to know everything about her life now. How can Becca tell him the truth? About her workaholic husband, her stressful job, and the challenges of caring for her elderly father and her three-year-old daughter, Mia?

A skilled mechanic, Fliss Makepeace chafes under the suffocating expectations of her family and society. Ordered to abandon her beloved engines for a 'woman's job' and pressured into a brutal marriage with the menacing Jake, Fliss feels trapped. But as the drums of war beat louder, she vows to serve King and Country rather than surrender to a life of quiet torment. Joining the ATS offers Fliss not just a uniform, but freedom. Yet, a chance encounter with the formidable Major Stapleton propels her into an even deeper secret...

Little Lorna Bell is from a notorious family on a rundown estate. Everyone thinks she's a nasty piece of work. The schoolchildren call her a thief. But Lorna's hair is matted, her shoes pinch her feet, and school teacher Claire Penny can't help herself; some kids just need a bit more support, a bit more love, than the rest. As the bond between teacher and pupil grows stronger, Claire sees Lorna's bruises, and digs to uncover the disturbing tale behind them. Heartbroken, Claire knows she has to act. She must make Lorna safe.

Sara made one promise to herself when she was growing up in foster care: that if she was lucky enough to have a family, she’d always do whatever it took to protect them. Looking around her home with its cozy kitchen and living room, where her energetic teenage daughters and gorgeous 4-year-old son all eat, play and live together, she knows she’d do anything to keep them safe. So when Sara’s husband Matt loses his job and every shred of his confidence with it, she knows it’s up to her to bring the family back from the brink.

To everyone who knows them, Louisa and Tom are the perfect couple. They have two beautiful kids, Stan and Flo, and are about to celebrate ten years of being happily married. Life is perfect. But when Lou is dealt devastating news, that perfect life is turned upside down and Lou and Tom must reevaluate the very foundations their marriage is built on. Lou’s main concern is who will look after her children if she’s not there to care for them? Will anyone be able to love them like she does?

Do you believe in love at first sight? Holly does, in spite of everything that’s happened in her life. Sometimes the thought that her soulmate is out there is the only thing that keeps her going. Then she hears her favourite song being played in a train station. She’s drawn to where the sound is coming from, as if by a magnetic force. There is a handsome young man sitting at the piano, who smiles at her, and she feels that spark she’s always dreamt of. She asks if she can join him, and sings along, seeing his face light up.

He was there for her first steps. He helped with her homework. And then, two days before her ninth birthday, Martha’s father walked out. She never knew what went wrong, but she and her mother, Fran, never saw or heard from him again. Fifteen years later, Martha and Fran live in a remote, pretty cottage in Cornwall. Fran paints illustrations for children’s books, while Martha trains as an animal nurse at the local vet’s surgery. But then Martha sees a strange message on her mother’s phone - from her father. Desperate for answers, she tracks him down.

Constance Hughes has always felt on the outside, never quite good enough, always doubting herself. So when she is asked to participate in a dangerous undercover mission to help the war effort, Connie is fearful – what if she fails and lets her friends – and country - down? A fluent linguist, Connie is perfect for the task ahead, but it means being dropped into France – currently under German occupation. Getting there is dangerous, the mission fraught, and if Connie is captured, it will mean certain death. But determined to do her duty, she agrees.

A young readers' edition of an important and inspiring true story of hope and survival during World War II. Fourteen-year-old Lisa Jura was a musical prodigy who hoped to become a concert pianist. But when Hitler's armies advanced on pre-war Vienna, Lisa's parents were forced to make a difficult...

Thomas Clark is a wealthy aristocrat. Sandy Price was the girl next door. They grew up spending their summer holidays on the same country estate, but Sandy couldn't stand Thomas and he hasn't crossed her mind since. Years later, an unexpected turn of events brings Thomas back into her life. At the reading of his grandfather's will, Thomas is set to inherit everything on one condition: he marries Sandy Price - otherwise the entire estate will go to charity. Thomas must find a way to make this happen.

Frankie Turner knows what it's like to be unwanted; she was brought up in care. Now as a social worker to kids in the same system, she’s someone who understands ... But Frankie is hiding an unthinkable secret: one that may have its roots in the murder of a young, beautiful woman fifteen years ago.

London, the 1720s. Welcome to Romeville, the underworld of that great city. The financial crash caused by the South Sea Bubble sees the rise of Jonathan Wild, self-styled Thief-taker General who purports to keep the peace while brutally controlling organised crime. Only two people truly defy him: Jack Sheppard, apprentice turned house-breaker, and his lover, the notorious whore and pickpocket Edgworth Bess.