Showing results by narrator "Madeleine Leslay" in All Categories

From the bustling streets of post-Great War London to the idyllic 1920s Sussex countryside, this is a breathtaking story of passion and persistence from a phenomenal Australian storyteller about how true love can overcome incredible odds, even in the most extraordinary circumstances. A humble soldier, known only as "Jones", wakes in hospital with no recollection of his past. The few fleeting fragments of memory he glimpses are horrifying moments from the battlefield at Ypres.

This bundle includes four Wedded by Scandal standalone romances that can be listened to in any order.

It all started with just one dance.... Stella Myles is forced to make ends meet by selling herself as a dance partner in a Piccadilly ballroom. Here she meets the enigmatic Montgomery, who orchestrates a job for her as governess with the wealthy Ainsworth family at Harp's End, Sussex. But at Harp's End nothing is as straightforward as it first seems.

Lavender farmer Luc Bonet is raised by a wealthy Jewish family in the foothills of the French Alps. When the Second World War breaks out, he joins the French Resistance, leaving behind his family's fortune, their home overrun by soldiers, their lavender fields in disarray. Lisette Forestier is on a mission of her own: to work her way into the heart of a senior German officer - and to bring down the Reich in any way she can.

Postwar Paris is alive with optimism, but lavender keeper Luc Ravens and his love, Lisette, remain haunted by the horrors they have endured. Casting their fate to the winds, they set sail for Australia, hoping to rebuild their lives in a land that's full of promise. But trouble has a way of catching up with them.

Ever since a faerie cursed her, Theodora Ettings has had no sense of fear, embarrassment or even happiness - a condition which makes her sadly prone to accidental scandal. Dora's only goal for the London Season this year is to stay quiet and avoid upsetting her cousin's chances at a husband. But when the Lord Sorcier of England learns of her condition, she finds herself drawn ever more deeply into the tumultuous concerns of magicians and faeries.

A breathtaking tale of heartbreak and heroism, love and longing by a powerhouse Australian storyteller. 'Love comes out of nowhere for most of us, when we least expect it.' Amidst the carnage of Gallipoli, British nurse Claire Nightingale meets Australian Light Horseman Jamie Wren. Despite all odds, they fall deeply in love. Their flame burns bright and carries them through their darkest hours, even when war tears them apart.

Starring a cast of wonderful characters, both old favourites and new, this is the fifth fabulous Hetty Feather story. Hetty Feather has begun a new chapter in her life story. Escaping from Tanglefield’s Travelling Circus with her dearest friend, Diamond, Hetty is determined to find them positions as glamorous music hall artistes. Hetty and Diamond quickly become the Little Stars of Mrs Ruby’s show, alongside many colourful acts - including an old friend from Hetty’s past, Flirty Bertie.

The highly anticipated new blockbuster from the best-selling author of The Lavender Keeper and The Last Dance. On the eve of the First World War, Fleurette, the only daughter of the wealthy Delacroix perfume dynasty, is being forced to marry a man she loathes, Aimery De Lasset, head of the preeminent perfume manufacturer in France. It is only the cathedral bells tolling the rally to the front lines on her wedding night that save her from sharing his bed.

England, 1817. Miss Adeline Hays is out of options. Determined to escape marriage to a repugnant earl, Adeline plans to deliberately allow herself to be caught in a compromising position at a house party with the much kinder man she’d hoped to marry. Instead, Adeline accidentally enters the wrong chamber and tumbles into the bed of the mad duke. Edmond Rochester, the duke of Wolverton, is seeking a wife to care for his two daughters.

The marriageable young ladies of London are dying mysteriously, and Abigail Wilder intends to discover why. Abigail's father, the Lord Sorcier of England, believes that a dark lord of faerie is involved—but while Abigail is willing to match her magic against Lord Longshadow, neither her father nor high society believe that she is capable of doing so. Thankfully, Abigail is not the only one investigating the terrible events in London. 

Effie has most inconveniently fallen in love with the dashing Mr Benedict Ashbrooke. There's only one problem: Effie is a housemaid, and a housemaid cannot marry a gentleman. It seems that Effie is out of luck until she stumbles into the faerie realm of Lord Blackthorn, who is only too eager to help Effie win Mr Ashbrooke's heart. All he asks in return is that Effie sew ten thousand stitches onto his favourite jacket.

1568. Mary Queen of Scots, fleeing rebellion in her kingdom, is offered a safe haven by Elizabeth I with George Talbot, Earl of Shrewsbury, and his indomitable wife, Bess of Hardwick. The arrival of an extravagent queen turns the household upside down, as it becomes clear that the visit is a house arrest. Queen Mary makes Bess’ hard-won house a centre for unrest and treason, and - perhaps worst of all - Mary Queen of Scots’ fabled beauty starts to work on the Tudor loyalist, Bess’ own husband, George.   

From haute couture to haberdashery, and 'deviant' dress to Dior, Elizabeth Wilson traces the social and cultural history of fashion and its complex relationship to modernity. From the 'dress reform' movement to certain strands of feminism, Wilson delights in the power of fashion to mark out identity - or subvert it.

Tina is a triplet, but she's always been the odd one out. Her sisters, Phil and Maddie, are bigger and stronger and better at just about everything. Luckily they look after teeny-tiny Tina wherever they go--but when the girls start in scary, super-strict Miss Lovejoy's class, they're split up, and Tina has to fend for herself for the first time. Tina is horrified when she's paired up with angry bully Selma, with whom nobody wants to be friends.

Katy Carr is a lively, daredevil oldest sister in a big family. She loves messing around outdoors, climbing on the garage roof or up a tree, cycling, skateboarding, swinging.... But her life changes in dramatic and unexpected ways after a serious accident. Inspired by the classic novel What Katy Did, Jacqueline Wilson creates an irresistible 21st-century heroine. Fans of Hetty Feather and Tracy Beaker will fall in love with Katy and her family too.

Lady Evie Chesterfield is a darling of the ton who refuses to become engaged. She's been desperately in love with her brother's friend, Richard Maitland, Marquess of Westfall, since forever. But the dark, dangerous marquess only sees her as a friend and refuses to marry any woman. When circumstances change and Evie has no choice but to take a husband, she decides to convince London's most notorious gentleman to marry her by seducing the scoundrel.

Tobias Walcott, the Earl of Blade, has learned it is best to exercise rigid control over his passions and emotions in all that he does. Uncaring that it makes him seem cool and aloof to most in the ton, he is content with his desire to only woo agreeable and demur females. Then, unforeseen circumstances see him trapped in a closet at a house party with the last woman he would ever make his countess.

Opal Plumstead might be plain, but she has always been fiercely intelligent. Yet her scholarship and dreams of university are snatched away when her father is sent to prison, and 14-year-old Opal must start work at the Fairy Glen sweet factory to support her family. Opal struggles to get along with the other workers, who think her snobby and stuck-up. But Opal idolises Mrs Roberts, the factory's beautiful, dignified owner, who introduces Opal to the legendary Mrs Pankhurst and her fellow Suffragettes.

England, 1255: Sarah is only 17 when she chooses to become an anchoress, a holy woman shut away in a small cell, measuring seven paces by nine, at the side of the village church. Fleeing the grief of losing a much-loved sister in childbirth and the pressure to marry, she decides to renounce the world, with all its dangers, desires, and temptations, and to commit herself to a life of prayer and service to God.