Showing results by narrator "Stewart Crank" in All Categories

In 1986, the legendary fell runner Joss Naylor completed a continuous circuit of all 214 Wainwright fells in the Lake District, covering a staggering distance of over 300 miles - plus many thousands of metres of ascent - in only seven days and one hour. Those in the know thought that this record would never be beaten. It is the ultimate British ultramarathon. The person taking on this superhuman challenge would have to be willing to push harder and suffer more than ever before. There Is No Map in Hell tells the story of a man willing to do just that.

Everyone has dreamed of being able to get a new brother or sister at one time or another - but for Jonny, the dream is about to become a reality with siblingswap.com! What could be better than someone awesome to replace Ted, Jonny's annoying older brother? But being matched to the perfect brother isn't easy, as Jonny discovers when Sibling Swap sends him a line of increasingly bizarre replacements: first a merboy, then a child raised by meerkats, even a ghost. What's coming next?! Suddenly Ted isn't looking so bad, but can Jonny ever get him back?

The Ultimate James Joyce Collection comprises his works Ulysses, A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, and Dubliners, a collection of 15 short stories first published in 1914.

A Short History of England (1917) is Chesterton’s commentary on the philosophical, social, and religious history of England. The book focuses on those highlights that have shaped the nation, and is presented in the author’s customary wit. Having displayed strong Roman Catholic leanings at this time of his life, the author equates Anglicanism with atheism, but does commend the upliftment achieved by the Wesleyans. Chesterton views the story of England as the story of robber barons who became an aristocracy and who concealed their rise to power and hegemony through Parliament.

On 30 January, 1981 Joe Tasker and Ade Burgess stood at 24,000 feet on the west ridge of Mount Everest. Below them were their companions, some exhausted, some crippled by illness, all virtually incapacitated. Further progress seemed impossible. Everest the Cruel Way is Joe Tasker's story of an attempt to climb the highest mountain on earth - an attempt which pushed a group of Britain's finest mountaineers to their limits. The goal had been to climb Mount Everest at its hardest: via the infamous west ridge, without supplementary oxygen and in winter.

When Jerry Moffatt burst onto the scene as a brash 17-year-old, rock climbing had never seen anyone like him before. Fiercely ambitious, even as a boy Moffatt was focused on one thing: being the best in the world. This is the story of his meteoric rise to stardom and how he overcame injury to stay at the top for over two decades. Top sport climber, brilliant competitor, and a pioneer in the new game of bouldering, Moffatt's story is that of climbing itself in the last 30 years. Yet Jerry Moffatt is more than a dedicated athlete. 

George Brisbane Scott Douglas (1856-1935), the Scottish poet and writer, published the book Scottish Fairy and Folk Tales in 1901. The literary genres of the book include comic, literary, nursery, and animal stories plus fairy tales of mythic creatures like the brownies, bogles, kelpies, and mermaids. Classified, tabulated, and scientifically labelled, these imaginative narratives are related in vernacular language, and have a timeless appeal to adults and children alike. Amongst the most popular stories are "The Fox’s Stratagem", and "The Bee and the Mouse".

"It’s a preposterous plan. Still, if you do get up it, it’ll be the hardest thing that’s been done in the Himalayas." Thus spoke Chris Bonington when Peter Boardman and Joe Tasker presented him with their plan to tackle the unscaled West Wall of Changabang - the Shining Mountain - in 1976. Bonington’s was one of the more positive responses; most felt the climb impossibly hard, especially for a two-man, lightweight expedition.

Joe Tasker lies, struck down by illness, in a damp, bug-infested room in the Himalaya, wondering if he will be well enough to climb Dunagiri, his first venture to the "big" mountains. One of Britain’s foremost mountaineers and a pioneer of lightweight climbing, he is about to attempt one of the first true "Alpine-style" climbs in the Greater Ranges. The Dunagiri attempt forms part of Tasker’s striking tale of adventure in the savage arena of the mountains.

Being British isn’t easy. Especially if you live abroad, where your countrymen aren’t exactly famous for, well, blending in. As his beloved homeland goes Brexit bananas, best-selling humourist Paul Hawkins takes on Britishness - how it looks from the outside, how to be British abroad and what you only learn about home once you leave it. In this self-deprecating audiobook, he reveals the awkward secrets, cultural blind-spots and private oddness of the people with whom he once shared an island. 

Dubliners is a collection of 15 short stories by James Joyce, first published in 1914. They provide a portrait of Irish middle class life in and around Dublin in the early years of the 20th century. Each of the stories offers glimpses into the lives of ordinary Dubliners, and together they paint a portrait of a nation. Ireland was at a crossroads of history and culture at that time, pursuing a search for national identity and purpose. 

Daisy meets Adam on their first day of university. Immediately, they become friends. But when tongues wag and their relationship is questioned, Adam shares his secret with Daisy, who promises to stand by him. When their grandmother dies, Adam’s older brother Ryan returns from abroad, and Daisy quickly falls for him. After a troubled upbringing at the hands of a drunken mother and jailbird father, Adam and Ryan have only each other. In adulthood, their bond holds firm, glued together by Daisy with whom they are now both in love. 

In the autumn of 1982, a single stone fell from high on the south face of Annapurna and struck Alex MacIntyre on the head, killing him instantly and robbing the climbing world of one of its greatest talents. Although only 28 years old, Alex was already one of the leading figures of British mountaineering's most successful era. His ascents included hard new routes on Himalayan giants like Dhaulagiri and Changabang and a glittering record of firsts in the Alps and Andes.

The Last Blue Mountain is the heart-rending true story of the 1957 expedition to Mount Haramosh in the Karakoram range in Pakistan. With the summit beyond reach, four young climbers are about to return to camp. Their brief pause to enjoy the view and take photographs is interrupted by an avalanche which sweeps Bernard Jillott and John Emery hundreds of feet down the mountain into a snow basin. Rae Culbert and Tony Streather risk their own lives to rescue their friends, only to become stranded alongside them.

The Flying Inn is a satirical novel by G.K. Chesterton, first published in 1914. The story is set in a future England where a repressive ideology dominates the country’s political and social life. The narrative follows the adventures of Humphrey Pump and Captain Patrick Dalroy as they travel around the country in a donkey cart with a barrel of rum in order to evade prohibition. The two men spread good cheer wherever they go on their journey, which encounters romance, revolution, and a host of memorable characters.

Seila has been slaying demons for as long as she can remember. A Phantom, she travels the length and breadth of England in a quest to reclaim her humanity - and her soul. With her Sieken Blade, she cuts down the demons in her path to keep herself alive as she inches closer to freedom from her hunt.

The Inimitable Jeeves is a collection of Jeeves stories by P. G. Wodehouse, first published in 1923, under the title Jeeves.

A classic of modernist literature, Ulysses by the Irish writer James Joyce, was published in 1922. It chronicles a day in the life of Leopold Bloom, his friends Buck Mulligan and Stephen Dedalus, his wife, Molly, and a cast of supporting characters. The novel is loosely based on the hero of Homer's epic poem the Odyssey and establishes a set of correspondences between the characters and experiences of Bloom and Odysseus, Stephen Dedalus and Telemachus, Molly Bloom and Penelope.  

DCI Boaz Matthias isn't a Christmas person. He never has been. Not since he discovered the truth when he was seven. Christmas is a lie and a con, and nothing is ever going to change his mind. Being given a temporary six-week assignment isn't helping his mood either - as it means Christmas with the family. The only good thing is the accidental meeting of someone he thinks he could grow very fond of.

DC Zander Ellery isn't sure which he dislikes the most: New partners, rookie female officers, or cases he can't solve. Right now he has all three. DC Isabel York is fresh out of uniform and out of the proverbial frying pan into the fire, as her personal and professional lives clash with her first case - 10 stolen works of art. When a postcard arrives addressed to Isabel with a cryptic message on it, it's just the beginning. The mystery deepens as the first of the stolen paintings is found alongside a dead body.