Showing titles in Genre Fiction

The Duke's Children is the sixth and final audiobook in the Palliser series. Plantagenet Palliser, the Duke of Omnium and former Prime Minister of England, is widowed and wracked by grief. Struggling to adapt to life without his beloved Lady Glencora, he works hard to guide and support his three adult children. Palliser soon discovers, however, that his own plans for them are very different from their desires. Sent down from university in disgrace, his two sons quickly begin to run up gambling debts.

When Emily Mattison falls victim to a near-fatal accident shortly after receiving an unexpected inheritance from a distant cousin, her ruthless nephew George seizes the opportunity to take control of his aunt's assets. It's only when Emily reaches The Drover's Hope, the former pub on the edge of the Lancashire moors bequeathed to her by her late cousin Penelope, that she begins to feel safe. She also discovers that love can be found in the most unexpected places. But it's not so easy to escape the clutches of someone as determined as George.

Sir James Harrison was one of the greatest actors of his generation. But, when he passes away at the age of ninety-five, he leaves behind more than just a heartbroken family. He leaves a secret so shocking, so devastating that it could rock the English establishment to its very core. Joanna Haslam is an ambitious young journalist, assigned to cover the legendary actor’s funeral. The great and the good of the celebrity world are there. But Joanna stumbles on something dark beneath the glamour: the mention of a letter Sir James left behind.

Patrick Hamilton is renowned for his gritty, slice-of-life tales chronicling the hopes, dreams and obsessions of London's working class in the inter-war years. This collection brings together his key pieces, together with some lesser-known classics and a bonus 2004 documentary exploring his achievements and legacy.

When Stella is dumped at summer camp while her mum goes off on a posh honeymoon, things start badly. In the first few minutes she's mistaken for a boy and put in a room with snobby Louise and nasty Karen. Then she finds out she'll have to take dreaded swimming lessons, the one thing mum promised she wouldn't have to do. Can things get any worse?

Yeongdo, Korea - 1911. In a small fishing village on the banks of the East Sea, a club-footed, cleft-lipped man marries a 15-year-old girl. The couple have one child: their beloved daughter, Sunja. When Sunja falls pregnant by a married yakuza, the family face ruin. But then, Isak, a Christian minister, offers her a chance of salvation: a new life in Japan as his wife. Following a man she barely knows to a hostile country in which she has no friends and no home, and whose language she cannot speak, Sunja's salvation is just the beginning of her story.

Here starts an adventure that will span lifetimes and worlds. Discover where the story begins. Raymond E. Feist is an internationally best-selling author. My name is Pug. I was once an orphaned kitchen boy, with no family and no prospects, but I am destined to become a master magician…War is coming to the Kingdom of the Isles from another world, bringing with it chaos and destruction.

Thirty-year-old Eve Sharland is browsing a Pennsylvania antique store when she discovers an old brass lantern tucked away on a shelf. She picks it up and sees something behind one of the sooty glass panes. To her surprise, she finds an unopened letter stuck inside. The letter is postmarked December 24, 1885, and it is addressed to Evelyn Sharland in New York City. Eve gasps and drops the letter. That's her name!

In Monte Guano, a ridiculously small and penniless principality in Renaissance Italy, Prince Ludovico II finds his rule constantly undermined by those around him: his shrewd wife, his official mistress and his three disappointing—if not outright humiliating—sons. As well as having to manage the ever-increasing tributes demanded by the Pope, Prince Ludovico must also contend with feeble conscripts in search of war booty, getting on the pilgrim map, fake currency, religious battles and worst of all, English tourists.

Summer, 1545. England is at war. Henry VIII's invasion of France has gone badly wrong, and a massive French fleet is preparing to sail across the Channel . . .Meanwhile, Matthew Shardlake is given an intriguing legal case by an old servant of Queen Catherine Parr. Asked to investigate claims of ‘monstrous wrongs' committed against his young ward, Hugh Curteys, by Sir Nicholas Hobbey, Shardlake and his assistant Barak journey to Portsmouth.

Back in the long ago '90s, Rachel Walsh was a mess. But a spell in rehab transformed everything. Life became very good, very quickly. These days, Rachel has love, family, a great job as an addiction counsellor, she even gardens. Her only bad habit is a fondness for expensive trainers. But with the sudden reappearance of a man she'd once loved, her life wobbles. She'd thought she was settled. Fixed forever. Is she about to discover that no matter what our age everything can change? Is it time to think again, Rachel?

Benedict Cumberbatch plays the young, feisty, devastatingly acute Horace Rumpole in this collection of cracking cases, also starring Timothy West as the older Rumpole. Rumpole and the Penge Bungalow Murders: It is the '50s, and two war heroes have been shot dead. Defending the suspect is deemed hopeless, so the case is handed to a novice. But the novice's superiors didn't count on the tenacity and wit of the young and hungry Horace Rumpole.

A feelgood Christmas love story set in a gorgeous country village, perfect for fans of Milly Johnson and Heidi Swain. Previously published as "A Way Back Home". After recent heartbreak, Skye Jackson is homeless and on the road with only a classic Airstream trailer to her name. A surprise inheritance of a rundown little lodge in the grounds of beautiful Willow Tree Hall forces her to change her plans. The only problem is that the lodge is co-owned by care-free playboy Will Harris, currently in hiding after a recent tabloid scandal.

Julia Hollis’ opulent life in Victorian London crashes to pieces when her husband passes away. Worse, she is told by his bankers that he gambled away their fortune. Now the family’s hope rests on The Larkspur, an old abandoned coaching inn in the quaint village of Gresham. Driven by dread and her desire to provide for her children, Julia decides to turn the dilapidated inn into a lodging house. But can she - who was accustomed to servants attending to every need - do what needs to be done and cope when boarders begin arriving?

Suave, unflappable and ambitious, veteran politician Charles Bannister knows his way around the corridors of power. As chief whip, he's adept at keeping MPs in line and squashing potential scandals—aided by his brother-in-law, MI6 Agent Henry Colvil, who whispers useful titbits of information in his ear. His position seems invincible—but nothing is forever, and when the tides of politics turn, Charles finds himself under threat. In these six series, we follow his fortunes and those of his close friend Home Secretary Dougal Baxter. Together, the duo rise, fall and rise again.

Sheila O'Rourke has always known her husband isn't perfect. Who is? But things have been better since they moved to Seattle to make a fresh start. So much so that when 16-year-old Eden turns up, claiming to be Dylan's child by another woman, Sheila tries to be welcoming.

Shasa Courtney, heir to the Courtney fortunes, dreams only of uniting his divided, beloved country. Against all his principles, he allows his half brother Manfred to persuade him to join South Africa's right-wing National Party, hoping to moderate from within their dangerous policies of apartheid. But Shasa's wife is working against everything he's working for while Manfred has deadly secrets he cannot afford to be revealed, either to his family or the public who are on the brink of war.

The Naughtiest Girl Keeps a Secret: Elizabeth intends never to be naughty again. But when John entrusts her with his secret, the naughtiest girl finds herself in deeper trouble than ever.... The Naughtiest Girl Helps a Friend: How can the naughtiest girl be good at camp with horrible Arabella in the very same tent? Especially when she's busy stirring up trouble for Elizabeth's best friend, Joan.

North America’s French and Indian War may be over, but at the end of 1760 the wider Seven Years War is still raging in Europe and across the seas of the world. Nevertheless, the New England merchants are growing restless at the restrictions on their trade with the French islands, and one Rhode Island company is determined to defy the law and bring home a cargo of contraband molasses.

Form-defining short stories. First published in 1914, James Joyce defined what the short story could be with his collection The Dubliners. A mixture of prose and poetry, each story can be listened to independently, or as a collection. From childhood to maturity, we see what life - and ultimately death - can be, via an extraordinary cast of characters, all of whom experience an epiphany. There’s Father Flynn, the priest; Evelyn, the shop girl who dreams of escape; Mrs Mooney, the butcher’s daughter, who runs a boarding house.