Showing results by narrator "Antonia Whillans" in All Categories

In the quiet Dutch countryside, 15-year-old Sofie returns home from school to find two armed men in her home. One is holding his rifle to her father’s temple, and the other is ransacking her mother’s purse. Though the Nazis find no proof that the family is Jewish, Sofie knows they have to leave. Although they find safety in a neighbor’s attic, they cannot stay there forever. But a resistance has grown; the town has built a village in the woods to hide Jewish people, and the Nazis can't find it. When Sofie’s mother finds out that they have one space left, Sofie is told to go.

After her marriage falls apart, Ursula Quinn is offered the chance to spend the summer working at a hotel on a beautiful island off the coast of Sicily. Excited by a new adventure, she sets off at once. At Residenza dei Tringali, Ursula receives a warm welcome from everyone except Alfio, son of the Tringali family. He gave up his life in Barcelona to help his mother Agata with the ailing business, and is frustrated with Ursula’s interference – and she in turn is less than impressed with his attitude. As they spend more time together, though, they begin to see each other in a different light.

The recently rediscovered short story 'The Lost One', perfect for fans of Daphne du Maurier, Santa Montefiore and Anya Seton. First published in Woman's Journal in 1960, and set against the backdrop of unfenced country and dark winding valleys at night, the aptly named 'The Lost One' features The Wind off the Small Isles heroine Perdita West, who brings her characteristic pluck and courage to this classic Mary Stewart tale of suspense and intrigue....

Vanessa March's husband, Lewis, is meant to be on a business trip in Stockholm - so why does he briefly appear in newsreel footage of a fire at a circus in Vienna, with his arm around another woman? Vanessa flies to Austria to find her husband, inadvertently becoming involved in a mystery that spans three countries...and the famous dancing stallions of the Spanish Riding School. The moonlight flooded the meadow, blanching all colours to its own ghostly silver. The pines were very black.

Anne White looked away for only a second, but that’s all it took to lose sight of her young daughter. But seven years later, Abigail is found. And as Anne struggles to connect with her teenage daughter, she begins to question how much Abigail remembers about the day she disappeared.

A house with history. That's how the estate agent described the old toll house on the edge of the town. For Kelda, it's the perfect rural home for her young son Dylan after a difficult few years. But when Kelda finds a death mask concealed behind one of the walls, everything changes. Inexplicable things happen in the house, Kelda cannot shake the feeling of being watched and Dylan is plagued by nightmares, convinced he can see figures in his room. As Dylan's behaviour becomes increasingly challenging, Kelda seeks answers in the house's mysterious past. But she's running out of time.

Asha lives in the foothills of the Himalayas. She misses her papa who works in the city. When he suddenly stops sending his wages, a ruthless moneylender ransacks their home. Asha makes a pact with her best friend, Jeevan, to find her father. But the journey is dangerous: they must cross the world's highest mountains and face hunger, tiredness - even snow leopards. Yet Asha has the unshakeable sense that the spirit bird of her grandmother - her nanijee - will be watching over her.

A tiger escapes from the local zoo, padding through the ruined streets and onwards, to a ridge above the Balkan village of Galina. His nocturnal visits hold the villagers in a terrified thrall - but for one boy, the tiger is a thing of magic. Natalia is the granddaughter of that boy. Now a doctor, she is visiting orphanages in the war-torn Balkans when she receives word of her beloved grandfather's death, far from their home, in circumstances shrouded in mystery.

Nikki Grant is only twenty-one when she discovers she's pregnant. Despite her parents' disappointment and anger, she welcomes the news with joy. The baby will complete the happy home she shares with the man she adores, Spencer James. Baby Zac arrives and is perfect in every way. And with Spencer's career taking off they are ready to make the big move to London. And then, on a day like any other, Nikki suddenly finds her life turned upside down by tragedy.

Growing up poor but proud on the Dorset coast, Mary follows after her father, hunting for fossils of ancient creatures. Ignoring other's taunts, Mary faces danger to bring back valuable treasures to help feed her family. But tragedy and despair are never far away. Mary must depend upon her unique courage and knowledge to fulfil her dream of becoming a scientist, in a time when girls have no opportunities for such ambitions. What will happen when she makes her greatest discovery of all?

In a different world, Evie Milton would have accepted her fate, married an aristocrat and become the doyenne of one of England’s finest estates, just like her mother. In a different world, Rose Wiley would have married her fiancé, David, established a modest homestead and brought up a brood of babies, just like her mother. But this isn’t a different world, and these women are not their mothers. Rose dreams of a life filled with more than family and duty to her husband—a life of purpose—and Evie dreams of a life far away from her rarefied existence.

Emily Wilkinson has lost everything. Literally. In a hair-straightener fire. Oh, and her boyfriend (and boss) has announced he's going back to his wife. So, she needs a new job, a new plan, and somewhere to live that isn't her childhood bedroom. Charles Hunter is looking for a live-in PA to help run Bowford Manor and Emily thinks she's the perfect fit. Well, she's spent ten years propping up demanding men, so she can definitely handle some tricky characters—like Charles's eldest son and heir, who's got plans for the estate that might raise a few eyebrows.

Berlin, 1942. "All I know is we will survive this together," he says before kissing the tears away from my cheeks. But I know if the Nazis discover what we’ve done, how we’ve conspired against them, we will die together. Deaf since the age of five, Mina has had to fight for everything she has, including her place at an Austrian university to study physics. She has never felt accepted—until she meets fellow student Siggy, and her heart stops at the kindness in his bright blue eyes.

As a fussy baby, Anne was prescribed laudanum to quiet her and has been given the opium-heavy syrup ever since on account of her continuing ill health. While her mother is outraged when Darcy chooses not to marry Anne, as has been long planned, Anne can barely raise her head to acknowledge the fact. But little by little, she comes to see that what she has always been told is an affliction of nature might in fact be one of nurture - and one, therefore, that she can beat.

Berlin, 1950. When Hanni Winter shows her new husband the heartbreaking photos she captured during the war, his reaction is unexpected. His face white, Freddy can’t take his eyes off the photo of a young girl around four years old.

Amsterdam, 1616. Jana Beil has learned that life rarely provides moments of joy. Having run away from a violent father, her days are spent searching for work in an effort to stay out of the city brothels, where desperate women trade their bodies for a mouthful of bread. But when Jana is hired as a servant for the wealthy and kind Master Reynst and his beautiful daughter Sontje, Jana’s future begins to look brighter.

Fleur Stanthorpe, an Australian, arrives in Whitby to live out a dream after surviving cancer. She plans to rent a shop and open a bookshop café and experience the English way of life for the summer before returning home and settling down. Only, she hasn’t counted on meeting gorgeous Irishman Patrick Donnelly. Their attraction is instant, their goals a world apart. He’s looking for a solid relationship for the first time since his divorce five years ago, while she’s having her last fling at freedom before returning home to family and responsibilities.

It’s been years since Hanni fled her terrible past, but seeing Reiner Foss now brings back harrowing memories of the man they called "The Showman" and of the concentration camp he commanded. The last time she tried to expose him, Hanni almost died; can she dare to try again? Or should she seize the chance she sees in Tony’s sparkling eyes to leave the horrors of the war behind?

The neighbours all complain about the foxes, but Cassie thinks they're beautiful. Her favourite is a small fox with a white tail-tip, who she names Frost. One night she catches sight of him out in the snow, looking cold and thin, and decides to sneak him some food. But Frost seems to want her to follow him. As he leads Cassie towards the river, she feels the world change around her and finds herself in the back in the 17th century....

Berlin, 1939. Tears pouring down her cheeks, Rosa pushes through the crowds and thrusts the basket containing her darling newborn twins at the woman closing the door to the carriage. All she can say is please take them. Then she runs, praying the train will reach England safely…