Showing results by narrator "Wren" in All Categories

After the Battle of Waterloo and the subsequent Army of Occupation in France, the Earl of Monthurst returns to his ancestral home in England to find it in a very bad condition. Because labour had not been available during the war, The Hall, which goes back to Tudor times, was badly in need of repair, while the farms on his extensive estate were untenanted and the fields unploughed. The Earl had unwisely brought back with him a French Comtesse who was very beautiful and possessive and was obviously determined that he should marry her.

The once impoverished medical student Agnes Glock is now the fabulously wealthy Mrs Mulberry. Her estate in the mountains is magnificent, a haven for those too ravaged by the Great War to cope with the society that first condemned them to battle and which now shuns them. The War has, however, stolen Agnes's chance to graduate as a doctor, as well as the fiance she adored. Her husband, Douglas Mulberry, remains shellshocked and unable to speak. Their scandalous marriage is a farce, an act of kindness to keep Douglas's fortune from his uncle's grasp.

In Sam Bloom, Sam tells her own story for the first time - how a shy but determined Australian girl became a nurse and travelled across Africa. How she fell in love with a like-minded free spirit, raised three boys and built a life together on Sydney's Northern Beaches. And then, in a single horrific moment, how everything changed.

Herstory, History's sister, has sent Ming all through history to meet girls who have changed the world. But now, Herstory promises to show Ming something of her own past: her long-lost mother. So when Ming washes up on the shores of Nantucket Island in 1836, she is confused. She is saved by the elderly Mrs Sloe and wealthy Miss Reynolds, but there is no sign of a woman who could be her mother.

Herstory, History's sister, has sent Ming all through history to meet girls who have changed the world. But now, Herstory promises to show Ming something of her own past: her long-lost mother. So when Ming washes up on the shores of Nantucket Island in 1836, she is confused. She is saved by the elderly Mrs Sloe and wealthy Miss Reynolds, but there is no sign of a woman who could be her mother.

It's 1972 in Gibber's Creek, and across the nation, the catchcry is "It's time". As political ideals drift from disaster to the dismissal, it's also time for Jed Kelly to choose between past love, Nicholas, the local Labor member, and Sam from the Halfway to Eternity commune. It's time, too, for Matilda Thompson to face her ghosts and the life that took a young girl from the slums of Grinder's Alley to being the formidable matriarch of Gibber's Creek. During this period of extraordinary social change and idealism, modern Australia would be born.

The Earl of Wentworth has a fiery and unpredictable temper and is about to fight a duel in Hyde Park with a Frenchman who has insulted him, when he is restrained by his friend, Sir Thomas Babbington, and a helpful Policeman. At the same time the beautiful Temia Brandon is returning home from her Finishing School in France and is longing to see her horse, Lightning, again. Temia discovers that her father has been hiding a dark secret for many years and is now being blackmailed by the odious Lord Alphonse who threatens to reveal the secret and ruin the family’s reputation.

Twelve-year-old Ming Qong is convinced that girls must have changed the world, even if they are rarely mentioned in history books. So when Ming gets the chance to go back in time, she imagines herself changing destinies from a glittering palace or an explorer's ship. Instead, she ends up in Australia in 1898, living a tough life as Flo Watson on a drought-stricken farm.

The beautiful Martina Bradshaw has sadly lost both her beloved father and her loving mother. They live in the little Kent village of Preston Bailey where her father, a talented musician, had written his music, which had never been successful with the public. Now Martina has to find a way of making money to pay her household of Mrs.

Blue Laurence has escaped the prison of her aunt's mansion to join the Magnifico Family Circus, a travelling troupe that brings glamour and laughter to country towns gripped by the Depression. Blue hides her crippled legs and scars behind the sparkle of a mermaid's costume; but she's not the only member of the circus hiding a dark secret. The unquenchable Madame Zlosky creates as well as foresees futures. The bearded lady is a young man with laughing eyes. A headless skeleton dangles in the House of Horrors. And somewhere a murderer is waiting...to strike again.

Twenty-five-year-old Claire Shorten had looked forward to spending a romantic weekend in Paris for as long as she could remember, and now it was here - three blissful days of strolling through cobbled streets arm in arm with her beloved, eating copious amounts of baked goods and soaking up the culture through each and every pore of her body. Well, at least that was how she'd pictured it.... Even after her boyfriend dumps her in the most romantic place on earth, Claire is determined not to give up on her dream.

Georgie, Kia, Micki and Ace are thrown together at an elite girls' surfing camp. They're not friends straight away - there's jealousy, insecurity, secrets and lies to deal with first. Yet they soon realize that they need to stick together, because their friendship brings out the best in each of them. But will they all make the grade?

Wry, moving, beautifully observed and politically astute, this latest audiobook from one of New Zealand's finest chroniclers pinpoints universal truths through very NZ lives. Life isn't always like it appears in the movies. In 1952 Irene Sandle takes her young daughter to Motueka. Irene was widowed during the war and is seeking a new start and employment in the tobacco fields. There, she finds the reality of her life far removed from the glamour of the screen.

Sarah Williams is a spirited, independent Aussie who has always dreamed of New York City. So when a job opportunity arises to become an au pair for a successful businessman in the heart of Manhattan, Sarah jumps at the chance to follow her dream. What she didn't bet on was a beautiful newborn and a distant, abrasive man whose eyes hold a million secrets. Determined to care for his daughter and face the challenges of the impossible Ben Worthington, Sarah is prepared to follow her heart.

With the help of Rondo's seven best witches and wizards, their friends have made plans to combat attacks of the Blue Queen. But it soon becomes clear that defence is no longer enough. The queen has a dragon on her side, and is plotting a terrible revenge on all those who have defied her.

Twelve years ago budding journalist Geneva Leighton received a phone call that stopped her life in its tracks. Her terrified sister, Amber, was locked in the boot of a moving car and begging Geneva for help. Amber was never heard from again. Since that night, Geneva's days have revolved around caring for her traumatised niece and nephew, despite the unpredictable behaviour of their father ... and keeping the search for her sister alive. But the knowledge it should have been her in the boot of that car haunts her waking hours.

Every 20 years, there are a handful of unexplained teenage deaths and it’s started again. With the help of his straight-talking friend Melody, they set out to get to the bottom of the alleged curse. Everybody in Black Rock has secrets and nobody wants to speak.

It's that time again ... time to indulge in a spot of jealousy, betrayal and late-night bar-hopping. Everyone's back from a week of après-ski hot tub fun in Sun Valley, and cream coloured envelopes from the Ivy League are beginning to drop all over Fifth Avenue doorsteps.

Makedde Vanderwall is one of Australia's most-loved crime characters, and Mak's fans are eagerly awaiting her latest escapades. Mak Vanderwall - beautiful, street-wise daughter of a cop, graduate in forensic psychology, and now PI - is hired by a widowed mother to track down her missing 19-year-old son. Has he come to harm? Or has he run off with a bizarre troupe of shady French cabaret artists sweeping through Australia?

Second title in a super-cool new series in the best-selling style of Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants. The pressure builds for Kia, Georgie, Micki and Ace in the sequel to the acclaimed Starfish Sisters. 'Starfish who surf together stick together.' It was Ace who wrote that in Kia, Georgie and Micki's blue booklets on the last day of camp. Yet it's Ace who's ended up ruining everything - ending the Starfish Sisters before they've even begun. How are they going to get back together?