Showing results by narrator "Annie Aldington" in All Categories

When the Bexleyheath branch of F. W. Woolworths is bombed, Annie must help save her fellow staff members. Thankfully uninjured, she is moved to the Erith store, where she soon finds her feet. But a tragedy close to home is another stark reminder that life can turn on a sixpence. When Annie meets Dean, an American soldier who promises to care for her and her family, she has more than just the end of the war to celebrate. With wedding bells and a new life in America beckoning, great change lies ahead.

Seventeen-year-old Elise Bouchard has always called Northern France home. But when her English father, Sidney Cooper, is captured by the Nazis, her world is shattered. Fearing for her safety, Elise is forced to abandon the only life she has ever known - her beloved grandmother, her brother fighting in the Resistance, and the comfort of her maternal homeland. With the help of Nathan Hawkes, a British soldier, she escapes from Dunkirk on a small boat, seeking sanctuary across the Channel where unknown family ties are her only hope.

Now that Molly Dawson's family have grown up and left home, she has every reason to expect that her life on the Woodchurch Manor estate with her husband, head gardener Charlie, will settle into happy contentment. It seems, though, that her estranged half-sister, Harriet, has other ideas. When the secret Molly has kept for more than 25 years is revealed in front of her whole family, Molly's relationship with her son and her husband begins to crumble. And when she takes a trip away from home to allow things to settle, Harriet steps in - with devastating consequences.

It's 1959, and Boots Adams and his wife, Polly, are at their favourite Camberwell pub when they witness with horror a sudden and vicious attack on the barman, Joe, by a knife-wielding thug. Is this a sign of the times? Is contempt for old traditions and enthusiasm for everything new and fashionable going to threaten the Adams family and their easy-going existence? While Gemma is courted by one of the young men who works for her father, her twin brother, James, finds himself affected by his girlfriend's intriguing family secrets.

Times move on for the Adams family in South London, and as business prospers, there are new worries to deal with. A young woman arrives who is intent on ruining Sammy Adams' winter fashion show, and Sammy must deal with her unwelcome attention. Boots has to find a solution when one of his female employees tells him about a sinister visitor, but he doesn't realise that his family are being observed.

Banished from her father's home, wheelchair-bound Esther Kerral is horrified when he forces her into an arranged marriage with Morgan Cosmore, the son of a local factory owner. Both fathers hope the union will save their ailing businesses; little do they know that each is as bankrupt as the other. Poor Esther must struggle as best she can not only to survive a loveless marriage, but also to build up a business of her own in a man's world.

Victory Girls is the sixth poignant saga in Helen Carey's much-loved Lavender Road series, set in south London during the Second World War. Not to be missed by fans of Katie Flynn, Annie Murray and Lilian Harry. August 1944. Allied troops are fighting their way across Europe. But rocket attacks on London are a chilling reminder that the war is far from over. Helen knows all too well how dangerous it is in war-torn France. But it's a long time since she heard from her French fiancé, Andre, and nothing is going to stop her going back to track him down before he is lost to her forever.

Random House presents the audiobook edition of The Sisters of Battle Road by J. M. Maloney, read by Annie Aldington. In 1939, Annie Jarman and her six young daughters were evacuated from their South London home and sent to the Sussex countryside to wait out the war. Little did they know what was in store for them or how their lives would change.

If you live for your family, would you die for your family? The third novel in the compulsive Mitchells and O'Haras trilogy. Life is looking bleak for Frankie Mitchell. Not only has she lost custody of her two children to their sadistic father, gypsy Jed O'Hara, she is also pregnant and banged up in Holloway awaiting trial for attempted murder. In Frankie's absence, her father, underworld boss Eddie Mitchell, is determined to get his own back.

Maureen Hutton's life has never been easy. Married to an alcoholic and stuck on a council estate in East London, she scrimps and saves to bring up her three children alone. Murder, the underworld, drug addiction - over four decades Maureen sticks by her blood through thick and thin. But then the unforgivable happens. Maureen is told a terrible secret which threatens to rip her family apart. She can't say anything. She is too frightened of causing a bloodbath.

Carla Scofield has looked after her family since she was a teenager, but it's never been a bother because there isn't anything she wouldn't do for those closest to her. Warm, friendly, and with the ability to make everyone around her laugh, she carries her burden proudly. As the years roll past, Carla sees life around her change dramatically. Wartime brings new challenges and a new job for Carla in a sewing factory, and she shines.

When Sadie Wise strikes up a seemingly innocent conversation with a stranger on a train, the only thing on her mind is finding her husband, Eddie, and making him sign their divorce papers. She tells Mona that Eddie has been avoiding her for years, but now Sadie knows where he is she can finally be free from him. In Sadie's mind it's a throwaway moment. In Mona's mind Sadie is asking Mona to do something very dangerous for her.

The Lennicker sisters live in a cottage nestled amongst the counting houses, shops and inns, where the smugglers plot and the seamen drink. When their father – a fisherman and smuggler – is murdered by a rival gang, the eldest daughter, Louisa, is forced to carve out a living by trading illegally in French lace. She will do anything to keep a roof over her sisters’ heads, but what she truly desires is a way of wreaking revenge. With the threat of Napoleon approaching Britain’s shores, the stakes couldn’t be higher.

Lavender Road boasts a pawnbroker, a pub, two rows of terraced working class homes and, at one end, the big house owned by the local brewer. When war breaks out, the lives and fortunes of the families who live in Lavender Road are changed out of all recognition. For Joyce, it means a struggle to keep food on the family table; for Jen it may mean the end of her dream to become an actress; and for Pam, there is the sickening seesaw of emotions as she fights attraction to her handsome lodger and a growing distance from a husband who is judged not fit to enlist.

Essex, 1916. Lily is a housemaid up at St Clere's Hall. But times are changing with the outbreak of war. With a husband bent on signing up for the trenches and a lecherous master of the house, Lily is forced to leave. Doing her bit for the war effort - and bringing in more money for the family - Lily goes to work in a factory making explosives to send to the trenches. It's a hard job. The munitionettes must face terrible working conditions, the constant danger of accidents and air strikes and a patronising, self-serving boss.

Sean O'Donnell, small-time villain and loyal family man, walked out on his family nineteen years ago and hasn't been heard of since. Now his daughter Iris has returned to the East End in the hope of finding out what happened. But it isn't going to be easy. Everyone close to Iris, including her mother, seems intent on keeping the truth hidden. With the rest of her life in a mess, Iris struggles to make sense of her murky family history. But a chance meeting with the mysterious Guy Wilder changes everything.

Like a princess in a fairytale, Grace Hamilton has been showered with blessings: professional success, a happy marriage, and she even lives in a beautiful castle. But the only thing she really wants – her heart’s desire – is the one thing she can never have. Her sister, the beautiful Susannah, has made a mess of her life. Like a reverse Midas, everything she touches turns sour. But fate puts Grace’s future in Susannah’s hands, changing the balance of power between the sisters forever.

With his once thriving casino business now in ruins, Seb Stoker is certain about two things: One – he will rebuild bigger and better than ever. And two – someone will pay for torching his club. But until that day comes, Seb has bigger things to worry about and a business deal that could make or break them all. Sam Reynold knows Seb is out for revenge, and she’ll do anything she can to help him. But Sam has her own enemies and battles to fight – ones much closer to home. With pressure mounting for both of them, tensions run high.

1813. Haunted by her father's death and tired of watching her mother struggle, Meg Marsh will do anything to keep a roof over her family's head. Even if that means getting involved in a dangerous smuggling operation. When Meg catches the eye of a dashing gentleman above her station, things start to look up, and she can't help but start dreaming of a life away from the shingle and boats of Castle Bay. Blinded by flattery and coin, Meg can't see the danger on the horizon - and the cost just might be her life.

Clara Fitzroy refuses to conform to convention. Her reckless behaviour has devastating consequences and an ill-judged liaison threatens to destroy everything she's hoped for. Clara has to make a decision that will change her life. Will she make the right one? She asks Daisy Carter, the hotel housekeeper, for help, but Daisy has problems of her own. A family relationship brings grief and heartache and a well meaning action ends in disaster. A life-changing moment, a heartbreaking choice.