Showing results by narrator "Karen Cass" in All Categories

Every queen had ladies-in-waiting. Her confidantes and chaperones, they are the forgotten agents of the Tudor court. Ever present and yet hidden behind the scenes, these women held the secrets and the hearts of some of the Tudor period's most powerful men and women. Experts at survival, negotiating the competing demands of their families and their queen, the ladies-in-waiting of Henry VIII's wives were far more than decorative 'extras': they were serious political players who changed the course of history, and four of them became queen themselves.

Live every day as if it were your last – that’s the motto Bess has lived by since her father died unexpectedly. As a critical care paramedic, Bess sees every day just how easily life can be taken away. But carefree living has risks, and as Bess’s debts mount, she discovers her actions could have terrible consequences.

Northern England, 2010. After a tragic accident upends her life, Kate Mercer leaves London to work at an old guest house near the Scottish border, where she hopes to find a fresh start and heal from her loss. When she arrives, she begins to unravel the truth about her past, but discovers the mysterious elderly proprietor is harbouring her own secrets…

How could anyone resist Michael Tennant, with his hypnotic blue eyes and voice like molten chocolate? Jessie Simmons certainly can’t. But Jessie’s a single mum who can’t sing to save her life – there’s no way she’ll ever cross paths with the star tenor. At least that’s what she thinks until she’s unexpectedly invited to take part in a new reality TV show.

From relics of Georgian empire-building and slave-trading, through Victorian London's barged-out refuse to 1980s fly-tipping and the pervasiveness of present-day plastics, Rag and Bone traces the story of our rubbish, and through it, our history of consumption.

Pretending to be her boss’ mistress is one thing - but now everyone in the office thinks Harriet is Matthew Cole’s fiancée. Harriet has to keep reminding herself it’s all just for convenience - but how far is Matthew prepared to go with the arrangement?

How to Have a Happy Hustle shares the secrets of innovation experts and startup founders to help you make your ideas happen. If you’re looking for fulfillment outside the day job, have an idea but don’t know where to start, or are held back by a lack of confidence, experience, time, or money, Bec Evans will help you get off the starting blocks with this complete guide to making your ideas happen.

Facing bankruptcy, Celine's family were forced to turn their home into a guesthouse to make ends meet. Celine found her new life hard work but great fun. She met a young man, Nicky, who seemed very taken with her. If only Nicky's masterful cousin, Oliver, wouldn't keep interfering. But when she discovered that Nicky was married, Celine was only too grateful for Oliver's comforting presence. Gratitude wasn't exactly what Oliver had in mind, but it was a start.

In her pioneering audiobook, now fully updated to mark its 40th anniversary, Dickson draws on her long experience of in-person training to give all women the tools we need to assert what we feel and want, manage difficult conversations, avoid being sidetracked by culturally learned behaviours, say ‘No’ and find self-acceptance.

An engaging and practical guided tour of the simple and nature-inspired ways that Finns stay happy and healthy - including the powerful concept of sisu, or everyday courage. Sisu - a kind of everyday courage - is the Finnish approach to well-being that is turning lives around. In this beautiful book - part memoir, part guide - Katja shows how to embrace the daily practices that make Finns among the happiest people in the world.

In 2018, 66.3 million pairs of shoes were manufactured across the world every single day. They have never been cheaper to buy, and we have never been more convinced that we need to buy them. Yet their cost to the planet has never been greater. In this urgent, passionately argued book, Tansy E. Hoskins opens our eyes to the dark origins of the shoes on our feet.

London is known for its bustle and intrigues, but the sedate English countryside can host - or hide - any number of secrets. Frances, the widowed Countess of Harleigh, needs a venue for her sister Lily's imminent wedding, away from prying eyes. Risings, George Hazleton's family estate in Hampshire, is a perfect choice, and soon Frances, her beloved George, and other guests have gathered to enjoy the usual country pursuits - shooting, horse riding, and romantic interludes in secluded gardens.

1879: Shipwrecked off the West Coast of Australia, Louisa Reynolds is aided by an aboriginal girl and a kindly doctor, eventually making a fresh start in the town of Albany. Unexpected new friendships with two men, old gentleman George and dashing Connor, give her joy - but when she accepts an invitation to stay at George's sheep station, the locals are scandalised by a single woman in the company of men.

Pia Temple has always had a soft spot for Jackson Moody following a passionate teenage love affair that burnt out over one long summer, more than ten years ago. First loves can be hard to forget, and the devastatingly gorgeous Jackson, is harder to forget than most.

Abbey Carter should be feeling on top of the world. She has the home of her dreams - a picturesque cottage just walking distance from her beloved Primrose Woods. She has a job she adores, great friends and most exciting of all - a wedding dress hanging in her wardrobe ready to be worn. So why does she feel so lonely?

When Cath moves to a rural Northumberland village to escape her husband’s betrayal and a life that no longer feels her own, she’s determined to embrace a fresh start. But the quiet charm of her new surroundings seems only to magnify the loneliness of being on her own for the first time. On a whim, Cath suggests starting a supper club, transforming her garden shed into a cosy, twinkling haven where neighbours can gather. What begins as an effort to ease her solitude becomes something far greater – a circle of friends, each bringing their own stories, struggles, and laughter.

Amory Ames might be wealthy, but she is unhappily married to playboy Milo and so willingly accepts her former fiancé Gil Trent's plea for help in preventing his sister Emmeline from meeting a similar fate. Amory and Gil set off for the Brightwell, a sprawling seaside hotel in Devon where Emmeline and her intended, Rupert Howe, are holidaying. An unresolved history between Gil and Rupert surfaces, and after a late-night quarrel the luxurious hotel is one guest fewer by morning.

The year is 1906. An old family feud forces the young Inga into a marriage blighted by hatred, betrayal and dark secrets. She must wed Niels Gaupås, a district court judge almost three times her age. The situation worsens when she also falls in love with Martin, the young son of a local farmer. Inga Svartdal is a series of twelve books in which we follow the intrigues in Vestfold, Norway, at the beginning of the last century. Sinful desire, humiliation and grief await in the pages of the books, as the beautiful young Inga experiences intense and forbidden love.

Karin and Kai are looking for a pleasant escape from their busy lives when they accept an offer to stay in a luxurious cabin in the Norwegian fjords. Instead of finding a relaxing retreat, their trip becomes a reminder of everything lacking in their own lives, and when they meet the couple from the neighbouring cabin, Karin tells a little white lie – a lie that grows ever bigger, entangling her and Kai in a nightmare series of deceits with absolutely no means of escape.

Jinx Sullivan should be enjoying a peaceful retirement in the Cotswolds—but peace has never really been her style. As a child prisoner of war in Japanese-occupied Singapore, Jinx witnessed unspeakable horrors, then faced prejudice and poverty as a refugee in post-war Britain, before life took an unexpected turn under the questionable mentorship of Penny Williamson—a social worker and WW2 spy. Jinx and Penny teamed up for a series of dangerous adventures, which saw them dodging the CIA in 50s Florence and plotting heists in swinging London. Now 89, Jinx craves one last escapade.