Showing results by narrator "Virginia Ferguson" in All Categories

Pierrot is one of Alexandre Dumas' stranger tales, a delightful mishmash of humor, adventure, satire, and poignancy. While presented as a children's tale, it has plenty of layers making it a satisfying story for grownups as well.

Dmitrey Merezhkovsky, a formidable historian and philosopher, known best for his epic narratives from Russian history, takes a romantic foray into the realm of life, death, love, and all things in between. Sound interesting? The author thinks so too! Listen to The Spirit of Romance, and experience the compelling world of historical romance.

In 1957, the town of Honeyspoon is ill prepared for a murder mystery. In fact, most of the townspeople have never experienced a violent death until a shocking murder in the small town sets everyone on edge. Mrs. Nancy Peabody is a widow of very limited means. Her life is drab and lonely so she can’t avoid the temptation offered by the party line she shares with two of her neighbors.

When both learn of the other’s lack of desire for love, they know the best chance to escape those seeking to wed them is to come to an agreement - one that will free them both from the pressures of matchmaking. But a marriage of convenience doesn’t imply a marriage without passion. As their feelings eventually warm toward one another, old enemies emerge and threaten everything they have worked for. Will they be able to draw strength from their blossoming love to defeat those who seek to destroy them, or will they deny their feelings and lose one another forever?

Columbine Pepper Drugget's background wasn't one that equipped a young woman to manage a motel worth a million dollars, or cope with rude guests, jewel thieves, an unscrupulous competitor - or even the attentions of a brassy but oddly attractive lawyer. She had spent her life so far as an assistant to her aunt at Miss Cordwainer’s School for Girls from 5-to-10. What she knew about the world was limited to the novels of Jane Austen and such bits of knowledge as the pupils possessed.

When Sebastian of Hawkesmere returns from the Crusades, he becomes a recluse, locking himself away in an enchanted tower and dabbling in alchemy and magic. When his brother captures a beautiful woman with a satchel full of amazing instruments, Sebastian is enlisted to help discern their purpose and discover where she came from.

In the snow-kissed splendor of Regency England, a jaded lord with a scandalous past and a heartbroken lady determined to avoid love find themselves irresistibly drawn together in a chance meeting. Lady Eleanor Winthrop has sworn off marriage after a broken engagement. Her fierce independence and sharp wit are her shields against a world that has let her down. Lord Alexander Harrington, Marquess Rockingham, is a dashing rake with a reputation as notorious as it is scandalous.

Cordelia Honeyfield has been sent to the seaside "for her health" - and the last thing she wants is the meddling nonsense of a country doctor. Her wild spirit is frowned upon by the town, and familial embarrassment now means she's stuck at the beach in a brisk March wind, waiting to meet this doctor as she promised her father. Dr. Timothy Walsingham is about to meet a new elderly patient - a Miss Honeyfield whose letters have had him in stitches. As he waits by the sand, a beautiful woman catches his eye.

Marika is a social worker trying to heal her drug addict clients, but she can't seem to mend her damaged self. She avoids love because love sits too close to death. Her choices have left her carefully ordered life a lonely, disconnected one. Everything is about to change. Big-hearted, quirky, emotionally walled-off Marika embarks on a plan that ultimately forces her to confront the very thing she's spent her life avoiding: love.

Only a few months earlier, the young woman now known as Jane Smith had lived a life of luxury and privilege as the ruler of a small Balkan kingdom. She lived a life of glittering balls, the finest furnishings, the most handsome men, the most exquisite of foods. Her only friends were four bearded old men who served as her cabinet, and worshiped the ground she walked on. Then the Germans had marched in, and she and her four councilors barely escaped with their lives.

It wasn't all musketeers, mysterious ladies, poisoned gloves, and palace intrigue.... Sometimes, Alexandre Dumas stepped back from historic misadventures and wrote fairy tales - and a very good job he did of it, too.

One man. One instrument . A wealth of music. A biography of the brilliant and tormented Polish composer Chopin, set against the rich historic background of the era.

The Blessed South lies somewhere between a travel diary and a poetic sketchbook. With his usual skill, Alexander Kuprin lends the air of romance even to the most mundane scenes and situations, inviting the listener to be captivated and enjoy.

When Princess Guendolen’s privileged existence is shattered by tribal war and the threat of rape impends, she is left with no choice but to surrender her virginity to a lowly commoner. The spoiled sovereign expects a night of torment and shame. Instead, her unlikely bedfellow introduces her to a world of carnal delights.

What if the Little Mermaid took a moment to reconsider her deal with the sea witch, and decided to change the course of her life her own way, on her own terms? Listen to this charming, alternative story!

Jeb Jackson, a once famous rodeo star, lives in isolation on his family’s storied ranch in Montana. Until the day a mysterious and complex young woman pays him a visit. Less of a visit and more like the surprise of his life - an unwelcome one at that. Or so it seems, when the beautiful stranger (who claims to know him) announces she needs “straightening out”. Now he’s got a drugged-up, freshly-divorced, sequin-encrusted beauty queen passed out in his bed and has no idea what to do with her or himself. Falling in love seems like the only option.

A Christmas Surprise: Lord Robert, the Viscount of Marchwood, throws a Christmas Ball every year, and this year his daughter, Lady Audrey, has just turned 18. With the Marchwood family fortune all but gone, Lord Robert is keen to secure her a prosperous match. But when a handsome, masked stranger threatens to steal Audrey's heart, will it prove to be a good or bad Christmas surprise?

Who came up with the idea that if a man is a prince, he must always marry a princess? Things come to a head when one rebellious royal decides to dispute this rule.

It seems that just about everyone wants to be famous these days. Even if an individual has no talent there are countless television programs that will satisfy the apparent need to have their five minutes of fame. There are many others who do have talent and go on to have ten, twenty and even a few hours worth of fame. And of course there are the very few who have what it takes to make fame and celebrity last a lifetime and beyond.

An everyday tragedy brought into stark relief and elevated to high drama by the skilled pen of Maria Krestovskaya, as she focuses her listeners' attention on someone whose life would have otherwise gone unnoticed.