Showing results by narrator "Wren" in All Categories

Venetia was very lonely after the death of her parents. So when her cousin Mary begged her to help to save her from a forced marriage, Venetia was ready. Mary was in love with another man and expecting his child. Yet the Queen wanted her to marry the Earl of Mountwood at a moment's notice and go with him to India. A reckless impulse made Venetia promise to take Mary's place at the altar. She would worry about the consequences later.

1820 is a worrying time for His Royal Highness Prince Lászlé as the might of the Prussian Empire moves ever closer to the boarders of his independent principality, Opava. Concerned for the welfare and happiness of his subjects, he reluctantly sends his beautiful daughter, Princess Zoleka, on a secret mission to the neighbouring state of Krnov, which is in crisis. Masquerading as Lady in Waiting to Princess Udele, the heir to the throne, Zoleka is horrified to discover that Krnov is in political turmoil.

When Mair McCrae follows her island tradition and hunts for a husband cast up on the beach, she has no notion that the naked, half-drowned man she rescues is not just Captain Michael Dawson, heir to a major shipping firm, but that he's obsessed by a 'ghost ship' carrying golden cargo.

Delve into the depths of terror with "Sinister," an anthology curated by Ink & Quill Press that will haunt your dreams and awaken your darkest fears. In this audio, lies fifteen bone-chilling stories, each a twisted masterpiece crafted by a diverse array of talented authors. From supernatural horrors to psychological thrillers, "Sinister" explores every corner of the macabre landscape.

Can money buy you happiness? Impoverished Lady Viola and her twin brother David Northcombe find that their fortunes change dramatically when their entrepreneurial father dies unexpectedly, leaving them a vast fortune that will change their lives forever. Returning home to England, still reeling from their dramatic change in circumstances, fate seems to have smiled on them when the handsome, but impoverished, Duke of Glentorran dramatically rescues them from the perils of the sea off the coast of Scotland. Barbara Cartland was the world's most prolific novelist who wrote an amazing 723 books in her lifetime.

She was fleeing from an unwelcome marriage and so was he. When Selina sought shelter with the Marquis of Castleton, she never dreamed that it would lead to them being chased across Europe in a powerful yacht. Before long she was embroiled in a rollicking adventure. Dressed as a man to avoid detection, Selina fell into one scrape after another, yet always knowing that the Marquis would rescue her. But she was despairingly sure that he saw her only as a child and she was beginning to long for more.

In this sequel to the critically acclaimed and bestselling The Key to Rondo, Mimi and Leo return to Rondo and join in a quest to find a mysterious missing wizard. They are haunted by fears of the gloriously wicked Blue Queen and this time face an even more ancient and mysterious danger - the terrifying cloud monster known as the Strix! Studded with funny characters, this rollicking adventure story is also full of belly laughs. There's more to Rondo than meets the eye.

Whilst living in exile on St Helena, Napoleon exerted an extraordinary influence on young Betsy Balcombe. How did she get from Napoleon's side to the Australian bush? Betsy Balcombe as a young woman lived with her family on St Helena. They befriended, served and were ruined by their relationship with Napoleon. To redeem the family's fortunes, William Balcombe, Betsy's father, betrayed Napoleon and accepted a job as the colonial treasurer of NSW, bringing his family with him.

Francis, the Marquis of Wimborton needed an heiress. Lexia had money and her father wanted her to marry a Lord. But she was a spirited girl, raised in America and she wanted to choose her own husband. The Marquis was too proud to court her, especially as he believed her heart was given to Wayne Freeman, an American that her father had brought her to England to avoid. They unexpectedly became the best of friends, escaping together from family pressures and boarding a cruise liner in search of their dreams.

The horror of the Rainbow Opera riot is the talk of the country. Dreamhunter Grace Tiebold's reputation is in tatters and Laura is in hiding. But the nightmare has only just begun. Rumours about the government's torture of prisoners have been suppressed and corrupt minister Cas Doran is free to take his plans to shocking heights.

In 1894, 12-year-old Matilda flees the city slums to find her unknown father and his farm. But drought grips the land, and the shearers are on strike. Her father has turned swaggie, and he's wanted by the troopers. In front of his terrified daughter, he makes a stand against them, defiant to the last. "You'll never catch me alive," said he....

After her quiet life in the Highlands of Scotland, the Laird's daughter Ola Mcnewton is looking forward to going to London to take part in Queen Victoria's Jubilee. At first it seemed a good joke to pretend to be a Balkan Princess, and be entertained by the handsome Duke of Cranborne. During one enchanted evening with him, they fell in love. But did the Duke fall in love with her, or the mysterious Balkan Princess.

"No, Papa! I cannot believe that you no longer want me here." When Marina Fullerton's beloved mother dies in a tragic riding accident, she is horrified when her father sends her away from the family home in Harley Street, saying he is unable to bear her near him. She finds herself packed off to stay with family friends in Paris, chaperoned by her faithful maid, Ellen. Soon Marina finds herself captivated by her French host's good-looking son - but is he what he seems?

After the death of her great-uncle, orphan Lady Rosanna Donnington was overwhelmed to learn he had left her his vast fortune. It was then her life changed and she became the target of unscrupulous fortune hunters. But she was determined to marry only for love. When the loutish Sir Walter Fenwick insisted she marry him, Rosanna decided enough was enough. She fled London and journeyed to Donnington Hall, her new country estate.

Princess Zelda of Brienz in Switzerland is being harassed by her father to marry a King or Prince of one of the small countries of Europe. Zelda is very beautiful and determined when she does marry it will be for love and only love and she cannot possibly fall in love with any of her father’s suitors. She runs away from her home to her cousin, Prince Johann II of Liechtenstein, who has always been very fond of her. She tells him that she is determined to find out the truth about a scandal that has been repeated ever since she was born.

When the Balkan Prince Stanislaus demanded an English bride, Queen Victoria decided to send him Lady Lavina, whose family had a slight connection with royalty. Determined to avoid this fate, Lavina threw herself on the mercy of the Marquis of Elswick, a disagreeable man who had turned his back on the world following betrayal by the woman he had loved. Surprisingly, he agreed to help by pretending to be engaged to Lavina, and, with her father, they left to visit her relatives in Scotland.

The beautiful Princess Vasila, an orphan, who has been looked after by Baroness von Bergstein in a Grace and Favour house, is astonished when an Equerry arrives to take her to Windsor Castle to see the Queen. She is not told until she arrives that Prince Gadelov of Saralovia, which is a small Balkan State, has appealed to Queen Victoria to give him a Royal British wife so that he can be protected from the grasping Russians. When the Queen tells Vasila that she is to marry Prince Gadelov immediately, she is horrified and very frightened.

"I will not marry a man I do not love!" When Lady Verena's widowed father suddenly remarries, she finds that her stepmother is anxious to make a match of convenience for her new stepdaughter and produces a suitor who repels her. Verena has always sworn that when she marries, it will be for love and for no other reason. Feeling that she has no choice but to run away, Verena makes a daring midnight escape from her home.

Set in 1906, Dreamhunter describes a world very similar to ours, except for a special place, known simply as "The Place", where only a select group of people can go. These people are called Dreamhunters, and they harvest dreams that are then transmitted to the general public for entertainment, therapy - or terror and political coercion. Inside The Place, 15-year-old Laura finds out what happened to her missing father and uncovers a government secret.

Dorina's father had been an industrialist, an inventor and a genius who trained her to be his heir, sending her abroad to learn many languages. While she was in France she learned that he had died and she must now take over his business. But she does not feel ready, especially as she knows he has been trying to design a horseless carriage. For a while she keeps his death a secret, to give herself time to learn, and goes to work for his great rival, the Earl of Kennington.