Showing results by narrator "Marian Hussey" in All Categories

Today it's routine to take photos from an airplane window, use a camera underwater, or watch a movie or view an X-ray. But the photographic innovations more than a century ago that made such things possible were experimental, revelatory, and sometimes dangerous. In Flashes of Brilliance, New York Times photo editor Anika Burgess engagingly blends art, science, and social history to reveal the most dramatic developments in photography from its birth in the 1830s to the early twentieth century.

Carolyn Browne was a poor bookseller's daughter and an enlightened thinker, delighting London with her scathingly witty columns, written under the name Charles Copperville. Penetrating the town's gilded salons in male disguise, Carolyn soon throws her barbs at the wrong man - the enigmatic Russian prince, Nicholas Sverayov.

Elizabeth Spencer needs a man. Preferably one who won't be too picky about the morality of her proposition, or his reputation. Lord Constantine Alexander can't afford another trip to debtors' prison, which makes him the perfect candidate. She doesn't expect him to have a heart of gold, or to hold up his end of the bargain - particularly when his high-in-the-instep family gets involved. Nor does she expect to find him irresistible, because while she needs a man, she doesn't particularly want one.

After a tragic childhood accident left her orphaned, Brianna O’Roarke found meaning in historical antiquities, objects and artifacts she trusts will never leave her. So, when she discovers her family’s prized possession—the centuries old Wolf Sword—is missing, she’ll stop at nothing to see it returned. Finally securing a meeting with the elusive Mr. MacTavish, who’s now asserting ownership of the sword, Brianna sets off to Scotland and her ancestral home, Dunhill Manor, in hopes of shoring up her claim, and getting her treasured legacy back.

The reclusive Lord Edward, Earl of Greenwich, never shows his face in London Society. Gossip pages claim he’s mad, so it's no wonder Lydia Montgomery is horrified when she’s packed off to his estate for a marriage of convenience, but she’ll do anything to save her mother.

After a lifetime of rakish behavior, Lord Maxfeld must pretend he's reformed and find a fake wife. And there is nobody more suitable than Lady Phoebe. Trouble is, Phoebe will not agree to a false engagement and leaves Max no option but to blackmail her into agreeing to his scheme. Phoebe will go to great lengths to avoid anything remotely dishonorable and blackmails Max right back—directly to the altar. Once married, though, Phoebe wants more than just Max's ring—she wants his heart, something he can never give . . .

Elinor Burkenstock never believed in fairy tales. Sure, she’s always been a fool for love—what woman isn’t? But Elinor knows the difference between fiction and truth. Daydreams and reality. True love and false promises... Until the unthinkable happens, and Elinor’s engagement is suddenly terminated and no one, least of all her fiancé, will tell her why.

When her overprotective family tries to curtail her activities, spirited debutante Fiona Garrity decides marriage is her surest way to freedom. All she needs is an accommodating—and preferably not too perceptive—husband with his own hobbies so that he will not interfere with hers. Destiny puts her into the path of a scholarly earl. He would be the perfect candidate…if only his gray eyes were not so magnetic, and his virile nearness didn’t affect her in such a stimulating manner….

Lady Ella Barrington is a romantic who has always dreamed she would marry for love. When loyalties are questioned, she must sacrifice her dream to save her father. Her handsome betrothed seems to be the hero she's always hoped for and awakens a yearning she never imagined. But her belief in fairytale love crumbles as the truth comes to light and danger lurks.

Practiced rake Roman Alexander never meant to seduce his best friend's sister. He certainly never intends to do it again. The handsome scoundrel has never felt more compelled to be a better man. But the damage has been done, for his buttoned-up spinster refuses to marry a bounder like him - and maddeningly, she doesn't seem to like him. Nevertheless, he can't seem to forget her, or her passionate response to his kisses. How much danger could there be in one more try?

One wicked night of passion results in life-altering consequences for innocent bar maid Maggie Goode. Years later, she's a respectable widow, but her troubles are far from over. With debts looming, she must salvage her fossil shop to support herself and her beloved daughter. Fate leads her to a man who can save her business...but he's also the biggest mistake from her past.

King Henry's blue-eyed champion has been sent to quell a nation's rebellion. He vows to seal their peace by wedding Gilbert de Lontaine's beautiful daughter, but although the girl with smoky eyes holds his heart in peril, the real danger lurks in unexpected quarters. Can true love bind two hearts and bring the Wolf's bride home?

She's a famous songwriter who can't remember a year of her life. He's the British spy with all the answers. While walking through the tunnels of her family's estate in England, successful singer-songwriter Amanda Marceau travels through time and into the arms of Alexander Montgomery, the Royal Navy Admiral who captures her heart. Months later, Amanda's forced back to the present with Alexander's daughter, heartbroken they've been separated and shocked to discover she's pregnant.

1659: Alone at fifteen years old, Elisabeth Osborne is easy prey as she fancies she can manage on her own in Paris, but a chance meeting with the madam of a gentlemen's club changes her mind. It is here she receives protection, the sort of education not taught in convents, and, just as important, the freedom to practice her skill with herbal remedies without fear. But it isn't only her unusual knowledge of plants and the workings of the body which might land her in danger.

Their forbidden attraction is undeniable, but giving in could make them both notorious. Scottish Professor Iain and American student Rae must remain only friends—until she passes her final exams and is technically no longer a student. But one night changes everything and ruins them both. Then Iain vanishes. Will he ever know the secret she keeps?

1851. Bounced from one home to another their whole lives, orphaned identical twins Sophie and Mariah Carter have always relied on each other for love and support, even though the sisters couldn't be more different. Brash Sophie wants to be an inventor, and demure Mariah wants to be an artist. Both long to visit London for the summer—Sophie to see the Queen's Great Exhibition and Mariah to study the world's finest collection of paintings. But when their cantankerous aunt answers their letter pleading for a place to stay, she insists she only has time and room to spare for one of them.

When Celeste Gray arrives in the sleepy village of Brixcombe-on-the-Bay, she thinks she's one step closer to leaving her notorious past behind. She even suspects the deliciously handsome - if somewhat stuffy - viscount next door is developing a tendre for her. That is, until the day Ashlin Lancester learns she's not the unassuming spinster she's pretending to be.

Miss Lucy Lancester has loved her brother's best friend, Roman Alexander, for as long as she can remember. So devotedly, she's vowed never to marry anyone else. But her beloved libertine is hardly aware of her existence, and not the least deserving of her affection. Deciding her cause is lost, she makes plans to open a girls' school in Bath. There's just one thing she needs to do before she confirms her spinsterhood forever: spend one blissful night in Roman's arms.

Domhnall Sterling has been burned by love before, but he knows Fiona MacTaggart is the one for him. Trouble is, she dumped him. Their relationship began when Domhnall lost Jessica O'Connor to Grey Dixon, the soft-spoken Brit who can't even toss a caber the right way. Fiona was Domhnall's last chance. Now his pigheaded nature has ruined that, and she wants nothing more to do with him.

At twenty years old, Alice Crayford becomes mistress of Oakwood Grange, a house built by her father, and she begins her diary. The house remains in the ownership of one family for three and a half centuries, each generation faithfully recording details of their household in The House Book. Eventually, the family line dies out.