Historical Romance Saga

After the death of their parents, sisters Poppy and Rose are taken in by widow Nellie Harper. But whilst they have a roof over their heads, the young orphans are unloved, unwanted, and always hungry, with only one pair of boots between them. Keen to make money, Nellie hatches a plan to sell the girls to the mysterious Mr Scurrfield. But when the day comes for them to leave, Scurrfield reveals he will take only one of the sisters - and he will decide which it will be on the turn of a sixpence.

From the rural festivities in 'Village Christmas' to the poignant tale of a white robin, these two stories demonstrate the wry wit and light touch of Miss Read. Two heartwarming and wonderfully festive listens.

When Lizzie moves with her mother and her brothers to No.13 Coronation Street at the end of the Second World War, it’s a new start for all of them after the loses and heartache they’ve endured. Their new neighbour, Elsie Tanner, tells them that the house is said to have bad luck, but things look up for Lizzie when she lands a job as a barmaid in a local pub, the Pride of Weatherfield. There she makes friends with the young and giddy Hilda Ogden, still waiting for her wayward husband, Stan, to come home from the war.

Eliza Wild has come a long way from her hungry childhood days in a rented miner's cottage on Pit Lane on the outskirts of Leeds. Her sewing skills have enabled her to go into business with a wealthy patron and to give her young niece, Victoria, a better life than she and her sister, Mary-Anne, ever dreamed of. There's also Eliza's sweetheart, Tom, who is determined to marry her, but having worked so hard to get to where she is, will Eliza take a chance on love when it means she might lose everything she has ever worked for?

The Scottish Highlands, 1899. A life-altering event led Catrina Davies to hide from her family and society. But Travis Millard, the man she used to love, finds her, and she agrees to marry him and to return to her family estate, Davmoor Court in Yorkshire. But while her father clings to life, Davmoor is nearly ruined by her brother's gambling obsession. As Catrina adjusts to her regained position in society, her marriage comes under attack from Travis' grandmother, who has her own reason for loathing the family.

Vera Sharples, the over-protected daughter of Ena Sharples, longs for independence, and while her mother wants to marry her off, she isn’t keen on Bob Lomax, Vera’s own choice for matrimony. Her friend, Lily Longhurst, has found herself on the wrong side of a doomed romance and decides it’s high time that she and Vera take their lives into their own hands. With Ena unable to deny her daughter the chance to do her bit for King and Country, the girls sign up for the Land Army, where life is very different from the familiar cobbles of Coronation Street.

Pauline Kermadec et Nathalie de Tresnel ont grandi ensemble. A dix-neuf ans, malgré des personnalités opposées, elles sont inséparables. Pauline, fille de diplomate réservée, pose un regard curieux et angoissé sur une Europe au bord du gouffre. Nathalie, issue d'une famille désargentée de la noblesse, lutte avec panache contre les préjugés et les convenances de son milieu. L'actualité de l'été 1938 les rattrape. Pauline doit suivre son père à Berlin, au chevet d'une paix toujours plus fragile.

As the Second World War rages on, nurse Kitty Pattison’s life takes a nomadic turn as her work with the Red Cross sees her traversing the country, moving from post to post. With her best friends Jo and Trixie also scattered across the UK, and her soldier sweetheart Michael off on the continent undertaking medical missions he can’t discuss, the war takes its toll and long days are followed by sleepless nights interrupted only by nightmares of what she’s seen on the wards.

The Quality Street girls are gearing up for Christmas, but with the factory now making gas masks, as well as the nation’s favourite chocolate sweets, it’s anything but normal. They’re having to make other adjustments too. Reenie is in the doldrums after being demoted at work, while Mary has got her hands full getting used to married life and a ready-made family. New girl, Ada, isn’t sure she fits into factory life at all. Then, just as the Christmas party season gets into full swing, Toffee town gets a shock, and soon it isn’t just Christmas cheer that’s in short supply.

For childhood friends Leo Kelly, Jane Devlin, and newly ordained "Packy" Keenan, the summers they spent at the lake together were times of pure magic. And no summer was more enchanting than the summer of 1948 - until a tragic car wreck killed two of their friends.

The great Calder empire stretched across the Montana plains as far as the eye could see. Everyone knew a Calder's word was law, and that one day Chase Calder would carry the family name to new glories. But for handsome, arrogant Chase Calder there was also beautiful Maggie O'Rourke. She came to him in innocence and stirred in him a deep, insistent longing.

As the Spanish Armada approaches Irish shores, Elizabeth I feels the full burden of her royal office. She must not let England fall to her former husband, King Philip of Spain. And Princess Anabel, their daughter, has yet to declare with whom her allegiance - and her support - lie. Exiled Stephen Courtenay is in France with his brother, Kit, who has his own reasons for avoiding England. But rumblings of war, a sinister plot, and their loyalty to the crown call them home.

1819, Angleterre. Épouser le Duc de Percester ? Lucy Devinan s'y refuse. Tout juste revenue de Londres, la jeune femme n'a qu'une hâte : profiter des mois à venir en Cornouailles pour préparer la saison prochaine. Cependant, quand son père lui apprend qu'il vient d'offrir sa main, sans le vouloir, à Lord Mirabeau, Duc de Percester, son cœur manque un battement. Quel pire sort que celui de devenir l'épouse d'un rustre sans cœur ?

Die gesamte Straßburg-Saga von Bestsellerautorin Charlotte Jacobi jetzt als Hörbuch-Sammelband. 1893: Familie Tritschler ist frisch aus Stuttgart ins elsässische Straßburg gezogen, um dort eine Patisserie zu eröffnen. Die junge Ida verfolgt dabei das Ziel, die Kuchenkönigin der Stadt zu werden. Ganz zum Unleid der Familie Picard, die unweit ebenfalls eine Patisserie besitzt. Als sich Ida dann ausgerechnet in den Sohn der rivalisierenden Familie verliebt, muss das junge Paar nicht nur für ihr Glück kämpfen, sondern auch beweisen, dass die Beziehung mehr als nur süße Schwärmerei ist.

A lo largo de una trama que discurre con la precisión de un mecanismo de relojería, Jane Austen perfila una galería de personajes que conforman un perfecto y sutil retrato de la época: las peripecias de una dama empeñada en casar a sus hijas con el mejor partido de la región, los vaivenes sentimentales de las hermanas, el oportunismo de un clérigo adulador...

Circumstances force eight-year-old Sarah and her widowed mother to enter the notorious St Giles and St George’s Workhouse. When her mother dies in childbirth, the independent-minded Sarah falls foul of the workhouse master, Trigg, and his cruel wife. Sarah’s ordeal seems to be over when a sugar mill owner takes her into his home. But her wealthy benefactor reports Trigg and his wife. And blaming Sarah for their misfortune, in a fit of revenge, the couple decide to take the law into their own hands.

As the only female cabinet maker in the valley in 1935, Frankie Redfern is unusual. She faces prejudice even from her own mother. But she's content working for her father and is unwilling to give up her independence or the work she loves for marriage. When her husband falls gravely ill, Frankie's mother takes over, causing serious trouble for her daughter. And her cousin, an unscrupulous local builder, starts to help her for his own reasons.

Liverpool, 1955. With her abusive husband drinking all her wages, Alice faces a daily struggle to provide for her family. Her eldest daughter, Cathy, has always longed to be a nurse, but when poverty means she’s forced to leave school and get a job it looks like her dreams are over. But Cathy isn’t willing to give up, and with the support of old friend - and new love - Gianni, she manages to secure a place as a cadet nurse. Now, though, her mam must stand up to her violent husband alone - and with less money coming in, Alice will be in danger of losing everything.

La novella està ambientada a Girona, remarcant l'ambient proletari. El narrador omniscient ens presenta amb acció mínima, unes poques escenes, i personatges, quasi tots anònims, llevat de Mercè, l'amiga de Violeta, a la protagonista del relat: l'òrfena Violeta. La novella ens parla de la vida amorosa de Violeta qui, malgrat ser una órfena abandonada, sense casa, no perd la seua inocència. Es podria dir que es tracta d'un ser natural, raó per la qual és a la natura on és plenament lliure.

"Es una verdad mundialmente reconocida que un hombre soltero, poseedor de una gran fortuna, necesita una esposa". Con esta frase comienza la famosa novela de Jane Austen, Orgullo y Prejuicio, que cuenta la vida de la familia Bennet y sus cinco hijas, Jane, Elizabeth, Mary, Catherine Y Lydia. La señora Bennet ve el matrimonio como la única esperanza para sus hijas. Con la llegada al vecindario de Mr. Bingley, un joven rico y soltero, y su apuesto amigo, Mr. Darcy, la vida de las muchachas se ve revolucionada.