Showing results by narrator "Daniel Philpott" in All Categories

This is a story from the Famous People in History II collection.

A beautifully written insight into the stresses, strains and successes of working for the London Ambulance service. Is there anyone who hasn't wondered about the state of the occupant of an ambulance, screaming along with its sirens on and blue lights flashing? Have you? And have you wondered about the other people inside the ambulance, maybe fighting to save the patient's life?

To Fred Archer, born in the village of Ashton-under-Hill in 1915 and growing up in the 1920s, nothing seemed to change except the seasons. This was the age of paraffin lamps, earth closets, and the last train from Evesham at 7 o’clock in the evening. The village was a self-sufficient community with its own hierarchy, strong Church and Chapel, fierce politics and home-made entertainment.

This is a story from the Famous People in History II collection.

The Hole-in-the-Tree gang, led by Quickpaw Cassidy and the Sunshine Cub, is the most daring group of raccoons in town. But when these cheeky chancers carry out the biggest, boldest heist of their lives, they push the neighbourhood too far. The heat is on, and the gang goes on the run in this wild adventure ultimately learning that there’s no place like home. 

When Tom Faraday joined internationally renowned CERUS Biotech, he thought he'd landed his dream job. A chance to work with their famous CEO, William Bern, perhaps to change the world. But Tom has found himself in an organization in crisis. The company bet the house on a radical neural interface project, only to be blocked by a government with reasons of its own. Now CERUS is running on vapor and the corporate vultures are gathering. Bern isn't one to go down without a fight.

Those terrible pirate twins are at it again! Their relentless pursuit of treasure is causing all sorts of havoc in the seaside town of Little Snoring, and only youngsters Tat and Hetty - and their cat called Dog - have a chance of stopping them.

It's 1888. When young Scottish scientist James Murray receives a letter from Sofia Esposito, a woman he once loved and lost, he cannot refuse her cry for help. Sofia's 15-year-old cousin has vanished, but, because of her lower-class status, the police are unwilling to investigate. Accompanied by his younger sister, Lucy, Murray returns to the city of Turin, where he was once apprenticed to the world-famous criminologist, Cesare Lombroso.

There were times I felt I would always be death's passenger. It moved one step ahead of me wherever I went, letting its shadow fall across me. It carried me on; shaded me from the world other people lived in. 'Leaving behind his life of violence in Brazil's darkest shadows, Zico is determined to become a better man. But it seems his old life isn't quite done with him yet when he's tasked with making one last kill.

Summer 1914: Europe is on the brink. As Britain’s enemies grow stronger, the Comptroller- General must confront the man with whom he has struggled for a generation - a man he knows only as the Spider. In a desperate gamble, he sends four agents out across the continent, on a mission they do not understand ... The future of British intelligence - of the British Empire.

1920. The Great War has been over for two years, and it has left a very different world from the Edwardian certainties of 1914. Following the death of his wife and baby and his experiences on the Western Front, Laurence Bartram has become something of a recluse.

1917 and the First World War is casting a dark shadow over the Harvey family. With one brother dead and Tristan serving at the front, young Ben is desperate to serve, despite his engagement to Emilia. But a dreadful eye injury forces him to stay at the family farm with his brother Alec, a man with secrets of his own.

A night flight from Istanbul bound for Paris, filled with 169 holiday travelers, plummets into the Swiss Alps. The sole survivor is a three-month-old girl - thrown from the plane onto the snowy mountainside before fire rages through the aircraft. But two infants were on board. Is the miracle baby Lyse-Rose or Emilie? Both families step forward to claim the child - one poor, one powerful, wealthy, and dangerous.

It appears to be yet another torching by joyriders, until firefighters discover the charred corpse of a young woman in the boot. Identifying the owner of the car is easier than putting a name to the victim. Clues lead Superintendent Mike Yeadings’ CID team to a television company where only days before they were called to the horrifying death of the woman director’s husband.

Gunnar is the son of a Viking chieftain, living peacefully with his mother, father, and their people - until they are raided by Skuli and his Wolf Men, who raze his home to the ground and take his father’s life. Gunnar swears to avenge his father’s death and save his mother from Skuli - but first he must run to save himself facing murderous raiders, hand to hand battles, mythical flying wolves, and a relentless sea journey to the Land of Fire and Ice... Unknown to Gunnar, his life has been foretold, and he finds he has a destiny greater than his own story.

This is a story from the Famous People in History II collection.

It’s a HUGE surprise when Farmer Palmer chooses Lewie the llama to guard his new lambs. It’s the most important job on the farm and everyone thought he’d pick the biggest strongest, loudest llama. Lewie is the best at singing and dancing but is he a match for a cunning coyote?

One of the greatest classic horror stories, Mary Shelley's gothic novel sees Dr Frankenstein manufacture life - The Monster - only to see it go beyond his control. The original novel is more sympathetic to the monster's plight than is generally presented on film, making it an important book to be read.

One of the best-loved composers of all time, Dvorák rose from rural origins to become not only a great but an influential composer. The first composer to put his native Bohemia on the musical map of the world, he was invited to do the same for America. One result was the famous "New World" Symphony, which made him a household name across the globe. Writing music of irresistible color, lilt and peasant vitality, he was also a melodist-in-a-million. This portrait-in-sound follows a lovable and in many ways a very simple, man from hay cart to imperial palace, from tragic loss to heart-warming joy, to pigeon-raising and world celebrity.

Here are the remarkable life stories of nine famous people who have left their mark upon the world: Alexander the Great, Joan of Arc, Leonardo da Vinci, Isaac Newton, George Washington, Ludwig van Beethoven, Louis Pasteur, Marie Curie, and Mahatma Gandhi.