Showing results by narrator "Lesley Mackie" in All Categories

Hester Christie has spent a blissful 18 months living in Kenya, where husband Tim is posted. But now it’s back to England to be with her two nearly grown children. She rents a house near the village of Old Quinings in England’s North Country and plans a quiet summer with the children near the inn owned by her beloved former maid Annie and her husband. But things are never quiet for long with Mrs Tim, and she must navigate curious neighbours, a dishonest landlady and a troublesome travel companion who makes an unwelcome appearance in Old Quinings.

Young Frances Field arrives in a scenic coastal village in Scotland, having escaped her dreary life as an orphan, treated as little more than a servant by an uncle and aunt. Once there, she encounters an array of eccentric locals, the occasional roar of enemy planes overhead and three army wives - Elise, Tommy and Tillie - who become fast friends. Elise warns Frances of the discomforts of military life, but she’s inclined to disregard the advice when she meets the dashing and charming Captain Guy Tarlatan.

With husband Tim stationed in Egypt and her children at boarding school, Hester Christie -affectionately known as 'Mrs Tim' and based loosely on D. E. Stevenson herself - finds herself at a loose end, until her friend Grace takes her at her word and finds her a job with the formidable Erica Clutterbuck, who has opened a new hotel in the Scottish Borders. 

Best-selling author D. E. Stevenson’s charming fictional alter ego, Hester Christie - or 'Mrs Tim', as she is affectionately known to friends of her military husband - was first introduced in Mrs Tim of the Regiment, published in 1932. In 1941, Stevenson brought Mrs Tim back in this delightful sequel, to lift spirits and boost morale in the early days of World War II. With her husband stationed in France, Hester finds plenty to keep her busy on the home front.

Liz MacMillan has wanted to be a nurse ever since her baby brother died of scarlet fever but her domineering father won't allow it. With the outbreak of war, nursing becomes a patriotic duty and Liz gets her chance, together with her new friend Helen Gallagher, whose large, Irish-Catholic family provides a striking contract to the constraint of the MacMillan household. Working in Glasgow's Western Infirmary, one of the other students, Mario Rossi, touches Liz's heart.

It’s 1925, and Kate Cameron is just sixteen when she’s taken on at a shipyard on the Clyde. Kate’s wages are needed, and her school days are over abruptly. When Kate starts attending art classes at weekends, she meets Jack Drummond, whose world is far removed from her own. But Kate’s not equipped to recognise trouble when it’s disguised by charm.

After spending time combatting terrorists in Malaya, James Dering returns to Scotland. He starts a new life at Mureth House, the home of his aunt and uncle, Mamie and Jock Johnstone, where he hopes to learn to be a farmer. But he soon learns that picking up farming isn't an easy task and is made even more complicated by the unexpected ups and down of rural village life. Sheep-stealing crooks, village gossip, lovestruck teenage runaways, and a brunette bombshell all disturb the peaceful solitude James had willingly signed up for.

After the Second World War, Ellen and her daughter Netta make the journey from Germany back to Scotland. Nestled in the hills of the Southern Uplands is the farm where Ellen grew up – the home she left to be with the only man she's ever loved. She is still haunted by her memories...and the secrets she dare not share with anyone. Having grown up in Freiburg, farm life is new and exciting to Netta. Determined to be useful, she offers to help new shepherd Andrew Cameron. But doing so might put her bruised heart at risk.... 

Five young Ayrtons all grew up at Amberwell, playing in the gardens and preparing themselves to venture out into the world. To each of these children, Amberwell meant something different, but common to all of them was the idea that Amberwell was more than just where they lived - it was part of them.

Since being widowed, Caroline Dering has been content to live her life solely for her children. Then the mysterious Robert Shepperton arrives in the village. At first, Caroline's gentle heart is simply touched by his obvious unhappiness; until gradually she finds her sympathy turning into love. But the visit of her lovely younger sister, Harriet, to Vittoria Cottage, throws Caroline into a turmoil - because Harriet also falls for Mr. Shepperton....

Married at 19, Katherine had four years of happiness with her beloved Gerald. When he dies, she is left on her own to bring up a stepson, Simon, and her own little twins. She has known what it is to be loved and cherished, and without Gerald, all she wants is independence, and the freedom to bring up his children as he would have liked. When an unexpected letter arrives for Simon, offering him a very different life, Katherine is concerned that he makes the right choice.

Pleasure is the highest good: the group who called themselves the Cyrenaics embrace the hedonistic principle until the death of one of their members from an overdose. Sobered, the group went their separate ways. One headed for Canada, another disappeared and a third was believed to have committed suicide - at least until his body turns up in the wreck of a car swept up on the Solway mud flats.

Summerhills continues the story of the lives and loves of the Ayrton family, in particular that of Major Roger Ayrton M.C., his brother, and three young half-sisters. Roger has made the Army his career. Anne has settled down as housekeeper to old Mr Orme, the rector. Nell looks after the old house, and it is upon her that the comfort and well-being of the family depend. A new generation is growing up. The story begins as Roger flies home to Amberwell on leave, full of plans for his family and home.

In name and by birth, Celia was a Dunne. She had inherited the beautiful old family home by the Rydd Water – but was she bound to live her life by the principles of her predecessors? Was there some hidden restraint that compelled her to heed the past? Celia’s house is a moving and poignant story of the struggle between old and young: the older generation anxious to preserve the values they have helped create while their children are determined at all costs to make lives of their own.

Katherine Wentworth has married her hero, Alec Macfarlane. On their honeymoon in the Scottish Highlands, she can scarcely believe that the four previous lonely years can have been replaced by so much joy. But her unclouded happiness does not last long. The return to Edinburgh brings her into conflict with her old school friend, Alec’s sister Zilla. A beautiful woman who had expected Alec to remain a lifelong companion, devoted only to her.

Leith, 1953: The war is over, a young queen has been crowned and 18-year-old Kirsten Mowat is glad to be out and about with her handsome, dark-haired sweetheart, Duncan Armstrong. But there's a secret in her heart that needs to be told - and when Duncan insists on a shotgun wedding, it sets Kirsten's life along a downward path. Married life brings tragedy, and Kirsten's husband and grudging mother-in-law harden their hearts against the young bride. Beset by grief, Kirsten finds herself alone with her two daughters and vulnerable baby Dixie to care for. 

On a night out in Edinburgh, single mum Liza-Belle Graham finds herself revealing her hopes and dreams to a green-eyed stranger. Liza always wanted to run an 'arty-crafty-booky' business, and she’s seen the perfect empty shop to make her dreams a reality. No harm in telling the stranger. It’s not like she’ll see him again.... But Scott McCreadie is no mystery man - he’s an interior designer looking for new premises. And who does Liza bump into when she arranges a viewing? None other than Scott trying to steal her perfect shop! 

1910. It's the morning of beautiful 18-year-old Lorne Malcolm's wedding to handsome Daniel MacNeil, but when her older sister, Rosa, returns from a trip to the flower shop, Lorne has disappeared. Lorne has run off to Ireland with wealthy landowner's son Rory Thain. Jilted on his wedding day, a devastated Daniel turns to Rosa for comfort. Despite her initial misgivings, Rosa's feelings for Daniel grow, and the pair are soon married. But have Daniel's feelings for Lorne really gone away? Can the newly married couple put the past behind them?

Nine-year-old Olivia Friel is delighted to be spending the summer at Greyfriars House, a place where her parents, their family and friends are always happy. But this year there's an underlying tension that Olivia doesn't understand. Then one night she sees something she's not meant to, and accidentally lets slip a devastating betrayal. Charlotte Friel gets a call from her ailing mother, asking something she's never asked before: for Charlotte to come home. There are things Olivia needs to tell her daughter before it's too late, secrets to be shared about forgotten relatives and a mysterious house. 

Seventeenth-century century Scotland. A young Border Reiver is preparing to raid a town along the Anglo-Scottish border. But after he is deceived by his band of raiders, he is wounded and left to pay the penalty for his trespassing. Upon receiving the news of her brother's harrowing fate, Isabella battles the Scottish elements in a race against time to offer up her own life to William Douglas as a ransom for her brother’s. Captivated by Isabella’s courage and beauty, William Douglas excuses both Isabella and her brother’s execution, but at the cost of her freedom....