Showing results by narrator "Penelope Rawlins" in All Categories

Daisy Miller is a young American girl travelling Europe with her mother and younger brother. While in Vevey, Switzerland, she becomes acquainted with Frederick Winterbourne, an idle expatriate, of well-to-do Americans. Winterbourne, who observes and critiques young Daisy through their brief acquaintanceship, is infatuated with her irreverent behavior. Daisy flaunts society's rules and uncompromising standards; she is charming, spontaneous, and unpretentious, and her audacity shocks the Europeans, who consider her an uncultivated flirt. The sophisticated Winterbourne remains smitten with Daisy, but his classical values stand in his way.

Join the fight for the people and power of Tanegawa's World, in this exhilarating sequel to Hunger Makes the Wolf. War is coming to Hob Ravani's world. The company that holds it in monopoly, TransRift Inc, has at last found what they're looking for - the source of the power that enables their Weathermen to rip holes in space and time, allowing the interstellar travel all of human society now takes for granted. And they will mine every last grain of it from Tanegawa's World no matter the cost. Since Hob Ravani used her witchy powers to pull a massive train job and destroy TransRift Inc's control on this part of the planet, the Ghost Wolves aren't just outlaws, they're the resistance.

Like every child in Is-Land, all Astra Ordott wants is to have her Security Shot, do her National Service and defend her Gaian homeland from Non-Lander "infiltrators". But when one of her Shelter mothers, the formidable Dr Hokma Blesser, tells her the shot will limit her chances of becoming a scientist and offers her an alternative, Astra agrees to her plan. When the orphaned Lil arrives to share Astra's home, Astra is torn between jealousy and fascination.

Robotics scientist Rachel Prosper has created a top-secret humanoid android. When she dies suddenly, her family take the robot, which looks just like Rachel, into their home as part of an experiment. The After Wife is the story of a family ripped apart by grief who are given a second chance to reconnect with the woman they loved and lost.

Victoria woke one morning at the age of 18 to discover that her uncle had died and that she was now queen. She went on to rule for 63 years, with an influence so far-reaching that the decades of her reign now bear her name - the Victorian period. Victoria is filled with the exciting comings and goings of royal life: intrigue and innuendo, scheming advisors, and assassination attempts - not to mention plenty of passion and discord.

To her friends, Amber leads the perfect life with her successful marriage, her powerful job in London and her immaculate style. But as more of her friends fall pregnant, and her best friend, Dylan, announces his decision to adopt a baby with his gay lover, Amber's carefully structured world begins to fall apart. Intricately crafted and sensually evocative, Something I'm Not is a sharp, contemporary novel that discusses the way the psychological scars of the past pass through the generations of a family.

Rachel hates her life. So when her boyfriend David goes to a music festival in England she decides to surprise him - but she gets a nasty shock of her own. Hurt and angry, Rachel makes a wish- and finds herself in someone else's shoes! Can she keep the swap a secret? And will she ever be herself again? Over the course of a very weird weekend, Rachel puts herself in someone else's shoes and finds that her own maybe weren't as uncomfortable as she'd always thought. But can she ever be herself again?

All is not well in the kingdom of Waldberg.... The orphan Hans is desperate to escape his master, the grave robber Knobbe the Bent. The young countess Angela von Schwanenberg must rescue her parents from the mad archduke. But when fate flings them together, they find themselves on a daring quest, hurtling through haunted forests, racing down mountains in a coffin and sneaking along underground passageways with a travelling circus. And at every turn, the archduke’s Necromancer is there to thwart their progress....

Together, Marina, Aqua, and Oceana are the Petticoat Pirates, and this unabridged audio edition includes 2 of their fabulous adventures! The Mermaids of Starfish Reef: One day, three beautiful mermaids come to the lagoon to ask for help. A creature of the deep has come and set loose all the sea snails on their mer-farm, leaving behind nothing but a shiny scale.... The Sea Fairies of Whirlpool Gully: When the other pirates of the Lagoon are struck by a mysterious curse, the girls must travel in search of sea fairies to find a cure.

For the thousands of people who struggle with poor literacy, words can be scary things. Worlds Beyond Words is a selection of inspirational real life stories from people who have improved their lives through better literacy. From successful businessmen and sports stars, redundant factory workers and refugees, their stories offer the key for others to unlock new worlds.

Jo has just moved to America - to a new school, and maybe a chance to be cool. When she is chosen by Jake Matthews, officially the hottest boy in school, Jo can’t believe her luck. But the reality of being with Jake is not quite as great as the fantasy... Torn by her dilemma, Jo splits. She's Josie the Cool and Jo the Nerd. Will her two halves ever come back together again?

Lauren, Jack, Ruby and Billy live by the seaside with their mum and dad. But their parents are always arguing, and then their dad moves out. Lauren and Jack decide they have to get them together again. And so begins Operation Eiffel Tower... in which the four children try to raise money to give their mum and dad a treat in an attempt to make them happier.

A photograph taken in 1971 sets two people on the path to uncovering the truth about their parents and themselves.

Five months pregnant and facing difficult decisions, 30-year-old Sandra leaves her job and her boyfriend to take stock of her life in her sister’s beach house on the Costa Brava. She befriends an elderly Norwegian couple, Karin and Fredrik, who provide her with stimulating company and take the place of the grandparents she never had. However, when she meets Julian, a former concentration-camp inmate who has just returned to Europe from Argentina, she discovers that all is not what it seems and finds herself involved in a perilous quest for the truth.

This Christmas, a little dog is in for a big adventure.... Meet Claude. He's a loveable, big-eared, permanently hungry French bulldog who loves his humans - the McCawley family of number 11 Maple Drive, to be precise. When Daisy and Oliver McCawley start using new words like, ferry, chateau and France, Claude realises they won't be spending this Christmas at home. Only, when he finds himself on the street as the family car pulls away, Claude realises he is alone.

Being married to a celebrity isn't all it's cracked up to be, especially when that celebrity has a very public affair with his co-star.... Alice McBride is determined that the one thing she won't lose in her marriage breakup is Borne Manor, her beloved home, but she gets more than she bargained for when she rents it out for the summer and a sexy cowboy comes to stay. Country music star Robinson Duff has had his own share of heartbreak and needs somewhere quiet to hide out for the summer.

Rob and Anna have arrived for their holiday in the Caribbean. Kim and Owen, a friendly couple they met in the harbour, offer to charter their beautiful boat to take them to a distant island. Rob dreams of lazy afternoons spent snorkeling. Anna looks forward to the silence of days at sea. But why is Owen so secretive? Why does Kim keep a knife zipped into her moneybelt? Maybe Anna and Rob shouldn’t trust strangers...

FBI Agent Ren Bryce finds herself entangled in two seemingly unrelated mysteries. But the past has a way of echoing down the years and finding its way into the present. When Special Agent Ren Bryce discovers the body of a young woman in an abandoned car, solving the case becomes personal. But the more she uncovers about the victim's last movements, the more questions are raised. Why was Laura Flynn driving towards a ranch for troubled teens in the middle of Colorado.

Perhaps the most brilliantly successful ghost story ever written, The Turn of the Screw creates a terrifyingly believable impression of innocent children so corrupted by evil that they remain deceptive pictures of innocent beauty. Their governess must struggle alone to confront and exorcise the demons that she believes possess their souls....

After years in Italy, honing his skills in the delicious art of seduction, Ashe returns to London's high-class establishments - preceded, of course, by his reputation for lavish opulence and unashamed wickedness. Then his scandalous ways are abruptly ended by his father's death. To claim what is rightfully his, notorious lothario Ashe must do the inconceivable - take a wife! But who could possibly even think about marrying such a man? Certainly not the lovely Genevra Ralston.