Showing results by narrator "Willow Nash" in All Categories

The wonderfully nostalgic and heartwarming new novel from the Sunday Times top-ten best-selling author of The Beggar Maid. Born out of wedlock when her mother was only fourteen, Lucy Pocket has spent all her life in the care of her disreputable but charming grandmother, Eva. They dodge from one poor lodging house to another, always in debt and resorting to theft in order to exist. Until her wealthy paternal grandfather buys her from Eva, determined to bring Lucy up to be a lady.

Mary Marshall would do anything for her daughter, Julia. A devoted grandmother to Julia's children, she's always been the rock her family can rely on. Until now. Mary has a past Julia knows nothing about, and it's come back to haunt her. Julia's husband, Murray French, is walking a tightrope. A solicitor struggling with an alcohol problem, he's about to lose his wife and his children to another man: someone successful, someone they deserve. Someone who's everything he's not. Can he ever get his family back?

Rose Gregory has suffered a devastating blow, a double bereavement from which months later she is still reeling. Sanctuary and rest are prescribed by her doctor. But when she arrives at her refuge, a dank and decaying monastery, she finds it is not the haven promised. Despite the veneer of calm contemplation, the monastery turns out to be a hotbed of intrigue and disharmony. Rose witnesses bullying and cruelty and ultimately in defence of the vulnerable turns to violence herself.

The Whitstable Pearl restaurant has been busy all summer while Pearl’s detective agency has brought few interesting cases - until a prospective client calls. Christina Scott confides that seven years ago she had the perfect life with a seaside home, a confirmed pregnancy and Steven, a loving husband - until one morning, she woke to find herself alone. Christina’s husband had vanished, taking nothing with him but his car - which was later found abandoned at the beautifully mysterious Oare Marshes.

When Alex met Natalie, she changed his life. After the tragic death of his first wife, which left him a single parent to teenage daughter Jade, he was desperate to leave the pain of his past behind. But his newfound happiness is shattered when the family home is gutted by fire and his loyalties are unexpectedly tested. Jade insists she saw a man in the house on the night of the fire; Natalie denies any knowledge of such an intruder. One of them must be lying, but Alex is faced with an impossible choice: to believe his wife or his daughter.

Pear Tree Farm in Cornwall, owned by the kind-hearted Nessa Vivian, is known for taking in lost souls, and ex-soldier Crispin Davies is certainly one of those. But the once sleepy caravan park is now a thriving business, and far from the peace and quiet Crispin was craving, he soon finds himself roped into helping out with a short-notice Christmas festival, organised by Nessa’s sister, Lowena. But despite Crispin’s initial reluctance, his involvement in the festival serves to throw him together with Ashley Spencer, an American woman and fellow lost soul.

Pushed to breaking point, Cara Burrows flees her home and family and heads for a five-star spa resort. All she wants is space and time to think, far from everyone she knows. Instead she gets a shock in the middle of the night when she is given the key to a room that's already occupied - apparently by a father and daughter, who are equally shocked to be woken by a stranger. Back at reception, Cara gets an apology and the key to a new room, and she imagines the drama is over....

From Paris to Prague, from the past to the present, authors and artists say farewell in this unique collection. In this audiobook you'll find personal letters, reminiscences, poetry, art and brand new fiction from some of the most talented and important voices at work today, including Jessie Burton, Alain de Botton, Matt Haig, Richard Herring, Owen Jones, Mark Kermode, Robert Macfarlane, Kate Mosse, Chris Riddell, Lionel Shriver and many others.

London, 1920. When 14-year-old Victoria Keats is thrown out of her home by her violent father, it seems likely she will starve until two strangers provide her with no-strings-attached help. As Vicki's life improves, she can't help but fixate on the mystery of these good Samaritans, but tracking them down may be more life changing than she thinks.

Ruth lives in the beautiful city of Vienna and is wildly in love with Heini Radik, a brilliant young pianist. But her world is about to change forever. When Hitler's forces invade, Ruth's family flees to London, but she is unable to get a passport. Quin, a young professor and friend of the family, visits Ruth and in an effort to bring her back to London, he offers a marriage of convenience. As Ruth throws herself into her London life, Quin begins to fall desperately in love with her.

London's luxurious Hotel du Barry has been left unscathed by WWI, and the party has just begun: tainted love, murderous desires and gin - it's The Grand Budapest Hotel with a dash of Gatsby. When a laughing baby is found amongst the Hotel du Barry's billowing sheets, tucked up in an expensive pair of ladies' bloomers and neatly pegged to the laundry line, the hotel staff resolve to keep the child.

Pearl receives a surprise present from her mother, Dolly: an early summer break at a riverside manor house that has been recently transformed into an exclusive hotel - the newly named Villa Pellegrini. Pellegrini - the Italian word for pilgrims - reflects the fact that the building lies on the old Pilgrims Way into Canterbury, and Pearl is looking forward to the break, not least because DCI Mike McGuire has been neglecting her due to his work.

Minimalism is not just a series of actions but also a total mind-set shift. It recognises that modern-day abundance has not increased our level of happiness - in fact we are less happy than generations before despite having more - and it argues that embracing less will allow us to live more fully. This handbook gives us the tools to achieve this complete life-changing mental shift, teaching us how to search for items and thoughts that add value to our lives and how to get rid of nonessential physical and mental clutter.

Nessa Vivian is determined to keep her parents' business afloat, but Pear Tree Farm near the backwater Cornish village of Polgarth didn't do well as farm, and it's not faring much better as a camp site. Maybe it’s due to Nessa's habit of taking in troubled runaways, like ex-soldier Crispin, for next to nothing. Or perhaps her highly strung sister, Lowena, is right - caravans named after Beatles' songs and homegrown pears are not enough to turn the farm into a tourist haven.

Sisters Annie and Jess are used to their mother, Julia, being spontaneous. But when Julia announces she’s flying off to Rome to meet her first love, Patrick, whom she hasn’t seen for 50 years, it's an adventure too far. So, her daughters decide the only way to keep Julia safe is to go too - without actually telling their mother she has chaperones!

In Look Again, Bailey describes growing up in working-class East London, where his dyslexia led to him being written off as stupid at school but his drive and ambition led to his meteoric rise as a photographer. He writes about life in '60s London and New York, his friendship with photographers Donovan and Duffy and annoying his rival Lord Snowdon. His love-life was always headline-worthy. He propelled his girlfriend, model Jean Shrimpton, to stardom - and was threatened with a shotgun by her father. When he married Catherine Deneuve, Mick Jagger was his best man.

In stark contrast to her own childhood during the last days of the Raj in India, the spectacular beauty surrounding their home, Rathgarven in Ireland, has proven to be a happy place for Kathleen O'Sullivan and her husband, James, to raise their four children. But Kathleen is no stranger to heartbreak, and when the family is faced with losing everything, she knows they will need to adapt to survive. Even if that means leaving their beloved home and moving to Australia to start afresh.

Write a killer CV and land your dream job. It takes an employer just seven seconds to save or reject a job applicant’s CV. In this book, James Reed - chairman of REED, Britain’s largest recruitment company - offers invaluable and specific advice on what employers want to see in the CVs they receive and how you can stand out from the crowd.

Soundings and Choc Lit present the audiobook edition of A Little Christmas Charm. Gabby Sanderson is used to being let down - even at Christmas. Which is why she’s happy to skip the festive season completely in favour of a plane ticket and sunnier climes. But this Christmas could be different, because this time she might not be spending it alone. Can Owen Cooper charm Gabby into loving Christmas in the same way he’s charmed his way into her life, or is he just another person who’ll end up disappointing her?

Faith Watkins loves Christmas, which is why she’s thrilled that her new hotel in the Lake District will be open in time for the festive season. But what she didn’t bank on was her first paying customer being someone like Adam Hunter. Rugged, powerfully built and with a deep sadness in his eyes, Adam is a man that Faith is immediately drawn to - but unfortunately he also has an intense hatred of all things Christmassy. As the countdown to the big day begins, Faith can’t seem to keep away from her mysterious guest: just what happened to Adam Hunter? And why does he hate Christmas?