Showing results by narrator "Candida Gubbins" in All Categories

When the children dug a hole in the gravel-pit, they were very surprised at what they found. "It" was a Psammead, a sand-fairy, thousands of years old. It was a strange little thing - fat and furry, and with eyes on long stalks. It was often very cross and unfriendly, but it could give wishes - one wish a day. "How wonderful!" the children said. But wishes are difficult things. They can get you into trouble. An Oxford Bookworms Library reader for learners of English.

Welcome to Amsterdam, one of the World's most popular cities. Her canals and liberal politics draw in over 4 million international visitors each year, but what makes her one of the World's top destinations? Socially diverse with an established coffee shop culture and internationally renowned Red Light District, her history, culture and arts create a memorable city experience.

It is the year 2522, and the planet Earth is dying. The Artificial Ozone Layer is only 300 years old, but it is breaking up fast. Now the sun is burning down on Earth with a white fire. There is no water. Without water, nothing can live. Trees die, plants die, animals die, people die. In a colony under the moon, people wait for news - news from home, news from the planet Earth.

Welcome to Venice. Gently sinking into the surrounding lagoons, this once great naval power now draws in over three million international visitors each year. But what makes Venice one of the World's top destinations? A World Heritage Site where the only traffic is on water, the city's architecture, culture and arts combine to create a uniquely romantic experience.

Richard Walton is in trouble again. He has lost his job, and he has borrowed money from his sister, Jennifer - again. And now he has disappeared. Jennifer is looking for him, and so are the police. They both have some questions that they want to ask him.How did he lose his job? Why did he fly to Frankfurt? Who gave his girlfriend those very expensive gold ear-rings? Only Richard can answer these questions. But nobody can find Richard.

Tony Kytes is a favourite with the girls but he’s not terribly clever. If you meet an old girlfriend and she asks for a ride home in your wagon, do you say yes? And then if you meet the girl you are planning to marry, what do you do? Very soon, Tony is in a great muddle, and does not know how to escape from it. These stories are set in an English country village of the nineteenth century, but Hardy’s tales of mistakes and muddles and marriages belong in any place, at any time.

It's been eight years since Gen Loxley lost her daughter, Beth: eight years of grief in which nothing's really moved forward, for all that her husband, Art, wills it to. Gen, once a writer of novels, has settled in to a life of half-hearted teaching, while Art makes his name and their fortune - and pressures her into trying IVF once again. For Gen, it seems a cruel act of replacement; life without Beth is unthinkable, unbearable - but still it goes on.

Growing up, Viola and Issy clung to each other in the wake of their mother's eccentricity, as she dragged them from a commune to a tiny Welsh village. They thought the three of them would be together forever. But an innocent mistake one summer set them on drastically different paths. Now in their twenties, Issy is trying to hold together a life as a magazine art director, while Viola is slowly destroying herself, consumed with guilt over the events they unknowingly set into motion as children.

Nominee: Glass Key Award for Nordic Crime Fiction 2013, Winner: Finnish Booksellers Laila Hirvisaari Grant 2012, Winner: Finnish Whodunnit Society Clue of the Year Award 2012,Winner: Kaarle Prize 2012, Nominee: Helsingin Sanomat Debut Prize 2012. Cold Blood. Cold Case. Cold Courage. The body of a young woman body is abandoned in a car boot in the middle of London as a warning to others. The police have no leads and no clues as to the identity of the victim.

Three-year-old Hanna wakes up to find she has been abandoned. Her family is gone. The house is locked. She is trapped. Meanwhile, a teenage girl has been found murdered aboard the Cinderella, a cruise ship which sails between Sweden and Finland. Detective Chief Inspector Conny Sjoberg visits the girl's home to deliver the tragic news. But as he investigates, it becomes chillingly clear that the girl's younger sister will meet a similar fate - unless the police can crack the case and trap this elusive and vicious killer.

For Esther, it’s proving hard not to feel bitter watching Lucas enjoying his successful career, not to mention the attentions of his gorgeous, intelligent, and predictably younger lover. She meanwhile is struggling to forge a new life for herself, navigating the pitfalls of modern dating, while trying not to despair at the cost of living as a single woman of a certain age. Then Lucas faces a shattering accusation at the same time as their children Dylan and Lily, start to implode.

When young doctor Kit Stone returns to Britain, a female associate of his brother Henry secures him a post in a country practice. He meets a selection of charming - and not-so-charming - characters and quickly settles in. But then he falls in love with Mrs Rochester. Mardie Rochester is married to Henry's business associate, but her marriage is unhappy. Her husband is mentally ill. Yet, even when he suddenly disappears, Kit knows that it would be wrong to pursue his love. And when Mardie decides to live in a secluded part of Scotland to await her husband’s return, it seems all hope is lost.

Sylvie Cloutier, art lover and former antiques dealer, is trapped in her loveless marriage to the bullying Henri like a bird in a gilded cage. Meanwhile, security guard, hopeless romantic and bookworm Philippe Moreau cycles through the streets of Paris in his crumpled uniform, late (again) for his night shift at the Louvre. When Sylvie begs her husband to let her go to work, he gets her a job as an evening cleaner at the Louvre, thinking such a menial position will dispel any ideas about independence she might have. But his plan backfires when she falls in love with kind, gentle Philippe.

When an anonymous parcel turns up at the shop where Sophie works, she’s surprised to find a beautifully bound classic novel, one that eerily seems to chime with her own story. Enigmatic Harry lives in a crumbling manor house, spending solitary days patching up leaks in the roof. The subject of unwelcome gossip in the village since his return from London, he prefers to keep to himself. As Christmas draws near and the gifting season arrives, Sophie attempts to get to the bottom of her mysterious parcel.

When Miriam Lea falls on hard times, an advertisement calling for private agents catches her eye, and within weeks she finds herself in Mr Bazalgette's employ as a private detective, travelling on a train to Hamburg in pursuit of an audacious fraudster. What follows is a journey through some of the great cities of Europe - and eventually to South Africa - as Miss Lea attempts to find her man.

When a freshly mummified body is discovered at the Brighton Museum of Natural History, Detective Francis Sullivan is at a loss to identify the desiccated woman. But as Egyptian burial jars of body parts with cryptic messages attached start appearing, he realises he has a serial killer on his hands. Revenge, obsession and an ancient religion form a potent mix, unleashing a wave of terror throughout the city. Caught in a race against time while battling his own demons, Francis must fight to uncover the true identity of the Embalmer before it's too late.

After the death of his wife, Sarah Nightingale marries Dan Cooper and becomes mother to his three little boys. They move to a fine house of their own and Sarah has never been happier with a family to finally call her own with maybe a baby of her own on the way…When Alfie Nightingale has a dalliance with a young girl called Betty, he’s obliged to do the right thing by her when she learns she's with child. Now there will be another baby in the family. But when one disaster follows another, Sarah and Alfie have dreadful choices to make if they and their families are to survive.

After the death of her husband, Sarah Cooper becomes betrothed to Robert Billings and moves her family back to Colchester. But with Robert away on-board ship, somehow Sarah must hold the family together and pray that her man will come back to her. Struggling with family life, Alfie Nightingale leaves to be a policeman in London. But back on the dangerous city streets, Alfie has a life changing decision to make for himself and the family that he has abandoned. Will the Nightingales finally find the home and family they have been searching for?

Sarah Nightingale is a strong young woman who keeps her head high and faces every new adversity with courage. So when Daniel Cooper, a happily married man with three children, offers her a position taking care of his children and poorly wife, she jumps at the chance. Perhaps life is finally looking up for Sarah? Meanwhile, Sarah’s brother Alfie is also prospering in London after escaping his life of servitude. But when a personal tragedy strikes, Alfie decides to leave London and go home to look for his sister.

When her family is struck by a terrible tragedy, Sarah Nightingale is forced to go into service at Grey Friars House as an under-nursery-maid. Although the situation wasn’t of her making Sarah thrives there, but life for her younger brother Alfie is not as easy. Desperate to avoid being sent to the workhouse, Alfie runs away to London to seek his fortune. But young and inexperienced with the dangerous streets of London, Alfie is tricked and sold to work as a slave on a coal barge. Sarah misses her brother terribly but knows she must find a way to survive if she ever wants them to be reunited.