Listen free for 30 days
Heart of the Town
People who bought this also bought...
-
Bright Day Dawning
- Music Hall Series, Book 3
- By: Anna Jacobs
- Narrated by: Anne Dover
- Length: 13 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Gwynna had fallen from grace once, bearing a stillborn child out of wedlock. Determined to have a respectable future, she finds a position for herself as a nursemaid at Hungerton House. But just as she begins to find her feet, the secrets of her past are revealed. She is swiftly dismissed but not before she becomes the target of a lascivious groom. And even afterwards she is pursued by Hungerton, an evil old man who wishes to send her back to the gutters.
-
Star of the North
- Music Hall Series, Book 2
- By: Anna Jacobs
- Narrated by: Anne Dover
- Length: 14 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Marjorie is the pretty one of the Preston sisters. So pretty that when a performer at her sister's music room breaks her leg, Marjorie is asked to fill in as the assistant to the singer Denby Sinclair. He offers to take her with him, away from Lancashire and into London theatres. It seems as if her dreams will come true, but Denby is not what he seems. He has a dangerous secret which, if it were to be revealed, would ruin her. Marjorie, however, is reckless and will take any risk for a chance to work on the stage.
-
Pride of Lancashire
- Music Hall Series, Book 1
- By: Anna Jacobs
- Narrated by: Anne Dover
- Length: 14 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Carrie Preston is used to hard work - oldest of 10, with an incompetent mother and a drunken father, she struggles to find food for her siblings. But nothing could have prepared her for the day fate deals her family the cruellest of hands, rendering them more desperate than ever. In a harsh world, small acts of kindness can bring great hope - Eli Beckett's offer of a job at the Dragon pub promises a better future for Carrie, especially as Eli's uncle has offered his nephew some spare land to build a music room.
-
Like No Other
- By: Anna Jacobs
- Narrated by: Nicolette McKenzie
- Length: 14 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Rachel Smedling is not like the other women in her isolated Pennine village: she is taller, stronger, and weaves cloth like a man. Without her, the household would fall apart, for her mother is ailing and her vicious drunkard father seems to hate her so much, he would happily offer money to any man who would wed her. When her mother dies, Rachel is at the mercy of her increasingly violent father. Her only escape is by marrying a kindly man with whom she finds happiness, if not passion, and her life begins to seem complete.
-
-
Story was gripping
- By Adele on 26-11-19
-
Jessie
- By: Anna Jacobs
- Narrated by: Anne Dover
- Length: 17 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Jessie Burton is lively and intelligent - she wants more than the respectable life in service her mother has planned for her. Times are changing; railways are being built across the land, bringing new freedom and possibilities. Jessie tastes that freedom when she meets an ambitious young navvy, newly arrived in Yorkshire. The attraction between them is overwhelming. And Jared Wilde is determined to make Jessie his wife.
-
-
Fantastic book
- By Mrs M E Hoare on 09-11-19
-
Our Lizzie
- Kershaw Sisters, Book 1
- By: Anna Jacobs
- Narrated by: Patricia Gallimore
- Length: 15 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Lizzie Kershaw is an independent spirit; ever since her father's death she has had to be a survivor. Home life is harsh, though, and desperate to escape it, she makes an ill-advised marriage. But she discovers that she's married a selfish and violent man. His beatings never seem to stop, and, with the help of some suffragettes, she escapes to Manchester, where she finds work in a munitions factory - she is finally the independent woman she has always longed to be. But her husband, whose cruelty knows no bounds, tracks her down and drags her back home to more beatings than ever....
-
-
Excellent Story
- By Hungryhorse on 16-10-19
-
Bright Day Dawning
- Music Hall Series, Book 3
- By: Anna Jacobs
- Narrated by: Anne Dover
- Length: 13 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Gwynna had fallen from grace once, bearing a stillborn child out of wedlock. Determined to have a respectable future, she finds a position for herself as a nursemaid at Hungerton House. But just as she begins to find her feet, the secrets of her past are revealed. She is swiftly dismissed but not before she becomes the target of a lascivious groom. And even afterwards she is pursued by Hungerton, an evil old man who wishes to send her back to the gutters.
-
Star of the North
- Music Hall Series, Book 2
- By: Anna Jacobs
- Narrated by: Anne Dover
- Length: 14 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Marjorie is the pretty one of the Preston sisters. So pretty that when a performer at her sister's music room breaks her leg, Marjorie is asked to fill in as the assistant to the singer Denby Sinclair. He offers to take her with him, away from Lancashire and into London theatres. It seems as if her dreams will come true, but Denby is not what he seems. He has a dangerous secret which, if it were to be revealed, would ruin her. Marjorie, however, is reckless and will take any risk for a chance to work on the stage.
-
Pride of Lancashire
- Music Hall Series, Book 1
- By: Anna Jacobs
- Narrated by: Anne Dover
- Length: 14 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Carrie Preston is used to hard work - oldest of 10, with an incompetent mother and a drunken father, she struggles to find food for her siblings. But nothing could have prepared her for the day fate deals her family the cruellest of hands, rendering them more desperate than ever. In a harsh world, small acts of kindness can bring great hope - Eli Beckett's offer of a job at the Dragon pub promises a better future for Carrie, especially as Eli's uncle has offered his nephew some spare land to build a music room.
-
Like No Other
- By: Anna Jacobs
- Narrated by: Nicolette McKenzie
- Length: 14 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Rachel Smedling is not like the other women in her isolated Pennine village: she is taller, stronger, and weaves cloth like a man. Without her, the household would fall apart, for her mother is ailing and her vicious drunkard father seems to hate her so much, he would happily offer money to any man who would wed her. When her mother dies, Rachel is at the mercy of her increasingly violent father. Her only escape is by marrying a kindly man with whom she finds happiness, if not passion, and her life begins to seem complete.
-
-
Story was gripping
- By Adele on 26-11-19
-
Jessie
- By: Anna Jacobs
- Narrated by: Anne Dover
- Length: 17 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Jessie Burton is lively and intelligent - she wants more than the respectable life in service her mother has planned for her. Times are changing; railways are being built across the land, bringing new freedom and possibilities. Jessie tastes that freedom when she meets an ambitious young navvy, newly arrived in Yorkshire. The attraction between them is overwhelming. And Jared Wilde is determined to make Jessie his wife.
-
-
Fantastic book
- By Mrs M E Hoare on 09-11-19
-
Our Lizzie
- Kershaw Sisters, Book 1
- By: Anna Jacobs
- Narrated by: Patricia Gallimore
- Length: 15 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Lizzie Kershaw is an independent spirit; ever since her father's death she has had to be a survivor. Home life is harsh, though, and desperate to escape it, she makes an ill-advised marriage. But she discovers that she's married a selfish and violent man. His beatings never seem to stop, and, with the help of some suffragettes, she escapes to Manchester, where she finds work in a munitions factory - she is finally the independent woman she has always longed to be. But her husband, whose cruelty knows no bounds, tracks her down and drags her back home to more beatings than ever....
-
-
Excellent Story
- By Hungryhorse on 16-10-19
-
Our Polly
- Kershaw Sisters, Book 2
- By: Anna Jacobs
- Narrated by: Julia Franklin
- Length: 13 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Little Billy, Polly's son, is the light of her life. It's for his sake that she puts up with an unkind mother-in-law and life on an isolated farm. When Billy is knocked down by a car, his father is killed attempting to save his life, and Polly, cast off by her husband's family, is left with a child who may never walk or talk again. Polly turns to her own family for support, but they are unable to outmanoeuvre the malicious Dr Browning-Baker, who is determined to have Billy taken away from his mother, depriving him of the exercises and stimulation that are his only hope.
-
-
Brilliant
- By JennyHeckford on 12-10-19
-
Our Eva
- Kershaw Sisters, Book 3
- By: Anna Jacobs
- Narrated by: Nicolette McKenzie
- Length: 14 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Eva Kershaw thought she would never marry and is happy living a quiet life with her dear friend Alice. But Alice is ill, and her nephew, Gus, has thrust himself into their household. Alice's dearest wish is that Eva should not make the same mistakes she did, and she alters her will so that Eva and Gus are strongly compelled to marry. Eva obliges to fulfil her dead friend's wishes. But Gus is not all he seems to be: he is not Alice's kind nephew but a robber, a confidence trickster, and not even Gus Blake. And Eva is in terrible danger....
-
Twopenny Rainbows
- The Irish Sisters, Book 2
- By: Anna Jacobs
- Narrated by: Marie McCarthy
- Length: 12 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The new Anna Jacobs saga continues the story of the younger sisters of Keara Michaels, the heroine of A Pennyworth of Sunshine, following their fortunes from 19th-century Ireland to the brave new world of Australia. In 1863 the authorities send Irish orphans Ismay and Mara to Australia against their will. Just when they thought it couldn't get any worse, on arrival they're separated from one another. While Ismay is forced to take a job as a maid miles away in the country, Mara must stay in the care of the Catholic mission.
-
A Pennyworth of Sunshine
- The Irish Sisters, Book 1
- By: Anna Jacobs
- Narrated by: Marie McCarthy
- Length: 12 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Keara Michaels doesn't want to leave her family in Ireland, but fate sends her first to Lancashire, then across the sea to Australia, pregnant and penniless. And Theo Mullane, the man who loves her, is married, with an ailing baby son, so cannot follow her as he longs to. Mark Gibson leaves Lancashire to avoid marriage. But gold prospecting is a dangerous pursuit, and when his gentle young wife dies in childbirth, his father-in-law kidnaps the baby. So Mark runs away again, this time to Western Australia, where he employs Keara in his country inn.
-
-
A penny worth of sunshine
- By Fran w on 26-10-19
-
Threepenny Dreams
- The Irish Sisters, Book 3
- By: Anna Jacobs
- Narrated by: Nicolette McKenzie
- Length: 13 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Recently widowed, Hannah Firth is still young - young enough to dream of a new life. When her spiteful daughter-in-law uses her as an unpaid servant, Hannah tries to leave, but she is unaware of the depths that Patty's spite will lead her to. Nathaniel King's life is ruined when his landlord's son lays waste to his market garden for a prank - and the resulting feud puts Nathaniel's livelihood at stake.
-
Our Mary Ann
- Kershaw Sisters, Book 4
- By: Anna Jacobs
- Narrated by: Nicolette McKenzie
- Length: 13 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
She thought the worst was behind her.... Life is tough in Lancashire in 1905 - and especially so for 15-year-old Mary Ann, who was born out of wedlock. When her new stepfather begins to abuse her, Mary Ann doesn't know how much more she can take - until the worst happens and she is sent away to bear his child. After the birth, she manages to escape to Blackpool with the help of her new friend Gabriel. Years later, the Great War brings Mary Ann many new opportunities, and brings Gabriel back into her life - but circumstances mean they can never be together.
-
Calico Road
- The Staley Family, Book 2
- By: Anna Jacobs
- Narrated by: Nicolette McKenzie
- Length: 12 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Calico Road runs through a tiny Lancashire hamlet up on the edge of the moors, miles from anywhere. Its folk are an independent breed - and in 1827 they are a thorn in the side of the vicious mill owner in the valley below. Toby Fletcher's father ignored his bastard son while alive. Now Toby is the new owner of the rambling old inn, an unwitting keeper of its secrets. Then Meg Staley comes to Calico - a woman who was strong enough to survive one tragedy but found it harder to withstand a second blow.
-
-
Excellent
- By Kathleen on 10-11-19
-
Lancashire Lass
- Lancashire Settlers, Book 1
- By: Anna Jacobs
- Narrated by: Nicolette McKenzie
- Length: 15 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Seventeen-year-old Liza is happy working as a lady's maid - until her employers decide to emigrate and her father makes up his mind that she is to wed an older widower whom she detests. Determined to avoid a loveless marriage, Liza plans to run away. But when the widower rapes her to force her to marry him, she flees back to the family for whom she worked. She feels she has no choice but to go with them to Australia, and they all set out on the long voyage. On board ship, Liza discovers to her horror that she has fallen pregnant.
-
-
Excellent
- By pamela c. on 26-10-19
-
Down Weavers Lane
- The Staley Family, Book 1
- By: Anna Jacobs
- Narrated by: Anne Dover
- Length: 13 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Emmy Carter's mother is a prostitute - and her life has made Emmy determined to avoid the same fate. But Emmy is beautiful, so attracts unwanted attention; her mother's protector has his eye on her, as does evil Marcus Armistead, her employer's nephew. Marcus is excited by Emmy's virginity and has her kidnapped, but Emmy hits him over the head and escapes. Marcus, further enraged, kills her mother and becomes even more determined to rape Emmy, but the combined efforts of the local parson and Emmy's young suitor manage to keep her safe from harm.
-
-
A compulsive listen
- By Hungryhorse on 10-09-19
-
Lancashire Legacy
- Lancashire Settlers, Book 2
- By: Anna Jacobs
- Narrated by: Nicolette McKenzie
- Length: 13 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
At 18, Cathie longs for more than life as a settler in the Australian bush. So when her uncle offers her the chance to send her to England, she grabs the opportunity with both hands and runs away from her family. But little does she know that he is using her to get revenge on his sister, Liza. Attacked at the docks in Liverpool, Cathie takes refuge with the man who saved her, a man who has his own troubles. But as she slowly regains her memory and meets her Lancashire relatives, she must confront the legacy of her mother's past.
-
The Trader's Wife
- The Traders, Book 1
- By: Anna Jacobs
- Narrated by: Nicolette McKenzie
- Length: 11 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Singapore in the 1860s is exotic and yet terrifying for a penniless Englishwoman, alone and vulnerable after her mother's death. Too pretty to obtain a governess' job, Isabella Saunders accepts an offer from Singapore merchant Mr Lee to teach him English and live with his family. Two years later Bram Deagan arrives in Singapore, determined to make his fortune as a trader. Mr Lee sees a way to expand his business connections and persuades Isabella to marry Bram. Bravely, she sets sail for a new land and life.
-
-
Predictable storyline
- By MRS JEAN EH CALDER on 22-11-19
-
Tomorrow's Promises
- By: Anna Jacobs
- Narrated by: Patricia Gallimore
- Length: 13 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Ellen Dawson is glad when the Great War ends but sad that Lady Bingram's aides are to be disbanded. She can't bear to go back into service again after working as a driver and mechanic in London. But she is forced by her mother's illness to accept her old position as housemaid in order to stay in the small Lancashire town, and her stepfather will stop at nothing to get her under his control again. Meanwhile, Seth Talbot is also facing difficulties when he takes over as local policeman in a town where the law has been flouted for years....
-
-
its ok
- By Amazon Customer on 02-10-19
Summary
Dora Preston has guts, but it will take more than that for her to break free from Hedderby and make a life for herself on the stage. Then she meets Gideon - and pursuing her ambitions becomes even harder.
Gideon has returned from the fighting in India only to discover that an impostor has stolen his inheritance. He has vowed he will claim his birthright, but his enemies are ruthless and desperate. Arson attacks, crime and drunkenness have beset the Lancashire mill town, but the forces of goodness are rallying and are determined to prevail, whatever it takes.
More from the same
What members say
Average customer ratings
Overall
-
-
5 Stars8
-
4 Stars1
-
3 Stars0
-
2 Stars0
-
1 Stars0
Performance
-
-
5 Stars7
-
4 Stars0
-
3 Stars0
-
2 Stars0
-
1 Stars0
Story
-
-
5 Stars7
-
4 Stars0
-
3 Stars0
-
2 Stars0
-
1 Stars0