Showing results by publisher "Next Chapter Audio Ltd" in Historical Fiction

In seventh century England, tribes and so-called kings vie for power and blood flows throughout the land. Aethelred - ruler of Mercia - is being pressed from all sides, and his wife Osthryth dies under unknown circumstances. Osthryth’s ring falls into the hands of warrior noble Aethelbald, who is accused of her murder and forced to leave Mercia by his conniving cousin Coeolred, who has eyes on the throne. When Aethelred abdicates and the weakling Cenred assumes power, Coelred sees a path to become the king.

In 19th-century Isle of Wight, Sarah Bembridge sets on a journey of adventure and misadventure. With Napoleon Bonaparte just across the Channel, poised to invade, Sarah has other things on her mind. First, she rescues a shipwrecked sailor, whom she suspects to be French. Soon afterward, she gets engaged with a handsome officer. And when the mysterious Mr. Howard calls at her inn, Sarah’s life becomes even more complicated.

Machine gun fire and rifle bullets zing all around her as she maneuvers her plane to drop her bombs. Her fragile World War I biplane is low enough for her to hear the Germans screaming and yelling, as she presses forward to her drop zone. This was a typical flight during one night’s sorties. The German soldiers feared and hated the women they called the Nachthexen: Night Witches. There were three all-female aviation regiments in the Soviet Union during World War II.

When a deadly plague seizes the walled town of Avignon, young Marius is determined to save his townsfolk from the raging pestilence. While leading the effort to combat the Black Death, Marius is distracted by a liaison with the mysterious Alice. Meanwhile, Pope Clément harbors a burning desire for vengeance on the boy’s father. As death sweeps through the city, can Marius reconcile his passion with a duty to his wife, and his responsibility to the townsfolk?

Melcorka thought she was an ordinary young woman from the Isles. But when her homeland of Alba is attacked by an invading horde, Melcorka abandons her life of luxury and chooses the path of a warrior. With a ragtag band of companions, she heads south to unite the clans and free the land from the Norsemen's scourge and claim her destiny.

When Ingrid flees a violent husband to become a housekeeper in the Scottish Highlands, she discovers the family she works for has a much darker history than her own. Who haunts Strathbairn? Why are the adult McCleod children at each other’s throats? And why does the youngest sneak off at night? As Ingrid searches for answers, she grows ever more fearful that her husband will track her down. Set in late 19th century Scottish Highlands, WHAT HAPPENED AT THE ABBEY is a gothic mystery brimming with intrigue, ghostly drama, and family secrets.

The successful smuggler John Smith has become a highwayman to safeguard his inland trade. Riding the roads as the Yellowhammer, he makes both friends and enemies as he robs the rich and powerful.

In ancient Finland, young Vierra begins her passage to adulthood. It's a time when Viking warriors prowl the land, and riches are in reach of the powerful. The medieval north of myth is a dangerous place, and powers both natural and supernatural are ready to take away everything she holds dear. Vierra sets to overcome the odds with iron will and sharp wit, but fate has more in store for the young woman.

After a three-year absence mired in anxiety and trapped by her lack of speech, portrait miniaturist Susannah Gresham gathers her courage and returns to Whitehall Palace and her godfather, the king. Encountering Florentine jeweler Raphael Rossi, who appears to her just another court libertine, she is surprised when he finds his way unbidden into her thoughts. With help from the Duchess of Richmond, Raphael has set out to win her heart.

When Luca went to Sicily in search of his parents’ roots, he didn’t count on meeting Vito: a wizened old man who seemed to embody the history of the island in his bones. He also didn't count on Vito taking him back centuries – millennia – to the ancient times when Sicily was settled by seafaring people, and fought over by warring tribes and invaders.

Detective Simms of the Pinkerton Detective Agency receives orders for another mission. Desperadoes are taking advantage of the fledgling railroads that cut through the endless plains, and the Pinkertons are charged with protecting the valuable cargo. After a powerful group sets their eyes on the scarcely guarded carriages, Simms begins to shadow the train robbers. But soon, he realizes that someone is hunting him, instead.

Three lives come together on the steps of a country church one fateful summer’s morning – two from backgrounds of wealth and privilege, the other an artisan already on his way to genius – each will know love and loss as the next twenty years unfold. Cremona, Italy. 1714. When thirteen-year-old Katarina Rota opens the door to the Guarneri workshop and Giuseppe plays a violin for her, neither can imagine what lies ahead. Though Giuseppe can teach her how to play, nurturing her talent until it surpasses his, he cannot see beyond that child he first knew.

Jake Conley, un aspirant romancier, sort d'un coma de quelques semaines. Il découvre qu'il est atteint de synesthésie et que son cerveau désormais interconnecté lui confère des forces psychiques accrus. Passionné d'histoire anglo-saxonne, ses recherches sur Aldfrith, roi de Northumbrie, le mènent à l'Antre d'Elfrid, dans le Yorkshire Nord, où, comme le raconte la légende, ce roi s'est réfugié après une bataille sanglante. Ce dont Jake n'a pas conscience, c'est que ses explorations déclenchent une série d'événements paranormaux meurtriers.

September, 1821. When her father announces that she must marry the ancient, grim-faced vicar, Lucy decides upon a desperate plan. Stealing his prized stallion, she escapes across the moors, only to fall into the hands of notorious horse thieves and the cheating arms of their rough but charming leader. She is forced to take part in their crimes, but when she tries to deceive Philip, son of the Earl of Darwell, Lucy meets her match.

Amid the danger and death of a decaying 19th century city, the pawnbroker plies his trade. A man of evil temper, he craves the one thing that will bring him the fulfillment he covets. In the present day, two teenage boys explore an abandoned, Tudor-style house. An eerie atmosphere fills the boys with a sense of dread, and they realize that something sinister is in the air.

Donna Russo's 'Vincent's Women' is the untold story of Vincent's loves: how they shaped his life, his art, and his death. It writes against the ‘myths,’ exploring the possibility that none of them are true. It is the only novel to bring into question his sexuality, how he lost his ear, who he lost it for, and how he might have died, all through the eyes of a woman. We learn of Her; we learn all of it through Her. The story is guided by Johanna van Gogh Bonger, Vincent's sister-in-law, as she decides to reveal the truth about Vincent to her son.

It's Christmas time in Madison, Wisconsin. It is the early stages of the Iraq War, which has conjured up memories for a bread man raised by a Vietnam Vet. If that weren’t enough to bring back these unwanted memories, his boss at the Bread Depot is an ex-Master Gunnery Marine Drill Sergeant who served in the Gulf War. On Christmas Eve, his father calls to tell him that he has cancer, and that he has Agent Orange. Depressed and suffering from insomnia, can he come to grips with his past, and heal the wounds that haunt him?

From hunting pickpockets in London omnibuses and ghosts in Hesse Square, Sergeant Watters and Detective Silver are led into the notorious Wild Geese public house, and a tangled mystery that involves the murder of a guardsman and the vivacious wife of an Austrian diplomat. With the help of the Irish woman Rowena, Watters trawls through the back streets of London, encounters female prize-fighters and suave cracksmen, and finds himself in the savage world of espionage. But can he unravel the mysterious words: "There is a storm from the east and the west"?

Scotland, 1388. After Fergus Scott of Eildon travels north to investigate reports of a malevolent presence, he encounters the ferocious Alistair Mor. Drawn into battle against enchantment and death, Fergus is aided by the lovely but quick-tempered Seonaid. Meanwhile, Donald of the Isles and his army march to confront Alistair, and trouble is brewing as the witches of Scotland gather to recreate the Book of Black Earth.

When Sandra Cooper is offered the chance to move away from London with her children, it seems like a good opportunity to escape the 1940 blitz. Her husband Harry is away in the army, and over the next five years she comes to experience the very worst that World War 2 can inflict on the people. As they settle into their new home, she realizes that the Hertfordshire town is not such a safe option after all.