Showing results by narrator "Antonia Whillans" in All Categories

Amsterdam, 1616. Jana Beil has learned that life rarely provides moments of joy. Having run away from a violent father, her days are spent searching for work in an effort to stay out of the city brothels, where desperate women trade their bodies for a mouthful of bread. But when Jana is hired as a servant for the wealthy and kind Master Reynst and his beautiful daughter Sontje, Jana’s future begins to look brighter. 

As a fussy baby, Anne was prescribed laudanum to quiet her and has been given the opium-heavy syrup ever since on account of her continuing ill health. While her mother is outraged when Darcy chooses not to marry Anne, as has been long planned, Anne can barely raise her head to acknowledge the fact. But little by little, she comes to see that what she has always been told is an affliction of nature might in fact be one of nurture - and one, therefore, that she can beat.

Anne White looked away for only a second, but that’s all it took to lose sight of her young daughter. But seven years later, Abigail is found. And as Anne struggles to connect with her teenage daughter, she begins to question how much Abigail remembers about the day she disappeared.

Asha lives in the foothills of the Himalayas. She misses her papa who works in the city. When he suddenly stops sending his wages, a ruthless moneylender ransacks their home. Asha makes a pact with her best friend, Jeevan, to find her father. But the journey is dangerous: they must cross the world's highest mountains and face hunger, tiredness - even snow leopards. Yet Asha has the unshakeable sense that the spirit bird of her grandmother - her nanijee - will be watching over her. 

The neighbours all complain about the foxes, but Cassie thinks they're beautiful. Her favourite is a small fox with a white tail-tip, who she names Frost. One night she catches sight of him out in the snow, looking cold and thin, and decides to sneak him some food. But Frost seems to want her to follow him. As he leads Cassie towards the river, she feels the world change around her and finds herself in the back in the 17th century.... 

Vanessa March's husband, Lewis, is meant to be on a business trip in Stockholm - so why does he briefly appear in newsreel footage of a fire at a circus in Vienna, with his arm around another woman? Vanessa flies to Austria to find her husband, inadvertently becoming involved in a mystery that spans three countries...and the famous dancing stallions of the Spanish Riding School. The moonlight flooded the meadow, blanching all colours to its own ghostly silver. The pines were very black.

The recently rediscovered short story 'The Lost One', perfect for fans of Daphne du Maurier, Santa Montefiore and Anya Seton. First published in Woman's Journal in 1960, and set against the backdrop of unfenced country and dark winding valleys at night, the aptly named 'The Lost One' features The Wind off the Small Isles heroine Perdita West, who brings her characteristic pluck and courage to this classic Mary Stewart tale of suspense and intrigue....

Growing up poor but proud on the Dorset coast, Mary follows after her father, hunting for fossils of ancient creatures. Ignoring other's taunts, Mary faces danger to bring back valuable treasures to help feed her family. But tragedy and despair are never far away. Mary must depend upon her unique courage and knowledge to fulfil her dream of becoming a scientist, in a time when girls have no opportunities for such ambitions. What will happen when she makes her greatest discovery of all?

On 26th April 1986, reactor four exploded at the factory in Pripyat, Chernobyl. At the same time teenager Afia Bello vanished from her home without a trace. The damage from the nuclear fallout is examined over the following weeks, months and years by Afia’s younger sister Sissy, as she unwittingly uncovers clues relating to her sister’s disappearance and the secret life that Afia kept hidden from her family.

Fleur Stanthorpe, an Australian, arrives in Whitby to live out a dream after surviving cancer. She plans to rent a shop and open a bookshop café and experience the English way of life for the summer before returning home and settling down. Only, she hasn’t counted on meeting gorgeous Irishman Patrick Donnelly. Their attraction is instant, their goals a world apart. He’s looking for a solid relationship for the first time since his divorce five years ago, while she’s having her last fling at freedom before returning home to family and responsibilities.

Anne White looked away for only a second, but that’s all it took to lose sight of her young daughter. But seven years later, Abigail is found. And as Anne struggles to connect with her teenage daughter, she begins to question how much Abigail remembers about the day she disappeared....