Showing results by publisher "Spoken Realms" in Historical

In the 1930s, young women with big dreams came to New York City to pursue careers, meet men, and make friends. Charles "Lucky" Luciano, an Italian-American gangster, was one of the people who preyed on them. This fictionalized first-person account of a girl from a small town in the northeast US details how she became ensnared in the party circuit and eventually worked as a prostitute in Luciano's houses.

Over the course of 47 years, Victorian writer Margaret Oliphant produced 120 novels, biographies, and histories, as well as hundreds of essays and book reviews. "She was of an intellect so alert," wrote J. M. Barrie, "that one wondered if she ever fell asleep." Widowed young, she was the sole support of her children and her nieces, whom her brother had abandoned: a powerful impetus for her prodigious output. The two novels included here reflect the difficulties that Victorian wives had when their lives took unexpected turns.

The False Faces: Further Adventures from the History of the Lone Wolf, by Louis Joseph Vance, was first published in 1918, and is the second of what eventually became an 8-book series. The main character, known as The Lone Wolf, is a reformed jewel thief who in this story, is a British spy, who uses several names including Michael Lanyard.

One night is all it took. Passion ignites when a laird who has sworn off love meets a chambermaid in disguise at a masquerade ball. But can there be a happy ending for two people from such different worlds? A heartwarming rags-to-riches romance set in Medieval Scotland.

Casey Clemens is having a bad day. And it’s going to get worse. It’s the day before Casey’s fortieth birthday and Hollywood doesn’t want her anymore (not that it ever did). Her career and personal life are a disaster. Frantic to escape her own emptiness, she hops on a plane to England and heads to the countryside to hide. But she can’t hide from herself. A lightning strike, a skidding car, and a horse that might be magical send her through a gap in time to the Dark Ages, where she inadvertently saves King Arthur from Saxon warriors.

Nancy Morris, a shopkeeper's daughter from Sandwich, becomes a governess with the help of a benefactor, Sir Gervase Damian. One day she helps a stranger whose advances she gently rebuffs, only to meet him again when she takes a new position in the North.

According to legend, in 1910, Marie Belloc Lowndes attended a London dinner party where a guest told her that his mother’s butler and cook claimed they had once rented rooms to Jack the Ripper, the notorious mass murderer. The idea for “The Lodger” was born. Mr. and Mrs. Bunting have sunk their savings into their house with plans to let rooms. But no lodgers have materialized, and they are on the verge of penury when, one foggy night, a knock on the door brings Mr. Sleuth, an unassuming gentleman whose needs are perfectly suited to the suite of rooms the Buntings have to rent.

Madeleine isn’t like other grieving war widows. Claudette isn’t like other young French women. As their lives collide, Madeleine and Claude will discover a depth of connection and desire they never knew could exist. Can their love flourish in post-WW2 France or will their past derail their future?

Laura Temple faces the predicaments of many British middle-class wives and mothers living in country villages between the World Wars. Her too-large house, inherited by her husband Alfred, requires three servants to keep it running: generally unsatisfactory servants whom she is perpetually concerned will leave her employ for greener pastures, which they inevitably do. Her modest success as a short story writer helps augment their income but still, there is never enough money. She is a devoted mother to her two sons, although she shamelessly prefers one over the other. And she is deeply unhappy.

The Romantic Epistle was published in 1717 and aroused considerable interest because of its mildly suggestive content. It portrays an incident in which Héloïse d'Argenteuil, now immured in a convent chances on a letter from her former lover and later, husband, the brilliant philosopher Peter Abelard.

Dive into the gripping tension of World War II with "So Long, Sister," a thrilling short story by Justin Case aka Hugh B. Cave, expertly narrated by Mike Vendetti. Set against the treacherous backdrop of the Bering Sea, this tale unfolds as a Navy PBY submarine chaser goes down, leaving its courageous crew adrift in the freezing waters.

After a love affair turns into tragedy, Davina Campbell seeks to escape her father's domineering ways. She won't marry any of the men he keeps pushing at her--instead, she will become a nun and make a fresh start.

After a riding accident involving her uncle, a respected General, Mina's life takes a dark turn. A new groom with a mysterious past and unsettling talents arrives at the estate, stirring whispers of hidden secrets and dangerous motives. As Mina delves deeper into the groom's enigma, she unravels a web of intrigue that threatens to upend everything she knows.

Euripides's play follows the fates of the women of Troy after their city has been sacked, their husbands killed, and their remaining families taken away as slaves. It serves as an anti-war narrative as it highlights the suffering of the women left behind. The tragedy also calls attention to how women were treated as commodities in the past by showing how they were divided among the remaining men as spoils of war.

In "Waterway Death," listeners are transported back to the tense atmosphere of 1939, on the brink of World War II. Arthur W. Phillips crafts a gripping spy story centered around a master German spy, referred to as Dr. Death, and his dangerous plans for a newly developed explosive. Narrated by the talented Mike Vendetti, this audiobook is filled with suspense, intrigue, and high-stakes espionage as a Canadian government agent races against time to stop Dr. Death before it's too late.

Alexander MacNichol, the epitome of a hot-blooded Highland warrior, loyal to Scotland, lover of women, and a merry time. The last thing he expected from his King, Robert the Bruce, was an order to marry a whey-faced English lass from the wrong side of the border. Lady Grace Worthington, one moment betrothed to an Englishman she fears and the next, thrust into the arms of a Scottish brute named MacNichol. All the while, battling her own inner demons. Yet, life in the Highlands is not at all what Grace expects.

Lean Times in Lankhmar, a gripping novella by Fritz Leiber Jr, follows the divergent paths of Faford and the Gray Mouser in the city of Lankhmar. The Gray Mouser becomes a Lieutenant for the city's top extortioner, dealing with the various religious sects on the Street of the Gods. Meanwhile, Fairford becomes an acolyte for the dottering apostle of the god, Issac of the Jug, setting the stage for a clash of interests between our two heroes. As the Issac of the Jug religion gains popularity and wealth, the Mouser is tasked with extracting funds from Fairford's mentor.

Mrs. Bennet is desperate for her five daughters to marry in order to secure their future. But with no romance on the horizon for her eldest, Jane, things are looking bleak. Practical Mary shows no interest in anything other than her studies and music. Her youngest two, Kitty and Lydia, have a frivolous approach to their quest for romance, which is unlikely to end in marriage… Meet Elizabeth Bennet, the second-eldest daughter. Sensible, witty, headstrong, and an excellent judge of character—or so she thinks…

"Cup of Gold" by John Steinbeck is a historical novel that follows the life of Henry Morgan, a Welshman who becomes one of the most notorious pirates of the Caribbean. The story begins with Henry's childhood in Wales, where he dreams of adventure and riches. He eventually leaves his home and becomes a bond servant in Barbados, where he learns about the harsh realities of life and begins to develop his ambitions.

Isobel MacNeil has grown up a simple village Lass and craves adventure, knowledge, and love. Laird Jamie Murray is looking for a woman who will bring a strong alliance and run his keep. Love is not required. When the two encounter each other in a loch, her bathing and him grievously wounded, sparks fly and passions ignite.