Showing results by narrator "Alison Larkin" in All Categories

England, 1819. The earl of Amhurst has returned to his estate in search of a wife and, more importantly, an heir. Simon Devere isn't interested in some comely, simpering creature. A beautiful woman brings only heartbreak and ruin, and Simon's disfigured visage is proof enough of that. No, he wants a wife who is unattractive and undesirable - and the homelier, the better.

"Kissing you is like new paint and old pain. It is like coffee and car alarms and a dim stairway and a stain and it's like smoke.' ('Placing a Call') How does love change us? And how do we change ourselves for love - or for lack of it? Ten stories by acclaimed author Deborah Levy explore these delicate, impossible questions. In Vienna, an icy woman seduces a broken man; in London gardens, birds sing in computer start-up sounds; in ad-land, a sleek copywriter becomes a kind of shaman.

A shadow follows Sophie. Watching. Waiting. Her instinct tells her that it's someone she knows. But who? The man she met Internet dating? The nurse caring for her ill mother? Or is her mother faking her illness? The only thing she knows is that she can't trust anyone. Sophie must delve into a dark history to reveal her stalker. But there are some stories that should never be told.

Ever since Colin Firth's Mr Darcy emerged from the lake in the BBC adaptation of Pride and Prejudice, the novels of Jane Austen have become more popular than ever, delighting millions of fans all over the world. Now, Alison Larkin's critically acclaimed narrations of Austen's six completed novels are brought together in this very special 200th anniversary audio edition. "Alison Larkin's narration will captivate listeners from the first sentence" raves AudioFile magazine about the Earphones Award-winning recording of Sense and Sensibility, which starts the collection.

For billions of people, having a religious belief system provides purpose in life. For some, religion serves as a guide for moral behavior. After many years exploring the foundations of various world religions, Jason Boyett has written this comprehensive, easy-to-understand exploration of the 12 major world religions through a meticulous, yet unbiased lens. 12 Major World Religions offers an impartial look at where each of these belief systems intersects, how they differ, and why some have been - or are currently - misunderstood.

Considered one of the great English novels, George Eliot's Middlemarch, A Study of Provincial Life follows myriad characters and their lives in the eponymous town, Middlemarch, in the 1800s. Utilizing a realistic style, Eliot considers issues such as religion, education, and the status of women—to name just a few.

Most people avoid the dreaded Whitechapel district. For Honoria Todd, it's the last safe haven. But at what price? Blade is known as the master of the rookeries - no one dares cross him. It's been said he faced down the Echelon's army single-handedly, that ever since being infected by the blood craving he's been quicker, stronger, almost immortal. When Honoria shows up at his door, his tenuous control comes close to snapping. She's so...innocent. He doesn't see her backbone of steel - or that she could be the very salvation he's been seeking.

Governess Abigail Chantry will do anything to save her sister and two dearest friends from destitution, even if it means breaking into an empty mansion in the hope of finding something to sell. Instead of treasures, though, she finds the owner, Lady Beatrice Davenham, bedridden and neglected. Appalled, Abby rousts Lady Beatrice's predatory servants and-with Lady Beatrice's eager cooperation-the four young ladies become her "nieces," neatly eliminating the threat of disaster for all concerned!

In a Victorian London ruled by the blood-drinking elite, Perry Lowell is a logical and accomplished Nighthawk: a rogue blue blood who tracks murderers and thieves for the Guild. So when she and her charming but reckless partner, Garrett, are charged with finding a missing theater starlet, it should be a simple solve. But with an entire theater of suspects, including a flirtatious understudy, and whispers of a Clockwork Menace haunting the place, tension is brewing between the pair of them.

Shy, young heiress Lady Lily Rutherford is in no hurry to marry. She dreams of true love and a real courtship. But when disaster strikes, she finds herself facing a scandal-forced marriage to her rescuer, Edward Galbraith, a well-known rake. Despite his reputation, Lily is drawn to the handsome Galbraith. In the gamble of her life, she agrees to marry him, hoping to turn a convenient marriage into a love match. As heir to a title, Galbraith knows he must wed, so a convenient marriage suits him perfectly. But there is a darkness in his past.

Fiercely independent Daisy Chance has a dream - and it doesn't involve marriage or babies (or being under any man's thumb). Raised in poverty, she has a passion - and a talent - for making beautiful clothes. Daisy aims to become the finest dressmaker in London. Dashing Irishman Patrick Flynn is wealthy and ambitious and has entered society to find an aristocratic bride. Instead he finds himself growing increasingly attracted to the headstrong, clever, and outspoken Daisy.

Fungi can appear anywhere, from desert dunes to frozen tundra. They can invade our bodies and live between our toes or our floorboards. They are unwelcome intruders or vastly expensive treats, and symbols of both death and eternal life. But despite their familiar presence, there’s still much to learn about the eruption, growth, and decay of their secret interconnected world. From fields, feasts, and fairy rings to death caps, puffballs, and ambrosia beetles, this is an intoxicating journey into the life of an extraordinary organism, one that we have barely begun to understand.

Based on the theme "The Power of Reading", the sixth year of the Jane Austen Literacy Foundation short story writing competition attracted a higher standard of entries than ever before–any of the top 12 stories could have been a winner!

Portia St. Claire's brother has gambled and lost, throwing her into the power of ruthless men. Their price for his life is her virtue, to be auctioned off in London's most notorious brothel. To retrieve an incriminating letter, Bryght Malloren once broke into a house where he was greeted at pistol point by a resolute woman-a woman he could swear stands before him, masked and trembling, on a madam's auction block.

The proud and arrogant duke of Everingham is determined to secure a marriage of convenience with heiress Lady Georgiana Rutherford. He's the biggest prize on the London marriage mart, pursued by young unmarried ladies and their matchmaking mamas, as well as married women with a wandering eye. He can have any woman he wants. Or so he thinks....

A Sicilian Romance by Ann Radcliffe is considered the pioneer of the gothic novel.

On the northern shore of Sicily, the magnificent remains of a castle, which formerly belonged to the noble house of Mazzini, can still be seen. It stands in the center of a small bay, and upon a gentle acclivity, which, on one side, slopes toward the sea, and on the other rises into an eminence crowned by dark woods....

Ten years ago, Perry fled her thrall contract to find sanctuary among the Nighthawks. In that time, she's become a respected woman of the Guard, and she's wanted Garrett Reed for as long as she can remember. But when a new case takes a chillingly familiar turn, Perry finds herself once again in the path of a madman - only this time there's nowhere left to run.

Lena Todd is the perfect spy. Nobody suspects the flirtatious debutante could be a rebel against London's vicious elite - not even the ruthless Will Carver, the one man she can't twist around her little finger. Will Carver is more than man, he's a verwolfen and he wants nothing to do with the dangerous beauty who drives him to the very edge of control. But when he finds Lena in possession of a coded letter, he realizes she's in a world of trouble. To protect her, he'll have to seduce the truth from her before it's too late.

Katherine Woodville's sister never gave her a choice. A happy girl of modest means, Kate hardly expected to become a maker of kings. But when her sister impulsively marries King Edward IV in secret, Katherine's life is no longer hers to control....

Meet Custard, Digger, Greta, Will, and Whisper—five rabbit friends who roam the wooded hillsides of Massachusetts and discover that true wisdom begins with listening. When an unexpected friendship challenges what they think they know, the rabbits learn the power of shared leadership, cooperation, and learning from someone very different from themselves.