Showing results by narrator "Sophie Ward" in All Categories

This is the story of Kitty Fane, the adulterous wife of a bacteriologist stationed in Hong Kong. When her husband discovers her deception, he exacts a terrible vengeance: Kitty must accompany him to the heart of a cholera epidemic in China.

Penguin presents the audiobook edition of Swimming Home by Deborah Levy, read by Sophie Ward. A poet, his wife, her daughter and their friends arrive at the French Riviera. The prospect of a long hot summer stretches ahead of them. At their villa, they find a body in the swimming pool. But this...

In ancient Rome, all the best stories have one thing in common—murder. In one 50-year period, 26 emperors were murdered. But what did killing mean in a city where gladiators fought to the death to sate a crowd? In A Fatal Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, Emma Southon examines a trove of real-life homicides from Roman history to explore Roman culture, including how perpetrator, victim, and the act itself were regarded by ordinary people. Inside ancient Rome’s darkly fascinating history, we see how the Romans viewed life and death and what it means to be human.

Glamorous international art-dealer Elizabeth Teerlinc knows a thing or two about fakes. After all, she is one herself. Her real identity, Judith Rashleigh, is buried under a layer of lies. Not to mention the corpses of the men foolish enough to get in her way. But now, caught in the murderous crossfire between a Russian Mafia boss and a corrupt Italian police detective, Judith is forced to create an even more daring work of art - a fake masterpiece she must take to the world-famous auction house where she used to be a lowly assistant and sell for $150 million.

Brought to you by Penguin. Sarah is a narcoleptic who has dreams so vivid she mistakes them for real events; Robert has had his life changed for ever by the misunderstandings arising from her condition; Terry, the insomniac, spends his wakeful nights fuelling his obsession with movies; and the...

When an undercover assignment for the Bow Street magistrate sees prostitute Lizzie Hardwicke trade Ma Farley’s Bawdy House in Soho for life as a seamstress the theatre on Drury Lane, it becomes clear quite quickly - what goes on in the wings is much more intriguing than the theatrics being played out onstage.... Soon Lizzie is once again thrown together with the handsome Inspector Will Davenport when a high profile investor is brutally hanged at centre stage and Lizzie discovers the body.

'I know,' he says, 'too much. You'll learn to be too much, too.' Then, gently, 'I think it might help.' When Julia flees her unhappy marriage for the handsome tailor Eve Perret, she expects her life from now on will be a challenge, not least because the year is 1911. They leave everything behind...

From the Booker Prize-longlisted author of Love and Other Thought Experiments comes a masterful and gripping thriller about truth, silence, and the weight of the past. Isobel lives an isolated life in North London, where she works at a nearby library. She feels safe, so long as she keeps to her...

This impressive debut novel, longlisted for the 2020 Booker Prize, takes its premise and inspiration from ten of the best-known thought experiments in philosophy—the what-ifs of philosophical investigation—and uses them to talk about love in a wholly unique way. Married couple Rachel and...

FINALIST FOR THE BOOKER PRIZE FINALIST FOR THE NATIONAL BOOK AWARD’S AUTHOR OF THE YEAR A NEW YORK TIMES NOTABLE BOOK “Exquisite.” ―The New Yorker “Readers will have to resist the temptation to hurry up in order to find out what happens...Our reward is the enjoyable, if unsettling...

Bloomsbury presents Swimming Home by Deborah Levy, read by Sophie Ward Shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize "Readers will have to resist the temptation to hurry up in order to find out what happens . . . Our reward is the enjoyable, if unsettling, experience of being pitched into the deep waters...

HAVISHAM IS THE ASTONISHING PRELUDE TO CHARLES DICKENS'S GREAT EXPECTATIONS. Before she became the immortal and haunting Miss Havisham of Great Expectations, she was Catherine, a young woman with all of her dreams ahead of her. Spry, imperious, she is the daughter of a wealthy brewer. But she is...

I have put my pen at the service of some of the most persecuted and misunderstood people in the world So far as I know nothing of the kind has ever been attempted before in fiction. Radclyffe Hall Originally published in 1928, The Well of Loneliness follows the life of Stephen Gordon, a girl...

A fascinating exploration of the psychology behind the seven deadly sins: Why have we evolved these ugly emotions? What’s going on in the brain and the body when we feel them? And how best can we live alongside them - in ourselves and with others? Becky Ripley and Sophie Ward take a humorous and compelling look at the psychology behind each of the seven deadly sins. Rolling with the order established by Pope Gregory the Great, first up is pride, followed by greed, lust, envy, gluttony, wrath, and (finally) lazy old sloth.

The 'rules' are still the rules, to be taken seriously, not to be broken...Ryan and Emily appear to have it all, successful jobs, a beautiful house and the secret to a happy marriage. A secret that involves certain 'rules'. Beneath the surface, trouble is brewing in the shape of Ada. Whimsical, free-spirited and beholden to no-one, she represents the freedom Emily's been striving for and the escape that Ryan didn't know he wanted. As they are separately (and secretly) drawn to her, things start to unravel.

Do you believe in fairies? Rosie does but her mum doesn't. Sometimes, though, real life is stranger than a fairy tale.

Maddie's dreams come true when she makes friends with Poppy, a flower fairy who lives in the woods behind her grandpa's house. But the fairies are in trouble! And not only the flower fairies - tooth fairies, book fairies, and dream fairies too. Someone is catching and imprisoning them and only Maddie and Poppy can help. Poppy has just one wing and can't fly, but soon she and Maddie set off on a daring rescue mission. Can they save the fairies before it is too late?

A gently entertaining and charming fairy story that also deals cleverly with a young child's real problems and emotions. Connie is not a child who likes books. So she's not too pleased when she's sent to stay with her eccentric author aunt. But then Connie meets Ruby - a book fairy - in the dusty old library. Ruby is in trouble: she has broken fairy law by trying to take something - a piece of jewellery - back to fairyland through the gateway of a fairy-dust-sprinkled book.

Penguin presents the audiobook edition of The Accidental Woman by Jonathan Coe, read by Sophie Ward. For Maria, nothing is certain. Her life is a chain of accidents. Friendship passes her by, and she's unimpressed by the devoted Ronny and his endless proposals of marriage. Maria lives in a world...

Ellie never thought she'd meet fairies when she goes to stay with her aunt, but Myfanwy and Bronwen, the valley flower fairies, tell Ellie a secret. The old toy museum nearby contains the entrance to Fairyland and some of the toys can even come to life.