Showing results by narrator "Jill Tanner" in All Categories

East London, 1888 - a city apart. A place of shadow and light where thieves, whores, and dreamers mingle, where children play in the cobbled streets by day and a killer stalks at night, where bright hopes meet the darkest truths. Here, by the whispering waters of the Thames, Fiona Finnegan, a worker in a tea factory, hopes to own a shop one day, together with her lifelong love, Joe Bristow, a costermonger's son. With nothing but their faith in each other to spur them on, Fiona and Joe struggle, save, and sacrifice to achieve their dreams.

All children mythologize their birth... So begins the prologue of reclusive author Vida Winter's beloved collection of stories, long famous for the mystery of the missing thirteenth tale. The enigmatic Winter has always kept her violent and tragic past a secret. Now old and ailing, she summons a biographer to tell the truth about her extraordinary life: Margaret Lea, a young woman for whom the secret of her own birth remains an ever-present pain.

Adam Bede (1859), George Eliot's first full-length novel, marked the emergence of an artist to rank with Scott and Dickens. Set in the English Midlands of farmers and village craftsmen at the turn of the 18th century, the book relates a story of seduction issuing in "the inward suffering which is the worst form of Nemesis". But it is also a rich and pioneering record - drawing on intimate knowledge and affectionate memory - of a rural world that we have lost.

Viscount Torrington is the hottest commodity in town as London's matchmaking season begins. But the viscount only has eyes for the penniless Widow Carrington, who has recently been accused of murder.

Gwendolen Harleth gambles her happiness when she marries a sadistic aristocrat for his money. Beautiful, neurotic, and self-centered, Gwendolen is trapped in an increasingly destructive relationship, and only her chance encounter with the idealistic Deronda seems to offer the hope of a brighter future. Deronda is searching for a vocation, and in embracing the Jewish cause he finds one that is both visionary and life-changing.

First contact with a mysterious race of aliens reveals an unusual request; a family's pet dog comes to grips with the newly bestowed gift of human-like intelligence; a poet, in danger and alone on a distant world, makes unlikely allies; hundreds of years in the future, a famous hermit lives in the sea above the now-underwater Harvard University; former friends navigate unsteady peace between human refugees and the technologically superior race that saved them; in a future where human life can be infinitely extended through cybertronic rebirth, one woman declines immortality.

These three tales are set in different time periods, yet connected in the tumultuous tides around the mystical island of Kell, off the Scottish coast. In 531 A.D., Prince Aedan finds himself washed ashore on the island of Kell, saved by a sensuous siren. In 1721, deadly, beautiful assassin Leila finds herself magically drawn to her next victim, Ronan MacMhuirich, Earl of Kell. In 2004, Ruri Kell agrees to sell her family island to Scottish professor Iain McInnes, but she soon discovers he's after more than her property.

Stephanie Laurens' hot-blooded romances, including her New York Times best-selling Bar Cynster series, have earned her legions of loyal devotees. The beginning of an exciting new saga, The Lady Chosen introduces the distinguished war veterans of the Bastion Club, single gentlemen not entirely committed to staying that way.

Jo Beverley pens romance novels of immense appeal, as evidenced by her frequent appearances on the New York Times best-seller list. In this installment of Beverley’s Georgian Secrets trilogy, young Dorcas Caroline Froggatt rushes into marriage with a soldier who defends her honor. Supposedly killed soon after going off to war, the erstwhile groom again figures in Dorcas’ life when, years later, she attempts to marry another.

Deeply forlorn following the devastating loss of her fiancé, young New Zealand writer Veronika resettles alone in a quaint Swedish village. Her arrival is quietly observed by Astrid, an elderly, reclusive neighbor, whose companionship will be a great blessing to Veronika - if she embraces it.

Liza is raised in a remote rural hamlet. One evening, Liza’s mother orders her to leave home forever. Paralyzed at having to fend for herself, Liza finds refuge with Sean, a drifter with whom she begins to share the bizarre story of her life.

It is London, 1914. World War I looms on the horizon, women are fighting for the right to vote, and explorers are pushing the limits of endurance in the most forbidding corners of the earth. Into this volatile time, Jennifer Donnelly places her vivid and memorable characters, including Willa Alden, a passionate mountain climber who lost her leg while summiting Kilimanjaro with Seamus Finnegan - and will never forgive him for saving her life.

In Atonement, three children lose their innocence, as the sweltering summer heat bears down on the hottest day in 1935, and their lives are changed forever. Cecilia Tallis is of England's priviledged class; Robbie Turner is the housekeeper's son. In their moment of intimate surrender, they are interrupted by Cecilia's hyperimaginative and scheming 13-year-old sister, Briony. And as chaos consumes the family, Briony commits a crime, the guilt of which she shall carry throughout her life.

Winner of numerous RITA awards and multiple Career Achievement Awards from Romantic Times, Jo Beverley keeps listeners hot under the collar with her riveting period romances. Here the lovely Petra d’Avernio is on a desperate hunt to find her real father—an English lord who doesn’t know she exists and may be the only person who can protect her. On her journey she meets the devilishly clever earl Robin Fitzvitry, and a passionate affair is enflamed.

Giovanni Pietro d’Angelos selected his oldest daughter’s husband, and the marriage proved to be a disaster. He offers to give his next oldest daughter, Francesca, more latitude in choosing a husband than her sister had. But the arrogant beauty has no desire to marry, and she drives every potential suitor away.

Growing up on the Isle of Moon, Brigitta knew that she was born with the magical powers of the Embraced - even if she did not know how to wield them. But she has finally learned the truth: Brigitta is the lost princess of the kingdom of Tourin. She was sent into hiding as an infant to escape the wrath of her half brother, the king. And now he knows just where to find her. Rupert is a notorious pirate and sorcerer who can harness the wind with his hands.

It’s the summer of 1891, New York City, in the early days of Fiona Finnegan’s marriage to Nicholas Soames. When Fiona senses a quiet love blossoming between her widowed uncle, Michael Finnegan, and his neighbor, Mary Munro, she’s thrilled and hopes that Michael will soon propose to Mary. But one night, at a family supper, a surprise announcement tears these hopes asunder.

As the realm struggles to maintain an uneasy peace after years of civil war and tyranny, a 12-year-old orphan called Mosca Mye and her loyal companion, a cantankerous goose, are about to become the unlikely heroes of a radical revolution. Mosca is on the run, heading for the city of Mandelion. There she finds herself living by her wits among cut-throat highwaymen, spies and smugglers. With peril at every turn, Mosca uncovers a dark plot to terrorise the people of Mandelion, and soon merry mayhem leads to murder....

When her vile brother's wicked scheming ruins her reputation, Eleanor Chivenham is forced into a marriage of convenience. Yet there is much more to her new husband than meets the eye, and soon her heart is filled with unexpected desires.

Raised on the magic-seeped Isle of Moon, Maeve is used to unusual powers - and the way they fuel the politics of her world. But when she discovers an ability to shape-shift at will, she knows who she wants to share it with first. Brody, the enigmatic, infuriating shifter-spy has always made time for Maeve. But it’s been almost two months since she’s seen him. And though no one else believes Brody is in danger, Maeve is more than ready to rescue him herself.