Showing results by narrator "Phyllida Nash" in All Categories

When Lin, Josie and Minnie left Miss Hamilton’s class at Middleton Ferris County Primary School, sixty years ago, they could only dream about what the future had in store for them. The one thing they knew for certain was that their friendship would thrive. Years later and life hasn’t always been kind. Josie is still mourning the loss of her beloved husband Harry a year after his sudden demise. Lin is hoping to celebrate her fiftieth wedding anniversary with husband Neil, but he’s suddenly keeping secrets and telling her lies, so she’s suspecting the worst.

When Miss Seeton walks out after a performance of Carmen and witnesses a real-life stabbing, all she can recall is a shadowy figure. But how could she have guessed that her latest artistic endeavor is a picture-perfect portrait of the killer? Her sketch puts her in a perilous position, for back at her recently inherited cottage in Plummergen village, she's fated to be a sitting duck...for murder most foul!

At the end of the fourth century, as the power of Rome faded and Constantinople became the seat of empire, a new capital city was rising in the West. Here, in Ravenna on the coast of Italy, Arian Goths and Catholic Romans competed to produce an unrivaled concentration of buildings and astonishing mosaics. For three centuries, the city attracted scholars, lawyers, craftsmen, and religious luminaries, becoming a true cultural and political capital.

Byzantium. The name evokes grandeur and exoticism—gold, cunning, and complexity. In this unique book, Judith Herrin unveils the riches of a quite different civilization. Avoiding a standard chronological account of the Byzantine Empire's millennium-long history, she identifies the fundamental questions about Byzantium—what it was, and what special significance it holds for us today.

Fairacre is a village of cottages, a church and the school - and, at the heart of the school, its head mistress Miss Read. Through her discerning eye, we meet the villagers of Fairacre and see their trials and tribulations, from the irascible school cleaner Mrs Pringle, to the young school children, with their scraped knees, hopeful faces and inevitable mischief.

With a new introduction exclusively in audio, read by Anna Pavord. The Tulip is not a gardening book. It is the story of a flower that has made men mad. Greed, desire, anguish and devotion have all played their parts in the development of the tulip into the worldwide phenomenon it is today. No other flower has ever carried so much cultural baggage; it charts political upheavals, illuminates social behaviour, mirrors economic booms and busts and plots the ebb and flow of religious persecution.

In this engrossing account, Judith Herrin explains how scholars, lawyers, doctors, craftsmen, cosmologists and religious luminaries were drawn to Ravenna where they created a cultural and political capital that dominated northern Italy and the Adriatic. As she traces the lives of Ravenna's rulers, chroniclers and inhabitants, Herrin shows how the city became the meeting place of Greek, Latin, Christian and barbarian cultures and the pivot between East and West.

Lucy is unhappy about having to move home and leave all her friends behind. Her parents hope that a cat might help her to settle in, so they surprise her with Sky a gorgeous Siamese kitten. Lucy falls in love with Sky, but she’s still upset with her parents and pretends that she’s not interested in the kitten. Poor Sky is left feeling confused and alone. Why doesn’t Lucy want her? Another fantastic animal story from bestselling author Holly Webb.

Twins Georgia and Adam can't wait to go on their holiday to Cornwall - especially as it's the first time they're taking their new puppy, Lucky, with them. Lucky loves the seaside - chasing the waves, digging in the sand and the long cliff-top walks. One morning, unable to wait for Georgia and Adam, he sets off on his own. Unaware of the dangers, Lucky falls down a cliff and finds himself stranded, alone and hungry, and in need of rescue. Meanwhile, the search is on to find Lucky, but no one seems to have seen the little dog. How will Georgia and Adam ever find Lucky?

As Christmas approaches, Clem and his five-year-old son, Jakey, move to be closer to Clem's mother, Dossie, in Cornwall. Clem realizes that he has to be strong to keep his family together. Forming a slightly unconventional family setup with Dossie, Jakey, and Clem are the jovial nuns of the local convent. But when an unexpected event threatens to destroy the nuns' way of life, will everyone still be together next Christmas?

Deep in the Somerset countryside, the Combe Pomeroy village library hosts a monthly book club. From a book club French exchange trip, to many celebrations at the farm, this is the year that everything changes, that lifelong friendships are tested, and for some of the women, they finally get the love they deserve.

Ella loves her kitten, Fluff, and worries about her going missing again. But Fluff is enchanted by being outside, especially when it starts snowing and she has the pretty snowflakes to play with. But suddenly a blizzard sets in and Fluff loses her way.

Lauren’s dog, Bella, is about to have puppies. Lauren can’t wait, even though she knows they’ll all be going to new homes as soon as they’re big enough. But when the puppies are born, one is so tiny Mum and Dad aren’t sure it will pull through. The littlest puppy, whom Lauren names Lucy, needs hand-feeding around the clock. It’s going to be a lot of work, but Lauren is determined to do everything she can to save Lucy.... Another touching animal story from best-selling author Holly Webb.

Siblings Billa and Ed share their beautiful, grand childhood home in rural Cornwall. Their lives are uncomplicated. With familyand friends nearby and their free and easy living arrangements, they are ascontent as can be. But when postcards start arriving from a sinisterfigure they thought was well and truly in their pasts, old memories arestirred. Why is he contacting them now? And what has he been hiding all theseyears?

Sam, a Golden Labrador puppy, is Emily's best present ever! The two become great friends and Emily is sad to leave him at home when she starts back at school. When Sam is stolen from the garden one afternoon, Emily is desperate with worry. She is determined to get her precious puppy back but how will she find him? A touching story about a little girl who sets out to rescue her beloved dog, from best-selling author Holly Webb.

Mia still hasn't got over her cat's death - she had Tibby for as long as she can remember and can't ever imagine having another pet. But one day, just before Christmas, she finds out that her friend's cat has had kittens. Over the holidays she goes round to play with them. Mia's parents think she has coped with Tibby's loss, and surprise her by saying she can have the last kitten, Whiskers.Mia's not sure she's ready yet - although she loves Whiskers, she feels guilty about Tibby.

The ruins of Pompeii, buried by an explosion of Vesuvius in 79 CE, offer the best evidence we have of everyday life in the Roman empire. This remarkable book rises to the challenge of making sense of those remains, as well as exploding many myths: the very date of the eruption, probably a few months later than usually thought, or the hygiene of the baths that must have been hotbeds of germs, or the legendary number of brothels, most likely only one, or the massive death count, maybe less than 10 per cent of the population.

Evie is overjoyed when she is given her very own puppy. Alfie adores Evie - he loves to be cuddled, sleeps on her bed and welcomes her home from school every day with a wag of his tail. But it's not long before Evie's new baby brother, Sam arrives. Suddenly no-one has much time to look after Alfie, and soon he finds himself unwanted. Left all alone, he keeps dreaming that one day Evie and her family will come to love and care for him again - but will his dream come true?

1817. As a young woman, clever, self-reliant Lydia Templeton scandalised society by rejecting Lewis Durrant, the county's most eligible batchelor.

Ten years later, Lydia has no regrets and, having concluded that matters of the heart need no longer trouble her, she is quite happy to remain unwed. But others still seek Lydia's advice on their love lives.

When Chloe’s big brother, Will, breaks his leg, he’s stuck in hospital for weeks. Mum and Dad are frantic, and there’s no one to look after the family’s lively Border collie puppy, Jess.

Jess is miserable and lonely, and so is Chloe. But Chloe doesn’t really like dogs, and Jess only wants Will. Can the two of them ever be friends?

A touching animal story from best-selling author Holly Webb.