Showing results by narrator "Imogen Wilde" in All Categories

Jane Austen is famous for such books as Persuasion, Pride and Prejudice, and Emma. Now learn about the author’s journey through a life spent making up stories that touched the lives of millions.

In the post-apocalyptic, neo-medieval city of Ark, speech is constrained to 500 sanctioned words. If somewhere were to speak outside that approved lexicon, they'd face banishment. The only exceptions to this rule are the Wordsmith and his apprentice, Letta. Together, they are the keepers and archivists of all language. But when Letta's master dies, she is suddenly promoted to Wordsmith and finds the situation more complicated than she knew.

Even when the climate crisis escalates beyond our worst nightmares and people become refugees, the world keeps turning and life carries on as usual: teenaged love stories, marital collapses, identity crises and revolts against hopeless parents continue to play out. Through four inter-connected perspectives, Jens Liljestrand chronicles how the struggles of ordinary people go on even as the world as we know it is coming to an end.

A story short-listed for the 1995 Beefeater Children's Novel Award, which tells of the impact a Romany child from the country has on a sophisticated urban household when she goes to stay with her very proper aunt Emma.

Merriwether Morgan doesn't need a happily-ever-after. Her life in the idyllic town of Candlecott is fine just as it is – simple, happy and with absolutely no magic. Magic only ever leads to trouble. But Merry's best friend, Teddy, is joining the Toadmen – a secret society upholding backward thinking and suspiciously supernatural traditions – and she is determined to stop him. Even if it means teaming up with her academic arch-nemesis, Caraway Boswell, an ice-cold snob who hides his true face behind a glamour.

The hunter has become the hunted. Laurie Bateman has been drifting through life, stuck in a dead-end job in London while she still calls Somerset home. Then, in morning rush hour on the London tube, she witnesses a terrible accident. Memories of her mother’s death 10 years before come flooding back. Compelled to investigate, Laurie breaks into the underground at dead of night to look for clues. The ambush comes out of nowhere, forcing her to flee for her life through pitch black tunnels and deserted stations.

When Summer and her foster family are having lunch one day, a hole appears in the middle of the living room. That hole leads to a dragon and the promise of three wishes, granted by a very unusual witch. Summer wishes for popularity and plenty of money, and things are looking up . . . until she realizes that the hole in the floor is getting bigger and the witch is getting more sinister. As things begin to unravel, will Summer get her dearest most secret wish?

All her life, Susan's loved ones have been hiding a terrible secret from her: If she thinks too hard, her head will explode. Luckily, her devoted boyfriend, anxious parents and fierce best friend are prepared to do whatever it takes to keep Susan safe in ignorant, thoughtless bliss. And until now, Susan has lived happily in a bubble of TV and takeaways, social media and small talk; anything to distract her from the spiralling thoughts that so often haunt the rest of us - thoughts that would be deadly for her.

Paris, 1941: as Coco Chanel’s assistant, Adèle lives side by side with German officers in the splendor of The Ritz hotel. But Adèle has a secret. She is working for the resistance, right under the Germans’ noses. As occupied Paris becomes more and more dangerous, Adèle will have to decide if she can risk everything to save innocent lives and protect the man she loves. Present day: Chloé’s grandmother has never spoken about the war and avoids questions about the legendary designer she once worked for. Now Chloé has come to Paris, to uncover the truth about Adèle’s life.

1943: As war rages across the world, Princess Elizabeth comes face to face with the dashing naval officer she first met in London nine years before. One of the youngest first lieutenants in the Royal Navy, Philip represents everything she has always been taught to avoid. Instability. Audacity. Adventure. But when the king learns of their relationship, the suitability of the foreign prince is questioned by all at court. He is the risk she has never been allowed to take. The risk not even the shadow of the crown will stop her from taking.

Anna lives in a flat with Dad. He is a hoarder, and together they have spent the last 12 years constructing the Insomnia Museum, a labyrinth built from dead TVs, old cuckoo clocks, stacks of newspapers and other junk Dad has found. Anna is 17. She can't remember ever having seen outside the flat, but noises penetrate her isolated world: dogs bark in the walls, music plays in the floor and a ship sails through the canyons between the tower blocks.

Princess Pulverizer dreams of becoming a knight. Dribble the dragon, a companion on her Quest of Kindness, dreams of becoming a chef. So he's thrilled when he gets the chance to open a pop-up restaurant in the village they're visiting (even though he has to stay hidden since people are still pretty scared of dragons). But a jealous juggler isn't pleased with their arrival, and mysterious problems begin to arise. Villagers feel sick to their stomachs, then a barn burns to the ground - and Dribble is blamed! Can Princess Pulverizer help her friend before things go up in flames?

When Princess Pulverizer comes across two identical witches - one good and one bad - it's the evil one she finds most enchanting. That's because the impatient princess is ready to end her Quest of Kindness and finally become a knight, which is just what the bad witch offers. Can Princess Pulverizer's friends break the spell that seems to have taken hold of her?

Princess Serena (or, as she prefers, Princess Pulverizer) doesn't want to be a princess - she wants to be knight! But her father, King Alexander of Empiria, thinks that she still has a lot to learn when it comes to exhibiting valiant behavior. So he presents a challenge: the princess must first go on a Quest of Kindness to prove that she truly deserves to go to knight school. With the help of a friendly dragon named Dribble and a perpetually terrified knight-in-training named Lucas, can she complete her quest and discover what it truly takes to be a hero?

When old friends return, sparks ignite this Christmas in Springhollow... Tomboy Scarlett thought Devon would be her best friend forever. He was the only person in Springhollow who supported her ambitious artist dreams. But then one winter, Devon and his parents disappear without warning to start a new life in NYC and a devastated Scarlett is left alone to face her high-school bullies and overbearing mother. Fast-forward ten years: Scarlett is playing it safe in her childhood village with a dull PA job and a wardrobe that passes her mother's old-fashioned standards

Grace never thought she'd have to return home to Floral Street. Having spent most of her life building a successful career in London, she's done everything she possibly can to avoid the flower stall that's been in her family for generations. But when tragedy hits, she's got no choice. It's time to face the demons of the past and support her family. Faith has returned home after years travelling the world. She thought that her life would be different after a trip across the globe, but as she settles back into life in her childhood room she has to come to terms with her life.