Showing results by narrator "Clare Corbett" in All Categories

Birmingham, 1880. Angelica Chastain has fled from London with her young son, William. She promises him a better life, far away from the terrors they left behind. Securing a job as a governess, Angelica captures the attention of wealthy widower Stanley Hampton. Soon they marry and the successful future Angelica envisaged for William starts to fall into place. But the past will not let Angelica go.

The first in a gripping series of crime novels set in the seamier side of St Petersburg, featuring sharp, yet compromised policewoman, Captain Natalya Ivanova. Student Zena Dahl, the daughter of a Swedish millionaire, has gone missing in St Petersburg (or Piter as the city is colloquially known) after a night out with a friend. Captain Natalya Ivanova is assigned the case, making a change for Natalya from her usual fare of domestic violence work, but, because of the family’s wealth, there’s pressure for a quick result. As she investigates she discovers that the case is not as straightforward as it may seem.

Shortly before her death Angela Carter was preparing this volume of short stories, one which does full justice to the glory of her imagination and the range of her talent. It is divided into distinct parts. The first comprises a group of stories inspired by America: Lizzie Borden visits a circus; a John Ford Western is spiced with the story of 'Tis Pity She's a Whore'; and there is a wonderful Gothic extravaganza set in Hollywood. The second section - Old World Wonders - draws on fairy tales.

Following an intense chance meeting Mark leaves his wife to begin a new life with Cleo. What starts as a fairytale swiftly turns into a black comedy. Under the illusion she knows everything about the loveable rogue she has fallen for, Cleo is shocked to discover that he may not be so lovable after all. By the time realisation kicks in, Mark and Cleo are in the grips of a bad, mad love affair that neither of them seem able to walk away from.

Rose Macaulay was a fascinating and influential British writer, known for her wit and intellect. First published in 1920, Potterism is a powerful satire about the Potter newspaper empire, and the ways in which journalists struggled during the First World War and the 1920s to balance the truth and what would sell. While Jane and Johnny Potter are at Oxford they learn to despise their father’s popular newspapers, though they still end up working for the family business. But Jane is greedy and wants more than society will let her have.

Rose Macaulay was a fascinating and influential British writer, known for her wit and intellect. Crewe Train was published in 1926 and follows the story of Denham Dobie, a young woman in her early thirties, who lives a rather uneventful life in London. She is an independent and intelligent woman working as a scriptwriter for a film studio. Feeling dissatisfied with her mundane existence, Denham decides to embark on a journey to visit her eccentric and wealthy father in Crewe. Throughout her journey, Denham encounters a variety of intriguing characters and unexpected events.

In space, something can hear you scream. And that something is coming. On her first adventure in outer space, Ruby learns that the universe is bigger, more colourful, and crazier than she could ever have imagined. She also learns that even the Doctor can feel afraid – and that certain nightmares are all too real…

What if the villain of your childhood turned out to be someone really rather extraordinary? A disgraced politician, Sir James Hastings is living out his retirement in a secluded Surrey village. He is unmoved by his centenarian mother's death - a woman he emotionally buried upon her abandonment. Raised by his father, a charismatic war-hero turned racing driver, the young James, torn between self-blame and longing, eventually dismissed her.

When Sam lets in a little fear one night, he’s sure it won’t be any bother. But before he knows it, the fear has grown and grown and grown. Until even the sunniest of sunny days doesn’t feel very sunny any more. There’s only one thing for it. Sam must try and be a little bit brave....

Blue Kangaroo has gone everywhere with Lily for as long as they can both remember. So when Lily and her friends are planning their very first sleepover, Lily is so excited for a new adventure with her beloved Blue Kangaroo!

Pigeon is extremely busy doing important things. Rushing here, rushing there. He has no time to stop, and he definitely doesn't have time to get lost. Luckily Mouse is on hand to help. Mouse is not busy. Mouse is not busy at all. Mouse has all the time in the world to admire and appreciate the world around him. As this unlikely duo pair up to help Pigeon find his way home, Mouse wonders if he might be able persuade Pigeon to stop and look at the world around him too.

One of Britain's leading contemporary playwrights, Howard Brenton is well known for his controversial state-of-the-nation plays, dark comedies and powerful political satires. He has written over 50 works for the theatre and numerous screenplays, including 13 episodes of the hit TV series Spooks. Included here are some of his most acclaimed dramas, including the award-winning Pravda, co-written with David Hare.

When Maggie accepts one last commission before retiring from journalism, she’s given twenty-four hours on a remote tropical island to interview former Hollywood heart-throb Ed Cavanagh. There are just two problems: firstly, Ed doesn’t want anything to do with Maggie’s exclusive, and secondly, he’s the only man who ever broke her heart…

Seventeen-year-old Marie has had a lot to cope with in her young life. But things are getting better, especially when she gets a job working for the widower Dr Slade, looking after his four-year-old daughter, Amy. At first, her new job seems perfect. Marie loves Amy, and Amy seems to like Marie too. Then things start to change. It seems that not everyone is happy with the new arrangement. There appears to be someone else in the house—someone who is determined to come between Amy and Marie...

Eighteen-year-old Emma has loving parents and a promising future ahead of her. So why, one morning, does she leave home without a trace? Her parents, Cath and Jim, are devastated. They have no idea why Emma left or even whether she is still alive. A year later, Cath and Jim are still tormented by the unanswered questions Emma left behind and clinging desperately to the hope of finding her. Meanwhile, tantalisingly close to home, Emma is also struggling with her new existence—and with the trauma that shattered her life. For all of them, reconciliation seems an impossible dream.

The satirical novel What Not was published in 1918. Foreshadowing Orwell’s 1984, it is set in a futuristic England where a government agency, known as the Ministry of Brains, is responsible for regulating and controlling relationships and marriages based on intelligence and eugenics.

Helen Fairfax is a ferry pilot and the mother of Peter, aged six. From Monday to Friday, she flies from factories to airfields, then returns to the family farmhouse where her parents look after the boy. She feels torn being away from her son so much, but after her husband died in the Battle of Britain she vowed to live up to his example of courage and strike back at the enemy. Now the Germans are about to launch the V-2 against London, and MI6 is desperate to get its hands on an undamaged prototype of the rocket to discover how it might be defeated.

The World My Wilderness was published in 1955 and follows the story of Barbary Deniston, a 17-year-old girl growing up in London during World War II. Barbary’s parents are divorced, and she divides her time between her mother’s bohemian lifestyle and her father’s more conventional life. The novel explores themes of identity, family, and the impact of war on individuals and society. It is considered one of Macaulay’s most personal and autobiographical works.

Take part in the heroic rescue of a fishing boat in trouble, meet a boy who makes an extraordinary discovery in the vegetable patch, and find out how a farm cat forms a very special connection with a young Ukrainian girl. These three uplifting stories capture the wonder, muck and magic of a city child’s week on the farm.