Showing results by narrator "Annie Aldington" in All Categories

It is 1941, and the world is at war. Young Theresa Compton is left devastated after giving up her illegitimate child and joins the Special Operations Executive, an organisation of undercover agents working behind enemy lines. Her mission is to assist a Resistance group run by the handsome Pierre Reuben, and it is not long before they fall in love. Soon Theresa becomes pregnant, but circumstances tear Pierre and the child from Theresa. In London, 1963, an older Theresa is haunted by her experiences....

Maddie Layne's life hasn't been the same since her sister was murdered. The police never found Greta's body so all Maddie was left with was unanswered questions - and her orphaned nephew, Zac, to look after. She works hard to make sure Zac has everything he needs; she even tends graves for some extra cash. Maddie isn't looking for any trouble.Lucy Rivers died decades ago under suspicious circumstances and the people responsible believe the entire affair is over.

Some secrets are better left buried.... When 17-year-old Phoebe Turner visits Wilton's Music Hall to watch her Aunt Cissy performing on stage, she risks the wrath of her mother Maud who marches with the Hallelujah Army, campaigning for all London theatres to close. there, Phoebe is drawn to a stranger, the enigmatic Nathaniel Samuels, who heralds dramatic changes in the lives of all three women. When offered the position of companion to Nathaniel's reclusive wife, Phoebe leaves her life in London's East End for Dinwood Court a house that may well be haunted....

Life's been hard for Marcie Brooks, but when she marries Michael Jones things start to look up. Not only has he given her daughter, Joanna, his name but they now also have a son. The family's finances are on the up too, with Michael opening his first nightclub. However, when he refuses to do business with Paddy Rafferty, an Irish gangster, Michael soon finds him on the wrong side of the law.

Growing up in a small seaside town, Marcie Brooks dreams of owning a Mary Quant mini-skirt, the Beatles, and escape. Instead she's stuck in a dead-end job selling candy floss to tourists, and with a crazy family. Her grandmother sees ghosts, her step-mother is unable to control her growing family, and Marcie's father is usually in and out of prison or away "working" for East End gangsters. Despite it all, Marcie adores her father. But Tony's light fingers and hard man reputation mean most people give the Brooks family a wide birth. Sometimes Marcie even wishes she had a respectable dad like her friend Rita....

Even a small town girl can have big dreams... Marcie Brooks has returned to her home town with a baby and a ring on her finger. But for all her grandmother's insistence that she's a young widow, the truth is the only boy Marcie has ever loved tragically died before he could make good his promise to wed her. Sometimes she still feels his presence near her, which is both a comfort and an unnerving sign that she's inherited her grandmother's gifts...

The Crying Game opens in 1944 and tells the story of Trixie - a girl who has only ever known turmoil. As a teenager, she covers up the terrible truth of her father's death and she and her pregnant mother go on the run. Little does she know that fate has more cruel twists in store.

Determined to build a life for her herself, Trixie becomes a singer in the pubs and clubs of Gosport - but her heart is still set on finding the little brother she had to leave behind years before. It will take Trixie many years and many tears before the truth can finally emerge - but will it finally give her the courage she needs to fall in love?

Despite living by the side of the Thames, with its noise, disease and dirt, 18-year-old Rosina May has wanted for little in life. Until her father's feud with a fellow bargeman threatens to destroy everything. To save them all, Rosina agrees to marry Harry, the son of a wealthy merchant. But a chance encounter with a handsome river pirate has turned her head and she longs to meet him again. When her father dies a broken man, Harry goes back on his promise and turns Rosina out onto the streets.

Linked through marriage to three brothers, the Underwood women prove time and again that they are a force to be reckoned with. Jodie has travelled a hard road to reach her own prosperity, despite her husband's constant unreliability. Yet she can't bring herself to fully sever ties with John. But now with a potential new love waiting nearby, Jodie must make a decision she has been avoiding for too long. Widowed at a young age, Lariane believes her marriage to Rick was perfect.

It is 1938, and the threat of war looms on the streets of London. But when the lights go down in the cinema aisles, usherette Daisy Blake is transported to a world of glamour and romance. Among the staff there is much merriment, and Daisy soon falls in love with the handsome organist, Al Dawson. Then war is declared, and, just after Al leaves for the front line, Daisy discovers she's pregnant.

That was the last time any of them saw Minnie Bright: It was 48 hours before her crack-addicted mother reported her missing, and a few hours more before the police entered the house and found her small, twisted body hidden under the bed. Fifteen years ago, a little girl was murdered. Now journalist Jess Vaughan and detective Harry Lind are asking questions about what really happened that day. Questions that someone will kill to keep hidden. No one knows crime like Roberta Kray.

Ella has lived in the East End of London all her life and when her husband determines to move to Epsom to be near the racecourse he frequents and loves, Ella's refusal to join him breaks up their tempestuous marriage. Ella soon loses the will to keep smart, trim, and fit: until her mother steps in to pick up the pieces. It works: Ella gets a job as barmaid in the British Legion club and begins to take pride in her appearance again. When Dennis turns up for a drink one night, he is taken by surprise.

Amy Carter is just 14 when she leaves school to look after her sick mother. But she is left all alone when her father is hanged for murder and her mother dies shortly after. Shunned even by her former friends, she is rescued by artist Benjamin Scott, who met Amy just once, read about the family's difficulties, and tracked her down. He takes the girl to his lodgings, where Amy, with Ben, his fellow housemates, and his kindly landlady, finds a real home for the first time.

In 1950, after her marriage went badly wrong, Dolly Taylor returned to Rotherhithe from America. She is now helping her best friend, Penny, to walk again after she contracted polio. Not able to have children of her own, Dolly envies Penny for having a beautiful baby daughter, Gail. Penny's husband, Reg, has set up his own business as a builder and offers Dolly a job in the office. Tony, who was engaged to Dolly before the war, also works for Reg and is still pursuing his childhood sweetheart.

But we don’t know the first thing about looking after babies.’ Phoebe’s mum and dad are foster parents, and they’re having a tough time. Her dad’s moved out for bit, and her little foster brothers are playing up. So when Phoebe and her brother Adam find a baby abandoned in their den, they decide to try and look after her themselves ...

The Second World War has finally come to a close. Birmingham is welcoming home its menfolk, and a new chapter is beginning in Rachel Booker's life. Her husband has returned, and the family that struggled for survival throughout the uncertain war years is now together. But family life settles into a routine, and Rachel, unsatisfied, starts to yearn for more.

It is 1962. Daisy Lane's man, Kenny, is in jail for robbery, leaving Daisy to run the couple's café down in Gosport, Hampshire. Daisy lives above the café and shares the house with Kenny's older brother, Eddie: a handsome, resourceful villain with a streak of viciousness that leads him to commit acts of terrifying violence to get his way. But Eddie has a weakness and it's called "Daisy". He loves his brother's wife; Kenny's not around, and Eddie always gets what he wants.

Rose Paton doesn't think she'll be singing at The White Horse for much longer. After all, she's got good looks, youth and talent on her side. But when mysterious stranger Marcus Bennley asks her to be his birthday present to his sister Marie – by singing at her party – she accepts. It won't lead to greater things, but it will lead to half a guinea. To Rose's excitement, the party is more than she could ever have hoped for.

Daisy Lane is trying to build a future for herself and her sons. Roy Kemp, Daisy's former lover, is banged up in prison. Daisy must watch over Roy's criminal empire, while attempting to continue her relationship with copper Vinnie Endersby. But it isn't long before another gangster decides to challenge Roy's dominance.

When 17-year-old Belinda Phillips falls in love with a handsome Anglo-Indian officer, she knows that he is a man she can never hope to marry. When he is reported missing, believed killed in action, Belinda discovers that she is pregnant. Facing disgrace and ruin, she has no option other than to accept an arranged marriage with a middle-aged widower, knowing she must keep the secret of her child's birth for ever. Reluctantly she sends her beloved daughter to a foster mother in Cripplegate, little realising she has entrusted Cassy's care to Biddy Henchard, a woman who runs a notorious baby farm in an area full of poverty and disease.