Showing results by publisher "Phoenix Books" in 20th Century

In the summer of 1947, Kate Herrick, widowed by the war, returns to Rose Cottage, her childhood home. A tiny thatched dwelling nestled in an idyllic country setting, Rose Cottage at first appears the picture of tranquility. But Kate soon discovers that someone has broken in; the papers that are the object of her have disappeared, and the village seethes with gossip. How harmless are her elderly neighbors, who are suspected of witchcraft? Listen to find out....

In 1920s China, the Peking opera was luxurious entertainment for the privileged class—but only children from the poorest families were sent to opera schools to train as actors. Xiao Douzi is brought to an opera school—and abandoned there by his mother, a prostitute who can no longer care for him. With seeds of bitterness sown in his soul, the nine-year-old boy endures hardships and misery to learn and perfect his craft. The novel focuses on the all-consuming love Xiao Douzi holds for the boy he befriends, and the beautiful female courtesan who comes between them.