Showing results by narrator "Ben Allen" in All Categories

A priceless gem, a diamond from India imbued with religious significance, is stolen on the very night it is given as an eighteenth birthday present to a captivating heiress; and so the mystery begins. The rules for the golden age of crime novels are formed in The Moonstone – an English country house, a complex cast of characters, the bungling local constabulary, a celebrated sleuth and the reconstruction of the crime.

With over 17,000 known diseases affecting humans, and countless poisons, carcinogens and toxins in our environment, it's a miracle that our bodies manage to keep us alive. And that is, of course, if they don't betray us themselves, whether through cancers or autoimmune conditions. Biomedical researcher Professor John Tregoning tells the unlikely story of how, against all odds, we manage to stay alive. Taking an organ-by-organ tour of the human body, Tregoning embarks on his own experimental quest, testing 'life-extending' diets and exercise regimes to separate fact from fad.

The Complete Brontë Sisters and Jane Austen Collection brings together four of the most influential female authors of the 19th century. The collection includes Austen's 7 novels, selected short fiction, and a selection of her letters; alongside all 7 of the Brontë sisters' completed novels, as-well as a selection of the poetry which all three sisters published.

In June 1862, Dostoevsky left St. Petersburg on his first excursion to Western Europe. Ostensibly making the trip to consult Western specialists about his epilepsy, he also wished to see the source of the Western ideas he believed were corrupting Russia. Over the course of his journey he visited a number of major cities, including Berlin, Paris, London, Florence, Milan, and Vienna. His impressions on what he saw, Winter Notes on Summer Impressions, were first published in the February 1863 issue of "Vremya" (Time), the periodical he edited, and are collected here.

Set in a walled garden, whose inhabitants live an eternal and unblemished life, Eden opens with a summons. The gardeners of Eden are called by their masters, the angels, to see a dead body. It is that of a bird, a creature who has strayed beyond the garden walls. Outside, where there is poverty and sickness and death, this bird has met a fate that couldn’t have befallen it within the safe haven of the garden. And why would anyone want to leave? Eden is a place of immortality and plenty—bountiful fields and orchards and lakes, a place where the lord’s bidding is done.

Married to a soldier who has returned from Afghanistan injured in body and mind, Stella Carey leaves the house every evening. During her nursing shifts, Stella writes letters for her patients to their loved ones - some full of humour, love and practical advice, others steeped in regret or pain - promising to post them after their deaths. Until one night Stella writes the letter that could give her patient one last chance at redemption, if she delivers it in time....

When Otto and Xavier Shin declare their love, an aunt gifts them a trip on a sleeper train to mark their new commitment - and to get them out of her house. Setting off with their pet mongoose, Otto and Xavier arrive at their sleepy local train station, but quickly deduce that The Lucky Day is no ordinary locomotive. Their trip on this former tea-smuggling train has been curated beyond their wildest imaginations, complete with mysterious and welcoming touches, like ingredients for their favourite breakfast.

Why do obviously intelligent people believe things in spite of the evidence against them? Will Storr has travelled across the world to meet an extraordinary cast of modern heretics in order to answer this question. He goes on a tour of Holocaust sites with David Irving and a band of neo-Nazis, experiences his own murder during 'past-life regression' hypnosis, takes part in a mass homeopathic overdose, and investigates a new disease affecting tens of thousands of people - a disease that doesn't actually exist.

Shakespearean is a rich, brilliant and superbly drawn portrait of an extraordinary artist, one of the greatest writers who ever lived. Through an enthralling narrative, ranging widely in time and space, McCrum seeks to understand Shakespeare within his historical context while also exploring the secrets of literary inspiration and examining the nature of creativity itself.

A shadow is falling over Collegium. Despite the tenuous peace, Stenwold Maker knows that the Empire will return for his city. Even as he tries to prepare for the resurgence of the black-and-gold army, a hidden threat is working against his people. Ships that sail from Collegium's harbour are being attacked, sunk by pirates. Some just go missing.

Tynisa is on the run, but she cannot escape the demons of her own mind. Amidst the fragmenting provinces of the Dragonfly Commonweal, her past will at last catch up with her. Her father's ghost is hunting her down. At the same time, the Wasp Empire seeks to conquer the city of Khanaphes, the fallen jewel of the ancient world. Whilst Empress Seda's soldiers seek only conquest and prestige, she sees herself as the heir to all the old powers of history, and has her eyes on a far greater prize.

Grace Welles had resigned herself to the particular loneliness of being 15 and stuck at a third-tier boarding school in the swamps of Florida, when she accidentally saves the new kid in her class from being beaten up. With a single aim of a slingshot, the monotonous mathematics of her life are obliterated forever...because now there is a boy in it that she never asked for. Wade Scholfield.

Uctebri’s long search for the Shadow Box is finally over. Now the vampiric sorcerer can begin his dark ritual. The Wasp-kinden’s emperor believes this will grant him immortality, but Uctebri has his own plans - for the emperor and the empire. The mighty Wasp armies are on the march. And now war is imminent, spymaster Stenwold can finally separate allies from false friends. For the empire won’t stop until a black and gold flag hangs over Collegium, Stenwold's home city.

The Empire’s mighty imperial armies are marching on Collegium once more. They’ve learnt from past failures and this time their Empress will brook no weakness. Stenwold Maker’s aviators still dominate the skies, but their rule will soon be over. For the Empire has developed a terrifying aerial weapon to level the battlefield. Yet victory may be decided elsewhere. In an ancient forest, where Mantis clans pursue their own civil war, Empress Seda is seeking a lost power from the old world.

All is in turmoil as the world moves towards war. In Solarno, spies eye one another and ready their knives – while the people of Myna watch troops gather at its borders. Emotions run high as old fears reawaken. And in Collegium students argue politics, too late to turn the tide. At the heart of the Empire, new pilots complete their secretive training, generals are recalled to service and armies are readied to march. Their Empress, heir to two worlds, intends to claim her birthright. For nothing – either within the Empire or beyond it – will stand in her way.

The Brothers Grimm collected some 200 traditional tales of Northern Europe that might very well otherwise have been lost to us. This collection contains 60 of the most famous, including ‘Rumpelstiltskin’, 'Snow White', ‘Hansel and Gretel’ and ‘Rupunzel’.

Set in a walled garden, whose inhabitants live an eternal and unblemished life, Eden opens with a summons. The gardeners of Eden are called by their masters, the angels, to see a dead body. It is that of a bird, a creature who has strayed beyond the garden walls. Outside, where there is poverty and sickness and death, this bird has met a fate that couldn’t have befallen it within the safe haven of the garden. And why would anyone want to leave? Eden is a place of immortality and plenty—bountiful fields and orchards and lakes, a place where the lord’s bidding is done.

This is the true story of a Londoner who gives up his job as an estate agent in the city, moves to the wilds of Exmoor, starts a smallholding and becomes self-sufficient, with a few bumps along the way. Simon's journey from urbanite to self-sufficient smallholder is brimming with incidents - some funny and some tragic - leading him to question Mother Nature, himself, the food he eats and his role in it all.

Paige Henley has always dreamed of owning a bakery, but her busy life in New York City has never left much room for following her heart. So, when she’s given the chance to move to Port Landon to set up her own bakery, she’s ready to take a leap of faith and make her dreams a reality. When single dad and local veterinarian Cohen Beckett enters Paige’s bakery for her grand opening, there’s an undeniable connection, and Paige can’t help but notice an unfamiliar feeling in her chest.

Who would imagine a little gold ring could lead to kidnap, torture and even murder? How could the curse of the Pharaohs come to Falmouth? The year is 1923, and a young Cockney woman appears in Falmouth. Inspector George Bartlett and Constable Archibald Boase think she's harmless enough - until she and they are caught up in a seemingly endless cycle of mayhem and deceit.