Historical Fiction 3Talking Books

The titles in this booklist are just a selection of the titles available for loan from the RNIB National Library Talking Book Service.

Don’t forget you are allowed to have up to 6 books on loan. When you return a title, you will then receive another one.

If you would like to read any of these titles then please contact the Customer Services Team on 0303 123 9999 or email library@rnib.org.uk

If you would like further information, or help in selecting titles to read, then please contact the Reader Services Team on 01733 37 53 33 or email libraryinfo@rnib.org.uk

You can write to us at RNIB NLS, PO Box 173, Peterborough PE2 6WS

Allende, Isabel Island beneath the sea. 2010. Read by Laurel Lefkow, 15 hours 33 minutes. TB 18375.Born a slave on the island of Saint-Domingue, Tété is the daughter of an African mother she never knew and one of the white sailors who brought her into bondage. When twenty-year-old Toulouse Valmorain arrives on the island in 1770, it's with powdered wigs in his trunks and dreams of financial success. But running his father's plantation is neither glamorous nor easy and against the merciless backdrop of sugar cane fields, the lives of Tété and Valmorain grow ever more intertwined. When the bloody revolution of Toussaint Louverture arrives, they flee the island that will become Haiti and arrive in New Orleans. There, Tété finally forges a new life - but her connection to Valmorain is deeper than anyone knows and not so easily severed. TB 18375.

Anand, Valerie The faithful lovers. 1993. Read by Nina Holloway, 23 hours 43 minutes. TB 10739. Bridges over time series; book 4. Sequel to: Women of Ashdon, TB 10640. A Cornish shipwreck brings a young Indian girl into Ninian Whitmead's life: her exoticism appals the neighbourhood while her affection for him transforms his life. However, Ninian and Parvati, now baptised Penelope, have not been married long when civil war becomes a reality in their remote district. As the Puritans gain control, suspicion of Penelope's foreign ways becomes something more lethal and Ninian, now father of a young child, must fight for his wife's life in circumstances which echo on into the world of the Restoration and their granddaughter Henrietta. TB 10739.

Anthony, Evelyn Imperial highness. 1986. Read by Di Langford, 8 hours 4 minutes. TB 11131.Romanov Trilogy; book 1. A fictional account of the life of Catherine the Great from her birth to her accession to the Russian throne. Contains strong language. TB 11131.

Aston, Elizabeth The exploits and adventures of Miss Alethea Darcy. 2005. Read by Phyllida Nash, 13 hours. TB 18261. Darcys series; book 2. Sequel to: Mr Darcy's daughters, TB 13652. Alethea, the youngest, most talented and high-spirited daughter of the Darcys, has married too hastily on the rebound. She soon discovers that her husband is

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not only a brute and she will have to flee, yet she knows he will pursue her. Then the mysterious Titus Manningtree takes a hand in her complicated affairs. TB 18261.

Aston, Elizabeth The second Mrs Darcy. 2009. Read by Phyllida Nash, 10 hours 31 minutes. TB 17141. Darcys series; book 4. Sequel to: The true Darcy spirit. Raised as a poor relation, despised by her half-sisters, sent to India to be married off, only to have her brief happiness as the second wife of Captain Darcy dashed by his early death - life has been hard for Octavia. But an unexpected legacy leaves her extremely well off and for the first time ever she can decide her own fate. Her family think otherwise. Suddenly everyone wants to know her, advise her, and pay court to her. Who can she rely on? Luckily her new-found acquaintance with her Darcy cousins takes her to Meryton, where Netherfield Hall has an argumentative but undoubtedly intriguing new tenant! TB 17141.

Auel, Jean M The mammoth hunters. 1986. Read by Gretel Davis, 37 hours 51 minutes. TB 7797.Earth's children series; book 3. Sequel to The Valley of Horses, TB 7788. Leaving the Valley of the Horses that has become her home, Ayla embarks on a momentous journey that will lead to the clan of the mammoth hunters: a people at first hostile and disturbingly different. With her is, Jondalar, the handsome man she has nursed back to health and come to love; but as she begins to settle into this new life, she finds herself irresistibly drawn to the master-carver of Mamuti. Contains passages of a sexual nature. TB 7797.

Barr, Pat Chinese Alice. 1981. Read by Partick Romer, 16 hours 21 minutes. TB 3885.The strange life of Alice, daughter of an English missionary in China, captured by rioters in 1870 and forced to lead the life of a concubine and skivvy. Many strange experiences were to follow. Contains strong language and passages of a sexual nature. TB 3885.

Belle, Pamela The moon in the water. 1983. Read by Di Langford, 21 hours 1 minute. TB 17047. Heron Family series; book 1. Thomazine was born heiress to the lands and fortune of the Heron dynasty, and she was born under a dark and troublesome star. Orphaned at ten years old, growing to womanhood in a

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family of cousins, these were the young years when she met the headstrong Francis, the years when they both dreamed of the mystic unicorn. But the sweep of the times was against them. Francis was banished and imprisoned, Thomazine forced into loveless wedlock, and the onrush of beating drums and naked steel heralded the turbulent years of England's Civil War. TB 17047.

Bennett, Vanora Blood royal. 2010. Read by Lucy Scott, 20 hours 2 minutes. TB 17270.1420, and a young princess is offered in marriage to her country's enemy, her nation's conqueror. She is Catherine of Valois, he is Henry V. She is a princess of the French blood royal; he is the son of the usurper of the English throne. Fresh from battle he claims his bride and the right to the throne of France. Now Catherine must live as queen to a man more comfortable with war than anything else and as the wife of a man determined to destroy her people. TB 17270.

Birch, Carol Jamrach's menagerie. 2011. Read by Steve Hodson, 13 hours 33 minutes. TB 19028.1857. Jaffy Brown is running along a street in London's East End when he comes face to face with an escaped circus animal. Plucked from the jaws of death by Mr Jamrach - explorer, entrepreneur and collector of the world's strangest creatures - the two strike up a friendship. Before he knows it, Jaffy finds himself on board a ship bound for the Dutch East Indies, on an unusual commission for Mr Jamrach. His journey - if he survives it - will push faith, love and friendship to their utmost limits. Contains strong language. TB 19028.

Blair, Jessica Stay with me. 2010. Read by Sherry Baines, 12 hours 58 minutes. TB 18246.Whitby, 1879. Following the death of her parents in the Tay Bridge disaster, twenty-three-year-old Lena Carnforth expects to inherit at least half of her father's thriving shipping and merchant business. But her father leaves the entire business to his stepson, James. Instead of working, it's generally accepted that Lena will wed lifelong friend, Alistair, even though she has doubts about their relationship. Then Lena meets the attractive shipping rival Peter Hustwick and sees him as the answer to all her prayers. She also now has the opportunity to help build up Peter's business - and undermine James's firm, which she regards as rightly hers. But when disaster strikes,

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Lena is devastated to realise just how carried away she's become with her desire for success. TB 18246.

Carey, Peter Oscar and Lucinda. 1988. Read by Nigel Graham, 20 hours 26 minutes. TB 7283.Oscar Hopkins is an Oxford seminarian with a passion for gambling. Lucinda Leplastrier is a Sydney heiress with a fascination for glass. The year is 1865. When they meet on the boat to Australia their lives are changed forever. Unsuitable for family reading. TB 7283.

Cezair-Thompson, Margaret The pirate's daughter. 2008. Read by Inika Leigh-Wright, 16 hours 40 minutes. TB 16010.An unforgettable story of love and adventure, spanning three decades of Jamaican history. A tale of passion and recklessness, of two generations of women and their battles for love and survival, and of a nation struggling to rise to the challenge of hard-won independence. TB 16010.

Charles, Edward In the shadow of Lady Jane. 2007. Read by Alistair Petrie, 15 hours 27 minutes. TB 16084. Richard Stocker series; book 1. It is April 1551. While the family of Lord Henry Grey are visiting their Devon estate, the Grey sisters are saved from drowning by a local medical apprentice, Richard Stocker. Little does Richard know that this single act will plunge him into a tide of religious and social upheaval which will change not only his own life but the course of British history. TB 16084.

Chevalier, Tracy Remarkable creatures. 2010. Read by Hattie Morahan, 9 hours 16 minutes. TB 18022.From the moment she's struck by lightning as a baby, it is clear Mary Anning is marked for greatness. When she uncovers unknown dinosaur fossils in the cliffs near her home, she sets the scientific world alight, challenging ideas about the world's creation and stimulating debate over our origins. In an arena dominated by men, however, Mary is soon reduced to a serving role, facing prejudice from the academic community, vicious gossip from neighbours, and the heartbreak of forbidden love. TB 18022.

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Chevalier, Tracy Falling angels. 2007. Read by Eve Matheson, 8 hours 2 minutes. TB 16648.It is 1901. Two girls play by two graves, their families divided by class. As the girls grow up, and as the new era and the new King change social customs, the lives and fortunes of the Colemans and the Waterhouses become more and more closely intertwined - neighbours in life as well as death. Contains strong language. TB 16648.

Clark, Cassandra Hangman blind. 2009. Read by Julia Barrie, 13 hours 3 minutes. TB 17238.Abbess of Meaux mystery; book 1. Set in Yorkshire in 1382, a time of unease and turmoil following the failed Peasants Revolt and the killing of Wat Tyler and John Ball. Hildegard is a rich widow who has taken the veil in the Cistercian priory of Swyne and is seeking a suitable grange for her new institution. Hoping to obtain a gift of such premises, she goes to Castle Hutton. Roger, the lord of Hutton, and his fifth wife Melisen make her welcome, but there are numerous family problems. It is Christmas and the revelries are disrupted by various incidents involving a death. Contains strong language. TB 17238.

Clark, Cassandra The red velvet turnshoe. 2009. Read by Julia Barrie, 10 hours 45 minutes. TB 17002. Abbess of Meaux mystery; book 2. Black February in the year 1383: rain started to fall before Martinmas. Floods brought famine. Famine brought disease. Into this watery world, against a background of plague and the political turmoil of the Hundred Years War, the nun Hildegard is sent across Europe in search of a precious relic, the Cross of Constantine. Strong-willed and independent, she will need remarkable skills to survive such a dangerous quest. For with the English Crown at stake there are many who want her mission to fail - and one, above all, who plans a deadly revenge. TB 17002.

Clavell, James Gai-jin. 1993. Read by Robert Gladwell, 75 hours 46 minutes. TB 9972.Asian saga; book 3. Sequel to: Tai-pan, TB 5207. In 1862 Japan is in chaos, and into the maelstrom come the hated Gai-jin, the hated foreigners who watch and wait from their Yokohama base, ready to make a profit from selling anything. They are a divided community, and the traders know the wealth could be theirs. At their head stands the Noble House and the heir to the title

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to Tai-pan, Malcolm Struan. At the head of the Shogunate is Lord Yoshi. Contains violence. TB 9972.

Clements, Rory Martyr. 2010. Read by Peter Wickham, 12 hours 38 minutes. TB 17646. Tensions in Elizabeth I's government are at breaking point. Within days the axe could fall on the neck of Mary Queen of Scots, and Spain is already gathering a battle fleet to avenge her. When a plot to assassinate Francis Drake is uncovered, John Shakespeare is ordered to protect him: if Drake dies, the country will be open to invasion. In a London rife with rumour, Shakespeare must decide which leads to follow. But when the mutilated body of a high-born young woman is found, he has no option but to investigate. TB 17646.

Cornwell, Bernard A crowning mercy. 2005. Read by Anna Bentinck, 19 hours 11 minutes. TB 17509. Crowning mercy series; book 1. In the Dorset countryside, one sunlit afternoon, a young girl - illicitly bathing in a stream - first fell in love with a passing stranger. Her parents called her Dorcas, but he called her Campion and that's what she longed to be, then and forever. So when an unbearable suitor is forced on her, she flees to seek her lover, taking with her the one gift left to her by her unknown father, a pendant of gold. There are four of these jewels, and when one person has them all, the holder will have great wealth and power. TB 17509.

Cornwell, Bernard Fallen angels. 2006. Read by Anna Bentinck, 16 hours 43 minutes. TB 18339.Crowning mercy series; book 2. The gilded family had been the envy and the pride of England for centuries. Never had the Lazenders seemed more powerful or more wealthy. And never had the unseen means of their destruction seemed so close! Yet the heir to the estate was absent. Toby Lazender worked for the British in Revolutionary France -- where he hunted down the men who had murdered the innocent girl he loved. It was his sister, Campion, who oversaw the family's affairs at the 'little kingdom' of Lazen Castle. But Lazen is, unknowingly, a house under siege. The Fallen Angels -- among the most powerful and dangerous men in Europe -- are plotting to bring revolution to England. To succeed, they need money, and the Lazender fortune can provide it. The key to the fortune is control of Campion's future. A web of deceit closes around Lazen, drawing Campion ever closer to a subtle trap that has been laid just for her. Contains strong language. TB 18339.

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Cornwell, Bernard Sword song. 2009. Read by Paul Blake, 11 hours 47 minutes. TB 17096. The Saxon chronicles; book 4. Sequel to: The lords of the North, TB 15530. The year is 885, and England is at peace, divided between the Danish kingdom to the north and Alfred's kingdom of Wessex in the south but the Vikings have arrived to occupy London. It is a dangerous time and it falls to Uhtred, half Saxon, half Dane, a man feared and respected the length and breadth of Britain, to expel the Viking raiders and take control of London for Alfred. TB 17096.

Cornwell, Bernard The burning land. 2009. Read by Stephen Perring, 11 hours 1 minute. TB 17003. The Saxon chronicles; book 5. In the last years of the ninth century, King Alfred of Wessex is in failing health, and his heir is an untested youth. The Danes, who have failed so many times to conquer Wessex, smell opportunity! First comes Harald Bloodhair, a savage warrior leading a Viking horde, who is encouraged to cruelty by his woman, Skade. But Alfred still has the services of Uhtred, his unwilling warlord, who leads Harald into a trap and, at Farnham in Surrey, inflicts one of the greatest defeats the Vikings were ever to suffer. This fifth volume tells of the final assaults on Alfred's Wessex, that Wessex survived to become England is because men like Uhtred defeated an enemy feared throughout Christendom. TB 17003.

Cornwell, Bernard Azincourt. 2009. Read by Damien Goodwin, 13 hours 45 minutes. TB 16640.Agincourt, fought on October 25th 1415, on St Crispin's Day, is one of the best known battles, in part through the brilliant depiction of it in Shakespeare's Henry V, in part because it was a brilliant and unexpected English victory and in part because it was the first battle won by the use of the longbow - a weapon developed by the English which enabled them to dominate the European battlefields for the rest of the century. Bernard Cornwell's Azincourt is an account of this momentous battle and its aftermath. From the varying viewpoints of nobles, peasants, archers, and horsemen, Azincourt skilfully brings to life the hours of relentless fighting, the desperation of an army crippled by disease and the exceptional bravery of the English soldiers. TB 16640.

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Crace, Jim Quarantine. 1997. Read by Peter Wickham, 8 hours 45 minutes. TB 1413.Judea, about two thousand years ago. There were five of them, strung out along the road. Three men, a woman and, far behind, a fifth person - barefooted and without a staff, water or food. This novel follows a thirty-something Galilean called Jesus and his five companions as they set out into the desert to fast for forty days. TB 1413.

Crichton, Michael Pirate latitudes. 2010. Read by John Bedford Lloyd, 9 hours 11 minutes. TB 17821.Jamaica, in 1665 a lone outpost of British power amid Spanish waters in the sunbaked Caribbean. Its capital, Port Royal, a cutthroat town of taverns, grog shops and bawdy houses - the last place imaginable from which to launch an unthinkable attack on a nearby Spanish stronghold. Yet that is exactly what renowned privateer Captain Charles Hunter plans to do, with the connivance of Charles II's ruling governor, Sir James Almont. Hunter's crew of buccaneers must battle not only the Spanish fleet but other deadly perils - raging hurricanes, cannibal tribes, even sea monsters. But if his ragtag crew succeeds, they will make not only history, but a fortune in gold. TB 17821.

Crummey, Michael River thieves. 2001. Read by Jilian Hart, 12 hours 19 minutes. TB 17682.At the turn of the nineteenth century, British naval officer David Buchan arrives in Newfoundland to establish contact with the Beothuk Indians, who are facing extinction. Approaching the area's most influential white settlers, the Peytons, for advice, Buchan learns of their allegiances, deep grudges and family tensions. As his peace missions go awry, and a murder occurs, the delicate web of allegiance, obligation and debt that holds together the Peyton household and the community slowly begins to unravel. Contains strong language, violence and passages of a sexual nature. TB 17682.

Cutter, Kimberly The maid. 2011. Read by Karina Fernandez, 10 hours 29 minutes. TB 18849.It is the early part of the 15th century and the tumultuous Hundred Years War rages on. The French city of Orleans is under siege, English soldiers tear through the countryside wreaking destruction on all who cross their path, and Charles VII, the uncrowned king, has neither the strength nor the will to rally his army. Contains strong language. TB 18849.

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Davies, Martin The unicorn road. 2009. Read by Gareth Armstrong, 7 hours 32 minutes. TB 18323.A young woman leaves her home, summoned to the emperor's court and a husband she barely knows. On the other side of the world, a famous scholar is sent to find and collect the mysterious beasts of legend in the unknown lands of the East. He takes with him an interpreter, Venn, famous for his special gift with language. The two groups of travellers are destined to cross paths, revealing the secret motives and hidden passions of those who are brought together. TB 18323.

Dickinson, Michael The lost testament of Judas Iscariot. 1994. Read by Nigel Graham, 4 hours 37 minutes. TB 10249."That is my story, Peter. It is finished, and I wonder what you will make of it. Dawn has broken, the little patch of sky visible through the gap is pink and golden with the rising sun. Tonight, when Martha comes with my supper, I will ask her to send for you to come to me. There will be no need for us to converse. I will simply hand you this manuscript and when you have read it you will tell me whether what I did was right or wrong". This is Judas' account of events. TB 10249

Downer, Lesley The last concubine. 2009. Read by Sarah Sherborne, 18 hours 12 minutes. TB 17593. 1861. Growing up in rural Japan, Sachi has always felt different, her pale skin setting her apart. When she is 11, a princess passes through her village, sweeping her off to the women' palace in Edo, home to 3000 women and only one man - the young shogun. Sachi is chosen as his concubine. But Japan is changing. As civil war erupts, Sachi flees for her life. Rescued by a rebel warrior, she finds unknown feelings stirring within her. But before she dare dream of a life with him, Sachi must unravel the mystery of her own origins - a mystery that encompasses a wrong so terrible that it threatens to destroy her. TB 17593.

Drummond, Emma Some far elusive dawn. 1988. Read by Patricia Hughes, 17 hours 32 minutes. TB 7300.Colonial Singapore in the 1920s and four young people struggle to make a life for themselves against a background of uncertainty and confusion. Alex seeks any challenge to compensate for his lack of freedom in a privileged home; his sister, Lydia, is over protected. Martin has ended the war in shell-

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shock and into their lives comes the emancipated daughter of a risqué novelist. TB 7300.

Dunant, Sarah Sacred hearts. 2009. Read by Carolyn Bonnyman, 15 hours 7 minutes. TB 17031.1570 in the Italian city of Ferrara, and the convent of Santa Caterina is filled with noble women who are married to Christ because many cannot find husbands outside. Enter sixteen-year-old Serafina, ripped by her family from an illicit love affair, howling with rage and hormones and determined to escape. While on the other side of the great walls, counter-reformation forces in the Church are pushing for change, inside, Serafina's spirit and defiance ignite a fire that threatens to engulf the whole convent. TB 17031.

Dunn, Suzannah The queen's sorrow. 2009. Read by Ruth Sillers, 9 hours 58 minutes. TB 17596.Plain, dutiful and a passionate Catholic, Mary Tudor was overwhelmed by joy when she became England's first ruling queen. When she married Philip of Spain, her happiness was complete. Desperate for a baby, she became caught up by the belief that she must appease her God by bringing England back to her faith. Mary's fall from grace is seen through the eyes of Rafael, a member of Philip of Spain's entourage. He becomes the one person she trusts but his life and newfound love will be caught in the chaos that follows. TB 17596.

Erskine, BarbaraThe warrior's princess. 2009. Read by Monica Kendall, 22 hours 18 minutes. TB 18249.Jess, a young teacher in London, is attacked by someone she fears knows her well. Fleeing to her sister's house in the Welsh borders to recuperate, she is disturbed by the cries of a mysterious child. Two thousand years before, the same valley is the site of a great battle between Caratacus, king of the Brtitish tribes, and the invading Romans. The proud king is captured and taken as a prisoner to Rome with his wife and daughter, the princess Eigon. Jess is inexorably drawn to investigate Eigon's story, and as the Welsh cottage is no longer a peaceful sanctuary she determines to visit Rome. Contains strong language. TB 18249.

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Erskine, Barbara Daughters of fire. 2007. Read by Sally Armstrong, 26 hours 3 minutes. TB 17033.Two thousand years ago, as the Romans invade Britannia, the princess who will become the powerful queen of the great tribe of the Brigantes, watches the enemies of her people come ever closer. Cartimandua's world is, from the start, a maelstrom of love and conflict; revenge and retribution. In the present day, Edinburgh-based historian, Viv Lloyd Rees, has immersed herself in the legends surrounding the Celtic queen. She has written a book and is working on a dramatisation of the young queen's life with the help of actress, Pat Hebden. Contains violence and passages of a sexual nature. TB 17033.

Follett, Ken A dangerous fortune. 1993. Read by Tom Crowe, 18 hours 11 minutes. TB 9966.A great family of merchant bankers, infected by the poisons of ambition and greed: for the Pilasters, sex and love are weapons in a war for power and wealth. One explosive secret becomes the weak link that can bring down a dynasty. TB 9966.

Follett, Ken Fall of giants. 2010. Read by Jonathan Oliver, 39 hours 50 minutes. TB 18358.Century trilogy; book 1. This novel follows five families through the world-shaking dramas of the First World War, the Russian Revolution, and the struggle for votes for women. It is 1911. The Coronation Day of King George V. The Williams, a Welsh coal-mining family, is linked by romance and enmity to the Fitzherberts, aristocratic coal-mine owners. Lady Maud Fitzherbert falls in love with Walter von Ulrich, a spy at the German Embassy in London. Their destiny is entangled with that of an ambitious young aide to U.S. President Woodrow Wilson and to two orphaned Russian brothers, whose plans to emigrate to America fall foul of war, conscription and revolution. Contains strong language and passages of a sexual nature. TB 18358.

Gabaldon, Diana Dragonfly in amber. 1994. Read by Sally Armstong, 39 hours 45 minutes. TB 16241.Outlander series; book 2. Sequel to: Cross stitch, TB 15354. For twenty years, Claire Randall has kept her secrets. But now she is returning with her grown daughter to the majesty of Scotland's mist-shrouded hills. Here, Claire plans to reveal a truth as stunning as the events that gave it birth: about the

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mystery of an ancient circle of standing stones, about a love that transcends the boundaries of time, and about James Fraser, a warrior whose gallantry once drew the young Claire from the security of her century to the dangers of his. Contains strong language and passages of a sexual nature. TB 16241.

Gabaldon, Diana Voyager. 1994. Read by Caroline Guthrie, 40 hours 34 minutes. TB17026.Outlander series; book 3. Their passionate encounter happened two centuries ago when the gallant renegade Jamie Fraser sent her back to her own time, pregnant with his child, believing he would be killed in the bloody Battle of Culloden in 1746. Now their daughter has grown up and Claire discovers that Jamie survived. Drawn back across the chasm of time she seeks once more the man she could never forget, the destiny she cannot ignore. Contains strong language and passages of a sexual nature. TB 17026.

Gabaldon, Diana Drums of autumn. 1997. Read by Caroline Guthrie, 41 hours 8 minutes. TB 17585.Outlander series; book 4. It began in Scotland, at an ancient stone circle. Claire Randall was swept through time into the arms of James Fraser whose love for her became legend - a tale of tragic passion that ended with her return to the present to bear his child. Two decades later, Claire travelled back again to reunite with Jamie, this time in frontier America. But Claire had left someone behind in her own time - their daughter Brianna. Now Brianna has made a disturbing discovery that sends her to the stone circle and a terrifying leap into the unknown. Contains strong language. TB 17585.

Gale, Iain Man of honour: Jack Steel and the Blenheim campaign, July to August 1704. 2008. Read by Cornelius Garrett, 9 hours 33 minutes. TB 16288. Jack Steel series; book 1. Upper Bavaria, 1704. The British Army, illustrious and fresh from victory, stands proudly to attention, ready to fight for honour and glory. Their enemy is Louis XIV of France, the self-styled Sun King, who wants to possess all of Europe. TB 16288.

Gale, Iain Rules of war: Jack Steel for Queen and country. 2009. Read by John Telfer, 10 hours 23 minutes. TB 17262.Jack Steel series; book 2. Ramilles 1706 was one of the great victories of the British army. But for Captain Jack Steel, standing at the head of his

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Grenadiers, and receiving contradictory orders, it was hard to see Lord Marlborough's grand stratagem. Far from the battle lines he enjoys, Jack Steel is sent undercover to identify the loyal locals who would help a few British advance troops into the besieged city - a dangerous mission made deadly by his identification by an old enemy of his and the brilliant malevolence of the renegade French pirate who is in charge of Ostende. Contains strong language. TB 17262.

Gavin, Jamila Coram boy. 2009. Read by Cornelius Garrett, 8 hours 34 minutes. TB 17346.Set in the eighteenth century. Toby and Aaron both live in Captain Coram's Hospital for orphans, but their backgrounds are very different and who is Mish who watches over them? TB 17346.

Goldman, James Myself as witness. 1980. Read by John Westbrook, 14 hours 6 minutes. TB 3859.A sympathetic account of the reign of King John, a restless man struggling against overwhelming odds to keep intact the kingdom he had inherited. TB 3859.

Goodwin, Daisy My last duchess. 2011. Read by Sarah Borges, 15 hours 18 minutes. TB 18656.Cora Cash, possibly the wealthiest heiress in 1890s America, has been raised to believe that money will open every door to her. But when her mother whisks Cora to England to secure her an aristocratic match, Cora is dismayed by the welcome she at first receives. The great English houses in which she is entertained are frosty and forbidding, dogged by intrigue above stairs, and gossip below. And it is only when she loses her heart - to a man she barely knows - that Cora realises the game she is playing is one she does not full understand, and that her own future happiness could be the prize. TB 18656.

Gregory, Philippa The white queen. 2009. Read by Emma Powell, 14 hours 56 minutes. TB 16899. The cousins' war; book 1. Set amid the tumult and intrigue of The War of the Roses. The White Queen tells the story of a common woman who ascends to royalty by virtue of her beauty, a woman who rises to the demands of her position and fights tenaciously for the success of her family, a woman whose

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two sons become the central figures in a mystery that has confounded historians for centuries: the Princes in the Tower whose fate remains unknown to this day. TB 16899.

Grenville, Kate The lieutenant. 2009. Read by Bill Wallis, 7 hours 42 minutes. TB 17378.In 1788 Daniel Rooke sets out on a journey that will change the course of his life. As a lieutenant in the First Fleet, he lands on the wild and unknown shores of New South Wales. There he sets up an observatory to chart the stars. But this country will prove far more revelatory than the stars above. Based on real events, "The Lieutenant" tells the unforgettable story of Rooke's connection with an Aboriginal child - a remarkable friendship that resonates across the oceans and the centuries. TB 17378.

Gulland, Sandra The last great dance on earth. 2000. Read by Gwen Wild, 13 hours 45 minutes. TB 17888.The rise and fall of the French Empire under Napoleon Bonaparte and the steadfast love from Josephine that outlasts treachery, exile and even death. Through her diary entries, we witness the personal betrayals and political intrigues that finally drive Napoleon and Josephine apart, culminating in their divorce and his exile to Elba. TB 17888.

Hamilton, Julia Anne of Cleves. 1972. Read by Carol Marsh, 7 hours 6 minutes. TB 3694. Story of the fourth wife of Henry VIII, young and warm- hearted, married to the obese and ailing King. TB 3694.

Haran, Maeve The lady and the poet. 2009. Read by Saskia Butler, 12 hours 49 minutes. TB 17268.Ann More, fiery and spirited daughter of the Mores of Loseley House, comes to London destined for a life at the court of Queen Elizabeth. And there she encounters John Donne, the darkly attractive young poet. He is unlike any man she has ever met. Yet as they are thrown together Donne opens Ann's eyes to a new world of passion, wit and sensuality. But Donne is the kind of man her status-conscious father distrusts and despises. Contains strong language. TB 17268.

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Harris, Robert Lustrum. 2009. Read by Tim Bruce, 15 hours 38 minutes. TB 17028.Rome, 63 BC. In a city on the brink of acquiring a vast empire, seven men are struggling for power. Cicero is consul, Caesar his ruthless young rival, Pompey the republic's greatest general, Crassus its richest man, Cato a political fanatic, Catilina a psychopath, and Clodius an ambitious playboy. The stories of these real historical figures - their alliances and betrayals, their cruelties and seductions, their brilliance and their crimes - are all interleaved to form this epic novel. Contains strong language. TB 17028.

Harrod-Eagles, Cynthia The oak apple. 1997. Read by Frances Jeater, 14 hours 42 minutes. TB 11917. Morland Dynasty series; book 4. Sequel to: The princeling, TB 11652. It is the reign of Charles I, and England has prospered under long years of peace. But peace is shattered by the advent of brutal civil war between King and Parliament. Edmund Morland seeks to steer a middle course between the opposing factions, but the family is split when his eldest son Richard brings home a Puritan bride, while his second son Kit joins the Royalist cavalry. As the war grinds on, Edmund struggles to preserve the Morland fortune, but he is estranged from his sons, alienated at last even from his beloved wife Mary. TB 11917.

Harrod-Eagles, Cynthia The black pearl. 2005. Read by Terry Wale, 13 hours 59 minutes. TB 14206. Morland Dynasty series; book 5. The years of Cromwell's Commonwealth have been long and cruel for the Morlands, but with the restoration of Charles II, hope is reborn. For Ralph Morland, master of Morland Place, the return of the King is a chance to rebuild the family estates and fortune. For the beautiful and ambitious Annunciata, the Restoration brings a journey to London - a journey that leads to the amours and intrigues of Charles's court and to the unlocking of her mysterious past. TB 14206.

Heyer, Georgette The Corinthian. 1992. Read by Maggie Jones, 9 hours 32 minutes. TB 9545.The only question which hangs over the life of Sir Richard Wyndham, notable whip, dandy and Corinthian, is the one of marriage. On the eve of making the most momentous decision of his life he is on his way home, a little the worse for drink, when he chances upon a beautiful fugitive, climbing out of a window

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by means of knotted sheets, and finds a perfect opportunity for his own escape. TB 9545.

Heyer, Georgette The talisman ring. 1991. Read by Maggie Jones, 11 hours 9 minutes. TB 9186.Neither Sir Tristram Shield nor Eustacie, his young French cousin, have the slightest inclination to marry one another. Yet it is Lord Lavenham's dying wish. For there is no one else to provide for the old man's granddaughter while Ludovic, his heir, remains a fugitive from justice. TB 9186.

Holdsworth, Ken Possessed. 2008. Read by Mat Field, 6 hours 52 minutes. TB 17575.The year is 1752 and his Britannic Majesty's sixty-gun, ship-of-the-line, Indefatigable, drops anchor at Fort St George, Madras, trading post of the British East India Company. Discover why Thomas Neville, an officer in the 22nd Regiment of Foot and heir to a title and estates back in England, is serving on board as a common deckhand. Follow his adventures in India, his friendship with the legendary military hero and Empire builder, Robert Clive, his clash with the agents of Suraja Dowla, the sadistic Newab of Bengal, back in England, of his continuing struggle against the sinister devil worshipper, the Reverend Edwin Cruikshank. Contains strong language. TB 17575.

Humphreys, C C Blood ties. 2004. Read by C C Humphreys, 17 hours 3 minutes. TB 14384.French executioner; book 2. Sequel to: The French executioner, TB 13985. Jean Rombaurd, slayer and saviour of Anne Boleyn, believed that by honouring his vow to bury her six-fingered hand, he would find peace. He was wrong. Nineteen years later the relic is still a weapon of coercion, to be dug up and used against Anne's vulnerable daughter, Elizabeth. When its hiding place is betrayed - and by his own son - Jean must somehow regain a courage long lost and dispose of the hand forever. Contains violence. TB 14384.

Iggulden, Conn Wolf of the plains. 2008. Read by Stephen Thorne, 14 hours 21 minutes. TB 16519. The conqueror series; book 1. Temujin, the second son of the khan of the Wolves tribe, was only eleven when his father died in an ambush. His family were thrown out of the tribe and left alone, without food or shelter, to starve to

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death on the harsh Mongolian plains. It was a rough introduction to his life, to a sudden adult world, but Temujin survived, learning to combat natural and human threats. A man, a small family, without a tribe was always at risk but he gathered other outsiders to him, creating a new tribal identity. It was during some of his worst times that the image of uniting the warring tribes and bringing the silver people together came to him. He will become the khan of the sea of grass, Genghis. TB 16519.

Iggulden, Conn Lords of the bow. 2009. Read by Stephen Thorne, 13 hours 53 minutes. TB 17528. The conqueror series; book 2. His warriors only have the bow, the horse and an iron discipline born from a land of ice, hunger and death. Genghis Khan must unite the most warlike tribes on earth in order to forge a new nation from the wilds of Mongolia. To achieve this, he must break the ancient enemy who has kept his people divided, while at the same time coping with his restless generals, ambitious brothers and growing sons. TB 17528.

Iggulden, Conn The field of swords. 2009. Read by Paul Blake, 17 hours 34 minutes. TB 17470.Emperor series; book 3. Sequel to: The death of Kings, TB 15973. Following the defeat of the Spartacus rebellion, Julius Caesar and Marcus Brutus, who have been sent to run the Roman colonies in Spain, return to challenge powerful senators to become one of the Consuls of Rome. Political opposition, family quarrels, armed rebellions and corruption make this a highly contemporary scene, fuelled by the intrigue of the major characters, now developing as full adults. Although the Gallic conquests lead to Caesar's triumphal entry into Britain, the victories on the battlefield cause political rivalries at home, and ultimately the famous choice is presented to Caesar and Marcus Brutus. Contains strong language and passages of a sexual nature. TB 17470.

Jackson, Douglas Caligula. 2009. Read by Russell Boulter, 11 hours 22 minutes. TB 17480.Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus Germanicus, the third Roman Emperor, is better known as Caligula; a name synonymous with decadence and cruelty. His reign was marked by excess, building projects, and the biggest gladiator battles Rome was ever to see. Contains violence. TB 17480.

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James, Eloisa Duchess by night. 2009. Read by Karen Cass, 10 hours 6 minutes. TB 17100.After a lifetime as a wallflower Harriet, the Duchess of Berrow, is finally seeking a little pleasure of her own. And where better to begin than at the house of one of the most disreputable men in the country, Lord Strange? However, the high-stakes games of lust and chance that rule Strange's household mean that to cross the threshold could entirely ruin her reputation. So Harriet swaps her hoops and corsets for a pair of breeches and transforms herself into a young male relative of the Duke of Villiers. But when she starts attracting male attention, Harriet must decide whether to stay in her disguise or to reveal that she's really a duchess by night. Contains strong language passages of a sexual nature. TB 17100.

Kay, Susan Legacy. 1985. Read by Robert Ashby, 30 hours 42 minutes. TB 6242.When Queen Elizabeth I was crowned, many people still remembered the legacy left by her mother, Anne Boleyn. Anne had been bedevilled by accusations of witchcraft in enslaving Henry VIII, and accusations of "possession" were to be levelled at Elizabeth throughout her adult life. Contains strong language. TB 6242.

Kearsley, Susanna Mariana. 2010. Read by Carolyn Bonnyman, 11 hours 24 minutes. TB 17848.Julia Beckett believes in destiny. When she moves into Greywethers, a beautiful 16th century farmhouse, she suspects that more than coincidence has brought her there. The locals are warm and welcoming; especially the eligible squire of Crofton Hall, yet beneath the ordinariness, Julia senses a haunting sadness about her new home. Then she learns of Mariana, a beautiful young woman who lived there 300 years ago. It seems history has been waiting for Julia. Contains strong language. TB 17848.

Kearsley, Susanna Sophia's secret. 2008. Read by Sally Armstrong, 16 hours 46 minutes. TB 16689.When bestselling author Carrie McClelland visits the windswept ruins of Slains Castle, she is enchanted by the stark and beautiful Scottish landscape. The area is strangely familiar to her but she puts aside her faint sense of unease to begin her new novel, using the castle as her setting, and one of her own ancestors, Sophia, as her heroine. Then Carrie realises her

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writing is taking on a life of its own and the lines between fact and fiction become increasingly blurred. TB 16689.

Kneale, Matthew English passengers. 2001. Read by David Thorpe, 21 hours 14 minutes. TB 16905.It is 1857 and the Reverend Geoffrey Wilson has set out for Tasmania, hoping to find the true site of the Garden of Eden. But the aboriginal people have been fighting a desperate battle against British invaders, and, as the passengers will discover, the island is now far from being an earthly paradise. TB 16905.

Laird, Elizabeth Arcadia. 1990. Read by Jacqueline King, 18 hours 49 minutes. TB 8714.Historical saga and love story of the 1840s from the waters of the Clyde to the wilds of New Zealand. TB 8714.

Landman, Tanya The goldsmith's daughter. 2008. Read by Ginita Jimenez, 7 hours 27 minutes. TB 18137.A young girl's struggle to change her destiny, set against the destruction of the Aztec empire. Her father, a goldsmith, discovers her talent and she starts to work secretly as his apprentice. But danger awaits as Spanish strangers invade the city. And when Itacate's work comes to the emperor's attention and she falls in love with a stranger, her life takes an even more perilous turn. Can Itacate change her destiny and survive in this harsh new world? TB 18137.

Levy, Andrea The long song. 2010. Read by Andrea Levy and Adrian Lester, 11 hours 21 minutes. TB 17753.This tale is set in Jamaica during the last turbulent years of slavery and the early years of freedom that followed. July is a slave girl who lives upon a sugar plantation named Amity and it is her life that is the subject of this tale. She was there when the Baptist War raged in 1831, and she was also present when slavery was declared no more. TB 17753.

Maitland, Karen Company of liars: a novel of the plague. 2008. Read by David Thorpe, 18 hours 49 minutes. TB 16716.The year is 1348 and the first plague victim has reached English shores. A small band of travellers comes together to outrun the deadly disease,

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unaware that they are all concealing secrets and lies. And at their heart is the strange child, Narigorm, who reads the runes. But as law and order breaks down across the country and the battle for survival becomes ever more fierce, Narigorm mercilessly compels each of her fellow travellers to reveal the truth. TB 16716.

Manfredi, Valerio Pharaoh. 2009. Read by Paul Blake, 11 hours 27 minutes. TB 18264.Jerusalem, 586 BC, the Kingdom of Judah is on the verge annihilation by the Babylonians. In the chaos the Prophet Jeremiah rushes to save the sacred "Ark of the Covenant". As he locates the preordained hiding place which will make it impossible to be found, he makes a terrible discovery. The Middle East, in the early 2000s. William Blake, a renowned Egyptologist has been called in to oversee the discovery of an amazing, magnificent and strange tomb of a Pharaoh many miles from the Valley of the Kings, located in a militarily sensitive spot. His research will lead him to an amazing and world shattering discovery concerning Moses and the tribes of the Israelites and their flight from the land of Egypt. Contains strong language. TB 18264.

Mantel, Hilary Wolf Hall. 2009. Read by Christopher Oxford, 25 hours 11 minutes. TB 16735.England, the 1520s. Henry VIII is on the throne, but has no heir. Cardinal Wolsey is his chief advisor, charged with securing the divorce the pope refuses to grant. Into this atmosphere of distrust and need comes Thomas Cromwell, first as Wolsey's clerk, and later his successor. Cromwell is a wholly original man: the son of a brutal blacksmith, a political genius, a briber, a charmer, a bully, a man with a delicate and deadly expertise in manipulating people and events. Ruthless in pursuit of his own interests, he is as ambitious in his wider politics as he is for himself. His reforming agenda is carried out in the grip of a self-interested parliament and a king who fluctuates between romantic passions and murderous rages. Contains strong language. TB 16735.

Mantel, Hilary A place of greater safety. 2010. Read by Veronika Hyks, 37 hours 24 minutes. TB 17935.A novel which recounts the events between the fall of the Ancient Regime and the peak of the Terror, as seen through the eyes of the French Revolution's three protagonists - Georges-Jacques Danton, Maximilien Robespierre and Camille Desmoulins, men whose mix of ambition, idealism, and ego helped unleash the darker side of the Revolution's ideals and

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brought them eventually to their own tragic ends. Contains strong language and passages of a sexual nature. TB 17935.

Michener, James Albert The source. 1965. Read by Anthony Parker, 59 hours 45 minutes. TB 1088.A novel spanning the ages, from pre-history to 1965, giving the story of the Holy Land and of those who have worshipped in it. TB 1088.

Michener, James Albert The covenant. 1980. Read by Norma West, 52 hours 8 minutes. TB 5704.This epic novel is set against the background of the founding of South Africa, from the desolate beauty of its primitive origins, through the arrival of spirited European pioneers, to its expansion into a modern State. Into this panoramic historical saga James A. Michener has woven a multitude of stories about individuals, families and whole generations. TB 5704.

Mitchell, David The thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet. 2011. Read by Jonathan Oliver, 25 hours 38 minutes. TB 18865.Set at a turning point in history on a tiny island attached to mainland Japan, this story transports us to a world that is at once exotic and familiar: an extraordinary place and an era when news from abroad took months to arrive, yet when people behaved as they always do - loving, lusting and yearning, cheating, fighting and killing. TB 18865.

Moberg, Vilhelm The emigrants. 1995. Read by Johnathan Oliver, 18 hours 38 minutes. TB 11711. The emigrant novels; book 1. Emigrants Karl Oskar and Kristina Nilsson, their three children and eleven others are fleeing poverty, religious persecution and social oppression in Smaland, Sweden. For ten long weeks the emigrants suffer cramped, filthy quarters of the sailing vessel finally arriving in New York. TB 11711.

Morrison, Toni A mercy. 2009. Read by Adjoa Andoh, 5 hours 29 minutes. TB 18110.In the 1680s the slave trade was still in its infancy. In the Americas, virulent religious and class division, prejudice and oppression were rife, providing the fertile soil in which slavery and race hatred were carefully planted and took root. A Mercy reveals what lies under the surface of slavery, and the opening chapter of the story of sugar, that great maw which was to eat up millions of

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lives. But at its heart, like Beloved, this is the ambivalent, disturbing story of a mother and a daughter in a violent ad-hoc world - a world where acts of mercy, like everything else, have unforeseen consequences. Contains strong language. TB 18110.

Morrison, Toni Beloved. 2005. Read by Alibe Parsons, 11 hours 40 minutes. TB 17727.It is the mid-1800s. At Sweet Home in Kentucky, an era is ending as slavery comes under attack. The world of Sethe, however, is to turn from one of love to one of violence and death - the death of Sethe's baby daughter Beloved, whose name is the single word on the tombstone, who died at her mother's hands and who will return to claim retribution. Contains strong language. TB 17727.

Oldfield, Pamela Long dark summer. 1992. Read by Patricia Hughes, 14 hours 39 minutes. TB 9508.In the plague year of 1665, Sophie Devine and her children leave London for the safety of Woolwich. Discovering her husband's infidelity in her absence, she returns to London, a city now ravaged by sickness and death. There she encounters Luke Meredith, one of the dedicated doctors remaining in the city, in whose hands the lives of his own son and of Matthew Devine will rest. TB 9508.

Pamuk, Orhan My name is Red. 2001. Read by David Thorpe, 22 hours 58 minutes. TB17495.The Ottoman Sultan has commissioned the best artists in the land to create a book celebrating the glories of his realm: but he wants them to illuminate it in the European style. Because figurative art is deemed by many to be an affront to Islam, the project must be kept secret. Panic and scandal erupt when one of the chosen miniaturists disappears, along with a crucial page of the manuscript. The surviving artists are all under suspicion of murder and the only clue to the mystery lies in the half-finished illustrations themselves. Contains violence and strong language. TB 17495.

Pargeter, Edith The heaven tree. 1960. Read by Elizabeth Proud, 16 hours 40 minutes. TB 8383. Welsh trilogy; book 1. England in the reign of King John - a time of beauty and squalor, of swift treachery and unswerving loyalty. Against this violent,

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exciting background the story of Harry Talvace, master mason, unfolds. TB 8383.

Pearse, Lesley Gypsy. 2009. Read by Penelope Freeman, 16 hours 27 minutes. TB 17620.Fifteen-year-old Beth's dreams are shattered when she, her brother Sam and baby sister Molly are orphaned. Sam believes that only in America can they make their fortunes so, reluctantly leaving Molly with adoptive parents, brother and sister embark on the greatest adventure of their lives. Onboard the steamer to New York there are rogues aplenty. But Beth's talent with the fiddle earns her the nickname Gypsy - and the friendship of charismatic gambler Theo and sharp-witted Londoner, Jack. And after dodging trouble across America, finally the foursome head for the dangerous mountains of Canada and the Klondike River in search of gold. Contains passages of a sexual nature. TB17620.

Pepper, Andrew The last days of Newgate. 2006. Read by Jeff Bellamy, 13 hours 18 minutes. TB 14752.St Giles, London, 1829: three people have been brutally murdered and the city simmers with religious anger and political unrest. Pyke, a sometime Bow Street Runner, sometimes crook, becomes embroiled in the investigation but quickly realises he has stumbled into something more sinister and far reaching. Contains strong language, violence and passages of a sexual nature. TB 14752.

Perry, Anne The Whitechapel conspiracy. 2007. Read by Terrence Hardiman, 13 hours 38 minutes. TB 17632. Inspector Pitt series; book 21. Sequel to: Half moon street. When evidence presented in court by Thomas Pitt leads to the execution of a distinguished soldier and archaeologist, the retaliation from the hanged man's influential friends is swift. The murderer was a member of the Inner Circle, a group of men whose power extends further than Pitt realised was possible, and, within days, he loses command of the Bow Street police station. To protect him from the Inner Circle's hatred, he is forced to leave his family to work undercover in the dangerously volatile East End. TB 17632.

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Peters, Ellis The pilgrim of hate: the tenth chronicle of Brother Cadfael. 1984. Read by Gordon Dulieu, 7 hours. TB 7163. Cadfael series; book 10. Sequel to: Dead man's ransom, TB 8736. Pilgrims are gathering from far and wide to celebrate the fourth anniversary of the translation of Saint Winifred's bones to the Benedictine abbey at Shrewsbury. In distant Winchester, a Knight, supporter of the Empress Maud, has been murdered; not apparently an event of importance to those seeking miraculous cures at the saint's shrine. As the story unfolds it becomes evident that the murder is a much less remote affair than it first seemed. TB 7163.

Peters, ElizabethThe curse of the pharaohs. 2006. Read by Monica Kendall, 10 hours 55 minutes. TB 18060. Amelia Peabody series; book 2. Sequel to: Crocodile on the sandbank. When Lady Baskerville's husband Sir Henry dies after discovering what may have been an undisturbed royal tomb in Luxor, she appeals to eminent archaeologist Radcliffe Emerson and his wife Amelia to take over the excavation. Amid rumours of a curse haunting all those involved with the dig, the intrepid couple proceeds to Egypt, where they begin to suspect that Sir Henry did not die a natural death, and they are confident that the accidents that plague the dig are caused by a sinister human element, not a pharaoh's curse. TB 18060.

Plaidy, Jean St Thomas's Eve. 1991. Read by Eva Hadden, 9 hours 50 minutes. TB 9360.Tudor series; book 6. Sequel to: Murder most royal. The story of a family caught up in the intrigues of a lustful king; of one of the world's greatest men, whose love for his faith surpassed his love of life; and the daughter who loved him. Thomas More did not seek fame. His merry household, sanctuary of Holbein and Erasmus, was in striking contrast to the licentious court of Henry VIII. When fame was forced upon him, he began that perilous journey which ended on St Thomas's Eve. TB 9360.

Plampin, Matthew The street philosopher. 2010. Read by David Thorpe, 16 hours 25 minutes. TB 17597.Ambitious young journalist Thomas Kitson arrives at the Crimean battlefields, determined to make his mark. Two years later, Thomas returns to England. Desperate to forget the atrocities of the Crimea, he becomes a 'street philosopher', a society writer reporting on the gossip of the day. But as

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Manchester prepares to welcome Queen Victoria, Thomas's past returns to haunt him. TB 17597.

Reading, Mario The Nostradamus prophecies. 2010. Read by Gareth Armstrong, 11 hours 6 minutes. TB 17363.Nostradamus wrote 1000 prophecies. Only 942 have survived. What happened to the missing verses? This mystery drives two very different men. Adam Sabir is a writer desperate to revive his flagging career; Achor Bale is a member of an ancient secret society dedicated to the 'Three Antichrists' foretold by Nostradamus: Napoleon, Adolf Hitler - and the 'one still to come'. As Sabir is drawn into the hidden world of France's gypsies, Bale is on his trail. Contains violence. TB 17363.

Rubens, Bernice Kingdom come. 1990. Read by Gene Foad, 13 hours 9 minutes. TB 8091.The history and legend of Sabbatai Zvi, a Jewish poulterer hailed as a new Messiah in the 17th century, is at the centre of this novel. The author drawing upon actual events in Eastern Europe over 300 years ago, tells the story which contains the vibrant character of a Jewish Prophet. Sabbatai Zvi at once dazzled and enthralled his followers, people whom he also betrayed. TB 8091.

Sansom, C J Dissolution. 2008. Read by Christian Rodska, 13 hours 42 minutes. TB16284.Shardlake series; book 1. It is 1537 and Thomas Cromwell has ordered that all monasteries should be dissolved. Cromwell's Commissioner is found dead, his head severed from his body. Dr Shardlake is sent to uncover the truth behind what has happened. His investigation forces him to question everything that he himself believes. Contains violence. TB 16284.

Sansom, C J Dark fire. 2005. Read by Christian Rodska, 18 hours 2 minutes. TB 16415.Shardlake series; book 2. It is 1540 and the hottest summer of the sixteenth century. Matthew Shardlake, believing himself out of favour with Thomas Cromwell, is busy trying to maintain his legal practice and keep a low profile. But his involvement with a murder case, defending a girl accused of brutally murdering her young cousin, brings him once again into contact with the king's chief minister - and a new assignment. TB 16415.

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Sansom, C J Sovereign. 2007. Read by Mark Elstob, 20 hours 25 minutes. TB 17174.Shardlake series; book 3. It was autumn, 1541. Following the uncovering of a plot against his throne in Yorkshire, King Henry VIII has set out on a spectacular Progress to the North to overawe his rebellious subjects. Accompanied by a thousand soldiers, the cream of the nobility, and his fifth wife Catherine Howard, the King is to attend an extravagant submission of the local gentry at York. Already in the city are lawyer Matthew Shardlake and his assistant Jack Barak. As well as assisting with legal work processing petitions to the King, Shardlake has reluctantly undertaken a special mission - to ensure the welfare of an important but dangerous conspirator being brought back to London for interrogation. Contains strong language. TB 17174.

Scott, Manda Dreaming the eagle. 2003. Read by Frances Jeater, 24 hours 37 minutes. TB 17628. Boudica series; book 1. This is the story of Boudica: the last defender of Celtic culture; the only woman openly to have led her warriors into battle; the only British warrior to stand against Imperial Rome and triumph. But it is also the story of the two men she loved most: the warrior Caradoc and her half-brother Ban. TB 17628.

Scott, MandaDreaming the bull. 2004. Read by Frances Jeater, 17 hours 1 minute. TB 17782. Boudica series; book 2. This book continues the story of Breaca - now hailed Boudica, the Bringer of Victory, and her half-brother, Ban, now an officer in the Roman auxiliary cavalry. Each stands on the opposing side in a brutal war of attrition between the occupying army and the defeated tribes, each is determined to see the other dead. TB 17782.

Scott, Manda Dreaming the hound. 2006. Read by Di Langford, 19 hours 30 minutes. TB 17972. Boudica series; book 3. AD 57: much of Britannia lies under Roman occupation. Only in the far West, where Boudica leads a guerrilla war against the hated invader, does the flame of independence burn. To win freedom for her people and find the peace she craves, she must now take the fight to the enemy, to the very heartland of the Eceni. TB 17972.

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Scott, Manda Dreaming the serpent spear. 2007. Read by Di Langford, 20 hours 27 minutes. TB 18111.Boudica series; book 4. Britannia, AD 60: The tribes of Britannia are ready to seek bloody vengeance. Twenty thousand warriors are poised to reclaim their land from their captors. Now is their chance: the Roman governor has marched his legions west, leaving his capital and a vital port undefended. There is no going back. But to crush her enemies' legions for all time, Boudica must do more than lead her army in the greatest rebellion Britain has ever known. She must find healing for herself, for the land - and for Graine, her eight-year-old daughter. Colchester is burning. London has been destroyed. Amidst fire and bloody revolution, the Boudica and those around her must fight to keep what matters most - now and for all time. Contains strong language. TB 18111.

Stephen, Martin The conscience of the king: Henry Gresham and the Shakespeare conspiracy. 2008. Read by Michael Tudor Barnes, 11 hours 27 minutes. TB 16319.Henry Gresham series; book 2. Sequel to The desperate remedy: Henry Gresham and the gunpowder plot, TB 14727. Robert Cecil, Chief Secretary to King James I, summons the gentleman spy Henry Gresham to his deathbed to give his arch enemy one final deadly case. An unknown Cambridge bookseller has obtained devastating correspondence between James I and Robert Carr, and Gresham is the man who can return the letters, saving the monarch from a potentially scandalous downfall. Also in the bookseller's possession are two stolen manuscripts by Shakespeare. And just as these plays contain a deadly secret, so too does Gresham's mission. For Gresham is being used as live bait to draw out a murderous madman who is determined to destroy James I. Contains strong language. TB 16319.

Stephen, Martin The galleons' grave: Henry Gresham and the Spanish Armada. 2007. Read by Michael Tudor Barnes, 13:50. TB 16805.Henry Gresham series; book 3. It is 1588 and King Philip of Spain has assembled the greatest fleet and the most powerful army in the world. It is envisaged that the Armada, commanded by the brave and chivalric Duke of Medina Sidonia, will crush the English and bring an end to the reign of Queen Elizabeth. One man who has inside knowledge of this event is the young Henry Gresham. Caught up in the intrigues of Elizabeth's court as its inhabitants jostle for power and favour, he begins to realise that are many there who resent his youth, wealth and good looks. His position as a spy for

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Walsingham further endangers his life - and when he finds himself sailing on the Armada during his mission to spy on Sir Francis Drake, who is deemed suspicious of siding with the Spanish, he's not entirely certain where the realthreat lies. Contains strong language. TB 16805.

Stephen, Martin The rebel heart: Henry Gresham and the Earl of Essex. 2008. Read by Martin Tudor Barnes, 15 hours. TB 16806. Henry Gresham series; book 4. It is 1598, and Elizabeth I is growing old. Her Court shivers with intrigue as to who will claim the throne when she dies - the Spanish, King James I of Scotland or the upstart Earl of Essex? One man who has inside knowledge of Court is the young Henry Gresham, together with his manservant Mannion and beautiful ward, Jane. Commanded by Robert Cecil to deliver a mysterious letter, and ever watchful of the Earl of Essex's increasingly erratic behaviour, he soon becomes swept up in a battle for power that takes him to all corners of the British Isles, and close todeath. TB 16806.

Stockwin, Julian Kydd. 2008. Read by Christian Rodska, 9 hours 54 minutes. TB 16308.Kydd series; book 1. Thomas Payne Kydd, a wig-maker from Guildford, is seized by the press gang to be part of a crew of the 98-gun line-of-battle ship Duke William. The ship sails immediately and Kydd has to learn the harsh realities of shipboard life fast. Contains strong language. TB 16308.

Sweatman, Margaret When Alice lay down with Peter: a novel. 2001. Read by Peggy Mahon, 14 hours 36 minutes. TB 18443.Alice falls in love with Peter in Orkney in the 1860s and pursues him to the New World. They join the Metis rebellion and fight with its leader, Louis Riel, preferring the company of rebels and outcasts to the men who are invading from the east. Alice participates in the political execution of Thomas Scott, an odious Orangeman who is determined to destroy Riel and crush his followers. Thereafter, she is haunted by Scott's ghost. Contains violence and strong language. TB 18443.

Thane, Elswyth Dawn's early light. 1945. Read by Patricia Brown, 13 hours 33 minutes. TB 5816. Williamsburg series; book 1. The story of the inhabitants of colonial Williamsburg just before the outbreak of the American War of Independence

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and of men and women loving and laughing through war to the dawn of a better world. TB 5816.

Thompson, Brian The widow's secret. 2009. Read by Maggie Ollerenshaw, 7 hours 55 minutes. TB 16978.Bella Wallis discovers her plots in the alley ways, drawing rooms and dirty laundry of Victorian London. Under the pen name Henry Ellis Margam she takes revenge upon the scoundrels that litter London Society by destroying them - in print. So when Bella discovers a crested cigar case at the scene of a murdered prostitute she and her friends are determined to solve the mystery and to avenge the wretched girl's death. But the owner of the coat of arms is a dangerous and powerful man, and the world he inhabits far murkier than Bella could ever have imagined. TB 16978.

Waters, Paul Of merchants & heroes. 2008. Read by Paul Blake, 13 hours 6 minutes. TB 16984.A story of love, loss and redemption set in the classical world of Rome and Greece, 'Of Merchants & Heroes' tells of a young man's pursuit of his father's murderer and of the values and qualities he develops that will make him a man capable of a deep love. Contains strong language. TB 16984.

Young, Robyn Insurrection. 2010. Read by Frances Jeater, 22 hours 35 minutes. TB18303.1286 A.D. Scotland is in the grip of the worst winter in living memory. Some say the Day of Judgement has come. The king of Scotland rides out from Edinburgh into the stormy dark. On the road he is murdered by one of his own men, leaving the succession to the throne wide open. Civil war threatens as powerful Scottish families jostle for power, not knowing that Edward, now king of England, has set his own plans in motion. But all is not destined to go Edward's way. Through the ashes of war, through blood feuds and divided loyalties, a young squire will rise to defy England's greatest king. His name is Robert the Bruce. Contains violence and strong language. TB 18303.

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