Showing results by author "Mary Wood" in All Categories

Former townies Giles and Mary swapped city life for rural Wiltshire over thirty years ago, and they've each embraced it in their own very different ways. Mary has happily traded sophisticated London salons for monthly lectures at the Farmers' Club, competitive school quizzes, church interactions and local Auction House sales. While Giles has immersed himself in the catastrophic consequences of conventional farming, his organic no-dig veg-patch, the increasingly disproportionate response by local landlords to harmless trespassers and the strange death of the village house martins.

From a tender age, Flora felt unloved and unwanted by her parents, but she finds safety in the arms of caring nanny Pru. But when Pru is cast out of the family home, under a shadow of secrets and with a young baby boy of her own to care for, it shatters little Flora. But over the years, Flora and Pru meet in secret - unbeknownst to Flora’s parents. Pru becomes the mother to Flora she never had, and Flora grows into a fine young woman. When Flora signs up to become a nurse with the St John’s ambulance, she begins to shape her life.

Ruth dares to dream of another life—far away from the horrors within the walls of Bethnal Green’s infamous orphanage. Luckily she has her friends, Amy and Ellen—but she can’t keep them safe, and the suffering is only getting worse. Surely there must be a way out of here? But when Ruth breaks free from the shackles of confinement and sets out into East London, hoping to make a new life for herself, she finds that, for a girl with nowhere to turn, life can be just as tough on the outside.

Life for Elsie is difficult as she struggles to cope with her alcoholic mother. Caring for her siblings and working long hours at Swift's jam factory in London’s Bermondsey is exhausting. Thankfully her lifelong friendship with Dot helps to smooth over life’s rough edges. When Elsie and Dot meet Millie Swift, they are nervous to be in the presence of the bosses’ daughter. Over time, they are surprised to feel so drawn to her, but should two East End girls be socialising in such circles?

After the hard work of being a maid at Wallington Manor in the lead-up to Christmas, Annie is very excited at the prospect of going home to Bethnal Green. She has missed her family, but the money she earns keeps them all afloat. Harriet is from the island of Guernsey and is visiting her aunt at Wallington Manor. When she has to leave for London Annie is asked to look after her. On the train journey a friendship blossoms. And when an accident happens their friendship is made even stronger. A friendship that would see both girls through pain, happiness, marriage and death.

May 1940. The Second World War has been waging for eight months and life for Harriet and her family is uncertain. She and her parents make their way back to their homeland for refuge since Guernsey is not seen to have strategic value to Churchill. But, when they get there, they face disaster as the Germans have invaded and taken over their island. Harriet must find a way to survive while her home is overrun.

Elsie’s worked her way up at Swift’s Jam Factory from the shop floor to the top, and now it’s her time to shine. But when she’s involved in an incident involving her half-sister, Millie’s, new husband, she is forced to keep it secret - the truth could threaten their sisterly bond. Dot is dogged by fear, coming to terms with her mother’s rejection of her. She should be enjoying the happiness she craves with her beloved Cess; instead, she’s trapped in an asylum, haunted by the horrifying cries of inmates.

What is life for Giles and Mary outside the willow-patterned cocoon? Giles is a countryman who relishes solitude. His wife, Mary, thrives in company and enjoys frequent escapes to London. After 30 years in a marriage of opposites, Giles and Mary have adapted to a life of domestic misunderstandings within comical misadventures.

This collection has everything from first experiences to sexy vampires; you'll also find blisteringly hot stories from gangbangs to first anal sex. Sex with strangers? Oh yeah, we got that. Sex in public? What an adventure! Threesome erotica; lesbian erotica; gangbang erotica; anal and double penetration erotica; domination and submission erotica; paranormal erotica, and more. Warning: This audiobook contains explicit descriptions of sexual activity.

From the moment Len came into their lives, everything changed for Millie and Elsie. Both fell in love with him, but he chose Millie because of her attractive legacy - the Jam Factory. Millie’s expecting Len’s baby, and it should be the happiest time, but her husband’s true colours have come to the fore - and Millie is forced to leave the marriage. Now Millie is desperate to save her child from Len’s clutches. Will Len ever allow her to find happiness?

Edith and Ada run Jimmy's Hope House, where they care for unmarried mothers and where Edith, a doctor, offers free medical help to the poor of London's East End. Both are struggling to overcome trauma from their past. For Edith there is the constant ache and yearning for her twin girls, Elka and Ania, from whom she was separated in 1918. For Ada there is the threat of her sister returning.... As the Nazis strengthen their grip on Poland, sisters Elka and Ania are forced to make a difficult decision: travel to England to find their birth mother or stay and fight?

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....

Can she follow her dreams when she has lost everything? Young Bridie O'Hara is torn away from her native Ireland by her father - a freedom fighter turned traitor - when he has to flee the wrath of the republicans. Violated by those who should protect her and betrayed by her dashing gypsy lover, Seamus Finney, she struggles to find her way in Victorian England.

Born with a club foot in a remote village in the Pennines, Ruth is feared and ridiculed by her superstitious neighbours, who see her affliction as a sign of witchcraft. When her father is killed in an accident and her family evicted from their cottage, she hopes to leave her old life behind, to start afresh in the Blackburn cotton mills. But tragedy strikes once again, setting in motion a chain of events that will unravel her family's lives.

It is 1913, and for best friends Megan and Hattie, born at the turn of the century and brought up in a convent orphanage in Leeds, the time has come to make their way in the world. Megan is to become an apprentice seamstress, and Hattie is to work as a scullery maid at Lord Marley's country residence. Once separated, Megan begins to excel at dressmaking, but Hattie is less fortunate. After a devastating encounter with Lord Marley, she is forced to earn a living working the streets....

Megan and her husband Jack have finally found stability in their lives. But the threat of Megan's troubled son Billy is never far from their minds. Billy's release from the local asylum is imminent and it should be a time for celebration. Sadly, Megan and Jack know all too well what Billy is capable of....

Almost always when we think of Ghost Stories, we first think of those written by the Victorians. Whatever the reasons given or proffered the reality and known facts are that if you want a really good ghost story to bring that edge of chill, that foreboding of dread, that feeling that in an empty house we are not quite alone and that sometimes the sharp, sheer shock of what just happened is upon us then look no further than ‘The Victorian Ghost Story’ for your listening pleasure.

Ellen. Abandoned by her father for the second time, left scarred from the orphanage, Ellen finally finds happiness and hope—reunited with her long-lost gran. But it cannot compensate for being torn apart from her beloved friends Ruth and Amy. When a devastating encounter leaves Ellen broken and desperate, she is forced to fight her past demons. Ruth. Ruth has found peace, building a new life as an actress surrounded by new friends. But still, she longs to be with Ellen and Amy after everything they endured together in the orphanage.

Mags has never forgotten the friendship she forged with two fellow nurses she served with at the beginning of World War I. Haunted by what she experienced during that time, she fears a reunion with her friends would bring back the horror she’s tried so desperately to suppress. Now, with her wedding on the horizon, this should be a joyful time for Mags. But the sudden loss of her mother and the constant doubt she harbours surrounding her fiancé, Harold, are marring her happiness.

When Amy's chosen as part of a programme to resettle displaced children in Canada, her life changes tack. Her great sadness is having to say goodbye to Ruth and Ellen, the friends who became family to her during the dark days at the orphanage. As she steps on board the ship to Montreal, the promise of a new life lies ahead. But during the long crossing, Amy discovers a terrifying secret.