Showing results by author "Di Riddell" in All Categories

As the days grow shorter and the temperature drops, Halloween approaches. Come, brave listener, pull up a chair, and spend some time with master storyteller Stephen Fry as he tells us some of his favourite ghost stories of all time, in truly terrifying spatial audio. From the headless horseman of Sleepy Hollow to the tortured spirits of M.R. James, from Edgar Allan Poe’s terrifying tale of a doppelganger to Charlotte Riddell’s Open Door that should definitely stay shut, join Stephen as he tells you some truly terrifying tales.

In an Audible Exclusive performance, Holliday Grainger lends her voice to a new unabridged recording of Lady Chatterley's Lover, a novel that was banned until 1960 and is now considered to be one of the most renowned love stories of all time. This production features an exclusive introduction written and narrated by Fern Riddell, a cultural historian who specialises in sex in the Victorian and Edwardian eras.

The days are getting colder, the nights are getting longer, and as Christmas approaches the time is high for some ghostly tales. As an exclusive gift for Audible members, settle down, snuggle up and listen to four chilling ghost stories, read by Simon Callow. Four great stories, one master storyteller - what could be simpler than that?

Cade Quarter has spent the last few years of his life running from an enemy he’s never even met - the ruthless and power-hungry High Professor of Flight, Quove Lentis. But Quove’s deadly agenda has finally caught up with Cade, and now he must leave his home and flee once more, this time to the legendary floating city of New Sanctaphrax. But even reuniting with his uncle, Nate Quarter, isn’t the end of Cade’s troubles - and now, more than ever, he must find the courage to defy his enemies, unite his friends and unlock the secrets of descending.

The Kingdom of Thrynne is a place where fairy tales don’t behave, and magic can be found in unexpected places. But magic brings danger to Zam, Phoebe and Bathsheba, because it is forbidden. Now, the future of magic itself is under threat from powerful enemies: those who fear it and, worse, those who want to use it for their own ends. What can three ordinary children do to protect it?

People are flocking to Ghastly-Gorm Hall to compete in Lord Goth's Literary Dog Show. The judges are in place, and the contestants are all ready to win. But there's something strange going on at Ghastly-Gorm - mysterious footprints, howls in the night and some suspiciously chewed shoes. Can Ada, the Attic Club and their new friends, the Vicarage sisters, work out what's going on before the next full moon?

Preparations for the Ghastly-Gorm Garden Party and bake-off are under way. Celebrity cooks are arriving at the hall for the big event and Maltravers, the indoor gamekeeper, is acting suspiciously. Elsewhere at Ghastly-Gorm Ada's wardrobe-dwelling lady's maid Marylebone has received a marriage proposal. Ada vows to aid the course of true love and find out what Maltravers is up to, but amidst all this activity, everyone appears to have forgotten her birthday!

Ada Goth is the only child of Lord Goth. The two live together in the enormous Ghastly-Gorm Hall. It’s hard for her to make friends and she's rather lonely. Then one day William and Emily Cabbage come to stay at the house, and together with a ghostly mouse called Ishmael they begin to unravel a dastardly plot. Ada and her friends must work together to foil the evil gamekeeper, Maltravers, before it's too late!

Chris' wonderful anthology features famous poems, old and new, and a few surprises. Classic verses from William Shakespeare, Lewis Carroll, W. B. Yeats and Christina Rossetti sit alongside poems from Nick Cave, Leonard Cohen, Carol Ann Duffy, Neil Gaiman and Roger McGough to create the ultimate collection brought to life by Sam West's exquisite readings.

Thirteen classic stories of horror and the supernatural by some of the greatest writers in the genre. This compilation includes a mix of well-known classics by authors such as Edith Nesbit, J. Sheridan Le Fanu and M. R. James, alongside several tales by less familiar names who were hugely popular and prolific in their day.

As the third moon rises over Muddle Earth's Perfumed Bog, the twinkling lights are lit on a small houseboat, home to a wizard, Randalf, and his familiar, a very sarcastic budgie called Veronica. Randalf is in trouble: he's stony broke. He's just spent his last silver pipsqueak. There's only one way for a wizard to make cash on Muddle Earth, and that's by doing some magic. Meanwhile, life is about to change beyond recognition for Joe Jefferson, an ordinary schoolboy on ordinary Earth, and his dog, Henry.

Since his childhood in the Deepwoods, young Twig has always longed to soar above the forest canopy and explore the sky. Now a lowly crew member on his father's sky pirate ship, the Stormchaser, his dream seems fulfilled. But a much higher destiny awaits Twig as plots and treacheries from many years ago bring the lofty city of Sanctaphrax, home of the Edgeworld's most learned academics, to the point of disaster.

Statistically speaking, only one out of every one thousand sexual acts between a man and a woman will result in a pregnancy. And, as we know, sex does not solely take place just between men and women. So: what is sex for? In this wide-ranging and powerful new history of sex, Dr Fern Riddell will uncover the sexual lives of our ancestors and show that, just like us, they were as preoccupied with sexual identities, masturbation, foreplay, sex and deviance; facing it with the same confusion, joy and accidental hilarity that we do today.

Rook Barkwater dreams of becoming a librarian knight - sent out to explore the mysteries of the Edgeworld. So when his chance comes, he grabs it. Breaking all the rules, he sets out on a journey to the Free Glades and beyond.

In the floating city of Sanctaphrax, fusty old professors scheme and bicker with each other as they study the weather in minute detail - mistsifting, fogprobing, researching the air blowing in from beyond the Edge. But some experiments are best left alone.

Far over the Edge, the Mother Storm is brewing: a storm more terrifying than any seen in the lifetime of any Edgelander. Sweeping in from the open sky, it must strike the source of the Edgewater River to bring new energy to the land. But in its way is Sanctaphrax: a magnificent city built on a floating rock and tethered to the land by a massive chain.

Introducing Miss Ottoline Brown, an exceptionally inquisitive mistress of disguise, and her partner in crime, Mr. Munroe. No puzzle is ever too tricky for the two of them to solve.... Ottoline lives in a stylish apartment in Big City with a small, hairy creature called Mr. Munroe. Together they look after the Brown family's eclectic collections - and dabble in a spot of detective work. So they are the first to the scene of the crime when a string of high-society dog-nappings and jewel thefts hits Big City.

Young Twig lives in the Deepwoods, among the Woodtrolls, but he isn't one of them. In a brave attempt to find out where he belongs, Twig wanders into the mysterious, fascinating, and sometimes hazardous world beyond the Deepwoods. In his travels he encounters myriad peculiar creatures, like his wise guardian, the Caterbird; the Slaughterers, a peaceful race who butcher animals for their livelihood; and the vicious, bile-swilling Rotsucker.

In the great floating city of Sanctaphrax, blizzards howl through the streets as the Edgeworld descends into an endless winter. Quint, the son of a sky pirate, has just begun his training at the Knights Academy - training that involves heading out over the Edge on tethers to develop his flying skills. But when Quint breaks the rules and head out to Open Sky on his own, he runs into the great sky leviathan known as a cloud-eater.

Ottoline and Mr. Munroe do everything and go everywhere together. That is until the day Mr. Munroe mysteriously disappears, leaving a strange clue written in string.... Armed with her Amateur Roving Collectors' travel pass, Ottoline sets off on a journey over, under, and on top of the sea to find her hairy best friend - and bring him back home.