Showing results by narrator "Genevieve Gaunt" in All Categories

1940. Britain is at war with Nazi Germany. Eleven-year-old Eric spends his days at the place that makes him most happy: London Zoo. And there’s one animal in particular he loves: Gertrude the gorilla. With bombs falling all over London, Eric must rescue Gertrude. Together with his Uncle Sid, a keeper at the zoo, the three go on the run. But while hiding out at the seaside they uncover a top-secret Nazi plot....

Florence, the 1560s. Lucrezia, third daughter of Cosimo de' Medici, is free to wander the palazzo at will, wondering at its treasures and observing its clandestine workings. But when her older sister dies on the eve of marriage to Alfonso d'Este, ruler of Ferrara, Modena and Reggio, Lucrezia is thrust unwittingly into the limelight: the duke is quick to request her hand in marriage and her father to accept on her behalf.

Over two hundred years ago, in the dark of night, a child vanished from his bed never to be seen again - and Pixie must discover the truth of those final moonlit hours. As the story undulates between the past and the present, secrets are revealed, love affairs exposed and, ultimately, Pixie will be forced to make a devastating choice that will change everything.

Madison has always known she had a different father to her siblings. But it wasn’t until she turned eighteen that she learned his name. And now she wants to meet the man who shares her fair hair and blue eyes. Robert is a very lucky man. A big house, beautiful wife, three handsome sons. Eighteen years ago, he made a mistake. A brief fling that resulted in a daughter nobody else knows about. Robert must finally tell his family the truth. Will they ever be able to forgive him and accept Madison as one of their own?

When Annie marries widower Edward Stonehouse and arrives at Guardbridge, his estate on the Yorkshire moors, she thinks she has finally put darkness behind her. She is mistaken. Edward's sister, Iris, still lives in the family home. A taxidermist and medium, she urges Annie to watch out for black feathers - claiming that they mark the spot where a spirt has visited. At first, Annie dismisses her warnings. But, before long, she begins to feel haunted.

Romantic secrets and hidden sorrows abound in the spellbinding new novel from Santa Montefiore. Can the shadows of the past be laid to rest, and will Evelina, robbed of her one true love in war torn Italy, ever find happiness again?

Margot Hart travels to Ireland to write a biography of the famous Deverill family. She knows she must speak to the current Lord Deverill—JP—if she is to uncover the secrets of the past. A notorious recluse, JP won’t be an easy man to crack. But Margot is determined—and she is not a woman who is easily put off.

Join Freya the Chocolate Rabbit and her friends as they have grand adventures in the countryside, dress up as mermaids in Sylvanian Land, and create unforgettable memories with their family and friends in the Village. With character introductions and beautiful imagery throughout, Sylvanian Families: A Treasury of Tales is the perfect gift for fans to treasure.

Ellen Saint is just your average mum. Devoted to her family, she’s no different from any other mother who wants the best for her kids. But when her teenage son Lucas brings a new friend home, cracks start to appear in Ellen’s perfect family life. Kieran Watts isn’t like Lucas. He’s rude, obnoxious and reckless, and Ellen can only watch in despair as her son falls deeper under his influence. Then Ellen’s whole world implodes and she embarks on an obsessive need to get revenge.

On the last Saturday in August, politicos and socialites trade tidbits of gossip and sips of Pimm's under the tasteful bunting of a Richmond garden party. They'd never guess that the police are just a stone's throw away, pulling a body out of the river Thames. The drowning appears to be a tragic accident - until Detective Caius Beauchamp gets an unexpected tip. The victim, it seems, had enemies in high places. Did being on the wrong side of them get her killed?

An early warning of disaster brings International Rescue to Peru to assist in relief efforts following a series of earth tremors—and sends the Thunderbirds in search of an ancient Inca treasure trove hidden beneath a long-lost temple deep in the South American jungle! When Lady Penelope is kidnapped by sinister treasure hunters, Scott Tracy and Parker are soon hot on their trail. Along the way they'll have to solve a centuries-old mystery, brave the inhospitable wilderness of the jungle and even tangle with a lost tribe—with the evil Hood close behind them all the way.

Ten-year-old Jas has a unique way of experiencing her universe: the feeling of udder ointment on her skin as protection against harsh winters; the texture of green warts, like capers, on migrating toads; the sound of 'blush words' that aren't in the Bible. But when a tragic accident ruptures the family, her curiosity warps into a vortex of increasingly disturbing fantasies - unlocking a darkness that threatens to derail them all.

The new novel from one of the most distinctive writers of the age, Parade sets loose a carousel of lives. It surges past the limits of identity, character, and plot, to tell a true story-about art, family, morality, gender, and how we compose ourselves.

Before Gods and mortals, there were The Fates - three sisters born out of Nyx's darkness, destined to weave the lives, and deaths, of humankind for eternity. But immortality is a heavy burden, and Clotho, Lachesis and Atropos are captivated by the gloriously human lives of the mortals below, especially those of the great warrior Atalanta and her ill-fated lover, Meleager. However, being a Goddess of Fate doesn't make you a master of it. Will these three sisters find a way to free the couple, and themselves, from their destinies? Or will they be bound by Fate forever?

Rome, 1659. Months after the plague has ravaged Rome, men are still dying in unnatural numbers, and rumour has it that their corpses do not decay as they should. The Papal authorities commission prosecutor Stefano Bracchi to investigate, telling him he will need considerable mettle to reach the truth. To the west of the Tiber, Girolama and her female friends are at work, helping other women with childbirths and foretelling their futures. Elsewhere in the city, a young wife, Anna, must find a way to escape her abusive husband. But in a city made by men for men, there are no easy paths out.

Notting Hill, London. Lou Parker's famous mother walks out of their pink front door and doesn't return home by midnight, or the midnight after... Looking after her little brother, trying to piece together where their mother might be, Lou ventures into a different world - far from the fancy terraces - filled with ramshackle antique shops, shadowy figures. A place where time seems to have stopped. And Lou must protect her brother. At all costs. Twenty-one years - 7665 midnights - later. The new owner of a Notting Hill house starts excavating a basement, oblivious to what might lie beneath.

Holland, 1942. The world is at war and as the Nazis’ power grows, Jewish families are in terrible danger. Twelve-year-old Mila and her older sister Hannie are sent to live with a family in another city with new identities and the strict instruction not to tell anyone that they are Jewish. Hannie, determined to fight back, is swept into the Dutch resistance as an undercover agent: Code Name Kingfisher. And though Mila does her best to make friends and keep out of trouble, there is danger at every turn and the sisters are soon left questioning who they can trust.

Imagine a tower wreathed in legend, a powerful witch, a foolhardy king, an imprisoned girl, and a secret waiting to be discovered . . . And then imagine them all again . . . This is the tale of Rapunzel, retold as it always should have been.

London, 1850. Constance Horton has disappeared. Maude, her older sister, knows only that Constance abandoned the apothecary they call home, and, disguised as a boy, boarded a ship bound for the Arctic. She never returned. ‘A tragic accident’, the Admiralty called it. But Maude Horton knows something isn’t right. When she finds Constance’s journal, it becomes clear that the truth is being buried by sinister forces. To find answers – and deliver justice for her sister – Maude must step into London’s dark underbelly, and into the path of dangerous, powerful men.

Imagine a kingdom poisoned by secrets, a poor girl with dreams of love, a magical fairy godmother and a romantic ball . . . And then imagine them all again . . . Welcome to the story of Cinderella, retold as it always should have been.