Showing results by narrator "Des Powell" in All Categories

At the end of the 18th century, the poet William Wordsworth rambled, in a strange visionary haze, from Salisbury Plain up into the Wye Valley. The epic walk changed his life. More than 200 years later, Oxford student David Vaynor followed the same secluded route and still can't explain what happened to him there. Now he's back, as a police detective investigating a suspicious death, and finds that, in this place of cliffs and chasms, it's far from easy to escape the past.

Christopher Lee's highly-acclaimed and award-winning BBC Radio 4 history of the British Empire. Britain had the biggest empire the world has ever known. At one time a quarter of the global land mass was British. Over a third of the world was insured at Lloyds. At his coronation, more than 400...

Midwife Ella Mehenick can’t wait to marry the love of her life, Dan Ferguson. They have both waited so long for their perfect day, and they know their future together will be everything they’ve ever dreamed of. But when Ella suddenly and unexpectedly collapses – all plans are put on hold.

Hampshire, 1900. With the sudden death of her father, the life of 15-year-old Harriet Benson changes forever. Forced from her home to escape the advances of her leering stepbrother Norris, Harriet is sent into service to provide for the family. Arriving at the grand Dalton House, she meets the owners' crippled son Joseph, with whom friendship soon blossoms. When circumstances force Joseph to leave the family home, Harriet is happy to accompany him and break free from the controlling influence of her stepmother.

Sharpen your mind. Fuel your body. Perform at your peak. The Focus Nutrition Blueprint is your practical, science-backed guide to unlocking sustained cognitive energy, building high-performance habits, and designing a lifestyle that supports mental clarity and productivity. In today’s fast-paced world, distraction, fatigue, and burnout are common but they don’t have to be your norm. This audiobook gives you a structured, actionable system to take control of your nutrition, optimize your brain function, and elevate your daily performance.

The Quiet Power of Ordinary Days is a thoughtful exploration of how meaning, peace, and fulfillment are often found in life’s simplest moments. In a world driven by constant noise, pressure, and distraction, this audiobook invites listeners to slow down, reconnect with themselves, and appreciate the beauty of everyday living. Through reflective insights and practical wisdom, it explores the power of presence, gratitude, emotional connection, and intentional living.

Phoebe Spencer left home a long time ago, desperate to get away from her mother's emotional manipulation. She knows her life is better away from her family, but she can’t help feeling she’s simply running away from her problems… Then Phoebe hears that her younger sister Lucy has disappeared, leaving behind her four-year old daughter, Darcy. Phoebe's certain Lucy will be back soon - she'd never leave Darcy alone - and then Phoebe can get on with her life again.

A must-read title for all fans of Patrick Rothfuss and Trudi Canavan, Fire is an exceptional fantasy novel. From the deft characterisation to the gripping story, the fast-paced action to the evocative prose, this is one of the strongest fantasy novels of the year. Set in a world of stunningly beautiful, exceptionally dangerous monsters, Fire is one of the most dangerous monsters of all - a human one. Marked out by her vivid red hair, she's more than attractive. Fire is mesmerising.

A new husband and a new house. Just as well, because Zoe doesn't like old. Back in the 1960s, this house was built to look ultra-modern, with lots of glass and sharp angles. And it was going cheap, perhaps because of the self-inflicted death of a previous owner – notoriously bloody and prolonged.

Martha is the youngest of three sisters and, in her mid-thirties, has the dubious honour of being the only one to call off a wedding at the last moment. Now, feeling as if she’ll be single forever, and trying to keep her low opinion of her sister Iris’s fiancé to herself for risk of looking bitter, Martha needs a change of scene. When she is given the opportunity of a holiday to Paxos it seems too good to turn down, though the idea of travelling alone is daunting. And when the trip to the Greek island gets complicated, Martha wonders if this has all been a mistake.

Here is the colorful story of sometimes temperamental composers and even more temperamental singers working in an art form which has produced some of man's noblest artistic creations. This absorbing history is illustrated by over 100 musical examples by Naxos artists as well as some of the greatest singers of the 20th century, including Enrico Caruso and Fyodor Chaliapin.

Popstar Matteo Stanford is eager to escape to the sunshine island to catch up with his old friend Alex and secretly film his latest music video. But within moments of landing, the location for the shoot is leaked to the press, and his island escape and video might be over before they start. Not to be defeated, Alex’s girlfriend Piper recruits her two best friends Casey and Tara, who run the Smoke and Mirrors stall at the The Cabbage Patch market. It doesn’t take Casey more than a moment to realise the perfect setting for Matteo’s video is Gorey castle.

The Shadowbound Saga — Book One Magic is forbidden for a reason. At the elite academy where power is trained, controlled, and quietly feared, Elara is doing everything she can to survive. She follows the rules. She hides what she is. And she never asks questions the Council doesn’t want answered. But some magic refuses to stay buried. When long-forgotten forces begin to stir and whispers of an outlawed power resurface, Elara finds herself caught between secrets that could shatter the academy—and a destiny the world would rather see destroyed than unleashed.

The First Lord Nanther, expert in blood diseases, particularly the royal disease of Heamophilia, and favoured physician to Queen Victoria, clearly hoped to be the subject of an admiring posthumous biography. But when his great-grandson, Martin Nanther begins to research his life for a biography, the Martin comes to suspect that his great-grandfather’s old records conceal more than they reveal.

Maddy fled the market town of Havenbury Magna three years ago, the scene of a traumatic incident she revisits most clearly in her dreams. Even so, when she is called back to help at the Havenbury Arms when her godfather, Patrick, suffers a heart attack, she is unprepared for the welter of emotions her return provokes. Psychologist and ex-army officer Ben finds himself falling for her. Then Maddy's mother, Helen, arrives, and Patrick himself must confront a few uncomfortable truths about his history and the pub's future. 

The venue is booked, the dress is picked and senior midwife Anna Jones only has to say ‘I do!’ to the man she loves! Theirs might have been a whirlwind romance but Brae Penrose is everything Anna dreamed her husband would be, and she can’t wait to start a family with him. But as the big day approaches, Anna still isn’t pregnant and when disaster strikes, their perfect day looks destined not to happen at all! Is it a sign to slow things down?

Wendy Tyler’s marriage ended when she discovered her ex-husband, Mike, had got his much younger new partner, Chloe, pregnant. Wendy’s over Mike, but suddenly she fears her own daughters will find a new baby much more exciting that their old mum. But when Wendy bumps into Chloe at St Piran’s, it’s clear something is troubling the fragile young woman. Wendy doesn’t want to be sucked into Chloe and Mike’s relationship, but she can’t help worrying that Chloe needs someone to turn to.

Since the death of her beloved father, Isla Marlowe has felt the need to do something to honour his memory; something meaningful that will bring joy to others and repay the kindness of a stranger who changed their lives. She’s got the perfect solution, but she’s worried not everyone will understand. Aidan Kennedy and his husband, Jase, are desperate to start a family of their own, but finding the right woman to help them is difficult and some people don’t think they should even try. So when Isla offers them the chance to fulfil their dream, they can’t believe their wish is about to come true.

Trapped in a boring job and living in a tiny apartment in New York, Julie Powell regularly finds herself weeping on the way home from work. Then one night, through her mascara-smudged eyes, Julie notices that the few items she's grabbed from the Korean grocery store are the very ingredients for Potage Parmentier, as described in Julia Childs' legendary cookbook, Mastering the Art of French Cooking. And The Project is born.

Birdie has come too far to go quietly … A powerful and emotional novel inspired by the Windrush Scandal, for fans of All My Mothers by Joanna Glen and Take My Hand by Dolen Perkins-Valdez This is a story about being told you don’t belong. This is a story about knowing you do. This is a story...