Gilly Ramsey's lonely childhood was brightened only by visits to her godmother until her death, when the grown-up Gilly inherits the family cottage, " Thornyhold." Set deep in a wild wood, with its magical and peaceful strength and its sovereign defenses against evil, Thornyhold is like something out of a fairy tale. The old house strikes an end to Gilly's bleak future, offering more than just a new home. It presents a chance to start over— despite its reputation for magic, history of witc...

North & South By Elizabeth Gaskell. This classic book is brought to you with the following track listing 1, New Lives. A move to the country is followed by a surprising proposal. 2, A Change Of Circumstances; A crisis of conscience and a fait accompli for Margaret and her Mother. 3, North Versus South; A misunderstanding, family disgrace, and a grave illness. 4, Industrial unrest; A heroine falls foul of strikers as the boss’s pride is wounded. 5, Thwarted Hopes; A marriage proposal snubbe...

Intelligent, tough, beautiful, and sole heir to a billion-dollar fortune, Elizabeth suddenly finds herself head of an empire after her father mysteriously dies. Surrounded by cash-hungry family members, the young heiress fights to save the family business. And after narrowly escaping death, she realizes that someone is determined to kill her. Unsure of who she can trust, Elizabeth must figure out who the assassin is before it's too late. From the backstreets of Istanbul to the upmarket off...

Helen Huntingdon flees a disastrous marriage and retreats to the desolate, half-ruined moorland mansion, Wildfell Hall. With her small son, Arthur, she adopts an assumed name and makes her living as a painter. The inconvenience of the house is outweighed by the fact that she and Arthur are removed from her drunken, degenerate husband.Although the house is isolated, she seeks to avoid the attentions of the neighbors. However, it is difficult to do so. All too soon she becomes an obj...

When orphaned Mary Lennox arrives at Misselthwaite Manor, her uncle’s estate, everybody said she was the most disagreeable looking child ever seen. Depressed and withdrawn, Mary stumbles upon an arched doorway into an overgrown garden. She later discovers her pampered invalid cousin, tucked away in a dark room. Soon a charming journey into the magical secret garden begins…

The survivors of The Other Side of Midnight come back for one last round of play in this compelling sequel set in post-war Europe. Catherine Douglas, victim of tragedy and amnesia, is taken in by the world's richest man, Greek shipping tycoon Constantin Demiris. Haunted by faint memoires of the past, Catherine must remember the truth before Demiris, the man who killed her husband, sets his murderous sights on her. Master storyteller Sidney Sheldon once again weaves a thrilling tal...

The tree, the fireside, the candles, the presents and the festive food may be the main features of the traditional Christmas, but so were the stories, the poems, and the traditional tales. Here, is a delightful confection of Christmas texts: the story of The Nutcracker told with Tchaikovsky’s immortal music, Dylan Thomas’ A Child’s Christmas in Wales, as well as nineteenth and twentieth century poems and the always affecting tale of The Little Match Girl. An enchanting collection for those...

A collection of BBC radio full-cast dramatisations of Jane Austen's six major novels Jane Austen is one of the finest writers in the English language, and this volume includes all six of her classic novels.Mansfield Park: On a quest to find a position in society, Fanny Price goes to live with her rich aunt and uncle.Northanger Abbey: Young, naïve Catherine Morland receives an invitation to stay at the isolated Gothic mansion Northanger Abbey.Full chapter listing:

‘It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife.’ So opens this famous novel which has become Jane Austen’s best loved and best known work. It was in this book that all Jane Austen’s talents combined to create not only the most wonderful love story, but dialogue that sparkles with wit and irony, an ingenious and compelling plot and some of the most unforgettable characters ever created.

Penguin presents the audiobook edition of The Railway Children by E. Nesbit, read by Jenny Agutter.When Father is taken away unexpectedly, Roberta, Peter, Phyllis and their mother have to leave their comfortable life in London to go and live in a small cottage in the country. The children seek solace in the nearby railway station, and make friends with Perks the Porter and the Station Master himself. Each day, Roberta, Peter and Phyllis run down the field ...

The stories of the most popular ballets are told in refreshing style against the backdrop of the music written by Delibes, Tchaikovsky and Adam. Naxos Audiobooks draws on its own roots in classical music to present the definitive introduction for children in this sympathetic reading by Jenny Agutter.

Gustave Flaubert’s intimate portrait of Emma Bovary’s passionate yearnings for love and excitement, and his scrutiny of the dull provincial world in which she is trapped, create one of the finest French novels of the 19th century. His deep exploration of Emma’s emotions and motivations takes the reader inside her mind to long and suffer with her. The detailed descriptions of day to day life in Yonville-L’Abbaye provide a strong sense of authenticity – hence Madame Bovary is often termed th...