Showing titles in Historical

A classic Agatha Christie short story, available individually for the first time on audio. Major Hastings and Hercule Poirot are not interested in the case of the Spanish Chest, so obviously has it been reported in the papers that it seems an entirely closed book. But, when Hastings persuades...

The protagonist of this story is Peter Palafox, son of a poor Irish parson, who signs on as a midshipman, never before having seen a ship. He is a fellow who would have delighted the young Stephen Maturin or Jack Aubrey...and quarrelled with them as well. Together with his life-long friend Sean, Peter sets out to seek his fortune, embarking on a journey of danger, disappointment, foreign lands and excitement.

The Palazzo Colombina is home to the Uccello family: three generations of men, trapped together in the dusty palace on Venice's Grand Canal. Awkward 15-year-old Nico. His distant, business-focused father. And his beloved grandfather, Paolo. Paolo is dying. But before he passes, he has secrets he's waited his whole life to share.

When a signalman discovers a mutilated body inside a railway tunnel near Groote Park, it seems to be a straightforward case of a man struck by a passing train. But Inspector Vandam of the Middeldorp police isn’t satisfied that Albert Smith’s death was accidental, and he sets out to prove foul play in a baffling mystery which crosses continents from deepest South Africa to the wilds of northern Scotland, where an almost identical crime appears to have been perpetrated.

Penguin presents the unabridged, downloadable audiobook edition of The Cutthroat by Clive Cussler and Justin Scott, read by Scott Brick. The year is 1911. Chief Investigator Isaac Bell of the Van Dorn Detective Agency has had many extraordinary cases before. But none quite like this. Hired to...

Brought to you by Penguin. ONLY SHE KNOWS THE TRUTH. ONLY HE CAN TELL THE WORLD. VIENNA, 1946 A brilliant German scientist spirited out of the ruins Nazi Europe in search of a new life MOSCOW, 1964 A rising star of the British diplomatic service whose job is not what it seems LONDON, THE PRESENT...

Archangel tells the story of four days in the life of Fluke Kelso, a dissipated, middle-aged former Oxford historian who is in Moscow to attend a conference on newly opened Soviet archives. One night Kelso is visited in his hotel room by an old NKVD officer, a former bodyguard of the secret police chief, Lavrentii Beria. The old man claims to have been at Stalin's dacha on the night Stalin had his fatal stroke, and to have helped Beria steal the dictator's private papers, among them a notebook.

Abridged edition. Dissolution is the first in the phenomenal Shardlake series by bestselling author, C. J. Sansom. It is 1537, a time of revolution that sees the greatest changes in England since 1066. Henry VIII has proclaimed himself Supreme Head of the Church and the country is waking up to...

Eighty-three-year-old billionaire Andrew Whitlock recruits Rachel Hunt, a thirty-three-year-old former homicide detective with a tarnished reputation, for a daring mission: travel back in time to Honolulu, just days before December 7, 1941. Rachel's task is to locate and save Andrew's father—a man he never met—from perishing in his fighter plane during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.

It is August of 1704, and Matthew Corbett and his companions have narrowly escaped the island of Golgotha and are recuperating in the town of Alghero on the northwestern coast of Sardinia, currently under Spanish rule. Hudson Greathouse is at his limits, both mentally and physically, after their harrowing ordeal.

AD 265, Gaul—The Roman Empire is on the brink. Emperor Gallienus has amassed a huge army across the Alps to seize back the mountains from the usurper Posthumus. War has come. Ballista and his cavalry are on the frontline, battling in the most brutal of conditions. But if he is to survive the campaign and finally retire to his beloved Sicily, it's not just the battlefield he needs to navigate. As he and Praetorian Prefect Volusianus lay siege to Posthumus' armies, it becomes clear the greatest threat to Ballista's life might just come from within his ranks.

This captivating narrative follows Father Michael Dominic, the esteemed Prefect of the Vatican’s Secret Archives, as he uncovers a remarkable artifact lost to time—Leonardo da Vinci’s most ingenious invention, the Celestial Guardian. Initially heralded as a divine instrument capable of forecasting a catastrophic asteroid bound for Earth, Father Dominic's discovery soon unravels a more ominous reality: the Guardian’s ability to not just predict, but alter celestial events.

Winchester, 1925. When heiress and amateur sleuth Cressida Fawcett is invited to her aunt’s mansion on Cloister Close, she is looking forward to a quiet stay in the historic town. The views of the cathedral are heavenly–and her aunt’s maid, Nancy, makes devilishly good ginger biscuits! But it seems Cressy and her pug Ruby won’t be allowed to rest in peace… On a tour of the crypt, they are shocked to stumble across the body of Anthony, the gentle, devoted verger. And a wild-eyed Nancy is standing over him, bloodied candlestick in hand…

From No.1 bestselling author Andrew Taylor comes the sequel to the phenomenally successful The Ashes of London Over 1 Million Andrew Taylor Novels Sold! A time of terrible danger… The Great Fire has ravaged London. Now, guided by the Fire Court, the city is rebuilding, but times are volatile...

In this gripping thriller from the bestselling author of The Town, the right hand man of one of the most infamous mob bosses in American history goes on a dangerous mission. "Masterly." —New York Times Book Review In the late 1970s, The Outfit, led by Tony Accardo, has the entire city of...

The ultimate Rome story The young Caesar must overcome enemies on land and at sea to become a battle-hardened leader – in the spectacular new novel from the bestselling author of The Gates of Rome. Forced to flee Rome, Julius Caesar is serving on board a war galley in the dangerous waters of...

There's a new arrival at Buckshaw—Flavia de Luce's obnoxious cousin Undine. Flavia reluctantly takes on the mentorship of her fellow orphan, who in her best moments shows some potential for trespassing and trickery. When Major Greyleigh, a former hangman, is found dead from a breakfast of poisonous mushrooms, suspicion falls on the de Luce family's longtime cook, Mrs. Mullet. After all, didn't she pick the mushrooms and serve them to Greyleigh moments before his death? Flavia knows her beloved Mrs. Mullet is innocent.

Brought to you by Penguin. It’s Los Angeles, 1986, and metal rules the world. For aspiring drummer Rikki Thunder, life is good—even if he is sleeping in a condemned paint store and playing with a band that’s going nowhere. But when he gets a shot to join L.A.’s hottest up-and-coming band...

1919. On the desolate battlefields of Northern France, the guns of the Great War are silent. Special battalions now face the dangerous task of gathering up the dead for mass burial. Captain Mackenzie, a survivor of the war, cannot yet bring himself to go home. First he must see that his fallen comrades are recovered and laid to rest. 

Winter, 1607. A man is struck down in the grounds of Battle Abbey, Sussex. Before dawn breaks, he is dead. Home to the Montagues, Battle has caught the paranoid eye of King James. The Catholic household is rumoured to shelter those loyal to the Pope, disguising them as servants within the abbey walls. And the last man sent to expose them was silenced before his report could reach London. Daniel Pursglove is summoned to infiltrate Battle and find proof of treachery. He soon discovers that nearly everyone at the abbey has something to hide.