Showing results by narrator "Esther Wane" in All Categories

Dubbed 'Lady Scandal' thanks to her gossip-stirring past, Portia Fairhaven, the widowed Countess of Blakewell, is no stranger to rumors and innuendos. Although freed of her unhappy marriage, she is still forced to maintain as spotless a reputation as she can manage for the sake of her son. That is, until a desperate search for her lost half brother takes her to the darkest depths of London’s underworld and straight into the arms of one brawny, undeniably handsome East End rogue.

A Dream of Ebony and White: In this reimagining of the classic fairy tale, Snow must find her inner strength to fight for her throne. A Captive of Wing and Feather: In this reimagining of the classic tale Swan Lake, the trapped princess must find the courage to overcome her past if she has any hope of turning a tragedy into a happy ending. A Princess of Wind and Wave: In this reimagining of the classic fairy tale The Little Mermaid, the princess will have to grow beyond her dreams if she wants to save two kingdoms and her own heart.

Who do our politicians work for? The public, or big business? If you want to understand why British politics isn't working, the first place to start is here. Parliament Ltd reveals the financial interests that British politicians would rather you didn't hear about. From banks and private...

Despite the many films and television programmes over the decades since the end of the Second World War that portrays our allied heroes as grown-up men and women, the Battle of Britain was in the main actually fought and won by teenagers. The average age of an RAF fighter pilot was just 20 years old. Many of the men and women who designed and built their planes were even younger.

The first three fairy tale retellings from the Return to the Four Kingdoms series: The Secret Princess: A Retelling of The Goose Girl, The Mystery Princess: A Retelling of Cinderella, and The Desert Princess: A Retelling of Aladdin. These interconnected fairy tale retellings each feature a different heroine who finds herself friendless in a strange land and who must fight to save her new home and win her happily ever after.

I gasp out loud as I step through the door of the beautiful country hotel. My hands fly to my mouth in shock as I see the room is filled with my friends and family, my grown-up daughters and grandchildren at the center, gathered to celebrate my special birthday. Everyone raises their glasses to toast me. I should be enjoying the moment, but I'm on edge and I can't relax. Who organized this surprise party? How did they know I was going to be here?

Graham, Lord Blakemore, was believed to be lost at sea as a boy. While his mother, Lady Agatha, has never given up hope of finding her son again, others - eager for the title and the wealth that accompanies it - have been conspiring to have him declared dead against Lady Agatha's wishes. Her only ally in the house is her late husband's ward, Miss Beatrice Marlowe. But when a dark-haired stranger arrives on their doorstep claiming to be the lost heir to Castle Black, the plots and schemes of those who would have the castle for themselves take a dark and even more sinister turn.  

A long lost relative escapes to Clover Springs, but it's not the happy reunion anticipated by her sister. She's escaped with her life—but brought baggage that jeopardizes her future. When her past threatens her once more, Clover Springs rallies around to help.

Airen is at war. The queen is dead. The coven is incomplete. And things are uncertain under the sea. Now, the unicorns and mermaids and witches and warriors and the strangers from other lands all must band together to face the Beast and save Triton. The unions have been realized. Silence and Mars, True and Farah, Cassius and Elena, and Aramus and Ha-Lah are at their fullest powers. But the gods require sacrifice. The sacrifice of pure love. If it isn’t given, the Beast will prevail, and Triton will fall.

When peddler John Durbeyfield learns that he may be a descendant of a noble family, he sends his oldest child, Tess, to “claim kin.” Blindly ushered into harm’s way, the strong-willed yet untinctured peasant girl is not prepared for the blighted course her life will take. Nor for those whose destructive desires will determine her fate, and force Tess to make only the most desperate of choices. From her tragic loss of innocence through betrayal and revenge, Tess’s struggle for survival challenged the era’s mores and the cruel indifference shown women in Victorian society.

When two families organise a house swap, it seems like the perfect holiday arrangement. The Browns will exchange their London townhouse for a stunning chateau in the south of France, the perfect place to relax and rekindle their flagging marriage. And the Lesters are looking forward to showing their son, Rafael, around their old haunts in the British capital. Sounds wonderful. Except for one thing—both families are hiding dark secrets, and secrets have a way of coming out…

Becky’s father is not just absent: he’s a total mystery, a hole in her life. He died before she was born and for her mother, Laura, the subject is strictly off-limits. When Laura books a spontaneous trip to Greece, Becky decides to join her, determined to get closer to her mother - and to the truth. But as they make their way to the island of Santorini, it becomes clear that this holiday is not as impulsive as Becky thought. Laura’s hiding something from her daughter - and she’s been hiding it for Becky’s whole life.

Few tears are shed when the unpopular manager of the annual Seacastle Vintage Fair meets a sinister end. But local sleuth Tanya Bowe is thrust into the heart of the investigation when her friend, Grace Wong, finds herself under scrutiny for the murder. When Tanya's investigation uncovers a suspicious death in the same family, all bets are off. She navigates dark undercurrents of greed and betrayal as she uncovers a labyrinth of potential suspects associated with an ancient coven. Nothing is as it seems, and every clue adds extra complications. 

Local sleuth, Tanya Bowe, attends the long-awaited opening of the Surfusion restaurant. The unexpected arrival of a famous food critic raises the stakes for the owners and increases the buzz of excitement. The evening takes a dark turn when he collapses into his coffee not long after a scathing review goes live on his blog. Surfusion's owners are prime suspects for his murder, but Tanya is convinced of their innocence and vows to clear their names.

My husband is a handsome and successful businessman. He charms everyone he meets, including me. I’m madly in love with him and I believe we will grow old together in our beautiful, renovated farmhouse in the countryside. Until one rainy evening when I discover his secret: I watch as he steps into the arms of another woman. The truth is like a punch to my gut. But what comes next is even worse. I notice the gold wedding band on her finger and I hear him say, ‘I missed you, wifey.’

A Dance of Silver and Shadow: In this reimagining of the classic fairy tale The Twelve Dancing Princesses, there's a lot more at stake than worn out dancing slippers. A Tale of Beauty and Beast: In this reimagining of the classic fairy tale Beauty and the Beast, Beauty will have to use all of her strength and intelligence if she is to outwit her enemies, break a curse, and find true love. A Crown of Snow and Ice: In this reimagining of the classic fairy tale The Snow Queen, one princess is ready to burn down everything in her path.

When Raisa Hopeland, determined to win her race to become the next electromancer of London, bumps into Amon Brightbourne―tweed-suited, otherworldly, guided by the Grace―in the middle of a London riot, she sets in motion a series of events which will span decades, continents, and a series of events which will change the world.

What is animal welfare? This concise and accessible guide is for anyone who is interested in animals and who has wondered how we can assess their welfare scientifically. It defines animal welfare as "health and animals having what they want", a definition that can be easily understood by scientists and non-scientists alike, expresses in simple words what underlies many existing definitions, and shows what evidence we need to collect to improve animal welfare in practice. Above all, it puts the animal's own point of view at the heart of an assessment of its welfare.

Emily's heart soars as the stone cottage on the cliff comes into view—it is just as she remembered. As she pushes open the weather-beaten door, she wonders if returning to this place will be a chance to start again… Heartbroken and searching for a new beginning, Emily is shocked to learn she has inherited her great-aunt Violet's cottage. She remembers summers spent running through its rose garden, but she hasn't seen her great-aunt in years… So why did she leave her Clifftop Cottage?

The first English-language biography of Henri Bergson, the philosopher who defined individual creativity and transformed twentieth century thought. At the dawn of the twentieth century, Henri Bergson became the most famous philosopher on earth. Where prior thinkers sketched out a predictable...