Showing results by narrator "Penelope Freeman" in All Categories

Dot Brightmore has never been one for lists. But now she's been given one of her own, by the love of her life, with whom she's finally been reunited. Dot's list has just two words on it: Marry me. The problem is, Dot can't get married. Because what Dot hasn't yet told anyone is that she's still married. To a man she hasn't seen in years. But her beloved Mabel isn't a woman who can be stopped easily. After all, her own last list helped her find Dot again.

When Lizzie Stevens was eighteen, life took a wrong turn. While her best friends Harriet and Anna went interrailing across Europe, Lizzie stayed behind—shunted into a dusty bank job and a sensible life that never quite got back on track. Now sixty-four, freshly divorced from terminally dull Freddie and wondering how she ended up here, Lizzie is unexpectedly reunited with the friends who left her behind. This time, she's not missing the train. Their plan? A gloriously reckless rail adventure across Europe.

When retired Jill Parker wins an all-expenses paid Mediterranean cruise for two she is thrilled! At 63 life in retirement has got a little bit bland for Jill and this might be just the holiday she and husband Eddy need to get the sparks back in their marriage. But when Eddy admits he would much prefer to build his patio and look through the latest DIY magazine, Jill is left with only one other option – her sister Diana. Diana has become rather reclusive since her husband, Caspar died, but perhaps this is the push she needs to bring some excitement back into her life, too?

Set in the midst of WW2, Soldier Girl follows a woman on her journey of courage, determination, loss, and resilience – the sequel to A Hopscotch Summer from Annie Murray. Read by Penelope Freeman (Her Wartime Secret) Molly Fox has grown up in the back streets of Birmingham at the mercy of her...

Three very different girls sign up as trainee nurses at a big London teaching hospital in 1934. Dora leaves her overcrowded, squalid working-class home for a better life. But has she got what it takes to keep up with other, better-educated girls? And will her hated stepfather ever let her go? Helen is born for the job; her brother is a doctor, her all-powerful mother a hospital trustee. But will Helen’s secret misery be her downfall? An aristocratic rebel, Millie’s carefree attitude will find her up in front of Matron again and again. Will she ever care enough to make a nurse? Or will she go back to the glamorous life she was born to?

1901. When the Earl of Stainton dies in a tragic hunting accident, Giles, the eldest son of the noble Tallant family, must step forward to replace him as the head of the family. But Giles has avoided the Castle and his stifling relatives for years, deciding instead to forge his own path away from the spotlight. Now, he must put aside his ambitions and honour his duty to the family.

NADIA KNOWS BEST is an unputdownable romance from the Sunday Times bestselling Jill Mansell, whose novels are must-reads for fans of Cathy Kelly and Lucy Diamond. When Nadia Kinsella meets Jay Tiernan, and the weather traps them in a remote Cotswold pub, she's tempted, of course she is. But...

SOLO is a delightful romantic listen from bestselling author Jill Mansell, not to be missed by readers of Lucy Diamond and Cathy Kelly. Mad about a man who's dangerous to know? Surely it's better to go solo... When Tessa Duvall, a struggling artist, reluctantly agreed to accompany her best...

The May Day celebrations are underway and offer some light relief from the daily hardships and a glimmer of hope for a brighter future for the folk of Norton Dene. Conscientious Sister Edith Harrison has her fortune told and a handsome, tall dark stranger is predicted to be on the horizon for her affections. Imagine her surprise when a mysterious stranger arrives in town with a hidden agenda that will upset those at Orchard Manor House. It seems like there are some ghosts from the past that need to be put to rest.

Sophia Gregory has lost her sparkle.... Recently single and about to turn 60, Sophia doesn’t recognise the old woman staring back at her in the mirror. How has life passed her by? A quiet holiday in beautiful Rhodes is the perfect chance for her to find herself. Until she meets the Old Ducks! Juliette, Kim and Anita are three friends who are determined not to grow old gracefully! Bold and brash, they are Sophia’s worse nightmare, until they make her an honorary member of The Old Ducks’ Club!

Your next perfect listen from Jill Mansell, Sunday Times bestselling author of MAYBE THIS TIME. Not to be missed if you love the novels of Katie Fforde and Milly Johnson. Daisy MacLean runs the country house hotel owned by her flamboyant father, Hector. When she hears who's about to get married...

But the summer days seemed to go on forever – and British families were determined to make the best of their paralysed country. For evacuated children, this meant freedom that is unimaginable today: discovering wildlife, foraging from orchards and hedgerows and swimming in the streams. Elsewhere, country estates were requisitioned for the war efforts. Caroline Taggart shows us how Britons succeeded in keeping spirits up with this entertaining collection of first-hand reminiscences from people who lived through those six long years.

She is a servant girl... When her father becomes ill, Emily Carter finds herself sent into service at Priorsfield Manor in order to provide the family with an income. He will be the Lord of the Manor... Emily strikes up an unlikely friendship with the daughters of the house, as well as Nicolas, son of the Earl. But as the threat of war comes ever closer, she becomes even more aware of the vast differences between upstairs and downstairs, servant and master...If you like Downton Abbey you’ll love this!

It's the final year of training for three young nurses at The Nightingale Hospital. Helen is at a crossroads in her life as she battles with her domineering mother over both her love life and her future career. Dora can't stop loving Nick, who is married to her best friend, Ruby. Millie is anxious about her fiancé, sent to Spain to cover the Civil War, and things only get worse when she encounters a fortune teller who gives her a sinister warning.

Mabel Beaumont’s husband Arthur loved lists. He’d leave them for her everywhere. ‘Remember: eggs, butter, sugar’. ‘I love you: today, tomorrow, always’. But now Arthur is gone. He died: softly, gently, not making a fuss. But he’s still left her a list. This one has just one item on it though: ‘Find D’. Mabel feels sure she knows what it means. She must track down her best friend Dot, who she hasn’t seen since the fateful day she left more than sixty years ago.

As the Allied troops draw closer to victory, life at Beach View Boarding House is still full of uncertainty. Rosie’s plans for her wedding to Ron Reilly are plagued with misunderstandings. And when Ron takes on a secret assignment just days before they are due to say their vows, it seems their plans for a future together may be doomed. Meanwhile, Peggy Reilly embraces her new managerial role at the uniform factory. It’s a welcome distraction while her husband, Jim, is still away fighting in the Far East.

Phoebe Parsons is destitute, disgraced and alone. After her mistress tragically dies, Phoebe is forced back onto the poverty-ridden streets of Manchester by her unforgiving new master. Desperately searching for work as a domestic maid, Phoebe soon discovers her reputation is in ruins. Fearing for her future and haunted by the harshness of her abandonment, Phoebe finds herself living with thieves and drunks in the smog and squalor - until she meets Victor Hayes. 

It’s the perfect wedding: tropical sunshine, glamorous guests, a beautiful bride and a handsome Hollywood millionaire. But the day is about to take a shocking turn. Lisa Costello has all the expensive clothes and exotic vacations that come with dating a rich man. But her relationship with Josh Steen is a sham. Yet nothing could have prepared Lisa for the morning after their decadent wedding in Thailand. Josh is dead – and it looks like Lisa killed him.

Divorced and on a deadline, bestselling novelist Bea Pinkerton has a serious case of writer's block. With her agent breathing down her neck, Bea will do ANYTHING to avoid writing another word. So an invite to a reunion with her old school friends at a beautiful chateau in France is Bea’s perfect chance to escape. Surely here, relaxing with old friends and drinking cold fizz, Bea will find inspiration? But as soon as Bea arrives, she realises this is not going to be the peaceful getaway she anticipated.

Brought to you by Penguin. A heartbreaking story of love and forgiveness from Sunday Times bestselling author Donna Douglas. Perfect for fans of Call the Midwife! London's East End, 1940: a frightened young woman gives birth to a tiny baby. Clearly alone, she refuses to hold the child: she...