Biography & Memoir Audiobooks

Boater: A Life on England's Waterways Audiobook

"Step aboard Boater, a mesmerising voyage along the tranquil waterways of England, written by former UK Canal Laureate, Jo Bell. 'It's not a lifestyle. It's a life' For over twenty years, Jo Bell, archaeologist and poet, has travelled the waterways of England (and sometimes Wales) meeting extraordinary people in an extraordinary environment. It’s a journey that's taught her about human nature, including her own; about rope and Brasso and bravery; about ducks and locks, and above all, about the necessity for a constant supply of biscuits. In this smart, funny memoir she describes an alternative nation within a nation, a place of different maps and deep history, and home to people who live and work in a world quite separate from the land a few feet away on the banks. Always at home, always on the move, Jo's peaceful life is interrupted when a turbulent relationship takes her on a year-long odyssey through tranquil waters and on to the treacherous Bristol Channel. Join her as she navigates shallow waters and deep trouble, and welcomes readers onboard a remarkable voyage through the past, present and future of our remarkable canals and the communities they support."

Jo Bell (Author), Jo Bell (Narrator)

Audiobook

The Monster of Harrods: Al-Fayed and the secret, shameful history of a British institution

"‘Sensational new book’ – MAIL ON SUNDAY ‘Bombshell book’ – THE SUN ‘Tell-all book’ – MAIL ON SUNDAY 'Explosive new book' – DAILY MAIL AN UNFLINCHING EXPOSÉ OF MOHAMED AL-FAYED'S 25-YEAR REIGN OF TERROR AT HARRODS DECADES OF ABUSE. DOZENS OF VICTIMS. NO CONSEQUENCES. To the public, he was the eccentric owner of one of the world’s great department stores. But behind closed doors, Al-Fayed ruled with cruelty, humiliation and unchecked abuse. - Why were his crimes ignored? - Why did those in power look the other way? This explosive investigation lays bare the power, corruption and complicity at the heart of an iconic British institution. Drawing on firsthand interviews with former staff, allies, executives and police officers, The Monster of Harrods exposes chilling accounts of misconduct, many revealed here for the first time. Through court records, testimonies and unpublished material, the book uncovers: - The irreparable damage to victims’ lives - The NDAs, threats and systemic failures that kept them silent - The staggering indifference of those who knew but did nothing This isn’t just about one man’s abuse of power – it’s about the culture that enabled him. The Monster of Harrods presents damning new evidence, and asks urgent questions of the people and institutions who stood by. Ultimately, this is a book about courage – the courage of the survivors who have stepped forward to reclaim their narratives from a man who tried to reduce them to objects. Their testimony stands as both an indictment of the past and a warning for the future. Their bravery demands nothing less than our complete attention. 'The extraordinary courage of these survivors, who, despite everything, were willing to relive their trauma in hope of finally being heard, should not be underestimated. Many have waited decades for acknowledgement, carrying their wounds in silence while their abuser was celebrated.'"

Alison Kervin (Author), Lucy Tregear (Narrator)

Audiobook

Unbreakable: The trailblazing SAS soldier who never backed down

"Brought to you by Penguin. A frightened boy pursued by racist bullies who grew up to become a trailblazing soldier in the British Army and then the SAS, Melvyn Downes was one of the first British-born Black men to join the elite regiment. During his 24 years of service, he was involved in secret missions across more than 50 countries and since leaving active duty has travelled to some of the world’s most dangerous places, protecting charity workers and journalists amidst natural disasters and in brutal conflict zones. In this gripping memoir, Melvyn takes us behind enemy lines and onto the front line of war, never shying away from the darker side of what he endured, such as losing friends, experiencing psychological traumas and facing racial harassment head-on. Yet, he believes that with the right willpower and mindset, anyone can overcome life's challenges. Melvyn wasn’t born fearless, strong or confident; these traits were forged through hard work, a willingness to learn from his mistakes and a desire to push himself out of his comfort zone. Inspired by the founding principles of the SAS – humility, integrity, humour, classlessness and the unrelenting pursuit of excellence – Melvyn embodies these values in every aspect of his life. And in Unbreakable, he shows that you don’t need to be a soldier to follow these ideas – we can all use them to build resilience when life throws us curveballs, and to live a life without limits. © Melvyn Downes 2025 (P) Penguin Audio 2025"

Melvyn Downes (Author), Daon Broni (Narrator)

Audiobook

The Snack Hacker: Rule Breaking Ideas for Cooks and Non-Cooks

"*THE INSTANT SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER* WINNER OF 'CONTENT CREATOR OF THE YEAR' AT THE FORTNUM AND MASON FOOD AND DRINK AWARDS 2024 'The cookbook I've been waiting for my entire life' JAMES ACASTER 'Joyfully iconoclastic' NIGELLA LAWSON 'One of the most exciting new cookbooks released in 2025' OLIVE MAGAZINE AS HEARD ON THE CRAIG CHARLES SHOW ON BBC 6MUSIC A collection of over 90 rule-breaking recipes of unpretentious cooking for everyone from the well-seasoned cook to the kitchen-shy greedy-guts. George Egg inhabits a place where the potentially frowned-up (processed cheese, crabsticks, salad cream) sits with the gourmet (date syrup, tahini, seaweed) and on occasion the deluxe (lumpfish caviar, liquorice root powder, Babybel). Discover hacks for fast food favourites alongside 'proper' recipes, using surprising combinations, unexpected ingredients and unconventional methods as George guides you from Deep-fried Pot Noodle to Chip Shop Tortilla, Microwave Shakshuka to Twiglet Brownies and Peshwari Toasties to Beer-battered Celebrations. Served with a generous helping of culinary memories and heart-warming stories, The Snack Hacker is a joyful celebration of food and a reminder that it's sensible to play in the kitchen. ***** 'Enough anarchy to make cooking fun. Enough love to make it brilliant' TIM HAYWARD 'This book will make your cooking much more enjoyable!' HARRY HILL 'George Egg is the working man's Heston Blummenthal, or the thinking man's Guy Fieri. And I mean those as high, high compliments' TIM ANDERSON 'Beautifully designed, super accessible, honest, funny and completely irresistible' JOE LYCETT 'WOW-inducing recipes, ingenious gourmet hacks and flavour fireworks' GURDEEP LOYAL"

George Egg (Author), George Egg (Narrator)

Audiobook

Agents of Change: The Women Who Transformed the CIA

"Years after her successful and impactful career at the CIA, Christina Hillsberg became enthralled with the stories of the trailblazing women who forged new paths within the Agency long before she began her career there in the aughts. These were women who sacrificed their personal lives, risked their safety, defied expectations, and boldly navigated the male-dominated spy organization. Through exclusive interviews with current and former female CIA officers, many of whom have never spoken publicly, Agents of Change tells an enthralling and, at times, disturbing story set against the backdrop of the evolving women's movement. It was the 1960s, a 'secretarial' era, when women first gained a foothold and pushed against the one-dimensional, pop-culture trope of the sexy Cold War Bond Girl. Underestimated but undaunted, they fought their way, decade-by-decade, through adversity to the top of the spy game. Seamlessly weaving together the individual stories of these exceptional women, Hillsberg deftly tackles not just the fight for gender equality at the CIA, but the current dilemma the Agency faces when dealing with the culmination of a decades-long culture of sexual harassment and assault."

Christina Hillsberg (Author), Christina Hillsberg, Valerie Plame (Narrator)

Audiobook

The Old Breed... The Complete Story Revealed: A Father, A Son, and How WWII in the Pacific Shaped Th

"Forty years after the publication of Eugene Sledge's memoir With the Old Breed at Peleliu and Okinawa comes The Old Breed . . . The Complete Story Revealed by Eugene's son, Henry, adding new material and immeasurable depth to his father's story. The Old Breed . . . The Complete Story Revealed brings to life an abundance of new material from the original manuscript of Eugene Sledge's classic memoir With the Old Breed at Peleliu and Okinawa. By interspersing his own personal anecdotes throughout, Henry Sledge takes his father's work and gives it newfound context, sharing memories of conversations between father and son. The result is a flowing narrative that portrays an intimate look at a WWII veteran and his struggles to adapt to civilian life following the war."

W. Henry Sledge (Author), Charles Constant (Narrator)

Audiobook

How Not to Be a Political Wife

"‘You think you’ve married a journalist, then, horrors, he becomes a politician.' 'Sarah Vine is the Bridget Jones of politics.' Plum Sykes 'Everyone in Westminster is talking about it.' The London Standard 'I take it all back; she's fabulous. Nobody in Westminster can afford not to buy this book.' Rachel Johnson ‘Moving and heartfelt – what a journey. I’m amazed she’s still standing.’ Imogen Edwards-Jones How Not to Be a Political Wife is an unflinching account of life at the heart of politics, and what it's like to have politics rip the heart out of your life. It’s a story of high hopes and dirty tricks, broken friendships and divided loyalties, laughter and glamour. Recollections, as a great woman once said, may of course vary, but this is my story, the way I remember it, written with no fear, no favour – and no fucks left to give. Buckle up. I thought long and hard about writing this memoir. I’ve done so not to settle old scores or plead my case, but more because I hope it’s a tale worth telling, not just for those who are interested in the political events of the past few years, but also because it’s about the people and characters behind those events, and why things ended up the way they did. For nearly 20 years I was inside the rooms of government, a sanctioned eavesdropper on the rise – and fall – of the Cameroon style of Conservatism. At the same time I was building a career in journalism, raising two children and doing my best to support my own husband, Michael Gove, on his political journey. I was both an insider and an outsider; an observer – via my journalism – as well as a participant in the cut and thrust (mainly cut, if I’m honest) of frontline politics. After my divorce from Michael and the demise of the Conservatives’ Old Guard, that all came to an end. I’m no longer officially a Westminster WAG, but you won’t find me mourning. Politics trampled my health, my happiness, my marriage, my sanity; it placed intolerable pressure on my loved ones, especially my children; it twisted my sense of self, and others’ sense of me; it tainted everything I did or said. I can’t say I miss it. I do, however, miss the life and the relationships I had before it all. These are the recollections of a survivor, but they are also a love letter to all that was lost in the wreck."

Sarah Vine (Author), Sarah Vine (Narrator)

Audiobook

The Box with the Sunflower Clasp: Uncovering a Jewish Family's Flight to Wartime Shanghai

"Rachel Meller was never close to her aunt Lisbeth, a cool, unemotional woman with a drawling Viennese-C alifornian accent, a cigarette in her hand. But when Lisbeth died, she left Rachel an intricately carved C hinese box with a sunflower clasp. Inside the box were photographs, letters and documents that led Rachel to uncover a story she had never known: that of a passionate Jewish teenager growing up in elegant Vienna, who was caught up by war, and forced to flee to Shanghai. Far from home, in a strange city, Lisbeth and her parents build a new life - a life of small joys and great hardship, surrounded by many others who, like them, have fled Hitler and the Nazis. 1930s Shanghai is a metropolis where the old rules do not apply - a city of fabulous wealth and crushing poverty, where disease is rife, and gangsters rub shoulders with rich emigrés; where summer brings unspeakable heat, and winter is bitterly cold; and where European refugees build community and, maybe, a young woman can find love. Set against a backdrop of the war in the Far East, The Box with the Sunflower Clasp is a sweeping family memoir that tells the hidden history of the Jews of Shanghai. Rachel Meller writes with elegance and insight as she examines what it means to survive, and what the legacy of displacement and war might mean for the generation that comes afterwards."

Rachel Meller (Author), Sarah Cullum (Narrator)

Audiobook

Mary Wollstonecraft: A Very Short Introduction

"Mary Wollstonecraft is widely hailed as the mother of modern feminism. The book that made her famous, A Vindication of the Rights of Woman, is a work of worldwide renown. Yet the range of her achievements as a thinker and writer reach far beyond this text. She was a multi-faceted author, and although the condition of women was a constant preoccupation throughout her life, she wrote on a wide variety of topics and in a range of literary forms, some of which she created herself. This Very Short Introduction examines the conditions for Wollstonecraft's emergence as a feminist, but also her status as an educator, a political thinker, and a romantic. E. J. Clery also considers the reception Mary Wollstonecraft has received over the last two centuries and argues that listeners need to look at her gamut of activities anew in the twenty-first century."

E.J. Clery (Author), Susan Duerden (Narrator)

Audiobook

Dave and Me: Life with and without my Hairy Biker

"Brought to you by Penguin. A beautiful, uplifting celebration of the life of The Hairy Bikers’ Dave Myers from his widow Lili Dave Myers lived his life with joy. He always told his wife Lili that, if you were going to do something, you should do it full-heartedly. With that in mind, Lili gives her whole self to writing a celebration of his life and their love, full of the warmth and joy that Dave and The Hairy Bikers brought to their fans throughout their career spanning two decades. Lili invites readers into her world, sharing her personal story and professional insights as a grief coach, offering a unique perspective on the complexities of loss and the healing process. Lili takes us on an intimate journey through life with her beloved husband, recounting their serendipitous meeting in 2005, the blossoming of their relationship as pen pals and the adventures that followed as they built a life together in the UK. Interspersed with vivid memories – like the plaid shirt that carries a special significance, the shoes that tell a story of their travels, and the lost wedding ring that symbolises their unbreakable bond – Lili paints a rich tapestry of their life together. She describes the joy of their wedding day, the camaraderie of friendships, and the challenges they faced during Dave's cancer diagnosis, their journey through treatment, and the final days they spent together. As well as a reflection on Lili’s profound grief, this deeply moving memoir is a testament to the enduring power of love and the ways she's found to celebrate Dave’s life, honouring his legacy and the impact he had on a nation that adored him. Looking to the future, Lili offers readers a beacon of hope, sharing her coping strategies and the ways she keeps Dave's memory alive. Dave and Me is a heartfelt tribute to a remarkable man and story of love that transcends loss. © Lili Myers 2025 (P) Penguin Audio 2025"

Lili Myers (Author), Lili Myers, Si King (Narrator)

Audiobook

The Devil Wears Rothko: Inside The Art Scandal that Rocked the World

"The Devil Wears Rothko charts the explosive demise of Knoedler Gallery, New York’s oldest and most prestigious art galleries with detailed and salacious insight into one of the world’s largest art frauds. From the moment an eccentric woman walked into the Knoedler Gallery with a Mark Rothko painting, everyone was fooled. For the next ten years, she—along with a group out of Hollywood central casting—ran a $80 million forgery ring through Knoedler Gallery, selling or consigning forty expertly crafted counterfeits they claimed to be the works of Robert Motherwell, Jackson Pollock, and Mark Rothko, and others. The acclaimed documentary, Made You Look (2020), attests to the explosive investigative work and storytelling of Avrich. The Devil Wears Rothko utilizes these talents all the more effectively, featuring new information, evidence, and inside stories on how an eccentric art dealer, master forger, and two cunning con artists managed to fool the world of art over a period of ten years. Among these individuals were billionaire art collectors, journalists, and esteemed art appraisers. By the time the house of cards finally fell, the Hammer family owned Knoedler Gallery and a dozen collectors had been conned into buying over $80 million in fake art. As the world continues to be intrigued by this case, The Devil Wears Rothko exposes such an unimaginable cast of characters and villains that even Hollywood would struggle to invent."

Barry Avrich (Author), Barry Avrich (Narrator)

Audiobook

Your Body of Water

"Sex, death, nature, and the 'feminine': an autofiction romance in four acts. Your Body of Water is an interweaving of autofiction with hydro-feminist mythologies, exploring via the emotional landscapes of four rivers and four 'tragic feminine characters' (Ophelia, Leda, the Lady of Shalott, and Sappho) the author's own real life journey, with a dose of tongue-in-cheek humor—through coming out in Australia, an abusive relationship in Berlin, and navigating queer love in the context of a world literally burning around us—and finding hope for the future in the stories of her ancestors before her."

Siouxzi Connor (Author), Cat Gould (Narrator)

Audiobook