Historical Audiobooks | Fiction

"Seoul, present day: antiques dealer Alys is mysteriously paid a vast sum of money to transport one of three highly coveted Anatomical Venuses to the UK and then destroy it. An offer she can’t refuse... London, 1769: Eleanor is new to the city and, after a chance meeting at Vauxhall Pleasure Gardens, is taken under the wing of beautiful and charismatic Elizabeth and her protégé, Emily, who promise her a life of luxury. But it quickly becomes clear that Elizabeth is not what she seems. In a darkly intriguing and magical tale, prepare to discover the dangerous secret shared by these four women – a secret that spans centuries, and which will unearth horrors not of this world."

A Rushby (Author), Georgina Jane, Jaimi Barbakoff (Narrator)

Audiobook

Castle Dor

"BY THE BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF REBECCA Both a spellbinding love story and a superb evocation of Cornwall's mythic past, Castle Dor is a book with unique and fascinating origins. It began life as the unfinished last novel of Sir Arthur Quiller-Couch, the celebrated 'Q', and was passed by his daughter to Daphne du Maurier whose storytelling skills were perfectly suited to the task of completing the old master's tale. The result is this magical, compelling recreation of the legend of Tristan and Iseult, transplanted in time to nineteenth century Cornwall. A chance encounter between a Breton onion-seller, Amyot Trestane, and the newly-wed Linnet Lewarne launches their tragic story, taking them in the fateful footsteps of the doomed lovers of Cornish legend . . . 'She wrote exciting plots, she was highly skilled at arousing suspense' GUARDIAN 'A stunning gem . . . ' SUNDAY TIMES 'No other popular writer has so triumphantly defied classification' MARGARET FORSTER"

Daphne du Maurier (Author), Toby Longworth (Narrator)

Audiobook

The Surgeon's House

"London, 1883. The brutal murder of Rose Parmiter seems, at first glance, to be a random and senseless act. Rose was the beloved cook at Evergreen House, a place of refuge for women and children, a place from which they can start their lives afresh. Proprietor Rebecca Harris, is profoundly shocked by the death of her dear friend and alarmed at the mysterious events which begin to unfold shortly afterwards. Could the past be casting a shadow on the present? The malign legacy of the Everley family who called Evergreen home, cannot be ignored. After two further deaths it becomes clear there is an evil presence infecting their sanctuary, and Rebecca must draw out the poison of the past so the Evergreen residents can finally make peace with the darkness in their lives."

Jody Cooksley (Author), Jessica Whittaker, Louise Williams (Narrator)

Audiobook

The Moscow Defector

"September, 1948. The Iron Curtain has descended. Behind it is the woman he loves. The Berlin Blockade has begun and Soviet aggression threatens to ignite a new conflict. Now based in the besieged German city, Auguste Duchene finds himself part of a Cold War that is on the brink of turning hot. Working for the Allies to lure Soviet spies to defect, he's made an enemy of the Russians, who are drawing a net tightly around him. Meanwhile, Duchene's estranged wife, Sabine, finds herself under threat in Moscow. With her belief in the communist cause increasingly challenged, her past actions come back to haunt her as Stalin's agents wield their absolute power in a bid to expose her. With its compelling portrayal of a paranoia-ridden Moscow and blockaded Berlin, The Moscow Defector sees Duchene and Sabine, torn apart by opposing ideologies, risk their lives to try to save one another. Evocative, gripping and full of twists, this taut thriller asks if lovers can reunite against an all-powerful regime."

A W Hammond (Author), Stephen Perring (Narrator)

Audiobook

The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion Vol. 5: Vol. 5

"I took Treasure Island to church with me as a talisman. “What a lovely bible,” Mrs. Tribly said. “Isn’t it just?” I replied, hoping she would not ask me to read a favorite verse aloud. I do not believe the psalmist wrote, Fifteen men on a dead man’s chest, Yo-ho-ho and a bottle of rum. The Year is 1883 and Emma M. Lion has returned to her London neighbourhood of St. Crispian’s. But Emma’s plans for a charmed and studious life are sabotaged by her eccentric Cousin Archibald, her formidable Aunt Eugenia, and the slightly odd denizens of St. Crispian’s. Emma M. Lion offers up her Unselected Journals, however self-incriminating they may be. Armed with wit and a sideways amusement, Emma documents the curious realities of her life at Lapis Lazuli House. Narrated by Genevieve Gaunt. A Londoner born and bred, she started her acting career playing Pansy Parkinson in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban before going on to read English at Cambridge where she graduated with a Double First. Recent work includes playing Marilyn Monroe in The Marilyn Conspiracy on stage and narrating The Spy Who Loved Me by Ian Fleming. Alongside acting on stage, screen, audiobooks and radio Genevieve writes for audiodrama (Thunderbirds), reviews books for The Spectator and interviews authors and creatives for literary festivals and in print for A Rabbit’s Foot magazine. Directed by Tamsin Collison, an award-winning audio director with over 500 audiobooks and dramas to her credit, collaborating with artists from David Tennant to Archbishop Desmond Tutu. Recent highlights include a dramatisation of Jane Austen’s Mansfield Park, Thandiwe Newton’s award-winning recording of Tolstoy’s War & Peace, and a new set of all-star readings of Ian Fleming’s James Bond novels. She also lectures at leading UK drama academies, including RADA and LAMDA. A lyricist/librettist, Tamsin has been commissioned by English National Opera, the Royal Opera House, Tête à Tête Opera, Highbury Opera Theatre and the BBC Symphony Orchestra. Recent works include Last Man Standing and an opera based on Michael Palin’s The Weekend. This audiobook is produced and published by Echo Point Books & Media, LLC, an independent bookseller in Brattleboro, Vermont. It was recorded and engineered by The Strathmore Studios in London."

Beth Brower (Author), Genevieve Gaunt (Narrator)

Audiobook

Julia: A Novel Inspired by the Extraordinary Life of Julia Child

"Before she stepped into the spotlight as a master of French cooking, Julia Child navigated the shadows as a WWII intelligence officer. On the sunny shores of California, Julia McWilliams is poised to embrace a life of comfort and financial security, with a marriage proposal from a wealthy man to consider. But as World War II erupts in the US, her patriotic fervor compels her to abandon her secure future. Trading country clubs for covert codes, Julia joins the Office of Strategic Services, where her sharp mind aids the Allied cause in the shadowy realm of espionage. Amid strategic missions in Ceylon and China, Julia crosses paths with Paul Child, a fellow OSS officer whose delight in art, culture, and cuisine awakens a new hunger within her. Their chance meetings ignite a spark that blossoms into romance, leading to a proposal that Julia eagerly accepts. Together they embark on a new chapter in postwar Paris. In the City of Light, Julia grapples with a different kind of challenge: she refuses to be confined by the societal expectations of a married woman. Drawn to the tantalizing world of French gastronomy—a pursuit her peers deem superfluous—she enrolls at the famed Le Cordon Bleu, and with Paul’s unwavering support, Julia immerses herself in her new passion. Facing skepticism and prejudice in the male-dominated kitchens of Paris, Julia’s resolve never falters. Her relentless pursuit of culinary mastery not only transforms her own life but also introduces a revolutionary change in kitchens throughout America. From intelligence officer to beloved chef, Julia takes readers on an extraordinary journey."

Heather B. Moore (Author), Evelyn McCauley (Narrator)

Audiobook

The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion Vol. 4, The: Vol. 4

"'It all began very innocently. Truly.' The Year is 1883 and Emma M. Lion has returned to her London neighborhood of St. Crispian’s. But Emma’s plans for a charmed and studious life are sabotaged by her eccentric Cousin Archibald, her formidable Aunt Eugenia, and the slightly odd denizens of St. Crispian’s. Emma M. Lion offers up her Unselected Journals, however self-incriminating they may be. Armed with wit and a sideways amusement, Emma documents the curious realities of her life at Lapis Lazuli House. Narrated by Genevieve Gaunt. A Londoner born and bred, she started her acting career playing Pansy Parkinson in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban before going on to read English at Cambridge where she graduated with a Double First. Recent work includes playing Marilyn Monroe in The Marilyn Conspiracy on stage and narrating The Spy Who Loved Me by Ian Fleming. Alongside acting on stage, screen, audiobooks and radio Genevieve writes for audiodrama (Thunderbirds), reviews books for The Spectator and interviews authors and creatives for literary festivals and in print for A Rabbit’s Foot magazine. Directed by Tamsin Collison, an award-winning audio director with over 500 audiobooks and dramas to her credit, collaborating with artists from David Tennant to Archbishop Desmond Tutu. Recent highlights include a dramatisation of Jane Austen’s Mansfield Park, Thandiwe Newton's award-winning recording of Tolstoy’s War & Peace, and a new set of all-star readings of Ian Fleming’s James Bond novels. She also lectures at leading UK drama academies, including RADA and LAMDA. A lyricist/librettist, Tamsin has been commissioned by English National Opera, the Royal Opera House, Tête à Tête Opera, Highbury Opera Theatre and the BBC Symphony Orchestra. Recent works include Last Man Standing and an opera based on Michael Palin’s The Weekend. This audiobook is produced and published by Echo Point Books & Media, LLC, an independent bookseller in Brattleboro, Vermont. It was recorded and engineered by The Strathmore Studios in London."

Beth Brower (Author), Genevieve Gaunt (Narrator)

Audiobook

Luck of the Draw

"“Part history lesson, part coming-of-age story, this Vietnam-era tale delivers the kind of stirring details that can only come from personal experience.” —Kirkus Reviews From the baseball playgrounds of Little League in the conservative Fifties, through the Summer of Love and the radical Sixties, to the last days of the Vietnam war, Luck of the Draw is the story of four idealistic boomers coming of age while looking for love and trying to change the world. Four young Americans go from the familiar sights of Milltowne, Pennsylvania, to the jungles of Vietnam and back again. Theirs is the story of what it was like to be young during that turbulent time of Cold War paranoia, political assassinations, the fight for civil rights, counter-culture hippies, the sexual revolution, women’s liberation, military conscription, televised war, massive anti-war protests, and of course sex and drugs and the greatest rock ‘n’ roll. Luck of the Draw is a companion novel to The Energy Caper, or Nixon in the Sky with Diamonds, in which the same characters live and love in an alternate universe where there was no Vietnam War, the Kennedys and Martin Luther King were not killed, and find themselves helping a “good” Richard Nixon in his fight to make America energy independent."

William Scott Morrison (Author), William Scott Morrison (Narrator)

Audiobook

The Energy Caper: Or Nixon in the Sky with Diamonds

"The Energy Caper, or Nixon in the Sky with Diamonds, takes us on a merry romp with a band of idealistic twenty-somethings looking for love and hoping to change the world. In a luckier universe, in which the Kennedys were not assassinated and the Vietnam War ended before it began, we find President Richard Nixon and Dr. Timothy Leary, the escaped convict Nixon calls “the most dangerous man in the world” for turning America’s youth into no-good hippies. Nixon is the same profane, venal S-O-B that made him such a hit in our universe, but here he is unleashed in a world where there was no Vietnam war to slow him down and Watergate is just a fancy hotel. Elected on a pledge to wage an unrelenting “war on drugs,” Nixon instead confronts a different kind of war—an energy war. The Arab oil embargo is driving the country toward a second Great Depression as motorists line up for hours to buy gasoline at any price. Desperate for alternatives to oil, Nixon learns of a plant which produces three times more biomass per acre than corn. If it were grown for methanol, good old wood alcohol—the same fuel used in Indianapolis racing cars—America could farm its way to energy independence in just five short years. A secret weapon has dropped in Nixon’s lap, but he is shocked to learn that, under another name, this secret weapon is the primary target of his War on Drugs. If he can lead America to energy independence by convincing conservatives to legalize cultivation of the plant Thomas Jefferson called “America’s most valuable crop” in the name of national security, the final spot on Mount Rushmore will be his. Nixon knows that only a law-and-order, hippie-bashing conservative like himself could hope to buck America’s richest families and most powerful corporations to pull off a caper this crazy."

William Scott Morrison (Author), William Scott Morrison (Narrator)

Audiobook

The Man In The High Castle

"WHAT WOULD HAVE HAPPENED IF THE ALLIES HAD LOST THE WAR? America, fifteen years after the end of the Second World War. The winning Axis powers have divided their spoils: the Nazis control New York, while California is ruled by the Japanese. But between these two states - locked in a cold war - lies a neutral buffer zone in which legendary author Hawthorne Abendsen is rumoured to live. Abendsen lives in fear of his life for he has written a book in which World War Two was won by the Allies . . . Now a major Amazon TV series, this book for fans of Robert Harris' Fatherland, Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale and anyone who has ever wondered 'What if . . . ' 'California's own William Blake. Visionary and prophet. Novelist of ideas' Daily Telegraph"

Philip K. Dick (Author), TBD (Narrator)

Audiobook

The Night We Became Strangers

"An immersive, historical novel based on true events: In 1938, Orson Welles's legendary radio dramatization of H.G. Wells's novel The War of the Worlds terrified Americans into believing Martians were invading. Eleven years later, an Ecuadorian radio station adapted the show--with catastrophic consequences. Now, two young journalists are determined to uncover what really happened to their families that night--even as secrets endanger their future. 1957: Aspiring photojournalist Valeria Anzures returns to her hometown of Quito with a secret purpose: to discover how her parents really died. The disastrous 1949 War of the Worlds show caused a mob to torch her family's radio station--and the newspaper run by their closest friends, the Monteros. The tragedy destroyed the families' relationship--and left the station on shaky financial ground. Now, expected to save her family's legacy by accepting an arranged marriage, Valeria will risk everything to find out the truth. Even if it means allying with the man she's always loved--but who now treats her like a stranger . . . For Matias Montero, the scars of that night run deep. He saved his mother but blames himself for not rescuing his father. As a journalist, he feels Valeria is a rival not to be trusted. Still, they're both on the same mission. Perhaps, together, they can unearth the past their families and friends would rather remain buried . . . Valeria and Matias soon find trusting each other is as dangerous as the attraction they can't resist. And between duplicitous witnesses, insidious lies, and ruthless manipulations, exposing the real story will put their lives on the line--and ignite revelations no one saw coming . . ."

Lorena Hughes (Author), Almarie Guerra, Frankie Corzo, Johnny Rey Diaz, Victoria Villarreal (Narrator)

Audiobook

Orange Wine

"While I was giving birth to Lucy, my husband, Alessandro, was lying in bed with my sister Isabel. And thus, Inés Camargo—the youngest daughter of an Italian nobleman and a Colombian poet—begins to speak in a bitter, sweet voice. Against the backdrop of early twentieth-century Colombia, where the Catholic Church exercises total control over women, Orange Wine weaves an unforgettable story of sisterhood, love, passion, and betrayal. Isolated in a society that opposes her desires, Inés struggles with her identity as a mother, artist, sister, lover, and woman. Her choices are stark: accept her duty to her family or embark on a sensuous journey of self-discovery. Each path will cost her—or those she loves—something dear. Mirroring the alchemical process of turning oranges into wine, Inés must create a new life from a bitter pith, pressing sweetness from life’s agonies as she struggles toward artistic freedom and feminine awakening."

Esperanza Hope Snyder (Author), Frankie Corzo (Narrator)

Audiobook

Historical Audiobooks in Fiction