Audiobooks narrated by Antonia Beamish

Property: The Myth That Built The World Audiobook

Property carries a great promise: that it will make you rich and set you free. But it is also a weapon, an agent of displacement and exploitation, the currency of kleptocrats and oligarchs. Property is a vivid, far-reaching analysis of our concept of property ownership, from 16th-century feudalism to the present day. It tells powerful stories - of life in the developer-led boomtown of Gurugram in India, of the struggles to form black communities in Missouri and Georgia, of a giant experiment in co-operative living in the Bronx, of the theatrics of developer-kings like President Aliyev of Azerbaijan and the Trump family. Above all, Property asks how we have come to view our homes not as a natural human right, but as investments - and it offers hope for how things could be better, with reform that might enable the social wealth of property to be returned to society.

Rowan Moore (Author), Antonia Beamish, TBD (Narrator)

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Twice Cursed: An Anthology

From the fun of the fair to the depths of hell, experience sixteen more curses in this sequel to the bestselling Cursed: An Anthology. A blend of traditional and reimagined curses from fairy-tales to Snow White, from some of the best names in fantasy. BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU WISH FOR Take a trip to a terrifying carnival and uncover the secrets within, solve a mysterious puzzle box and await your reward, join a travelling circus and witness the strangest ventriloquist act you've ever seen. In this follow-up to the bestselling Cursed: An Anthology, you'll unearth curses old and new. From a very different take on Snow White, to a new interpretation of The Red Shoes, the best in fantasy spin straw into gold, and invite you into the labyrinth. Just don't forget to leave your trail of breadcrumbs… Featuring stories from: Neil Gaiman, Joe Hill, Sarah Pinborough, Angela Slatter, M.R. Carey, Laura Purcell, Helen Grant, Mark Chadbourn, L.L. McKinney, A.K. Benedict, Christina Henry, A.C. Wise, Kelley Armstrong, Katherine Arden, Joanne Harris and Adam LG Nevill.

Joanne Harris, Joe Hill, Katherine Arden, M.R. Carey, Marie O'regan, Neil Gaiman, Paul Kane (Author), Antonia Beamish, Mark Peachey, Melanie Crawley, TBD (Narrator)

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Messalina: A Story of Empire, Slander and Adultery

This is the story of Messalina – third wife of Emperor Claudius and one of the most notorious women to have inhabited the Roman world. The scandalous image of the Empress Messalina as a ruthless and sexually insatiable schemer, derived from the work of Roman historians such as Tacitus and Suetonius, has taken deep root in the Western imagination. The stories they told about her included nightly visits to a brothel and a twenty-four-hour sex competition with a prostitute. Tales like these have defined the empress's legacy, but her real story is much more complex. In her new life of Messalina, the classicist Honor Cargill-Martin reappraises one of the most slandered and underestimated female figures of ancient history. Looking beyond the salacious anecdotes, she finds a woman battling to assert her position in the overwhelmingly male world of imperial Roman politics – and succeeding. Intelligent, passionate, and ruthless when she needed to be, Messalina's story encapsulates the cut-throat political manoeuvring and unimaginable luxury of the Julio-Claudian dynasty in its heyday. Cargill-Martin sets out not to 'salvage' Messalina's reputation, but to look at her life in the context of her time. Above all, she seeks to reclaim the humanity of a life story previously circumscribed by currents of high politics and patriarchy.

Honor Cargill-Martin (Author), Antonia Beamish (Narrator)

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Humanly Possible: Seven hundred years of humanist freethinking, enquiry and hope

Brought to you by Penguin. The bestselling, prizewinning author of How to Live and At the Existentialist Café brings us a celebration of 700 years of human endeavour and achievement, in which dozens of philosophers, scientists, classicists, architects, educationalists and others explore the art of being human Humanly Possible is a wide-ranging, personal, thought-provoking and entertaining journey through the battle of ideas over some 700 years of history - mostly, but not exclusively, in Europe. Through a mixture of biography and philosophy, Bakewell seeks to understand what humanism is, why it has continued to flourish despite opposition from fanatics, mystics, tyrants and cultural pessimists of all kinds, and exactly why we should value and defend it in the 21st century. © Sarah Bakewell 2023 (P) Penguin Audio 2023

Sarah Bakewell (Author), Antonia Beamish (Narrator)

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The City of Second Chances

Has she already met The One? What if Mr Right had come along at the wrong time...? Evie Grant is forty-five years old, a widow, and single mum of two children about to leave the nest. Suddenly alone in the family home, Evie realizes she hates her job, hardly goes out and hasn't had a date since who knows when... So it feels like fate when the opportunity arises for a girls trip to New York City. Staying with her sister on the Upper East Side, Evie is enchanted by a snow-covered city consumed by preparing for Christmas. Bobble hat firmly on, Evie is walking through the city one day when she bumps into Daniel Roberts, Hollywood heartthrob and one-time boyfriend of hers. It's now or never for Evie - but she open her heart to the possibility of a new beginnings and true happiness once again...? Funny, real and wonderfully romantic, this is the perfect feel-good read to keep you warm this winter! Praise for Jane Lacey-Crane: 'A beautifully written, emotional tale that will have you captivated from the off!' Rach. 'A story which made me feel all fuzzy inside and smiley on the outside from the first page right up until the end' SC. 'Fantastic read, good storyline, great twists and flowed well... My only complaint is that i got no housework done today as i couldn't put my kindle down!' - Born in London, Jane's writing career began in cable TV, writing true crime documentaries. More recently, Jane has contributed to an anthology of short stories and written two weekly crime serials. When she's not writing, Jane loves to read good books, binge watch TV boxsets and drink tea. And wine.

Jane Lacey-Crane (Author), Antonia Beamish (Narrator)

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The Stone Age: Sixty Years of the Rolling Stones

'However much you thought you knew about The Stones before you read it, afterwards you'll know more. It's glittering' - Simon Napier-Bell 'Special [...] it's brilliant' Johnnie Walker From Sunday Times bestselling author Lesley-Ann Jones On 12 July 1962, the Rollin' Stones performed their first-ever gig at London's Marquee jazz club. Down the line, a 'g' was added, a spark was lit and their destiny was sealed. No going back. These five white British kids set out to play the music of black America. They honed a style that bled bluesy undertones into dark insinuations of women, sex and drugs. Denounced as 'corruptors of youth' and 'messengers of the devil', they created some of the most thrilling music ever recorded. Now, their sound and attitude seem louder and more influential than ever. Elvis is dead and the Beatles are over, but Jagger and Richards bestride the world. The Stones may be gathering moss, but on they roll. Yet how did the ultimate anti-establishment misfits become the global brand we know today? Who were the casualties, and what are the forgotten legacies? Can the artist ever be truly divisible from the art? Lesley-Ann Jones's new history tracks this contradictory, disturbing, granitic and unstoppable band through hope, glory and exile, into the juggernaut years and beyond into rock's ongoing reckoning . . . where the Stones seem more at odds than ever with the values and heritage against which they have always rebelled. Good, bad and often ugly, here are the Rolling Stones as never before.

Lesley-Ann Jones (Author), Antonia Beamish (Narrator)

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Follow the Leader: Detective Allie Shenton Series Book 2

To be bullied or kill your bullies, that is the game. A man's body is found on a canal towpath. In his pocket, a magnetic letter in the shape of an E. Days later, a second victim is murdered, this time with the letter V tucked into her clothing. When the letter E is located near to a third victim, DI Allie Shenton and her colleagues are sent into full alert. Is their killer spelling a word, a name or are the letters an anagram? One thing's for certain as the body count rises - the eerie, childlike clues point to a pattern that doesn't look like stopping. The race is on. Allie and the team must work quickly to determine where the killer will strike next. The rules are simple but deadly—to catch the killer, they must follow the leader. Set within the gritty streets of Stoke-on-Trent, this fast-paced British detective novel is a dark murder mystery with an emotional pull. Follow the Leader is the second novel in the Allie Shenton series of crime thrillers from the million selling British author, Mel Sherratt, and perfect for fans of DS Butler, LJ Ross, Angela Marsons, Joy Ellis, Rachel McClean, Caroline Mitchell and Meg Jolly.

Mel Sherratt (Author), Antonia Beamish (Narrator)

Audiobook

Taunting the Dead: Detective Allie Shenton Series Book 1

How far would you go to protect the ones you love? And how much further would you go to betray them? Nine out of ten murders are committed by someone the victim knows. So when Steph Ryder is found dead, DS Allie Shenton begins her investigation close to home, starting with Steph's family and friends. Soon the lies, backtracking, and secrets multiply as each of the suspects tries to cover up their actions on that fateful night. Before long, Allie homes in on Steph's ambitious and powerful husband, Terry. Convinced he's hiding something, she interviews him again and again, each time seeing through his smooth charms. As the trail grows hotter, the web of deceit pulls tighter and more bodies pile up. Allie must race against time to uncover the shocking truth of who killed Steph before the suspects get away with murder. Set within the gritty streets of Stoke-on-Trent, this fast-paced British detective novel is a dark murder mystery with an emotional pull. Taunting the Dead is the first novel in the Allie Shenton series of crime thrillers from the million selling British author, Mel Sherratt, and perfect for fans of DS Butler, LJ Ross, Angela Marsons, Joy Ellis, Rachel McClean, Caroline Mitchell and Meg Jolly.

Mel Sherratt (Author), Antonia Beamish (Narrator)

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How to Mend a Broken Heart: Lessons from the World of Neuroscience

'Did you hear Amy has heartbreak?! What bad luck to catch it right at the end of winter.' When Ziella Bryars was in the midst of heartbreak, a conversation with her neuroscientist best friend changed everything. Frustrated by unhelpful advice from magazines and rom-coms, Ziella began diving deep into the latest scientific research to help her understand the pain of heartbreak and find a route to recovery. This warm and witty self-help book outlines the impact a relationship break-up has on our brains and bodies, and explores how a science-based approach can help us heal. Ziella passes on what she learned about how a broken heart can affect everything from our sleep to our digestion; how rejection is represented in the brain in the same way as physical pain; how the brain processes loss; and how a break-up can trigger addiction-like withdrawal symptoms - plus tips for counteracting heartbreak and moving on to acceptance.

Ziella Bryars (Author), Antonia Beamish (Narrator)

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Bad for Good (Unabridged)

Gripping' PETER JAMES 'Thoroughly absorbing' ELLY GRIFFITHS 'Cracking' MARK BILLINGHAM 'Engaging' M.W.CRAVEN How far would you go? The murder of a promising footballer, son of Brighton's highest-ranking police officer, means Detective Superintendent Jo Howe has a complicated and sensitive case on her hands. The situation becomes yet more desperate following devastating blackmail threats. Howe can trust no one as she tracks the brutal killer in a city balanced on a knife edge of vigilante action and a police force riven with corruption.

Graham Bartlett (Author), Antonia Beamish (Narrator)

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The Dark Queens: The Bloody Rivalry that Forged the Medieval World

A vivid double biography of two fearless Early Medieval queens, and an enthralling journey of discovery across the unfamiliar and blood-soaked historical landscape of sixth-century Merovingian France. 'Brings the Merovingian empire to thrilling, bewildering, horrifying life' Helen Castor 'Restores two half-forgotten and much-mythologized queens to their proper place in medieval history' Dan Jones 'A story of scheming and savagery to make Game of Thrones look tame' Sarah Gristwood 'A remarkable piece of detective work, by turns enlightening and shocking' Amanda Foreman Brunhild was a Visigothic princess, raised to be married off for the sake of alliance-building. Her sister-in-law Fredegund started out as a lowly palace slave. And yet - in sixth-century Merovingian France, where women were excluded from noble succession and royal politics was a blood sport - these two iron-willed strategists reigned over vast realms for decades, changing the face of Europe. The two queens commanded armies, developed taxation policies, established infrastructure and negotiated with emperors and popes, all the time fighting a gruelling forty-year civil war with each other. Yet after Brunhild and Fredegund's deaths, their stories were rewritten, their names consigned to slander and legend. From the tangled primary evidence of Merovingian sources - the works of the chronicler Gregory of Tours and the Latin poet Venantius Fortunatus - award-winning writer Shelley Puhak weaves a gripping and intricate tale, its characters driven by ambition, lust and jealousy to acts of treachery and murderous violence. The Dark Queens resurrects these two women in all their complexity, painting a richly detailed portrait of a shadowy era and dispelling some of the stubbornest myths about female power. 2022 Head of Zeus

Shelley Puhak (Author), Antonia Beamish (Narrator)

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The Hiding Place: A haunting, compelling ghost story for dark winter nights . . .

Some secrets can never be concealed . . . Nell Galilee, her husband and twelve year old step-daughter Maude rent a holiday cottage by the sea, needing time and space away from home after Maude became involved in some troubling events. Nell grew up in this small, wind-blown town and has mixed feelings about returning, and it isn't long before she is recognised by a neighbour, seemingly desperate to befriend her. The cottage too has been empty for some time, and from the start Nell feels uncomfortable there. Something isn't quite right about this place . . . Maude, furious about being brought here against her will and her father's attention falling so often elsewhere, soon finds herself beguiled by the house's strange atmosphere. There are peculiar marks in the roof beams above her bedroom, and in another room, a hiding place, concealing a strange, unnerving object. As the house gradually reveals its secrets, Nell becomes increasingly uneasy - and Maude spellbound. But these women - and the women that surround them - are harbouring their own secrets too, and soon events will come to a terrible head . . . A brilliant, unsettling and chilling novel of mothers and daughters, truth and deception and the lengths people will go to, to obtain power over their own lives, The Hiding Place is the second chilling novel from the acclaimed author of The Wayward Girls. 'The Hiding Place has everything; chills that build, an immersive setting and a wonderful clash between the present and the past, the living and the dead. At the heart of this haunting novel are characters so real and compelling their stories continue to resonate long after reading' Jess Kidd

Amanda Mason (Author), Antonia Beamish (Narrator)

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Audiobooks Narrated by Antonia Beamish