Audiobooks narrated by Gareth Armstrong

Former Soviet Secret Service agent Leo Demidov has built himself a new life as a civilian with his wife Raisa, and their two teenage daughters, Elena and Zoya. The Soviet Union is a country trying to reassert itself after the murderous excesses of Stalin and the chaos of the following years, and as the Cold War continues powers inside Russia seek to topple their great enemy, the United States of America. Communist allies within the United States will prove vital players in this game of intrigue and revolution. Raisa and their two daughters travel to the United States on a diplomatic mission, but a horrifying tragedy destroys everything Leo and Raisa have built. Leo must get to the States somehow and find out what happened. Exiled from the Soviet Union and separated from his family, Leo's quest takes him through the stark wilderness of Afghanistan, reawakening all his old instincts and forcing him to confront his demons. But whatever it costs, wherever he must go, he will find Agent 6.

Tom Rob Smith (Author), Gareth Armstrong (Narrator)

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Agent Twister: The True Story Behind the Scandal that Gripped the Nation

He lived a double-life in the sixties Faked his own death in the seventies And retained his cover in the eighties A period thriller with powerful political and espionage themes, Agent Twister is the remarkable story behind one of the greatest scandals of the 1970s, told in full for the first time. If you think you know the true story of John Stonehouse - think again. It's November 1974 and John Stonehouse MP, once a star in Harold Wilson's Labour government, is missing in Miami, presumed drowned. His disappearance exposes the most lurid details of his life, including identity fraud, corporate corruption, a love triangle, blackmail, links with the Mafia and a decade-long career as a Soviet spy. The public are gripped by this story, happy to forget the strikes, IRA bombs and rising prices that are making daily life a misery. On Christmas Eve, Stonehouse is tracked down in Melbourne, Australia, where he is suspected of being that other missing Englishman, Lord Lucan. The comic absurdity of the story is offset by claims of a mental breakdown and a refusal to resign as an MP, even when he is extradited back to the UK and up on charges at the Old Bailey. For the first time, Agent Twister reveals the corporate crimes at the heart of Stonehouse's business empire, the true extent of his ten-year collusion with powerful Soviet proxies and the political consequences of his antics. It's a scandal greater than Profumo that lay buried for thirty years, with three prime ministers - Wilson, Callaghan and Thatcher - covering it up for very different reasons. Written by the makers of the Channel Four documentary The Spy Who Died Twice, Agent Twister is the first impartial account to put this extraordinary scandal in political context and reveal why John Stonehouse really disappeared.

Keely Winstone, Philip Augar (Author), Gareth Armstrong (Narrator)

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Based on a True Story

From poker to poetry, poisoners to princes, opera to the Oscars, Shakespeare to Olivier, Mozart to Murdoch, Anthony Holden seems to have rolled many writers' lives into one. Author of 35 books on a 'crazy' range of subjects, this cocky Lancashire lad-turned-bohemian citizen of the world has led an apparently charmed life from Merseyside to Buckingham Palace, the White House and beyond. As he turns 70, the award-winning journalist and biographer - grandson of an England footballer, son of a seaside shopkeeper, friend of the famous from Princess Diana to Peter O'Toole, Mick Jagger to Salman Rushdie - spills the beans on showbiz names to literary sophisticates, rock stars to royals as he looks back whimsically and wittily on a richly varied, anecdote- and action-packed career - concluding, in the words of Robert Louis Stevenson, that 'Life is not a matter of holding good cards, but of playing a poor hand well'.

Anthony Holden (Author), Gareth Armstrong (Narrator)

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Bedtime Stories for Grown-ups

There are few more precious routines than that of the bedtime story. So why do we discard this invaluable ritual as grown-ups to the detriment of our well-being and good health? In this groundbreaking anthology, Ben Holden, editor of the bestselling Poems That Make Grown Men Cry, challenges how we think about life, a third of which is spent asleep. He deftly explores not only the science of sleep but also why we endlessly tell stories - even to ourselves, as we dream. Holden combines his own illuminating storytelling with a treasure trove of timeless classics and contemporary gems. Poems and short stories, fairy tales and fables, reveries and nocturnes - from William Shakespeare to Haruki Murakami, Charles Dickens to Roald Dahl, Rabindranath Tagore to Nora Ephron, Vladimir Nabokov to Neil Gaiman - are all woven together to replicate the journey of a single night's sleep. Some of today's greatest storytellers reveal their choice of the ideal grown-up bedtime story: writers such as Margaret Drabble, Ken Follett, Tessa Hadley, Robert Macfarlane, Patrick Ness, Tony Robinson and Warsan Shire. Fold away your laptop and shut down your mobile phone. Curl up and crash out with the ultimate bedside book, one you'll return to again and again. Full of laughter and tears, moonlight and magic, Bedtime Stories for Grown-ups joyfully provides the dream way to end the day - and begin the night . . .

Ben Holden (Author), Ben Holden, Esther Wane, Gareth Armstrong, Luke Thompson, Sandra Duncan (Narrator)

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Black Diamonds: The Downfall of an Aristocratic Dynasty and the Fifty Years That Changed England

Fans of Downton Abbey now have a go-to resource for fascinating, real-life stories of the spectacular lives led by England's aristocrats. With the novelistic flair and knack for historical detail that Catherine Bailey displayed in her New York Times bestseller The Secret Rooms, Black Diamonds provides a compelling chronicle of the Fitzwilliam coal-mining dynasty and their breathtaking Wentworth estate, the largest private home in England. When the sixth Earl Fitzwilliam died in 1902, he left behind the second largest estate in twentieth-century England, valued at more than three billion dollars in today's money—a lifeline to the tens of thousands of people who worked either in the family's coal mines or on their expansive estate. The earl also left behind four sons, and the family line seemed assured. But was it? As Bailey retraces the Fitzwilliam family history, she uncovers a legacy riddled with bitter feuds, scandals, and civil unrest, as the conflict between the coal industry and its miners came to a head.

Catherine Bailey (Author), Gareth Armstrong (Narrator)

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Black Diamonds: The Rise and Fall of an English Dynasty

Brought to you by Penguin. An extraordinary tale of family feuds, forbidden love, civil unrest and the downfall of a mining dynasty Wentworth in Yorkshire was surrounded by 70 collieries employing tens of thousands of men. It is the finest and largest Georgian house in Britain and belonged to the Fitzwilliam family. England's forgotten palace, it belonged to Britain's richest aristocrats. Black Diamonds tells the story of its demise: family feuds, forbidden love, class war, and a tragic and violent death played their part. But coal, one of the most emotive issues in twentieth century British politics, lies at its heart. This is the extraordinary story of how the fabric of English society shifted beyond recognition in fifty turbulent years in the twentieth century. 'Magnificent . . . peels back the grand façade of Wentworth to reveal a family riven with fueds, mental illness and forbidden love' Tatler 'A compelling new history . . . fascinating insights into the dynasty that once ruled this Yorkshire roost' Daily Mail 'An aristocratic tale of epic proportions, this gripping novel cleverly interweaves interviews, letters and historical fact . . . Fascinating' Easy Living © Catherine Bailey 2007 (P) Penguin Audio 2022

Catherine Bailey (Author), Gareth Armstrong (Narrator)

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Ladies of Letters

Prunella Scales and Patricia Routledge star in the popular BBC Radio 4 series 'Ladies of Letters'. When Irene Spencer meets Vera Small at her daughter Lesley's wedding reception they embark upon a correspondence that is quite unlike any other in the history of letter-writing. Both Irene and Vera are happily widowed and endowed with errant offspring. They live in a world of church fetes and amateur dramatics, but love nothing more than dipping their pens in the vitriol pot - while remaining the firmest of pen-pals.

, Carole Hayman, Lou Wakefield, Lou Wakefield (Author), Carole Hayman, Carole Hayman, Gareth Armstrong, Patricia Routledge, Prunella Scales (Narrator)

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Langenscheidt Business English Präsentationen: Kommunikationstraining

Business English - schnell fit für den Job - Über 70 Minuten Hör- und Sprechtraining, um berufliche Verhandlungen zu meistern - Zehn hörspielartige Dialogszenen mit den wichtigsten Gesprächssituationen in Verhandlungen - Abwechslungsreiche Übungen zum Vertiefen der gebräuchlichen Wendungen und Ausdrücke - Alle Hörtexte mit deutscher Übersetzung und Business-Wortschatz im Begleitheft (PDF) - Britisches und amerikanisches Englisch - Für Lerner:innen mit Vorkenntnissen (Niveau B1)

Langenscheidt-Redaktion, Michael O'brien Browne (Author), Denica Fairman, Gareth Armstrong, Garrick Hagon, Jane Whittenshaw, Laurel Lekow, Sean Barrett, William Roberts (Narrator)

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Langenscheidt Komplett-Trainer Business English: Englisch für den Beruf (B1-B2)

7 Stunden intensives Hör- und Sprechtraining in allen wichtigen Bereichen der englischen Geschäftssprache - Praxisnahe Dialoge vermitteln die wichtigsten Redewendungen und Sätze für Vorstellungsgespräche, Telefonate, Small Talk und Meetings sowie Verhandlungen und Präsentationen. - Sowohl britisches als auch amerikanisches Englisch wird berücksichtigt. Damit die Kommunikation im beruflichen Umfeld auch wirklich gelingt, sind im Audiotraining außerdem Tipps zur interkulturellen Business-Etikette enthalten. - Im umfangreichen Begleitheft können alle Dialoge in deutscher Übersetzung nachgelesen werden. Es enthält darüber hinaus noch ergänzenden Zusatzwortschatz. - Für Lernende mit Vorkenntnissen (Niveau B1-B2) Dieses Paket enthält die Einzeltitel: - Langenscheidt Business English Small Talk - Langenscheidt Business English Telefonieren - Langenscheidt Business English Vorstellungsgespräche - Langenscheidt Business English Präsentationen - Langenscheidt Business English Verhandlungen - Langenscheidt Business English Meetings

Eleanor Halsall, Georgina Hodge, Gerry Williams, Helga Williams, Joëlle Murray, Langenscheidt-Redaktion, Lynn Weston, O'brien Browne, Victoria Gröning (Author), Amanda Weston, Bill Roberts, Christopher Scott, David Jarvis, Denica Fairman, Gareth Armstrong, Garrick Hagon, James Goode, Jane Whittenshaw, Jenny Funnell, Laurel Lekow, Liza Ross, Nicolas Boulton, Nigel Greaves, Sean Barrett, Tyler Butterworth, William Roberts (Narrator)

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Last of the Few: The Battle of Britain in the Words of the Pilots Who Won It

After the fall of France in May 1940, the British Expeditionary Force was miraculously evacuated from Dunkirk. Britain now stood alone to face Hitler's inevitable invasion attempt. For the German Army to be landed across the Channel, Hitler needed mastery of the skies - the RAF would have to be broken - so every day, throughout the summer, German bombers pounded the RAF air bases in the southern counties. Greatly outnumbered by the Luftwaffe, the pilots of RAF Fighter Command scrambled as many as five times a day, and civilians watched skies criss-crossed with the contrails from the constant dogfights between Spitfires and Me-109s. Britain's very freedom depended on the outcome of that summer's battle. Britain's air defences were badly battered and nearly broken, but against all odds, 'The Few', as they came to be known, bought Britain's freedom - many with their lives. These are the personal accounts of the pilots who fought and survived that battle. We will not see their like again.

Max Arthur (Author), David Shaw Parker, Gareth Armstrong, Patience Tomlinson, Sam Kelly, Tim Pigott-Smith (Narrator)

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Last Orders

WINNER OF THE BOOKER PRIZE 1996 Four men once close to Jack Dodds, a London butcher, meet to carry out his peculiar last wish: to have his ashes scattered into the sea at Margate. For reasons best known to herself, Jack's widow, Amy, declines to join them . . . On the surface a simple tale of an increasingly bizarre day's outing, this Booker-prize winning, internationally acclaimed novel is a resonant and classic exploration of the complexity and courage of ordinary lives. Intensely local but overwhelmingly universal, faithful to the fleeting rhythms and accidental eloquence of everyday speech but also to the timeless truths of life and death, it succeeds in being comic and heartstopping, affectionate and wise, and in conferring on its stumbling, disappointed characters an enduring decency, dignity and depth. 'A surpassing testament to Swift's vibrant and powerful gifts' The Times 'A triumph . . . a story about the most fundamental things of all' Evening Standard

Graham Swift (Author), David Timpson, David Timson, Gareth Armstrong, Phil Davis, Sandra Duncan, Simon Slater (Narrator)

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More Bloody Horowitz

The No. 1 bestselling creator of Alex Rider gives horror a whole new look in this mischievous collection of macabre tales. Stories of ultimate revenge, from freshly sold human meat and uncontrollable robots, to life-sucking MP3 players and reality TV where death is the penalty - all told with dark humour and gruesome relish, and made even more fiendish by retro illustrations, chilling facts and a puckish message from the author. This is Anthony Horowitz at his most wicked.

Anthony Horowitz (Author), Anthony Horowitz, Ben Allen, Gareth Armstrong, Jane Collingwood, Sandra Duncan, Thomas Judd (Narrator)

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Audiobooks Narrated by Gareth Armstrong