Audiobooks narrated by Gerard Doyle

A History of Loneliness is narrated by Father Odran Yates, a man of faith who has served as the chaplain of a boys' school in Ireland for nearly thirty years. From the moment a family tragedy propels him into the seminary, Odran holds fast to "a feeling of great contentment" at the center of his life. "Although I had made my choices at a young age," he tells his nephew, "I stood by them." At Terenure College he tends the library, teaches literature, and cheers from the sidelines at rugby matches. Though he excelled in his studies and even served as the night attendant for Pope John Paul I's brief papacy, Odran has little ambition. He delights in his work "behind the high walls and closed gates of this private and erudite enclave." But when scandal begins to engulf the church in the early twenty-first century, Odran is wrested from his beloved school to serve a parish whose priest-Odran's best friend from seminary-has been removed. As the Catholic Church becomes increasingly suspect, Odran finds that he is now considered a pariah by the same strangers who once gave him their seats on crowded trains. He grows wary of venturing out in public and is falsely arrested when he tries to reunite a lost boy with his mother in a department store. Slowly he begins to wonder about "events over the years, things that I had noticed and ignored that sat uneasy with me. Did I have blame of my own to carry here?" The answer to Odran's question lies at the heart of John Boyne's stunning novel and transforms the self-reckoning of one priest's small life into a parable-unsparing, moving, persuasive, and vast.

John Boyne (Author), Gerard Doyle (Narrator)

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A Short History of Ireland, 1500-2000

A brisk, concise, and readable overview of Irish history from the Protestant Reformation to the dawn of the twenty-first century. Five centuries of Irish history are explored in this informative and accessible volume. John Gibney proceeds from the beginning of Ireland's modern period and continues through to virtually the present day, offering an integrated overview of the island nation's cultural, political, and socioeconomic history. This succinct, scholarly study covers important historical events, including the Cromwellian conquest and settlement, the Great Famine, and the struggle for Irish independence. Gibney's book explores major themes such as Ireland's often contentious relationship with Britain, its place within the British Empire, the impact of the Protestant Reformation, the ongoing religious tensions it inspired, and the global reach of the Irish diaspora. This unique, wide-ranging work assimilates the most recent scholarship on a wide range of historical controversies, making it an essential addition to the library of any student of Irish studies.

John Gibney (Author), Gerard Doyle (Narrator)

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A Woman on the Edge of Time: A Son Investigates His Trailblazing Mother's Young Suicide

A son's search for his mother, a feminist pioneer-and a casualty of her time In London, 1965, a brilliant young woman-a prescient advocate for women's rights-has just gassed herself to death, leaving behind a suicide note, two young sons, and a soon-to-be-published book: The Captive Wife. No one had ever imagined that Hannah Gavron might take her own life. Beautiful, sophisticated, and swept up in the progressive sixties, she was a promising academic and the wife of a rising entrepreneur. But there was another side to Hannah, as Jeremy Gavron reveals in this searching portrait of his mother. Gavron-who was just four when his mother killed herself-attempts to piece her life together from letters, diaries, photos, and the memories of old acquaintances. Ultimately, he not only uncovers Hannah's struggle to carve out her place in a man's world; he examines the suffocating constrictions placed on every ambitious woman in the mid-twentieth century. "This volume succeeds as both a poignant memoir and a well-researched and -constructed investigation of a life ended too soon."-Library Journal

Jeremy Gavron (Author), Gerard Doyle (Narrator)

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A World on Edge: The End of the Great War and the Dawn of a New Age

A World on Edge is the story of the aftermath of World War I, a transformative time when a new world seemed possible-told from the vantage of people, famous and ordinary, who lived through the turmoil. November 1918. The Great War has left Europe in ruins, but with the end of hostilities, a radical new start seems not only possible, but essential, even unavoidable. Unorthodox ideas light up the age: new politics, new societies, new art and culture, new thinking. The struggle to determine the future has begun. Sculptor Käthe Kollwitz, whose son died in the war, is translating sorrow and loss into art. Captain Harry Truman is running a men's haberdashery in Kansas City, hardly expecting he will soon go bankrupt-and then become president of the United States. Moina Michael is about to invent the "remembrance poppy," a symbol of sacrifice that will stand for generations to come. Meanwhile Virginia Woolf is questioning whether that sacrifice was worth it, and George Grosz is so revolted by the violence on the streets of Berlin that he decides everything is meaningless. For rulers and revolutionaries, a world of power and privilege is dying-while for others, a dream of overthrowing democracy is being born. With novelistic virtuosity, Daniel Schönpflug describes this watershed time as it was experienced on the ground-open-ended, unfathomable, its outcome unclear. Combining a multitude of acutely observed details, Schönpflug shows listeners a world suspended between enthusiasm and disappointment, in which the window of opportunity was suddenly open, only to quickly close shut again.

Daniel Schönpflug (Author), Gerard Doyle (Narrator)

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A Year in the Merde

An urban antidote to A Year in Provence, Stephen Clarke's book is a laugh-out-loud account of a year in the life of an expat in Paris- for Francophiles and Francophobes alike A YEAR IN THE MERDE is the almost-true account of the author's adventures as an expat in Paris. Based loosely on his own experiences and with names changed to "avoid embarrassment, possible legal action and to prevent the author's legs being broken by someone in a Yves Saint Laurent suit (or quite possibly, a Christian Dior skirt), " A YEAR IN THE MERDE is the story of a Paul West, a 27-year-old Brit who is brought to Paris by a French company to open a chain of British "tea rooms." He soon becomes immersed in the contradictions of French culture: the French are not all cheese-eating surrender monkeys, though they do eat a lot of smelly cheese; they are still in shock at being stupid enough to sell Louisiana, thus losing the chance to make French the global language, while going on strike is the second national participation sport after pétanque. He also illuminates how to get the best out of the grumpiest Parisian waiter, how to survive a French business meeting, and how not to buy a house in the French countryside. The author originally wrote A YEAR IN THE MERDE just for fun and self-published it in France in an English language edition. Weeks later, it had become a word-of-mouth hit for expats and the French alike, even outselling Bill Clinton's memoir at Paris's fabled American bookstore Brentano's. With translation rights now sold in eleven countries, Stephen Clarke is clearly a Bill Bryson (or a Peter Mayle...) for a whole new generation of readers who can never quite decide whether they love-or love to hate-the French.

Stephen Clarke (Author), Gerard Doyle (Narrator)

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Acid Row

Acid Row. The name the beleaguered inhabitants give to their 'sink' estate. A no-man's land of single mothers and fatherless children - where angry, alienated youth controls the streets. Into this battleground comes Sophie Morrison, a young doctor visiting a patient in Acid Row. Little does she know that she is entering the home of a known paedophile ...and with reports circulating that a tormented child called Amy has disappeared, the vigilantes are out in force. Soon Sophie is trapped at the centre of a terrifying siege, with a man she has come to despise. Whipped to a frenzy by unsubstantiated rumour, the mob unleashes its hatred. Against authority ...the law ...and the 'pervert'. 'Protecting Amy' becomes the catch-all defence for the terrible events that follow. And if murder is part of it, then so be it. But is Amy really missing?

Minette Walters (Author), Gerard Doyle (Narrator)

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All Roads End Here

The second audiobook in the new series from Hater author David Moody is perfect for listeners who like action and horror Set in the world of David Moody's Hater trilogy, All Roads End Here is the sequel to the 'top drawer horror' (Booklist, starred review) One of Us Will Be Dead by Morning. It's taken Matthew Dunne almost three months to get home. Never more than a few meters from the Haters at any time, every single step has been fraught with danger. But he's made it. In his absence, his home city has become a sprawling, walled-off refugee camp. But the camp-and the entire world beyond its borders-is balanced on a knife-edge. During his time in the wilderness, Matt developed a skill which is in high demand: the ability to anticipate and predict Hater behavior. It's these skills that will thrust him into a web of subterfuge and danger. As the pressure mounts inside the camp, he finds himself under scrutiny from all sides. He's always done his best to avoid trouble, but sometimes it can't be helped. The shit's about to hit the fan, and this time Matt's right at the epicenter. All Roads End Here is a fast-paced, and wonderfully dark story about humanity's fight for survival in the face of the impending apocalypse.

David Moody (Author), Gerard Doyle (Narrator)

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And Thereby Hangs a Tale

International bestselling author Jeffrey Archer has spent the last five years gathering spellbinding stories from around the globe. These fifteen brand-new tales showcase Archer's talent for capturing an unforgettable moment in time, whether tragic, comic, or outrageous. In India, Jamwal and Nisha fall in love while waiting for a traffic light to turn green on the streets of Delhi. From Germany comes "A Good Eye," the tale of a priceless oil painting that has remained in the same family for over two hundred years, until... To the Channel Islands and "Members Only," where a golf ball falls out of a Christmas cracker, and a young man's life will never be the same... To Italy and "No Room at the Inn," where a young man who is trying to book a room at a hotel ends up in bed with the receptionist, unaware that she... To England, where, in "High Heels," a woman has to explain to her husband why a pair of designer shoes couldn't have gone up in flames... Some of these stories will make you laugh while others will bring you to tears but, once again, every one of them will demand that you keep turning the page until you finally discover what happens to this remarkable cast of characters.

Jeffrey Archer (Author), Gerard Doyle (Narrator)

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And Thereby Hangs A Tale

From Jeffrey Archer, the bestselling author of the Clifton Chronicles and Kane and Abel, comes his captivating sixth collection of short stories, And Hereby Hangs a Tale, full of magnificent characters and shocking plot twists. In 'High Heels' discover what happens in a loss adjuster's memorable first case where his wife has to explain why a pair of designer shows couldn't have gone up in flames. While on the streets of Delhi in 'Caste-Off' a man and woman fall in love while waiting for a traffic light to turn green. And in 'A Good Eye' a priceless Renaissance oil painting remains in the same family for generations until its current owner is face with a difficult choice . . . Jeffrey demonstrates his natural aptitude for short stories which are stylish, witty and entertaining. His mastery of characterization and suspense, combined with a gift for the unexpected, jaw-dropping plot twist, show him at the height of his powers and demonstrate why he is one of world's bestselling authors.

Jeffrey Archer (Author), Gerard Doyle (Narrator)

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Arrow Through the Axes

Arrow through the Axes concludes the "Odyssey of a Slave" trilogy that began with the Red Maple–nominated Torn from Troy, retelling Homer's Odyssey. The slave Alexi, now free of his Greek captors, infiltrates the Greek strongholds of the Bronze Age in search of his sister. In so doing he participates in the stories of Orestes, son of Agamemnon, as he seeks revenge for his father's murder, and of Telemachus, son of Odysseus, who lands on Ithaca, the home island of Odysseus, just in time to witness the arrival of a mysterious stranger. As Alexi comes to understand the damage that the Trojan War has visited upon its victors, both he and the reader are forced to confront an unpleasant truth, while Alexi must decide where his allegiance really lies. Re-casting the Odyssey as a YA adventure, this trilogy brings ancient mythology to life in a way that traditional retellings cannot. We see what life would have been like for Bronze-Age warriors as Bowman interweaves adventure, ritual and historical detail into a realistic and compelling narrative. Readers who have experienced pop mythology, and now want to dive deeper, will find Arrow through the Axes especially satisfying, but all readers will enjoy this powerful excursion into the classic mythology that shaped western culture.

Patrick Bowman (Author), Gerard Doyle (Narrator)

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Bang Goes a Troll: An Awfully Beastly Business

When a messenger bat arrives at the RSPCB, boy-werewolf Ulf receives a warning that beasts are in trouble in the wild. Unaware of the danger he is facing, Ulf soon uncovers foul play: A rare colony of trolls is being smoked out from their caves to be used as game in an evil beast-hunting preserve. It's up to Ulf to save the day!

David Sinden, Guy Macdonald, Matthew Morgan (Author), Gerard Doyle (Narrator)

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Beneath the Bleeding

Winner of the Gold Dagger Award and the Los Angeles Times Book Prize, Val McDermid pens mysteries heralded on both sides of the Atlantic. In Beneath the Bleeding, Dr. Tony Hill must make sense of the perplexing death of a soccer star'but the footballer's demise is only a prelude to greater violence. 'McDermid is as smooth a practitioner of crime fiction as anyone out there.' 'New York Times Book Review

Val McDermid (Author), Gerard Doyle (Narrator)

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Audiobooks Narrated by Gerard Doyle