Audiobooks narrated by Jean Gilpin

The Walls Have Ears: The Greatest Intelligence Operation of World War II

A history of the elaborate and brilliantly sustained World War II intelligence operation by which Hitler's generals were tricked into giving away vital Nazi secrets At the outbreak of World War II, MI6 spymaster Thomas Kendrick arrived at the Tower of London to set up a top secret operation: German prisoners' cells were to be bugged and listeners installed behind the walls to record and transcribe their private conversations. This mission proved so effective that it would go on to be set up at three further sites--and provide the Allies with crucial insight into new technology being developed by the Nazis. In this astonishing history, Helen Fry uncovers the inner workings of the bugging operation. On arrival at stately-homes-turned-prisons like Trent Park, high-ranking German generals and commanders were given a 'phony' interrogation, then treated as 'guests,' wined and dined at exclusive clubs, and encouraged to talk. And so it was that the Allies got access to some of Hitler's most closely guarded secrets--and from those most entrusted to protect them.

Helen Fry (Author), Jean Gilpin (Narrator)

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The Child: A Novel

The author of the stunning New York Times bestseller The Widow returns with a brand-new novel of twisting psychological suspense. As an old house is demolished in a gentrifying section of London, a workman discovers a tiny skeleton, buried for years. For journalist Kate Waters, it's a story that deserves attention. She cobbles together a piece for her newspaper, but at a loss for answers, she can only pose a question: Who is the Building Site Baby? As Kate investigates, she unearths connections to a crime that rocked the city decades earlier: A newborn baby was stolen from the maternity ward in a local hospital and was never found. Her heartbroken parents were left devastated by the loss. But there is more to the story, and Kate is drawn-house by house-into the pasts of the people who once lived in this neighborhood that has given up its greatest mystery. And she soon finds herself the keeper of unexpected secrets that erupt in the lives of three women-and torn between what she can and cannot tell... Read by Mandy Williams, Rosalyn Landor, Jean Gilpin, Katharine McEwan, and Steve West

Fiona Barton (Author), , Jean Gilpin, Mandy Williams, Rosalyn Landor, Various Narrators (Narrator)

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Anatomy of a Soldier: A novel

Anatomy of a Soldier is a stunning first novel-of patriotism, heroism, and profound humanism-that will immediately take its place on the shelf of classics about what it truly means to be at war. Let's imagine a man called Captain Tom Barnes, aka BA5799, who's leading British troops in the war zone. And two boys growing up together there, sharing a prized bicycle and flying kites before finding themselves estranged once foreign soldiers appear in their countryside. And then there's the man who trains one of them to fight against the other's father and all these infidel invaders. Then imagine the family and friends who radiate out from these lives, people on all sides of this conflict where virtually everyone is caught up in the middle of something unthinkable. But then regard them not as they see themselves but as all the objects surrounding them do: shoes and boots, a helmet, a bag of fertilizer, a medal, a beer glass, a snowflake, dog tags, and a horrific improvised explosive device that binds them all together by blowing one of them apart-forty-five different narrators in all, including the multiple medical implements subsequently required to keep Captain Barnes alive. The result is a novel that reveals not only an author with a striking literary talent and intelligence but also the lives of people-whether husband or wife, father or mother, son or daughter-who are part of this same heart-stopping journey. A work of extraordinary humanity and hope, created out of something hopeless and dehumanizing, it makes art out of pain and suffering and takes its place in a long and rich line of novels that articulate the lives that soldiers lead. In the boom of an instant, and in decades of very different lives and experiences, we see things we've never understood so clearly before.

Harry Parker (Author), Bruce Mann, Gildart Jackson, Jayne Entwistle, Jean Gilpin, John Lee, Jonathan Cowley, Katharine McEwan, Kirby Heyborne, Nicholas Guy Smith, Paul Boehmer, Peter Altschuler, Rob Shapiro, Steve West, Susan Duerden (Narrator)

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Ten Lords A-Leaping: A Mystery

The delightful Father Tom Christmas returns, and the cozy hamlet of Thornford Regis comes to life, in C. C. Benison's witty, beautifully written series that is "a must-read for lovers of classic English mysteries" (Kirkus Reviews). Although Father Tom Christmas serves his little church in enchanting Thornford Regis with a glad and faithful heart, he never expects to find himself skydiving to raise money for it. Nor, safely back on the ground, to see two of the other divers leap from the plane, then tangle in a midair punch-up and begin falling to the earth. To say that there is tension between the men in question-Oliver, the 7th Marquess of Morborne, and his brother-in-law Hector, the 10th Earl of Fairhaven-would be an understatement. But the trouble among this ancient landed family really began a generation ago, when a marquess divorced his first spouse to marry his brother's wife, fathering in his two marriages a viper's nest of arrogant young aristocrats. Now they have all turned up for the show to witness this shocking event in the sky. Thankfully the men land safely, but death will not be slighted. Much to Father Tom's dismay, he later discovers Lord Morborne lying deceased on castle grounds. Rumors of bigamy, art forgeries, and upstairs/downstairs intrigue fly. So do whispers of unvicarly behavior between Tom and Oliver's beautiful half-sister, Lady Lucinda. In fact, the vicar may be headed for a very hard landing of his own. C. C. Benison gives a virtuoso performance in this gripping new puzzle, a compelling and wise holiday mystery with the irresistible allure of hot tea and warm scones on a cold winter's day. Praise for C. C. Benison's Father Christmas mysteries Ten Lords A-Leaping "A strong mystery reminiscent of P. D. James, with many well-developed characters, local color and a sensitive, intelligent investigator."-Kirkus Reviews "An affable lead with a sympathetic backstory anchors Benison's carefully crafted third Father Christmas mystery. . . . Readers will hope that Christmas will keeping detecting past the partridge-in-a-pear-tree volume."-Publishers Weekly "This leisurely paced, English-country-house mystery has multiple plotlines and plot twists as Tom finds a long-lost relative of a friend and solves several mysteries."-Booklist Eleven Pipers Piping "Benison uses the claustrophobia of village life to great effect, making the series a psychologically astute pleasure for fans of traditional cozies."-The Washington Post "Smashingly clever . . . Readers will be crazy about this vicar."-Library Journal "A great whodunit in the best British tradition."-The Globe and Mail Twelve Drummers Drumming "A crime novel that Agatha Christie might have been justly proud to claim as her own."-Margaret Maron "Benison does an admirable job balancing humor with suspense. . . . Father Christmas's first case leaves you eager for his next."-The Wall Street Journal "Splendid . . . an intelligent and empathic protagonist and skillful prose make this a winner."-Publishers Weekly (starred review) From the Hardcover edition.

C. C. Benison, C.C. Benison (Author), Jean Gilpin, Steve West (Narrator)

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A Spoonful of Sugar

Brenda Ashford is the quintessential British nanny. Prim and proper, gentle and kind, she seems to have stepped straight out of Mary Poppins. For more than six decades Nanny Brenda swaddled, diapered, dressed, played with, sang to, cooked for, and looked after more than one hundred children. From the pampered sons and daughters of lords ensconced in their grand estates to the children of tough war evacuees in London's East End, Brenda has taught countless little ones to be happy, healthy, and thoroughly well bred. In this delightful memoir, Brenda shares her endearing, amusing, and sometimes downright bizarre experiences turning generations of children into successful adults. From the moment Brenda first held her baby brother David she was hooked. She became a second mother to him, changing his nappies, reading him stories, and giving him all the love her warm heart contained. Knowing a career caring for children was her calling in life, Brenda attended London's prestigious Norland College, famous for producing top-notch nannies. It was a sign of privilege and good taste for the children of the well-to-do to be seen being pushed in their Silver Cross prams by Norland nannies, who were recognizable by their crisp, starched black uniforms with white bib collars, and their flowing black capes lined with red silk. And what skills were these trainees tested on daily? Lullaby singing, storytelling, pram shining, bed making, all forms of sewing, cooking simple meals, and dispensing first aid-including knowing the best way to help the medicine go down. In A Spoonful of Sugar, Brenda recalls her years at Norland and her experiences during the war (after all, even if bombs are dropping, there's no reason to let standards slip), and recounts in lovely detail a life devoted to the care of other people's children. Sprinkled throughout with pearls of wisdom (you can never give children too much love, and you should learn how to sew a button, for goodness' sake), this delightful memoir from Britain's oldest living nanny is practically perfect in every way.

Brenda Ashford (Author), Jean Gilpin (Narrator)

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Paris

From the grand master of the historical novel comes a dazzling, epic portrait of the City of Light Internationally bestselling author Edward Rutherfurd has enchanted millions of readers with his sweeping, multigenerational dramas that illuminate the great achievements and travails throughout history. In this breathtaking saga of love, war, art, and intrigue, Rutherfurd has set his sights on the most magnificent city in the world: Paris. Moving back and forth in time across centuries, the story unfolds through intimate and vivid tales of self-discovery, divided loyalties , passion, and long-kept secrets of characters both fictional and real, all set against the backdrop of the glorious city-from the building of Notre Dame to the dangerous machinations of Cardinal Richlieu; from the glittering court of Versailles to the violence of the French Revolution and the Paris Commune; from the hedonism of the Belle Ã‰poque, the heyday of the impressionists, to the tragedy of the First World War; from the 1920s when the writers of the Lost Generation could be found drinking at Les Deux Magots to the Nazi occupation, the heroic efforts of the French Resistance, and the 1968 student revolt. With his unrivaled blend of impeccable research and narrative verve, Rutherfurd weaves an extraordinary narrative tapestry that captures all the glory of Paris. More richly detailed, more thrilling, and more romantic then anything Rutherfurd has written before, Paris: The Novel wonderfully illuminates hundreds of years in the City of Light and Love and brings the sights, scents, and tastes of Paris to sumptuous life. Praise for PARIS: The Novel "Anyone who has ever visited Paris or desires to do so will definitely want to dig into this movable feast. Both Paris, the venerable City of Light, and Rutherfurd, the undisputed master of the multigenerational historical saga, shine in this sumptuous urban epic." --Booklist

Edward Rutherfurd (Author), Jean Gilpin (Narrator)

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Eleven Pipers Piping

The welcome return of C. C. Benison's delectable series featuring Father Tom Christmas-"an irresistible addition to the ranks of clerical sleuths" (Julia Spencer-Fleming) Father Tom Christmas, the recently widowed vicar adjusting to life in the English village of Thornford Regis, would do almost anything to avoid attending the annual Robert Burns Supper at the local hotel. But as chaplain to a traditional Scottish pipe band, Father Tom must deliver the grace-and contend with wailing bagpipes, whiskey-laced parishioners reciting poetry, and the culinary abomination that is haggis. As snow falls to unprecedented depths, the revelers carry on-briefly interrupted by an enigmatic stranger seeking shelter. Then Will Moir, proprietor of the hotel and a dedicated piper, inexplicably goes missing-only to be found later in the hotel's dark tower, alone and dead from what appears to be a heart attack. Father Tom's own heart sinks when he learns the actual cause of Will's demise. When word gets out, the flurry of innocent speculation descends into outlandish gossip. And, for all its tranquil charm, Thornford Regis has plenty to gossip about-illicit trysts, muted violence, private sorrows, and old, unresolved tragedies. The question is: Who would benefit most from the piper's death? Suspicion swirls around many, including Will's beautiful widow, their shadowy son, Will's obnoxious brother-in-law, and even the mysterious party crasher, who knows more than she lets on about the grudges she left behind-but never forgot. Brimming with wit, full of genuine surprise, and featuring one of the most memorable (and unlikely) detectives in mystery fiction, C. C. Benison's second Father Christmas mystery will delight listeners with a puzzle that truly defies solution.

C.C. Benison (Author), Jean Gilpin, Steve West (Narrator)

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Desert Queen

Turning her back on her privileged life in Victorian England, Gertrude Bell (1868-1926), fired by her innate curiosity, journeyed the world and became fascinated with all things Arab. Traveling the length and breadth of the Arab region, armed with a love for its language and its people, she not only produced several enormously popular books based on her experiences but became instrumental to the British foreign office. When World War I erupted, and the British needed the loyalty of the Arab leaders, it was Gertrude Bell's work and connections that helped provided the brain for T. E. Lawrence's military brawn. After the war she participated in both the Paris and Cairo conferences, played a major role in creating the modern Middle East, and was generally considered the most powerful woman in the British Empire. In this incident-packed biography, Janet Wallach reveals a woman whose achievements and independent spirit were especially remarkable for her times, and who brought the same passion and intensity to her explorations as she did to her rich romantic life. Too long eclipsed by Lawrence's fame, Gertrude Bell emerges in this first major biography as a woman whose accomplishments rank as crucial to world history (especially in light of the continuing geopolitical importance of the Middle East) and whose life was a grand adventure.

Janet Wallach (Author), Jean Gilpin (Narrator)

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Darwin's Ghosts

Christmas, 1859. Just one month after the publication of On the Origin of Species, Charles Darwin received an unsettling letter. He had expected criticism; in fact, letters were arriving daily, most expressing outrage and accusations of heresy. But this letter was different. It accused him of failing to acknowledge his predecessors, of taking credit for a theory that had already been discovered by others. Darwin realized that he had made an error in omitting from Origin of Species any mention of his intellectual forebears. Yet when he tried to trace all of the natural philosophers who had laid the groundwork for his theory, he found that history had already forgotten many of them. Darwin's Ghosts tells the story of the collective discovery of evolution, from Aristotle, walking the shores of Lesbos with his pupils, to Al-Jahiz, an Arab writer in the first century, from Leonardo da Vinci, searching for fossils in the mine shafts of the Tuscan hills, to Denis Diderot in Paris, exploring the origins of species while under the surveillance of the secret police, and the brilliant naturalists of the Jardin de Plantes, finding evidence for evolutionary change in the natural history collections stolen during the Napoleonic wars. Evolution was not discovered single-handedly, Rebecca Stott argues, contrary to what has become standard lore, but is an idea that emerged over many centuries, advanced by daring individuals across the globe who had the imagination to speculate on nature's extraordinary ways, and who had the courage to articulate such speculations at a time when to do so was often considered heresy. With each chapter focusing on an early evolutionary thinker, Darwin's Ghosts is a fascinating account of a diverse group of individuals who, despite the very real dangers of challenging a system in which everything was presumed to have been created perfectly by God, felt compelled to understand where we came from. Ultimately, Stott demonstrates, ideas-including evolution itself-evolve just as animals and plants do, by intermingling, toppling weaker notions, and developing over stretches of time. Darwin's Ghosts presents a groundbreaking new theory of an idea that has changed our very understanding of who we are.

Rebecca Stott (Author), Jean Gilpin (Narrator)

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Twelve Drummers Drumming

Introducing a series utterly perfect for cozy fans of Alan Bradley, Alexander McCall Smith, and Louise Penny. The Reverend Tom 'Father' Christmas, the newest vicar of Thornford Regis, an idyllic rural town in England, turns detective when one of his parishioners turns up dead in a drum, and everyone in town seems to have something to confess. Tom Christmas came to picturesque Thornford Regis with his young daughter to escape the terrible experience of losing his wife in the city. Her murder sent him packing to the bucolic and charming town, where violent crime isn't supposed to happen and the greatest sin is supposed to be nothing a member of the clergy can't handle. Then, at the town fair, a woman is found murdered. Tom soon learnsthat everyone in Thornford Regis has a secret to hide--infidelity, theft, even past murders. Twelve Drummers Drumming showcases a lovely place to live and/or die, and marks the debut of a planned twelve-book mystery series featuring the brilliant Father Christmas.

C.C. Benison (Author), Jean Gilpin, Steve West (Narrator)

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Bunbury

What if Blanche Dubois didn't go crazy? Or the Three Sisters actually made it to Moscow? When he discovers he's only a fictitious, never seen character in a Oscar Wilde play, Bunbury joins forces with Rosaline, Romeo's never-seen obsession from Romeo and Juliet. Together they infiltrate and alter classic literature, including giving Romeo and Juliet a happy ending. An L.A. Theatre Works full-cast performance featuring Jean Gilpin, Kathryn Hahn, Melinda Page Hamilton, Peter Paige, Amanda Rowan, Orlando Seale, Andre Sogliuzzo, John Vickery and Matthew Wolf.

Tom Jacobson (Author), Amanda Rowan, André Sogliuzzo, Jean Gilpin, John Vickery, Kathryn Hahn, Matthew Wolf, Melinda Page Hamilton, Orlando Seale, Peter Paige, Various Performers (Narrator)

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Audiobooks Narrated by Jean Gilpin