Browse audiobooks narrated by Melanie Crawley, listen to samples and when you're ready head over to Audiobooks.com where you can get 3 FREE audiobooks on us
'Unsuitable for Females': The Rise of the Lionesses and Women's Football in England
'At what feels like a pivotal moment, Carrie's forensic research and depth of knowledge make her the perfect person to guide us through the constantly changing landscape of women's football' - Kelly Cates, TV presenter England's Lionesses are on the front and back pages; their stars feature on prime-time television; they are named in the national honours lists for their contribution to their sport and to society. The names of Lucy Bronze, Steph Houghton and Ellen White are emblazoned across the backs of children's replica jerseys. These women are top athletes – and top celebrities. But in 1921, the Football Association introduced a ban on women's football, pronouncing the sport 'quite unsuitable for females'. That ban would last for half a century - but despite official prohibition the women's game went underground. From the Dick, Kerr Ladies touring the world to the Lost Lionesses who played at the unsanctioned Women's World Cup in Mexico in 1971, generations of women defied the restrictions and laid the foundations for today's Lionesses - so much so that in 2018 England's Women's Super League became the first fully professional league in Europe...when just a few decades previously women were forbidden to play the sport in England at all. This book tells the story of women's football in England since its 19th-century inception through pen portraits of its trailblazers. The game might have once been banned because of its popularity – find out about the subversive women who kept organising their teams and matches despite the prohibition, who broke barriers and set records – the legends of the game who built the foundations of the stage upon which today's stars flourish.
Carrie Dunn (Author), Melanie Crawley (Narrator)
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A Baby on the Greek's Doorstep
A surprise pregnancy is only the beginning of the rollercoaster in this dramatic marriage of convenience romance by USA TODAY bestselling author Lynne Graham! He doesn’t remember their night together…until he meets the nine-month consequence! When a tiny baby is left on his doorstep, billionaire Tor Sarantos can’t believe his eyes. He’s even more stumped when a beautiful woman arrives in a panic, declaring it’s their son! Pixie Miller’s horrified her brother has revealed her secret. How can she face the man she shared such intense understanding and reckless passion with, when he doesn’t seem to recognize her? But when a DNA test confirms the truth, there’s only one solution this powerful Greek will consider… From Harlequin Presents: Escape to exotic locations where passion knows no bounds. Read both Innocent Christmas Brides books by Lynne Graham: Book 1 — A Baby on the Greek’s Doorstep Book 2 — Christmas Babies for the Italian
Lynne Graham (Author), Melanie Crawley (Narrator)
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A Mother's Job: From Benefits Street to the Houses of Parliament: One Woman's Fight For Her Tragic D
“I am just an ordinary mum, yet I would go to the ends of the earth to get justice for my daughter. If I can change the way people are treated, then Jodey will not have died in vain. I now feel that this was her destiny; to change the lives of millions of others.“ While Jodey Whiting was stuck in hospital battling pneumonia over Christmas, a letter dropped on her doormat from the Department of Work and Pensions, asking her to attend an assessment. It was a letter she never saw. Despite suffering from major health problems and needing daily care, the powers-that-be callously halted benefit payments for the mum-of-nine. While waiting for her appeal, and with no money coming in, Jodey killed herself, aged just 42. Another DWP letter pronouncing her ‘fit to work' was sent to her home three days after her tragic death. A Mother's Jobis the story of how Jodey's mum Joy Dove, 67, took on the system – and won justice for her daughter. A former cleaner and shop-worker, she is intimidated by nothing and nobody. Joy reveals how she struggled to raise her family, as a single mother, living on the now notorious: ‘Benefits Street' estate in Stockton-on-Tees. Of how Jodey, her middle daughter, developed problems including curvature of the spine, a brain cyst, and bipolar and personality disorders and how, as her health deteriorated, Joy became her unofficial carer, visiting several times a day. Jodey left farewell notes following her suicide, warning that her youngest son, Cory, a twin, was particularly vulnerable. Tragically, her premonition was realised when, unable to cope with his grief, he died from a drug overdose, aged 19, in May 2020. Joy felt that the DWP had stolen two members from her family. An inquiry after Jodey's death found the DWP had failed to follow its own safeguarding practice. It issued an apology and compensation. The case was discussed in Parliament where the Prime Minister labelled it ‘appalling.' Joy launched ‘Justice For Jodey' which aims to hold the DWP to account and to prevent other tragedies. She met other grieving families and her campaign saw her take centre stage at the Labour Party conference and argue her case in the High Court.
Ann Cusack, Joe Cusack, Joy Dove (Author), Melanie Crawley (Narrator)
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A Wedding in Italy: From Italy with Love Book 2
Sun, spaghetti and sparkling prosecco. When it comes to finding love, there's no place like Rome... Kate is living the dream with her gorgeous boyfriend Alessandro in his native city, but the reality is sometimes a little less romantic than she'd hoped. Every day in her new home is a fight against leaking pipes, her cantankerous landlord and her less-than-perfect grasp of the Italian lingo. All around her there is talk of weddings, but when a secret from her past is thrust out into the open, Kate must fight to prove to Alessandro's formidable family - that she truly is Italian marriage material. With the women in Alessandro's life on a mission to break them apart, the cracks begin to show and Kate starts to question if Alessandro really is the man of her dreams. Can love and the city of romance conquer all, or is that just a fairy-tale?
Tilly Tennant (Author), Melanie Crawley (Narrator)
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Abby's Story: Thrown Away Children Book 2
Abby's Story is the second book in the series Thrown Away Children by author and foster mum Louise Allen. She doesn't want this baby. She can't look after this baby. She will never be able to love this baby. Little Abby's life begins badly, then just gets worse. Now foster mum Louise and her family must help her deal with the truth of her past to give her the chance of a future.
Louise Allen (Author), Louise Allen, Melanie Crawley (Narrator)
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Billy's Story: Thrown Away Children Book 6
From the bestselling author of the Thrown Away Children series comes another heartbreaking story of life in foster care. Louise has trouble on her hands from the first moment that 5-year-old Billy Blackthorn comes to stay. He is one of more than 20 children taken into care from a single family, and erupts into the Allen household with a volatility that is frightening and disturbing in equal measure. It is only as Louise begins to uncover the secrets of Billy's dark past that she begins to understand what made his family 'untouchable'.
Louise Allen (Author), Melanie Crawley (Narrator)
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When crusading journalist Lydia Wright is sent a video of an apparent murder on a London train, she thinks she's found the story to revive her career. But she can't find a victim, much less the killers, and the only witness has disappeared. Wary she's fallen for fake news, she begins to doubt her instincts - until a sinister call suggests that she's not the only one interested in the crime. Michael Stringer deals in information - and doesn't care which side of the law he finds himself on. But the murder on the train has left him exposed, and now he'll stop at nothing to discover what Lydia knows. When their paths collide, Lydia finds the story leads through a nightmare world, where money, power and politics intersect ... and information is the only thing more dangerous than a bullet. A nerve-shattering and brutally realistic thriller, Blood Red City bursts with energy and grit, twisting and feinting to a superb, unexpected ending that will leave you breathless. Video footage of an apparent murder on a London train thrusts crusading journalist Lydia into a terrifying web of money, politics and power, in sophisticated, shockingly believable contemporary thriller A witness with no victim. A crime with no crime scene...
Rod Reynolds (Author), Melanie Crawley (Narrator)
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Christmas Babies for the Italian
Be swept away by this festive delight, as USA Today bestselling author Lynne Graham enthrals with this passionate Christmas pregnancy romance! One night before Christmas…Two babies for the Italian! Sevastiano Cantarelli can barely believe Amy Taylor is real. After the lifetime of betrayal he’s experienced, her surprising sweetness is the ultimate threat to his cynical worldview! Unwrapping her innocence was a gift he couldn’t forget…but one he knows it wouldn’t be fair to repeat. Their encounter left Amy exhilarated—and wanted for the first time. She knows that walking away from the commanding Italian is the safest way to keep her heart intact. Yet it’s the one thing she can’t do…because she’s pregnant with Sevastiano’s twins! From Harlequin Presents: Escape to exotic locations where passion knows no bounds. Read both Innocent Christmas Brides books by Lynne Graham: Book 1 — A Baby on the Greek’s Doorstep Book 2 — Christmas Babies for the Italian
Lynne Graham (Author), Melanie Crawley (Narrator)
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Christmas Babies for the Italian & The Greek Demands His Heir
Christmas Babies for the Italian Be swept away by this festive delight, as USA Today bestselling author Lynne Graham enthrals with this passionate Christmas pregnancy romance! One night before Christmas...Two babies for the Italian! Sevastiano Cantarelli can barely believe Amy Taylor is real. After the lifetime of betrayal he’s experienced, her surprising sweetness is the ultimate threat to his cynical worldview! Unwrapping her innocence was a gift he couldn’t forget...but one he knows it wouldn’t be fair to repeat. Their encounter left Amy exhilarated—and wanted for the first time. She knows that walking away from the commanding Italian is the safest way to keep her heart intact. Yet it’s the one thing she can’t do...because she’s pregnant with Sevastiano’s twins! From Harlequin Presents: Escape to exotic locations where passion knows no bounds. The Greek Demands His Heir “Don’t be silly, Leo. Strangers don’t get married.” Leo Zikos should be celebrating securing a perfectly convenient fiancée, but it's left him cold. Instead it’s stranger Grace Donovan’s impeccable beauty that fires his blood. So he decides to pursue one last night of freedom… But that night and the two little blue lines on the pregnancy test that follow blow Leo’s plans apart. Now he must break with his fiancée and marry Grace. She might resist marrying a man she barely knows, but Leo will claim his legacy and has all the riches and influence he needs to ensure his demands are met!
Lynne Graham (Author), Antony Ferguson, Melanie Crawley (Narrator)
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Cinderella's Desert Baby Bombshell
The sheikh is about to discover his stand-in wife is pregnant with his child… Drama abounds in this pregnancy romance by USA TODAY bestselling author Lynne Graham! From substitute bride… To carrying the royal heir! For her family's sake, penniless Tatiana Hamilton must marry Prince Saif after his original bride, her cousin, disappears. At least the ice-cold sheikh promises to end their sham marriage quickly. Until, on their opulent honeymoon, their simmering chemistry grows too hot to ignore…and Tati discovers she's pregnant! Saif closed his heart when his mother abandoned him. He'll never do the same to his own child! But as he opens his mind to fatherhood, can brooding Saif also open himself to a relationship as real as their unstoppable passion? From Harlequin Presents: Escape to exotic locations where passion knows no bounds. Read all the Heirs for Royal Brothers books: Book 1: Cinderella''''s Desert Baby Bombshell Book 2: Cinderella''''s Desert Baby Bombshell & Her Best Kept Royal Secret
Lynne Graham (Author), Melanie Crawley (Narrator)
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Cinderella's Desert Baby Bombshell & Her Best Kept Royal Secret
USA TODAY bestselling author Lynne Graham delights with two dramatic royal baby romances! Cinderella's Desert Baby Bombshell From substitute bride… To carrying the royal heir! For her family's sake, penniless Tatiana Hamilton must marry Prince Saif after his original bride, her cousin, disappears. At least the ice-cold sheikh promises to end their sham marriage quickly. Until, on their opulent honeymoon, their simmering chemistry grows too hot to ignore…and Tati discovers she's pregnant! Saif closed his heart when his mother abandoned him. He'll never do the same to his own child! But as he opens his mind to fatherhood, can brooding Saif also open himself to a relationship as real as their unstoppable passion? Her Best Kept Royal Secret Reunited for one night Bound by the scandalous consequences! Playboy prince Angelino Diamandis has learned the hard way to hide his true emotions. Especially his inability to forget innocent Gaby and the passion they almost shared! Until a surprise meeting causes their still-simmering chemistry to instantly and inescapably explode… Independent Gaby has always known how dangerous Angel could be to her heart. She thought nothing could be more life-changing than waking up in the prince's bed. Until she's standing in front of Angel a year later, sharing her shocking secret-his son! From Harlequin Presents: Escape to exotic locations where passion knows no bounds.
Lynne Graham (Author), Melanie Crawley (Narrator)
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Dishing the Dirt: The Hidden Lives of House Cleaners
'A jaw-dropping investigation' – THE BOOKSELLER 'Succeeds brilliantly in dismantling casual assumptions about the drudgery of cleaning' – THE GUARDIAN 'A great book, well researched, funny and poignant. I loved it.' – KIT DE WAAL Dishing the Dirt tells the jaw-dropping stories of London's house cleaners for the first time. Journalist Nick Duerden spoke to a vast array of domestic helps for this insightful, surprising and gripping non-fiction book. We hear from immigrants who clean suburban family homes to butlers who manage the homes of the super wealthy, and from joyful cleaners and entrepreneurs to escaped victims of human trafficking. Then there are women who dust nude and male cleaners who have to fight off wandering hands. And the crime scene cleaners. With the revelation of Maid by Stephanie Land and the cleaning tips of Mrs Hinch's Hinch Yourself Happy, Dishing the Dirt will turn all of your assumptions about cleaners upside down. About the Author Nick Duerden is a writer and journalist whose work has appeared in The Guardian, the Sunday Times, the Daily Telegraph, the i paper, and GQ. His books include Exit Stage Left, Get Well Soon: Adventures in Alternative Healthcare, A Life Less Lonely, and The Smallest Things. He lives in London with his wife and two daughters. Extract Prologue. Clocking On It was as if she were invisible, like she wasn't even there. Or, perhaps more accurately, like she didn't really count, not in any tangible sense, this mostly silent domestic cleaner with the broken English whose back was perpetually stooped over the vacuum cleaner, the dustpan and brush, the damp mop; someone who likely knew her way around the utility room better than the homeowners themselves. Today, the wife was away on business, as she frequently was, but the husband wasn't here alone. The marital bed was not empty. 'A different woman,' she says. 'Younger.' And he didn't hide this from you, wasn't embarrassed, ashamed of parading his affair so brazenly under your nose? She shakes her head, and smiles tightly. 'No,' she says. 'No.' She was seemingly in his confidence, then, but not through any prior agreement, a finger to the side of the nose, and nor was he paying her for her silence, her implicit complicity. 'I don't think he even considered me,' she says. 'Or my reaction.' She was merely part of the furniture, a once-weekly presence in the house who mutely got on with her work as she always did, over three floors, three bedrooms and two bathrooms: the vacuuming, the polishing, the dusting... ... In the 1980s, both husbands and wives were now required to go out to work, to pursue careers. This left little time for domestic upkeep... There was no shortage of willing char ladies. In the 21st Century, we are willing to delegate more, specifically to pay others to do the work we'd rather not do ourselves, even if we cannot really afford it. A wave of cheap immigrant labour entered the UK between 2000 and 2020, especially from the new EU member states in eastern Europe. Better to pay a Magda from Poland, say, £30 a week to run the Hoover around the house for a few hours than to save the money for a rainy day. ... Those that clean for Londoners are a silent army. They bring order to our lives, they put out the bins, and relieve us of at least some of the myriad pressures of modern life. They are privy to our indiscretions, our peculiarities, our curious habits. They put up with us, which isn't always easy because some of us are complicated souls. But who are the members of these well-drilled regiments? What are their stories? Buy the book and start listening
Nick Duerden (Author), Melanie Crawley (Narrator)
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