Audiobooks narrated by Nigel Patterson

Winston and the Duke: Full Cast Audio Drama

They say you can’t catch a fish with a hook. It’s 1925, a world on the cusp of change. Hitler has published Mein Kampf and Mussolini has shut down the free press in Italy. Three friends meet on a Scottish estate for a weekend of salmon fishing and convivial conversation over brandy and cigars: Winston Churchill, future world leader, ‘Bendor’, 2nd Duke of Westminster and Coco Chanel, iconic fashion entrepreneur. The narrative develops into a visceral account interspersed with sharp and insightful humour, revealing two men whose deep friendship is divided by their profound political differences, as each of them tries to navigate an uncertain world. And then there is Coco Chanel, also an accomplished angler and Bendor’s mistress. She enters wearing furs and exits wearing waders. In Winston & The Duke, Rory Fellowes delivers a thought-provoking play that invites the audience to question: - Have we learned anything from history? - Should we pay attention to past events rather than purge them for comfort’s sake? - Can controversial friendships exist openly and provoke change in today’s political arena? That is for the listener to decide. Winston & The Duke was developed through WIN: Writers Innovative Network and was directed by Maureen Payne-Hahner.

Rory Fellowes (Author), Helen Lloyd, Liam Gerrard, Malk Williams, Maureen Payne-Hahner, Nigel Patterson, Tim Bruce (Narrator)

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When The Party Died

The launch of a new exhibit at Bexford museum is derailed when Brock and Poole discover a body in its midst. With rumours of a lost treasure, a confusing array of suspects and a personal stake in the case, they must focus to find their culprit. Which isn't going to be easy . . . Detective Sergeant Guy Poole is dreading confronting his mother with the truth and faces losing a second parent from his life. Detective Inspector Sam Brock's life is changing, and there are big decisions to make for the future. Can they untangle the web of mystery to find their killer?

A.G. Barnett (Author), Nigel Patterson (Narrator)

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War Amongst the Clouds: My Flying Experiences in World War I and the Follow-On Years 1920-1983

This is the story of a young man who trained as a pilot, and then flew with the Royal Flying Corps in France during the First World War, eventually becoming an ace. Hugh White flew F.E.2D Scout aircraft as a reconnaissance patrol pilot and later in the war was promoted to squadron leader of squadrons flying the S.E.5a, which was Britain's best fighter aircraft at the time. During the two years of flying, he experienced and survived a series of escapades including a dramatic mid-air collision with the enemy. Told by Hugh in his own words, War Amongst the Clouds gives a unique insight into war in the air. With the break-up of his squadron and being reduced to a substantive rank-simply because of his young age, Hugh's writing ends in 1919. From this point, the story is continued by his younger son Christopher. He describes Hugh's life and RAF career from flying in India during the 1920s through the Second World War until his retirement as an air vice-marshal in 1955. This book includes a foreword by Sir Frederick Sowrey (Hugh's nephew), which puts Hugh White's early wartime service into context. It is a timely reminder, following the centenary of the end of the First World War, of the difficulties that young pilots faced at the time. A must-listen for those interested in wartime exploits.

Avm Hugh Granville White, Capt Chris Granville White, Gp Capt Chris Granville White, Hugh Granville White (Author), Nigel Patterson (Narrator)

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Walking to Samarkand: The Great Silk Road from Persia to Central Asia

Walking to Samarkand is journalist Bernard Ollivier's stunning account of the second leg of his 7,200-mile walk from Istanbul, Turkey, to Xi'an, China, along the Silk Road-the longest and perhaps most mythical trade route of all time. After crossing the final mountain passes of Turkish Kurdistan, Ollivier sets foot in Iran, keen on locating vestiges of the silk trade as he passes through Persia's modern cities and traditional villages, including Tabriz, Tehran, Nishapur, and the holy city of Mashhad. Beyond urban areas lie deserts: first Iran's Great Salt Desert, then Turkmenistan's forbidding Karakum, whose relentless sun, snakes, and scorpions pose continuous challenges to Ollivier's goal of reaching Uzbekistan. Setting his own fears aside, he travels on, wonderstruck at every turn, borne by a childhood dream: to see for himself the golden domes and turquoise skies of Samarkand, one of Central Asia's most ancient cities. But what Ollivier enjoys most are the people along the way: Askar, the hospitable gardener; the pilgrims of Mashhad; and his knights in shining armor, Mehdi and Monir. For, despite setting out alone, he comes to find that walking itself-through a kind of alchemy-surrounds him with friends and fosters fellowship.

Bernard Ollivier (Author), Nigel Patterson (Narrator)

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Uncharted: A Rediscovered History of Voyages to the Americas Before Columbus

The Americas have had native groups living there for more than ten thousand years, but Columbus was surely not their first visitors. Uncharted covers a range of cultures who seemingly have been visiting the Americas since long before Columbus. Evidence is explored of potential Roman and Phoenician shipwrecks off the coast of South America through to Celtic and Norse exploration of Northern America. Put simply, the history of the discovery of the North America is all wrong. How did the Knights Templar influence the discovery of the new world? What do the Sinclair family, Rosslyn chapel, and two venetian brothers have to do with the discovery of a new continent? How did the Vikings navigate their way? With source materials dating back through millennia, including very recent finds, this book will induce you to thought about a side of history still so readily dismissed by some. Uncharted tackles the evidence and stories of visiting distant lands that abound from many cultures, such the Egyptian, Greeks, Celts, Vikings, as well as various people from Asia; and one large Chinese group likely settled in the Americas in 100 BC, which current DNA evidence supports. Columbus should be remembered, but remembered for the conquering tyrant he was. These other groups did not come to conquer, but to trade, explore, and escape.

James Martin, Tim Wallace-Murphy (Author), Nigel Patterson (Narrator)

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The White Sniper: Simo Häyhä

Simo Häyhä (1905-2002) is the most famous sniper in the world. During the Winter War fought between Russia and Finland in 1939-1940 he had 542 confirmed kills with iron sights, a record that still stands today. He has been a role model for snipers all over the world. Simo Häyhä was a man of action who spoke very little, but he was respected by his men and his superiors and given many difficult missions, including taking out specific targets. Able to move silently and swiftly through the landscape, melting into the snowbound surroundings in his white camouflage fatigues, his aim was deadly and his quarry rarely escaped. The Russians learned of his reputation as a marksman and tried several times to kill him by indirect fire. He was promoted from corporal to second lieutenant and he was awarded the Cross of Kollaa. After the war Simo Häyhä lead a quiet, unassuming life in farming and forestry. His roots were deep in the Finnish soil, and he loved life in rural Finland. A true patriot, he epitomized the traits of a professional soldier, performing his duty and setting an example of bravery that personified the Finnish spirit when confronted by the Russian onslaught. The White Sniper fully explores Simo Häyhä's life, his exploits in the Winter War, and the secrets behind his success.

Tapio Saarelainen (Author), Nigel Patterson (Narrator)

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The Vory: Russia's Super Mafia

Mark Galeotti is the go-to expert on organized crime in Russia, consulted by governments and police around the world. Now, Western listeners can explore the fascinating history of the vory v zakone, a group that has survived and thrived amid the changes brought on by Stalinism, the Cold War, the Afghan War, and the end of the Soviet experiment. The vory-as the Russian mafia is also known-was born early in the twentieth century, largely in the Gulags and criminal camps, where they developed their unique culture. Identified by their signature tattoos, members abided by the thieves' code, a strict system that forbade all paid employment and cooperation with law enforcement and the state. Based on two decades of on-the-ground research, Galeotti's captivating study details the vory's journey to power from their early days to their adaptation to modern-day Russia's free-wheeling oligarchy and global opportunities beyond.

Mark Galeotti (Author), Nigel Patterson (Narrator)

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The Viking World

Filling a gap in the literature for an academically oriented volume on the Viking period, this unique book is a one-stop authoritative introduction to all the latest research in the field. Bringing together today's leading scholars, both established seniors and younger, cutting-edge academics, Stefan Brink and Neil Price have constructed the first single work to gather innovative research from a spectrum of disciplines (including archaeology, history, philology, comparative religion, numismatics, and cultural geography) to create the most comprehensive Viking Age book of its kind ever attempted. Consisting of longer articles providing overviews of important themes, supported by shorter papers focusing on material of particular interest, this comprehensive volume covers such wide-ranging topics as social institutions, spatial issues, the Viking Age economy, warfare, beliefs, language, voyages, and links with medieval and Christian Europe. This original work, specifically oriented towards a university audience and the educated public, will have a self-evident place as an undergraduate course book and will be a standard work of reference for all those in the field.

Neil Price, Stefan Brink (Author), Nigel Patterson (Narrator)

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The Two-Headed Eagle: In Which Otto Prohaska Takes a Break as the Habsburg Empire's Leading U-boat A

It is the summer of 1916 and, as luck would have it, Otto is assigned to the nascent, unreliable, and utterly frightening Imperial and Royal Austro-Hungarian Flying Service. Otto's aerial chauffeur is the self-willed Sergeant-Pilot Toth, with whom he can only communicate in broken Latin-although when all else fails, screaming will suffice! On the ground the rickety Habsburg Empire begins to crumble before the onslaught of World War I, while in the air Otto confronts a series of misadventures and the winds of change. "Stark realism and finely crafted humor... use of narration, his thorough knowledge, and good technical details make this novel compelling reading." -Library Journal "Biggins writes with a fine sense of the sea and a truly marvelous wit." -Booklist "A retro techno-adventure story that falls somewhere between Tom Clancy and Patrick O'Brien... top notch military fiction with a literary flair." -Publishers Weekly

John Biggins (Author), Nigel Patterson (Narrator)

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The Tomb of Gods

From the destruction of an L.A. skyscraper to a desperate battle on board a Swiss train, from a crazy car chase through Hollywood to a covert assault on a secret SAS base, Matt Drake and his team ignite a blazing trail of destruction as they chase madmen and traitors across the globe. On a furious, action-packed battlefield, alongside soldiers ready to fight and die for their cause, Drake and his entire team stand as one and charge fearlessly into the jaws of death.

David Leadbeater (Author), Nigel Patterson (Narrator)

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The Stripping of the Altars: Traditional Religion in England, 1400-1580

This prize-winning account of the pre-Reformation church recreates lay people's experience of religion, showing that late-medieval Catholicism was neither decadent nor decayed, but a strong and vigorous tradition. For this edition, Duffy has written a new introduction reflecting on recent developments in our understanding of the period.

Eamon Duffy (Author), Nigel Patterson (Narrator)

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The State Counsellor: A Fandorin Mystery

Russia, 1891. The new governor-general of Siberia has been secreted away on a train from St. Petersburg to Moscow. A blizzard rages outside as a mustachioed official climbs aboard near the city; with his trademark stutter, he introduces himself as State Counsellor Erast Fandorin. He then thrusts a dagger inscribed with the initials CG into the governor-general's heart and, tearing off his mustache, escapes out the carriage window. The head of the Department of Security soon shows up at the real Fandorin's door and arrests him for murder. The only way to save his reputation is to find CG-and the government mole who is feeding the group information. Can Fandorin survive corruption among his fellow officials, the fearlessness of an unknown enemy, and the advances of a sultry young nihilist with his morals intact? The State Counsellor is colorful entertainment from a master of the sly historical romp.

Boris Akunin (Author), Nigel Patterson (Narrator)

Audiobook

Audiobooks Narrated by Nigel Patterson