Audiobooks narrated by Rachel Bavidge

A Dirty, Filthy Book: Sex, Scandal, and One Woman’s Fight in the Victorian Trial of the Century

Brought to you by Penguin. Sex and Scandal in the Victorian 'trial of the century' June, 1877: the petite 29-year-old Annie Besant stands motionless before the 75-year-old Judge towering over her in the Palace of Westminster. Lord Chief Justice Cockburn is presiding over the scandalous 'trial of the century' where Annie Besant and her confidante Charles Bradlaugh have been charged with the unforgiveable crime of publishing and selling a guide to birth control. Charged with obscenity, she argued -- controversially and outrageously, for the time -- that it was a woman's right to be able to choose to have children. The riveting trial over freedom of speech and the rights of women captivated the British public, caused outrage across the grey Victorian establishment and helped transform Annie Besant into one of the most famous women in the Empire. Drawing on unpublished archives, private papers and court-room transcripts, and an incredible cast of characters including Queen Victoria, George Bernard Shaw, Charles Darwin, and JS Mill, A Dirty, Filthy Book tells a gripping story of double standards that will horrify and delight in equal measure. At its heart is one of the most fascinating women of Victorian society, a little-known pioneer who single-handedly refused to accept the role that the establishment assigned her. Annie's trial lit the flame of social change, free speech and women's rights that is still burning around the world almost 150 years later. ©2024 Michael Meyer (P)2024 Penguin Audio

Michael Meyer (Author), Rachel Bavidge, TBD (Narrator)

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Limitarianism: The Case Against Extreme Wealth

Brought to you by Penguin. We all notice when the poor get poorer: when there are more rough sleepers and food bank queues start to grow. But if the rich become richer, there is nothing much to see in public and, for most of us, daily life doesn't change. Or at least, not immediately. In this astonishing, eye-opening intervention, world-leading philosopher and economist Ingrid Robeyns exposes the true extent of our wealth problem, which has spent the past fifty years silently spiralling out of control. In moral, political, economic, social, environmental and psychological terms, she shows, extreme wealth is not only unjustifiable but harmful to us all - the rich included. In place of our current system, Robeyns offers a breathtakingly clear alternative: limitarianism. The answer to so many of the problems posed by neoliberal capitalism - and the opportunity for a vastly better world - lies in placing a hard limit on the wealth that any one person can accumulate. Because no-one should have more than ten million, and no one needs more than one million. Not even you. ©2024 Ingrid Robeyns (P)2024 Penguin Audio

Ingrid Robeyns (Author), Rachel Bavidge, TBD (Narrator)

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Unlawful Killings: Life, Love and Murder: Trials at the Old Bailey

Brought to you by Penguin. 'Every day in the UK lives are suddenly, brutally, wickedly taken away. Victims are shot or stabbed. Less often they are strangled or suffocated or beaten to death. Rarely they are poisoned, pushed off high buildings, drowned or set alight. Then there are the many who are killed by dangerous drivers, or corporate gross negligence. There are a lot of ways you can kill someone. I know because I've seen most of them at close quarters.' As one of just a few judges licensed to try murder cases at the Old Bailey, the author has presided over many of the high-profile cases that all too often grab our attention in dramatic media headlines - for every unlawful death tells a story. But, unlike most of us, a judge doesn't get to turn the page and move on. Nor does the defendant, or the family of the victim, nor the many other people who populate the court room. Peeling apart six dramatic murder and manslaughter cases, Unlawful Killings removes this distinction between 'them' and 'us'. By detailing the inner workings of the Old Bailey and UK law, the author makes clear that each of us has a vested interest in what happens in the court room - especially when it comes to the death of a fellow human being. Any one of us could end up in the witness-box or even in the dock. And yet most people have only the sketchiest idea of what happens inside a Crown Court. With breath-taking skill and deep compassion, the author describes how cases unfold and illustrates exactly what it's like to be a murder trial judge and a witness to human good and bad. Sometimes very bad. Right now, with our courts straining under the weight of the many heinous crimes being committed, it's not merely the system that is flawed. The fracture lines that run through our society are becoming harder and harder to ignore and, from a unique vantage point, the author warns that we do so at our peril. © Anonymous 2022 (P) Penguin Audio 2022

Her Honour Wendy Joseph Kc, Her Honour Wendy Joseph Qc, Wendy Joseph (Author), Her Honour Wendy Joseph Kc, Her Honour Wendy Joseph Qc, Rachel Bavidge, Roy Mcmillan, Wendy Joseph (Narrator)

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Self-Portrait

Brought to you by Penguin. **Shortlisted for the Slightly Foxed Best First Biography Prize 2019** I'm not a portrait painter. If I'm anything, I have always been an autobiographer. Self-Portrait reveals a life truly lived through art. In this short, intimate memoir, Celia Paul moves effortlessly through time in words and images, folding in her past and present selves. From her move to the Slade School of Fine Art at sixteen, through a profound and intense affair with the older and better-known artist Lucian Freud, to the practices of her present-day studio, she meticulously assembles the surprising, beautiful, haunting scenes of a life. Paul brings to her prose the same qualities that she brings to her art: a brutal honesty, a delicate but powerful intensity, and an acute eye for visual detail. At its heart, this is a book about a young woman becoming an artist, with all the sacrifices and complications that entails. As she moves out of Freud's shadow, and navigates a path to artistic freedom, Paul's power and identity as an artist emerge from the page. Self-Portrait is a uniquely arresting, poignant book, and a work of art and literature by a singular talent. 'Fascinating... Painfully honest on what it means to be a woman who puts art first, no matter what.' Olivia Laing, New Statesman © Celia Paul 2022 (P) Penguin Audio 2022

Celia Paul (Author), Rachel Bavidge (Narrator)

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Letters to Gwen John

Brought to you by Penguin. A unique combination of memoir and artistic biography, interspersed with original artworks, from the acclaimed artist and author of SELF-PORTRAIT. We are both painters. We can connect to each other through images, in our own unvoiced language. But I will try and reach you with words. Through talking to you I may come alive and begin to speak. Celia Paul has felt a lifelong connection to the artist Gwen John. There are extraordinary parallels in their lives and work. Both have always made art on their own terms. Both were involved with older male artists. Both worked hard to keep themselves and the sacred flame of their creativity from being extinguished by others. Letters to Gwen John is Paul's imagined correspondence with Gwen John, whose life and work have loomed so large in hers. These intimate, passionate, haunting letters allow Paul to reach across eras, to weigh up the sacrifices she has made, and to explore the rich possibilities of a life apart. With illuminating insights into the life and work of Gwen John, Letters to Gwen John is a unique form of memoir and conversation, and an unforgettable insight into a life devoted to making art. © Celia Paul 2022 (P) Penguin Audio 2022

Celia Paul (Author), Rachel Bavidge (Narrator)

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Free: Coming of Age at the End of History

Brought to you by Penguin. Shortlisted for the 2021 Baillie Gifford prize. Lea Ypi grew up in one of the most isolated countries on earth, a place where communist ideals had officially replaced religion. Albania, the last Stalinist outpost in Europe, was almost impossible to visit, almost impossible to leave. It was a place of queuing and scarcity, of political executions and secret police. To Lea, it was home. People were equal, neighbours helped each other, and children were expected to build a better world. There was community and hope. Then, in December 1990, a year after the fall of the Berlin Wall, everything changed. The statues of Stalin and Hoxha were toppled. Almost overnight, people could vote freely, wear what they liked and worship as they wished. There was no longer anything to fear from prying ears. But factories shut, jobs disappeared and thousands fled to Italy on crowded ships, only to be sent back. Predatory pyramid schemes eventually bankrupted the country, leading to violent conflict. As one generation's aspirations became another's disillusionment, and as her own family's secrets were revealed, Lea found herself questioning what freedom really meant. Free is an engrossing memoir of coming of age amid political upheaval. With acute insight and wit, Lea Ypi traces the limits of progress and the burden of the past, illuminating the spaces between ideals and reality, and the hopes and fears of people pulled up by the sweep of history. 'Funny, moving but also deadly serious, this book will be read for years to come. . . Beautifully brings together the personal and the political to create an unforgettable account of oppression, freedom and what it means to acquire knowledge about the world' David Runciman © Lea Ypi 2021 (P) Penguin Audio 2021

Lea Ypi (Author), Lea Ypi, Rachel Bavidge (Narrator)

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The Dictator’s Muse: the captivating novel by the Richard & Judy bestseller

Brought to you by Penguin. From the bestselling author of The Blasphemer, shortlisted for the Costa Novel Award and a Richard & Judy Bookclub Pick It is the early 1930s, and Europe is holding its breath. As Hitler's grip on power tightens, preparations are being made for the Berlin Olympics. Leni Riefenstahl is the pioneering, sexually-liberated star film-maker of the Third Reich. She has been chosen by Hitler to capture the Olympics on celluloid but is about to find that even his closest friends have much to fear. Kim Newlands is the English athlete 'sponsored' by the Blackshirts and devoted to his mercurial, socialite girlfriend Connie. He is driven by a desire to win an Olympic gold but to do that he must first pretend to be someone he is not. Alun Pryce is the Welsh communist sent to infiltrate the Blackshirts. When he befriends Kim and Connie, his belief that the end justifies the means will be tested to the core. Through her camera lens and memoirs, Leni is able to manipulate the truth about what happens when their fates collide at the Olympics. But while some scenes from her life end up on the cutting room floor, this does not mean they are lost forever... PRAISE FOR THE BLASPHEMER: 'A great achievement...remarkable.' Melvyn Bragg 'A book that won't leave your fingernails intact' Daily Mail 'A fine novel...unforgettable.' The Times 'Beautiful...exhilarating.' Sunday Telegraph 'A constantly engaging and witty novel from a tremendously clever writer.' Telegraph © Nigel Farndale 2021 (P) Penguin Audio 2021

Nigel Farndale (Author), Rachel Bavidge (Narrator)

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Unsettled Ground

Brought to you by Penguin. What if the life you have always known is taken from you in an instant? What would you do to get it back? Twins Jeanie and Julius have always been different from other people. At 51 years old, they still live with their mother, Dot, in rural isolation and poverty. Inside the walls of their old cottage they make music, and in the garden they grow (and sometimes kill) everything they need for sustenance. But when Dot dies suddenly, threats to their livelihood start raining down. Jeanie and Julius would do anything to preserve their small sanctuary against the perils of the outside world, even as their mother's secrets begin to unravel, putting everything they thought they knew about their lives at stake. Unsettled Ground is a heart-stopping novel of betrayal and resilience, love and survival. It is a portrait of life on the fringes of society that explores with dazzling emotional power how we can build our lives on broken foundations, and spin light from darkness. PRAISE FOR CLAIRE FULLER 'So sharply, so utterly brilliant that I found myself holding my breath while reading it, dazzled by Fuller's mastery and precision' LAUREN GROFF, author of Fates and Furies 'Extraordinary, gripping. Fuller writes with a singing simplicity that finds beauty amid the terror' Sunday Times 'A compulsive page-turner. Fuller creates an atmosphere of simmering menace with all the assurance of a latter-day Daphne du Maurier' The Times 'Bewitching, otherworldly, full of dark foreboding. Claire Fuller is a dazzling storyteller' Scotsman © Claire Fuller 2021 (P) Penguin Audio 2021

Claire Fuller (Author), Rachel Bavidge (Narrator)

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Natural Menopause: Herbal remedies, Nutrition, Exercise, HRT, Mindfulness, CBT. For perimenopause, m

Use a holistic approach to empower the mind and body before, during, and after the menopause. Understand the menopause with all its changes and challenges - and choose practices and treatments to make this next stage in your wellness journey healthy, positive, and joyful. Your menopause is unique to you - a milestone on your personal wellbeing journey. A lucky few will breeze through it, but for most women this time of hormonal upheavals throws up a variety of challenging symptoms. Understand the menopause better and find the right combination of resources for you - to stay physically, mentally, and spiritually well throughout. Find out how to adapt your existing wellness practices and build in new ones to smooth the path of your menopause: adopt yoga poses to reduce stress or help you sleep; use essential oils for a relaxing massage to lift mood; enjoy foods that boost energy and sharpen focus; discover the best exercises for strong bones and a healthy heart; use CBT and mindfulness to relieve anxiety and calm hot flushes; choose the best herbal remedies to balance hormones and diminish mood swings. Discover how to attend to your specific needs in a mindful, positive way, either alongside or without prescription medication. Your go-to guide to help make the transition an energising and liberating experience, Natural Menopause lets you take charge and embrace The Change. Consultant Editor: Dr Anne Henderson, menopause expert and gynaecologist, has over 15 years' experience running clinics in the NHS and private health sector. Teaming medical expertise with complementary treatment, she provides holistic care for women, specialising in hormonal therapy. Anne studied at Cambridge University and completed her training at Guy's Hospital, London. Anne oversees a team of specialist writers for each section of the book. © 2021 Dorling Kindersley © 2021 DK Audio

Dk (Author), Rachel Bavidge (Narrator)

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My Name Is Selma: The remarkable memoir of a Jewish Resistance fighter and Ravensbrück survivor

Brought to you by Penguin. 'I am one of few Jewish survivors of World War Two, but one of many Jewish people to fight the Nazi regime. My story illustrates what happened to thousands of Jews and non-Jews alike... the sheer luck that saved some of us and the atrocities that led to the deaths of so many, as a tribute to all those who suffered and died.' Selma van de Perre was seventeen when World War Two began. Until then, being Jewish in the Netherlands had been of no consequence. But by 1941 this simple fact had become a matter of life or death. Several times, Selma avoided being rounded up by the Nazis. Then, in an act of defiance, she joined the Resistance movement, using the pseudonym Margareta van der Kuit. For two years 'Marga' risked it all. Using a fake ID, and passing as Aryan she travelled around the country delivering newsletters, sharing information, keeping up morale - doing, as she later explained, what 'had to be done'. In July 1944 her luck ran out. She was transported to Ravensbrück women's concentration camp as a political prisoner. Unlike her parents and sister - who, she would later discover, died in other camps - she survived by using her alias, pretending to be someone else. It was only after the war ended that she was allowed to reclaim her identity and dared to say once again: My name is Selma. Now, at ninety-eight, Selma remains a force of nature. Full of hope and courage, this is her story in her own words. © Selma van de Perre 2020 (P) Penguin Audio 2020

Selma Van De Perre (Author), Rachel Bavidge (Narrator)

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A Place for Everything

‘Painful, raw and with an honesty that rings clear as a bell’ Catherine Simpson, author of When I Had a Little Sister A searing account of a mother’s late-diagnosis of autism – and its reaching effects on a whole family. Anna grew up in a house that was loving, even if her mum was ‘a little eccentric’. They knew to keep things clean, to stay quiet, and to look the other way when things started to get ‘a bit much for your mum’. It’s only when her mother reaches her 70s, and Anna has a family of her own, that the cracks really start to appear. More manic. More irrational. More detached from the world. And when her father, the man who has calmed and cajoled her mother through her entire life becomes unwell, the whole world turns upside down. This is a story of a life lived with undiagnosed autism, about the person behind the disorder, those big unspoken family truths, and what it means to care for our parents in their final years.

Anna Wilson (Author), Rachel Bavidge (Narrator)

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Best Wishes Sister B: Kindly nuns take on the 21st Century

Prayer and ingenuity have kept the remote English convent of St Winifreda in the Fen going for centuries, but now the roof leaks, the bell tower is crumbling and rats have moved in. The Bishop’s accountant wants to send the retired sisters to a home, disperse the working nuns, pull down the buildings and sell the land off as a car park. But he has reckoned without the unstoppable force that is Reverend Mother Elizabeth. With her team of ex-offenders, migrant workers and passing strangers, she plans not just to save, but also to renew, restore and revivify the sisterhood. The gentle, witty letters of Sister Boniface, who, as newly-appointed convent shopkeeper, has a big role to play in this challenge, chart a year of the sisters’ struggle as they get to grips with the harsh realities of the 21st century armed mainly with kindness and home baked biscuits.

Fran Smith (Author), Rachel Bavidge (Narrator)

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Audiobooks Narrated by Rachel Bavidge