Audiobooks narrated by Virginia Leishman

Ten-year-old Sarah Crue arrives at Miss Minchin's London boarding school arrayed like a princess. She wears velvet, lace and silk, carries a gorgeous life-like doll, and has a French maid. Charming and imaginative, she soon becomes the envy of the other girls. When tragedy suddenly takes away Sarah's fine clothes and privileges, her schoolmates wait to see if she will give up. But, now living in the school's dingy attic and toiling long hours for the demanding students who were once her friends, Sarah's generous spirit remains untouched by the hardship and cruelty. Frances Hodgson Burnett earned a special place in children's hearts with her wonderful books which include The Secret Garden. Since 1905, A Little Princess has captivated countless readers, and recently it has been made into a major motion picture. Now, through Leishman's lyrical narration, Sarah and the other unforgettable characters of this delightful riches-to-rags tale speak to new generations.

Frances Hodgson Burnett (Author), Virginia Leishman (Narrator)

Audiobook

A Scandalous Marriage

Cathy Maxwell's popular romances deliver irresistible tales of forbidden desire between exalted people who refuse to be trapped by conventions. In A Scandalous Marriage, just as a beautiful debutante enters London society, dishonor drives her to the isolated countryside. While in hiding, Leah Carrollton encounters the dashing and noble Devon Marshall. They once felt a passionate spark for one another, and now it seems their feelings might rekindle. But the cruel truth is that they are from rival families. Leah's brother once challenged Devon to a duel, and there are rumors that her father is responsible for a terrible accident that killed Devon's father. Even all-consuming desire may not be enough to defy the bonds of blood. Narrator Virginia Leishman brings warmth and compassion to this scandalous tale as Leah and Devon fight to preserve their love.

Cathy Maxwell (Author), Virginia Leishman (Narrator)

Audiobook

Agnes Grey

In her daring first novel, the youngest Bronte sister drew upon her own experiences to tell the unvarnished truth about life as a governess. Like Agnes Grey, Anne Bronte was a young middle-class Victorian lady whose family fortunes had faltered. Like so many other unmarried women of the nineteenth century, Bronte accepted the only "respectable" employment available--and entered a world of hardship, humiliation, and loneliness. Written with a realism that shocked critics, this biting social commentary offers a sympathetic portrait of Agnes and a moving indictment of her brutish and haughty employers. Separated from her family and friends by many miles, paid little more than subsistence wages, Agnes stands alone--both in society at large and in a household where she is neither family member nor servant. Agnes Grey remains a landmark in the literature of social history. In addition to its challenge to the era's chauvinism and materialism, it features a first-person narrative that offers a rare opportunity to hear the voice of a Victorian working woman.

Anne Bronte (Author), Virginia Leishman (Narrator)

Audiobook

Barely a Bride

From nationally best-selling author Rebecca Hagan Lee comes a romance set in England during the 1790s. The Earl of Weymouth insists his son marry before going off to fight the French. Lady Tressingham insists her daughter marry as soon as possible as well. The children, however, are very resistant to the institution of marriage. But they do wed as a matter of convenience. When Griffen returns from war, though, he's a different man than before-and he hopes he can prove his love to Alyssa, the woman he left when she was barely a bride. "This tightly written novel is well-crafted and has strong characters ... As always, Lee touches the right chords in her readers."-Romantic Times

Rebecca Hagan Lee (Author), Virginia Leishman (Narrator)

Audiobook

Being Dead: A Novel

Jim Crace has been called "one of the brightest lights in contemporary British fiction" by The New York Times Book Review. His novels have won a Whitbread Prize, an E.M. Forster Award, the Guardian Fiction Award, the GAP International Prize for Literature, and have been shortlisted for the Booker Prize. Far-ranging in its imagery, Being Dead is a provocative examination of mortality. A middle-aged couple, Joseph and Celice, are murdered on a remote East Coast sand dune. They are not discovered for six days. Both doctors of zoology, Joseph and Celice would recognize what is happening to their decomposing bodies if they could have watched. They are dead, but they remain part of the living for a while as they become food, shelter, icons, and sources of emotional catharsis. As Jim Crace examines the various facets of these two people's lives and deaths, he creates an extraordinary journey through haunting physical, scientific, and philosophical landscapes. Narrator Virginia Leishman provides the perfect tones for Crace's remarkable, lyrical text.

Jim Crace (Author), Virginia Leishman (Narrator)

Audiobook

Bright Shadow

Young listeners will be enchanted by this wondrous tale of magic and wizardry written by Newbery Medal-winning author Avi. When Morwenna is given the gift of wizardry, she must guard the five wishes she has been granted. She must protect herself and the peasants from vengeful King Ruthvin. Virginia Leishman's spellbinding voice coupled with Avi's mesmerizing story make this magical audiobook a must-listen.

Avi (Author), Virginia Leishman (Narrator)

Audiobook

Delicious

In a starred review, Publishers Weekly praised Sherry Thomas for her "steamy and smart" prose featuring "deft plotting and sparkling characters." Delicious presents Verity Durant, an irresistible woman of a more elegant age. Verity is renowned from London to Paris for her succulent cuisine-and for her rapacious carnal appetite. And she's determined to tempt prim and proper politician Stuart Somerset with forbidden fruits he's never tasted.

Sherry Thomas (Author), Virginia Leishman (Narrator)

Audiobook

Enchantress of Numbers

New York Times bestselling author Jennifer Chiaverini illuminates the fascinating life of Ada Byron King, Countess of Lovelace-Lord Byron's daughter, the world's first computer programmer, and a woman whose exceptional contributions to science and technology have been too long unsung. The only legitimate child of Lord Byron, the most brilliant, revered, and scandalous of the Romantic poets, Ada was destined for fame long before her birth. Estranged from Ada's father, who was infamously "mad, bad, and dangerous to know," Ada's mathematician mother is determined to save her only child from her perilous Byron heritage. Banishing fairy tales and make-believe from the nursery, Ada's mother provides her daughter with a rigorous education grounded in mathematics and science. Any troubling spark of imagination-or worse yet, passion or poetry-is promptly extinguished. Or so her mother believes. When Ada is introduced into London society as a highly eligible young heiress, she at last discovers the intellectual and social circles she has craved all her life. Little does she realize that her delightful new friendship with inventor Charles Babbage-brilliant, charming, and occasionally curmudgeonly-will shape her destiny. Intrigued by the prototype of his first calculating machine, the Difference Engine, and enthralled by the plans for his even more advanced Analytical Engine, Ada resolves to help Babbage realize his extraordinary vision, unique in her understanding of how his invention could transform the world. All the while, she passionately studies mathematics-ignoring skeptics who consider it an unusual, even unhealthy pursuit for a woman-falls in love, discovers the shocking secrets behind her parents' estrangement, and comes to terms with the unquenchable fire of her imagination. In Enchantress of Numbers, New York Times bestselling author Jennifer Chiaverini unveils the passions, dreams, and insatiable thirst for knowledge of a largely unheralded pioneer in computing-a young woman who stepped out of her father's shadow to achieve her own laurels and champion the new technology that would shape the future.

Jennifer Chiaverini (Author), Virginia Leishman (Narrator)

Audiobook

Five Children and It

On a summer holiday in the countryside of England, five children suddenly find themselves without the supervision of their parents. Left alone with the housekeeper, the children anticipate a dull vacation. However, they soon find more adventure than they can handle. The first day after their parents leave, the children head for a gravel pit to pretend that they are at the beach. While digging in the sand they find a Psammead, or a sand fairy. The grumpy genie promises to grant the children one wish a day that will last until sunset. But as often happens with wishes, none turn out quite the way the children expect. They are led through a series of hilarious adventures by the Psammead as they learn to appreciate what they already have. Edith Nesbit was one of the first authors to write children's books that captured what it was like to be young. Her humorous stories are sure to entertain as they gently teach children about the things in life that are truly valuable.

Edith Nesbit (Author), Virginia Leishman (Narrator)

Audiobook

Glimpses of Truth: The Wycliffe Translation

Life holds great promise for 14th-century intellectual Thomas Torr, chosen by the illustrious John Wycliffe to help translate the Latin Vulgate into English. But the Roman Church punishes possession of an English Bible with death, and Thomas soon faces a baptism of fire that takes him from the British hinterlands to the catacombs of Rome. Jack Cavanaugh's award-winning novels bring significant events in the history of Christianity to life with thrilling drama and compelling characters.

Jack Cavanaugh (Author), Virginia Leishman (Narrator)

Audiobook

Hardly a Husband

National best-selling author and Romantic Times Award nominee Rebecca Hagan Lee pushes another stubborn bachelor of the Free Fellows League toward the altar in Hardly a Husband. Obstinate Marquess Jarrod Shepherdston is not about to take the plunge without protest. He has taken great pains to avoid romance his entire life. But when beautiful Sarah Eckersley shows up on his doorstep with a proposal he can't seem to refuse, Jarrod begins to wonder just what he could be missing.

Rebecca Hagan Lee (Author), Virginia Leishman (Narrator)

Audiobook

Let Me Be the One

USA Today best-selling author Jo Goodman begins a delightful new quartet of Regency romances with Let Me Be the One. The four gentlemen of the compass club-North, South, East and West-are all unwed. Now North has fallen for the charms of Libby Penrose, an intelligent beauty with a strong determination to remain unattached. When North awakens feelings deep within Libby, whirlwind events lead to their marriage. Yet a dark secret threatens to tear their newfound happiness apart.

Jo Goodman (Author), Virginia Leishman (Narrator)

Audiobook

Audiobooks Narrated by Virginia Leishman