Showing results by narrator "Daphne Kouma" in All Categories

Renowned gamester and the first to admit that he is entirely void of a romantic disposition, Max Ravenscar regards all eligible females with indifference and unconcern. But when he meets the woman his young cousin Adrian is bent on marrying - the beautiful Deborah Grantham, mistress of her aunt's gaming house - he finds that none of his experience in risk and gambling has prepared him for such a worthy opponent.

Two teenagers, a Greek Cypriot and a Turkish Cypriot, meet at a taverna on the island they both call home. The taverna is the only place that Kostas and Defne can meet in secret, hidden beneath the blackened beams from which hang garlands of garlic and chilli peppers, creeping honeysuckle, and in the centre, growing through a cavity in the roof, a fig tree. The fig tree witnesses their hushed, happy meetings; their silent, surreptitious departures. The fig tree is there, too, when war breaks out, when the capital is reduced to ashes and rubble, when the teenagers vanish.

On the night when Caitlin and Olivia's parents leave them to go to a dinner party both girls are full of excitement about being old enough to stay home alone. What they don't see is the figure watching them through the open window. Who, after the girls have fallen asleep, will turn the handle of the unlocked back door. When their parents return, they will find Olivia's bed empty. Their eldest daughter gone. Never to return. Until now. But is the woman who claims to be Olivia really all she seems? And is everything Caitlin said she saw that night really the whole truth?

Mathematics shapes almost everything we do. From building rockets to the handheld technology that governs our day-to-day lives, we are all in debt to the mathematical geniuses of the past. But the history of mathematics is warped; it looks like a sixteenth-century map that enlarges Europe at the expense of Africa, Asia and the Americas. The Secret Lives of Numbers introduces listeners to a new group of mathematical boundary-smashers, those who have been erased by history because of their race, gender or nationality.

Orphia dreams of something more than the warrior crafts she's been forced to learn. Hidden away on a far-flung island, her blood sings with poetry, and her words can move flowers to bloom and forests to grow... but her father, the sun god Apollo, has forbidden her this art. A chance meeting with a young shield-maker, Eurydicius, gives her the courage to use her voice. After wielding all her gifts to defeat one final champion, Orphia draws the scrutiny of the gods. Performing her poetry, she wins the protection of the goddesses of the arts.

In the grip of existential malaise, 25-year-old Daphne moves to Berlin for a fresh start. Far from resolving her quarter-life crisis, things take a turn for the worse. Because Daphne doesn't just have to navigate all the archetypal experiences of an outsider in the big city—acquiring friends and lovers, grappling with the language and a whole new way of life. A series of mysterious and troubling events are in motion—starting with a brick hurled through her bedroom window in the dead of night—and a further unravelling ensues.

Dive into the adventures of Robinson Crusoe, who escapes a storm and shipwreck only to be stranded on a desert island all alone... Will he survive? This thrilling story has been retold and adapted for ages 6+.

Five-year-old orphan Heidi is thrilled to be sent to live with her grandfather in the Alps, where she can play in the mountains amongst the animals. One day however, she is taken away to live with a family in the town. Will she be able to overcome obstacles and find her way back to her beloved grandfather?

A hot summer is approaching and not much will stir up the Levantine rhythm of the city of Bari. However, a disappearance of a local fisherman and the arrival of two characters to the police station leads Chief Inspector Lolita Lobosco deep into a far reaching and darkly disturbing criminal network.

Chief Inspector Lolita Lobosco, returns to her hometown, Bari, to direct a male only team. In a world stubbornly ruled by men, she chooses to remain herself against all odds, and uses her skills, courage and devotion to fight prejudices. But on this Christmas Eve, things get terribly complicated with a case where the past crashes into the present and Lolita realises that, in addition to cracking the case, she will also have to defend herself.

In this spellbinding new collection, Charlotte Higgins reinterprets some of the most enduring stories of all time. Here are myths of the creation, of Heracles and Theseus and Perseus, the Trojan war and its origins and aftermaths, tales of Thebes and Argos and Athens. There are stories of love and desire, adventure and magic, destructive gods, helpless humans, fantastical creatures, resourceful witches and the origins of birds and animals.

Oliver Twist is the story of workhouse orphan Oliver, who must survive the harsh streets of Victorian London. Featuring famous villains such as the Artful Dodger and Fagin, this classic tale has been retold and adapted for ages 6 and up.

In the Soviet Union in 1973, there is perhaps no greater honor for a young girl than to be chosen to be part of the famed USSR gymnastics program. So when eight-year-old Anya is tapped, her family is thrilled. What is left of her family, that is. Years ago her mother disappeared. Anya’s only confidant is her neighbor, an older woman who survived unspeakable horrors during her ten years in a Gulag camp—and who, unbeknownst to Anya, was also her mother’s confidant and might hold the key to her disappearance.

Meet Hollie Jenson, presenter of the smash-hit docu-series Bad Medicine, which exposes the perils of extreme therapies. Her next target: a new retreat run by wellness guru Ariel Rose, who claims to have discovered the secret to healing pain through her three-day ice rebirth treatment. Acting on a mother's plea to find her son, who vanished soon after his stay, Hollie ventures into the Swiss mountains where the retreat occupies a former observatory in search of the boy and to expose Ariel as the charlatan she believes her to be.

Henrietta Maria is the most reviled consort to have worn the crown of Britain's Three Kingdoms. Condemned as that 'Popish brat of France', a 'notorious whore' and traitor, she remains in popular memory the wife who wore the breeches and turned her husband Catholic—so causing a civil war—and a cruel and bigoted mother. Leanda de Lisle's White King was hailed as 'the definitive modern biography about Charles I' (Observer). Here she considers Henrietta Maria's point of view, unpicking the myths to reveal a very different queen.

Paris, 1941: Going against her mother’s orders, spirited Maggie devotes herself to the Resistance. Her life is a whirlwind of forged passports and secret midnight runs, helping Jews escape. Much to her high-society mother’s disapproval, she has fallen in love with Emil, a Jewish Resistance fighter who is wanted by the Nazis.

Alex Fokas, a young and ambitious journalist, is surprised when a book by an obscure author is sent to her in the post. Falling by Avery Lewis is a thriller about a woman who is murdered by being pushed off a cliff. Along with the book, Alex is sent a newspaper article about Avery's recent death by accidental drowning. She fell from the same cliff as the character in her book and her body still hasn't been found. Intrigued and disturbed, Alex travels to Cornwall to research the story for an article.

Tom Sawyer is a playful and mischievous boy who lives with his half-brother Sid and his Aunt Polly in Missouri. Join him on his hapless adventures around his town and beyond, as he tries to have fun without getting into trouble.

Follow curious Alice as she ventures down a rabbit hole and into the magical world of Wonderland, filled with unforgettable characters such as the March Hare, the Mad Hatter, the Cheshire Cat and the Queen of Hearts.

Follow the thrilling adventures of Robin Hood and his gang of Merry Men in Henry Gilbert's famous retelling of this much-loved legend. Featuring a cast of unforgettable characters, such as Friar Tuck, Maid Marian and the dastardly Sheriff of Nottingham, this thrilling story has been retold and adapted for ages 6+.