Showing results by narrator "Lorna Bennett" in All Categories

Doyenne of royal writers, Helen Cathcart takes the listener on a unique journey from infancy up to the third decade of Her Majesty's reign, highlighting the Queen's influence upon her friends and Household, and their reciprocal influence upon the Sovereign. Along the way we meet the royal relatives, intimate acquaintances, and trusted officials who have supported and guided Her Majesty from early childhood through to heiress presumptive to the throne and ultimately as reigning monarch.

Here is the first full story of the Queen's racing enthusiasms and the first authentic account of Her Majesty's personal experience as a racehorse owner and racegoer, told with the help of trainers, jockeys, and others. This exhilarating volume traces the early years of the Queen's racing story, from childhood horse-lover to ebullient racegoer and owner of one of the finest string of racehorses in the world.

Here is a celebration of the bizarre and beautiful, and a marriage of unlikely worlds. From a reverence of the dead to the sacrifices the living make to unspeakable gods, from clockwork dreams to tales of merciless revenge, Kiernan blurs the artificial lines of genre, and shows us a world where there is no division between the light and dark. 

In this detailed biographical study of Katharine, Duchess of Kent, Helen Cathcart tells an enchanting story of a Yorkshire soldier squire's daughter who grew up to become an admired and popular member of the Royal Family. In this intimate and illuminating account, Cathcart charts the first forty years of the Duchess's life, from her birth during a snowstorm at the family home, Hovingham Hall, and wartime childhood through to schooldays at Castle Howard and early career working in a children's home.

Sandringham, the much-loved Norfolk retreat of Queen Elizabeth II, has been the private home of four generations of monarchs since 1862, when Queen Victoria and Prince Albert bought the country estate for their eldest son Albert Edward, Prince of Wales. Written with warmth and wit, Helen Cathcart charts a hundred years of royal domestic history at Sandringham, from earliest days through to celebrated visitor attraction. A blend of narrative history and family chronicle, Sandringham commemorates the centenary of one of the best-known private country houses in the world.

Fifteen years ago, teenage Erin had an affair with her teacher that led to tragedy and changed her life. Today, she’s a married woman who keeps to herself and stays close to home, still scarred by the experience. When she’s attacked while running in the park, Erin doesn’t tell her husband - but she does confide in Nick, the man who came to her rescue. Then letters start to arrive, making references to her past and leaving her even more unnerved. When a neighbor reports that someone’s been watching her house, her world starts to crumble.

When Isabella Jenkins is unceremoniously fired from her fancy London job, she escapes to Tuscany. A few weeks hiding amongst rolling hills and grapevines at Villa Limoncello sounds exactly like the distraction she needs. But Italy holds emotional memories for Izzie and with a hapless handyman, a matchmaking village matriarch and a gorgeous - if infuriating - local chef named Luca Castelotti, her quiet Italian getaway turns into an unending cacophony of chaos. Suddenly Izzie finds herself on a mission to pull off the wedding of the century.

Izzie Jenkins never expected to find herself living in a gorgeous oasis in Tuscany, but when life gives you Villa Limoncello, you say thank you and bake treats to celebrate!Izzie and debonair chef Luca Castelotti are officially setting up shop together, but when their inaugural "Pasta and Painting" venture is sabotaged and one of their guests poisoned, they’re forced to turn detective. Because if they can’t find the culprit, they’ll be out of business before they’ve even begun....

In this impressive volume, Helen Cathcart guides the listener through the public galleries, state apartments, and private rooms of royal abodes, pointing out the historic furniture and bespoke ceramics, the royal portraits, and of course the Old Masters that adorn the tapestried walls. Here is the pencil sketch by Michelangelo, the watercolor by Queen Victoria's daughter Princess Louise, the first edition Lewis Carroll in the Royal Library, and the Faberge Easter eggs, among many other treasures.

Sixteen-year-old Wendy Darling’s life is not what she imagined it would be. The doldrums of an empty house after her brothers have gone to school, the dull parties where everyone thinks she talks too much, and the fact that her parents have decided to send her away to Ireland as a governess - it all makes her wish things could be different. Wendy’s only real escape is in writing down tales of Never Land. After nearly meeting her hero, Peter Pan, four years earlier, she still holds on to the childhood hope that his magical home truly exists.

The eldest son of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, Prince Charles has been heir to the British throne since he was three years old. In this lively and illuminating account, royal biographer Helen Cathcart charts the first thirty years of Prince Charles's life, from his birth at Buckingham Palace in 1948 and rugby-playing schooldays at Gordonstoun, through his undergraduate years cycling to lectures at Trinity College, Cambridge, and subsequent military career in the Royal Air Force and the Royal Navy.

With Christmas around the corner, Izzie Jenkins is ready to kickstart the new Snowflakes and Christmas Cakes course at Villa Limoncello with chef and business partner Luca Castelotti. However, secrets are stirring with their latest guests, and when nasty accidents keep befalling the group, it looks like Izzie will have to turn detective once more to protect the Villa’s fledgling reputation.

Sara and her family needed a fresh start after a tragedy that ruined many lives. They have found peace since arriving at their new home in the Kielder Forest National Park twelve months ago. That is, unless you count the dark cloud that has settled over them, and the crippling tension behind closed doors. Sara tries to pretend everything is normal, but in reality she is haunted by a devastating truth about one of her children.

Royal biographer Helen Cathcart's fascinatingly intimate account charts Elizabeth's extraordinary life, from her birth and early years growing up in the royal palaces—sleeping in the dungeons of Windsor Castle during the air raids of the Blitz—through to her marriage to Prince Philip in 1947, and their life together as new parents.

Set in 1890 Victorian England, Dark Persuasion tells a romantic story of regret, restitution, forgiveness, and redemption. It is a triangle of deceit and love fueled by emotions of selfish pursuit, guilt, and surrender among three people who are prisoners of their past.

Antony Armstrong-Jones, photographer, designer and film-maker, gained worldwide attention when he married Queen Elizabeth II's younger sister, Princess Margaret in 1960—the first non-aristocrat to marry into the Royal Family for 400 years. How did a "commoner" come to marry a princess, a woman whom he had long admired from afar? In fact, "Tony" descended from Welsh gentry, the son of a barrister and a society hostess. His family shared a long-established link with the Mountbatten arm of the Royal Family.

As her pregnancy progresses, Annie grows anxious about what happened to her mother, wanting to ensure history doesn’t repeat itself. Her quest for more information, though, leads only to frustration. The medical records no longer exist, her mother’s family are estranged, and even her father can’t fill in the blanks. Then Annie comes across three long-hidden photographs. But these clues to the past raise more questions than answers—and make Annie wonder what’s real and what isn’t...

Sparking myths and legends from Asia to Europe, Africa to North America, dragons are the most universal and awe-inspiring of magical creatures. Whether they are fearsome, rampaging monsters or benevolent sages with much to teach humanity, dragons bring creation, destruction, and adventure in stories told all around the globe. In this landmark collection, award-winning editor Jonathan Strahan combines nearly thirty never-before-seen short stories and poems, written by modern masters of science fiction and fantasy, and illustrations by acclaimed artist Rovina Cai.