Showing results by narrator "Annie Aldington" in All Categories

London 1941. Sirens warn of danger as German bomber planes approach the city. Ever cautious, Kathy and her mother head immediately for the nearest public air raid shelter, and when the building is destroyed in a direct hit, it is a miracle Kathy survives. Finding herself alone, Kathy is left with nothing but a burning fury and a determination to join the war effort.

After losing her mum in a tragic accident when she was young, Chrissy Moss had to find out the hard way how to survive on one of the East End's most notorious estates. When a 15-year-old girl disappears, hours after delivering a message for local gangland lowlife Eddie, the residents take the law into their own hands, forcing old secrets to resurface. With rumours flying - not just about the girl's disappearance, but about Laura Moss' death years earlier - Chrissy begins to suspect what happened to her mother was no accident: it was murder.

Christmas Eve, 1909. When 11-year-old Lily Larkin is left to fend for herself in an East London workhouse after her dying mother is taken to an infirmary, her future looks bleak. Once she is separated from her twin brother, Davy, her childhood hopes seem to shatter. But Lily's fierce spirit - along with her beloved new friends - help her to endure the miserable drudgery of life at South Grove Workhouse and its cruel supervisor, Miss Fox.

Growing up in fear of their cruel, drunken father, Olivia Bone and her siblings haven't had an easy start in life. But when Livvie's fiancé, Joe, is killed at Ypres, and he bequeaths her his house in Islington, it seems like the Bone family might finally escape the worst street in North London. Though their new life is anything but settled, at least Livvie has a good friend in Matilda Keiver and a better one in Lieutenant Lucas Black, her old boss at the Barratt's sweet factory. Lucas and Livvie might be from very different worlds, but he treats her with kindness and respect.

When Jenny’s mother abandons her and her younger siblings, Jenny is left at the mercy of her abusive father, Henry. And when Henry beats his eldest daughter so badly that she ends up in the hospital, it seems like there’s nowhere left for them all to go. But factory worker Craig has fallen head over heels for Jenny, and he offers her a place to stay. Happy at last, Jenny begins a new life with him, but when tragedy strikes, she’s left to pick up the pieces of both her broken home – and her broken heart.

It was June 1916 when Sergeant Boots Adams of the Royal West Kents, together with his men, was billeted on the Descartes farm in Northern France. It was a short break from the turmoil and horror of the trenches, and Boots and his men, in return for their free billeting, were to help the farmer in his fields. It came as something of a surprise to discover that the land was being managed by a young French war widow, Cecile Lacoste and, to the distant sound of guns, a brief wartime friendship flared between Boots and Cecile.

A compelling wartime drama from the author of The Street, perfect for fans of Pam Weaver and Kitty Neale. The Windmill Theatre was one of the most famous clubs of the 20th century. Its heyday was during WWII when it famously ‘never closed' and it became famous for its ‘tasteful' nude performances. Dawn is a pretty and feisty blonde. Losing her job as a chambermaid, she goes to work as a dancer at The Windmill Theatre.

The Butler brothers are the Kings of the East End, and their motto is ‘what goes around, comes around'. In their world, family counts; so when the truth about Vinny's cousin's death comes to light, it rocks the Butlers to the core. One by one, Vinny's friends and family are turning against him. Then, the unimaginable happens - Vinny's little daughter, Molly, goes missing. She's the one chink of light in all their lives, and the one they'd commit murders to bring back.

Despite living by the side of the Thames, with its noise, disease and dirt, eighteen-year-old Rosina May has wanted for little in life. Until her father's feud with a fellow bargeman threatens to destroy everything. To save them all, Rosina agrees to marry Harry, the son of a wealthy merchant...

Stealing from the rich is what Cara Kendall does for a living. She's twenty-four, bold and fearless, convinced that she'll never get caught. But everyone's luck runs out eventually. When she breaks into a house in Hampstead, she gets more than she bargained for—a body in the study and the law on the doorstep. As rumours start to circulate about her part in the killing, she finds herself under increasing pressure to give up what she hasn't got and tell a truth she doesn't know. 

The close, loving family life Rose has known is shattered when the country goes to war. Rose resolves to do her bit so, aged 16, she leaves home to train as a nurse in London. There she finds freedom, excitement and a different way of life. A brief encounter with a soldier opens her eyes to romance, but is he the man she thinks he is? Can first love survive long separation or will Rose discover that her heart belongs to another? When the war brings searing loss and heartbreak, can Rose find the strength to look to the future?

It is 1946, and with the war at last at an end, members of the Adams family who had been serving with the forces begin to come home. Boots is reunited with Polly and their twins, his son, Tim, returns to the welcoming arms of Felicity, and with so many others coming back, Chinese Lady finds herself once more the watchful matriarch of the family. But grandson Daniel is still serving in an army unit out in Palestine, where he is caught up in life-threatening circumstances, and his American fiancee, Patsy, counts the days until his return.

It is 1944, and the Adams family, along with the rest of the people of the United Kingdom, are beginning to weary of the seemingly never-ending war against Hitler's Germany. Bobby Somers and Helene, living dangerously in the French countryside with a group of Resistance fighters, find themselves in great peril. Boots returns from the war in Italy, to the delight of Polly and their two little rascals, twins James and Gemma - but he brings with him a German prisoner who has a horrifying story to tell of the concentration camps.

The war is only into its second year, but already it has claimed one victim from the Adams family. Emily, Boots's cherished wife, has died in an air-raid, and the whole family mourns her. But for Polly Simms the prospect of a new life dawns, while the members of the younger generation who are in uniform, and doing their bit for king and country, have their own problems to contend with.

Once they had been called Orrice and Effel, two bedraggled, scruffy waifs who lived rough off the streets of Walworth. Now they were Horrace and Ethel Cooper, grown up - quite respectable really - and living with their adopted parents, Jim and Rebecca Cooper. When Horrace saw the pretty girl who worked as a shop assistant in Adams (Ladies Fashion Modes) he was quite bowled over and knew he had to meet her. From then on he was in and out of the shop, buying hats and stockings and ribbons, trying desperately to persuade Miss Sally Brown to come out with him.

Christine Banner is alone after her father's death. Determined to make her own way in the world, she stumbles onto an estate in the New Forest where she finds work that she loves. However, when the future looks uncertain, Christine's skill at handling some of the large and difficult warhorses shines through and captures the attention of the son of the estate owner. In the face of grief, sadness and disappointment, Christine's intelligence and strength will be tested until she finds the place she can truly call home.

Billie Jo is the adored only child of wealthy villain Terry and Michelle, the drunken wife he hates. Knowing how much Billie Jo dreads her parents' fights, Terry imagines that she'll understand when he tells her he is going to leave Michelle to marry his pregnant secretary. But fate is about to deal a terrible hand and change everything in a way Terry has not planned for, leaving Billie Jo's protected world in tatters.

Thrilling, dangerous and compulsive, Avenged is perfect for fans of Martina Cole and Kimberley Chambers. You make a deal with the devil; you pay your dues…Franny Doyle has always known that her father Patrick has been up to no good. After all you don't become one of London's number one gangsters without ruffling a few feathers along the way. Still, she adores her dad and she knows that he would lay down his life for her - she is his number one girl and he has taught her everything she knows.

It’s Christmas 1880 in London’s East End, and a dying Irish girl leaves her baby in the care of the Sisters of Clemency. The nuns raise little Ettie O’Reilly as their own. But the lives of the nuns and orphans are soon crushed by an unexpected turn of events. Ettie is at her lowest ebb when she is betrayed by the boy who has promised his undying love and loyalty. She is faced with the revelation of a heart-wrenching secret.

Lolly Bruce spent several years in the lap of luxury, but now she's back in a world she knows: London's East End. Her guardian Mal Fury is doing time, so Lolly is working on the wrong side of the law to get by. She'll need to use all her street smarts to keep her safe in Kellston. Then one day the Old Bill turn up on her doorstep. Mal is on the run, but why when he has only months left to serve? Lolly is convinced the only thing Mal would escape for is news about the daughter he lost 19 years ago. She's the only thing he has left to lose.