Annie Aldington has narrated 109 audiobooks on Listento.it by 44 authors, with an average listener rating of 4.5★ across 564 ratings. The most-rated is Homeless Bodies and Other Stories.
The Beggar Maid
Summary
The wonderfully nostalgic, vivid and compelling new novel from the Sunday Times top-five best-selling author of A Loving Family. From the age of eight, 16-year-old Charity Crosse has been living rough with her grandfather and begging on the streets. When her grandfather passes away, Charity is helped by a kindly doctor who introduces her to bookseller Jethro Dawkins. Jethro takes Charity in to help in his bookshop and keep house in their one room behind the shop. Charity sleeps under the counter and is not well treated, but Jethro instills in her the love of books that began when her grandmother taught her to read. And she starts to hope for a better future for herself. But Jethro dies unexpectedly, and Charity is faced with eviction when the rent is raised by the unscrupulous landlord. Must Charity give up her dream of running the bookshop herself, and, worse, be forced to return to the streets...?
©2014 Dilly Court (P)2015 Magna Story Sound, Random House Audiobooks
A Cuckoo in Candle Lane
Summary
When Elsie and Bert Jones move with their children, Ann and Arthur, to Candle Lane, a modest street in Battersea, they miss their comfortable house in Wimbledon. But the move is the right thing to do, as it will enable Bert to finance his new removal business. They are a warmhearted family, and Elsie soon makes friends with her less fortunate neighbour, Ruth, and her daughter, Sally. But before long Elsie realises that all is not well in the house next door....
©2003 Kitty Neale (P)2019 Story Sound
A Mother's Promise
Summary
When Hetty Huggins made a promise to her dying mother that she would look after her younger sister and brothers, little did she know how difficult this would be. But despite the threat of being turned out onto the streets by the unscrupulous tallyman and the never-ending struggle just to exist, Hetty is determined her family will never starve or want for a roof over their heads. Longing for something better out of life than the daily grind of making matchboxes for a pittance, she dreams of setting up her own business. With the help of friends she sells hot potatoes on the streets and things begin to look up for them all. But when the tallyman comes calling, they are faced once more with a future full of hardship and despair.
©2008 Dilly Court (P)2012 Magna Publishing, Random House Audiobooks
Girls in Tin Hats
Summary
1940 - Small Heath, in the heart of Birmingham, is facing the darkest days of the war. Two very different girls from this tight-knit community join up as ARP Wardens to do their bit for the home front. Violet Simms lives with her controlling, widowed mother who runs the local pawn shop. At just 20-years-old, Violet longs for friendship, love and escape. It seems her dreams might come true until tragedy strikes on one of the very worst nights of the Birmingham Blitz. Grace Templeton is the eldest in her family of 10 children. Spirited Grace is determined never to become burdened by child bearing and drudgery like her mother. Adored by childhood sweetheart Jimmy Oval, Grace believes she can do better. Volunteering as an ARP Warden feels like a chance for adventure - until she sees the horror and reality of war firsthand. In this blacked-out city, where not everyone is quite what they seem, she comes to realize she is less in control of events than she had thought. The war will have long-lasting effects on every family.... Long-buried secrets come to light, and their stories are woven together amid the intense bombing of Birmingham. The girls’ lives will be changed forever by friendship and love, by tragedy and joy. Girls in Tin Hats is the heart-wrenching generational saga by Sunday Times top 10 best-selling Author Annie Murray.
©2020 Annie Murray (P)2020 Macmillan Publishers International Ltd 2020
When the Music Stopped
Summary
London, 1912. Identical twins Lester and Lillia Holdsworth are destined for the stage. Lester is a brilliant pianist, Lillia a magnificent opera singer. But their father has other ideas. Lester is sent to a military academy while Lillia must marry Lord Dalton - a self-righteous, pompous friend of her father's looking for a young wife to give him an heir. Yet their plans to defy their father's wishes are put on hold when war breaks out in 1914. Suddenly Lester is flying planes for the RFC, and Lillia trains as a nurse. For both twins the fighting brings hardships and difficult choices. They wait in hope, like the rest of Europe, for the war to end and the music to start again.
©2017 Beryl Matthews (P)2017 Soundings
What's Yours is Mine
Summary
Like a princess in a fairytale, Grace Hamilton has been showered with blessings: professional success, a happy marriage, and she even lives in a beautiful castle. But the only thing she really wants – her heart’s desire – is the one thing she can never have. Her sister, the beautiful Susannah, has made a mess of her life. Like a reverse Midas, everything she touches turns sour. But fate puts Grace’s future in Susannah’s hands, changing the balance of power between the sisters forever.
©2010 Tess Stimson (P)2011 Isis Publishing Ltd
The Crying Game
Summary
The Crying Game opens in 1944 and tells the story of Trixie - a girl who has only ever known turmoil. As a teenager, she covers up the terrible truth of her father's death and she and her pregnant mother go on the run. Little does she know that fate has more cruel twists in store. Determined to build a life for her herself, Trixie becomes a singer in the pubs and clubs of Gosport - but her heart is still set on finding the little brother she had to leave behind years before. It will take Trixie many years and many tears before the truth can finally emerge - but will it finally give her the courage she needs to fall in love?
©2013 June Hampson (P)2013 Isis Publishing Ltd
Take Two
Summary
Carolyn Castle is one of the most famous faces in the UK - a soap opera star known to millions. But when she witnesses a gangland killing, she has to ask herself if her fame could be the death of her. The killer is charismatic gangster Warwick Richards. A man more than capable of killing again to protect his secret. But does he know that Carolyn saw him commit murder?
©2016 Stephen Leather (P)2016 Isis Publishing Ltd
King of Camberwell
Summary
Can she win the heart of the man she loves? Sammy has always had an eye for business and a good deal and is determined to expand the family business. But as his mighty empire grows, his assistant Susie Brown has plans of her own.... Susie has always adored Sammy and has decided that he will be the man she marries. But marriage doesn't figure in Sammy's plans. Will he fall into line? Does he stand a chance against a determined woman and the rest of the Adams family?
©1990 Mary Jane Staples (P)2021 Audible, Ltd
Goodnight Lady
Summary
In the sixties, Briony Cavanagh ran a string of the most notorious brothels in London. Only Briony knew what went on behind those doors, and she never opened her mouth - unless she stood to benefit. Only Briony knew the painful road she'd travelled to get there. From an impoverished childhood that ended with shocking betrayal, she was determined to be mistress of her own fate. But along with success came risk and danger. And the Goodnight Lady had her own secret place that was always shadowed by loss.
©1994 Martina Cole (P)2012 Headline Digital
Ruby's Palace
Summary
The Vincents' nightclubs are popping up all over London. The O'Connells plan to get their hands on the Palaces...but gypsies have no place in the Vincents' business. Disregarding the warnings and the rumours of the disappearance of the entire McManners family, the O'Connells plot a scam so cruel even their own kind shuns them. Ruby Vincent is now 15, and she may look like her aunt Francesca, but she still has Jesse Right's blood running through her veins. Turning her back on the family, she goes in search of the truth. What she finds will haunt her.... She should have left the boogie man to rot in hell. ‘When you've made your bed, you must lie in it.'
©2017 Kerry Barnes (P)2018 W. F. Howes Ltd
A Mother's Courage
Summary
When Eloise Cribb receives the news that her husband's ship has been lost at sea, she wonders how she is ever going to manage. With two young children, the rent overdue, and almost nothing to live on, she has no alternative but to turn to his estranged family for help. She sets off on the long and arduous journey to Yorkshire, but is met with hostility and soon realises she has little choice but to return to London. Virtually destitute and desperate, Eloise is faced with her worst nightmare: she must either go to the workhouse, or abandon her children at the Foundling Hospital. But she is determined to keep them safe and under her protective wing at all costs.
©2007 Dilly Court (P)2012 Magna Publishing, Random House Audiobooks
Wicked Lies
Summary
Eddie Raven’s legacy continues.... A gripping thriller with a shocking twist of fate. Behind the cold, damp walls of the cottage, 17-year-old Malakai River is left to fend for his younger sisters. In her selfish quest for freedom, his mother shacks up with a small-time gangster and recklessly leaves the children behind. When Jean River returns a year later, she makes two shocking discoveries - a decomposing body of a young woman in her cottage...and Kelly Raven. Malakai, battling to keep his sisters safe, steps into a world he knows nothing about, but he soon realises he has what most men fear - the face of his father. Yet even that won’t stop the enemy in the wings trying to destroy his family.
©2018 Kerry Barnes (P)2019 W. F. Howes Ltd
Rival
Summary
The heart-racing new gangland thriller from best-selling author Jacqui Rose. Perfect for fans of Kimberley Chambers’ Queenie and Martina Cole. As the old saying goes.... Franny Doyle has one thing in common with Wan Huang, head of the notorious Triads gang: they both want Vaughn Sadler six feet under. Keep your friends close. When Harry Jacobs brings Vaughn into his business and his fold, his life is protected - for now. And your enemies closer. But when Franny finds out the truth about Wan and Harry’s dark dealings, all hell breaks loose in Soho. And Vaughn is the key to helping Franny with the score she now has to settle; together with Alfie Jennings, they were once a formidable trio. But can bitter enemies once again become allies? Because in a life of crime - no one lets bygones be bygones.... Three gangsters. Two funerals. One last opportunity for revenge.
©2020 Jacqui Rose (P)2020 HarperCollins Publishers Limited
A New Day
Summary
After a traumatic past, life finally seems to be looking up for Hanna Foster. But war is on its way... London, 1938. Hanna and Jack Foster had been sent to an orphanage when their parents were killed in a train crash, but were separated when a couple adopted Jack. Bullied and treated like a slave, it soon became clear it was a dreadful mistake. In desperation, Jack takes his future into his own hands and runs away to join the merchant navy, while Hanna takes a job looking after two children. For a time, life seems good, but war is looming and threatens to take away everything Hanna holds dear...
©2012 Beryl Matthews (P)2013 Soundings
The Butlins Girls
Summary
A comforting story set against the nation's favourite holiday camp, from the best-selling author of The Woolworths Girls "Molly Missons gazed around in awe. So this was Butlin's. Whitewashed buildings, bordered by rhododendrons, gave a cheerful feeling to a world still recovering from six years of war. The Skegness holiday camp covered a vast area, much larger than Molly expected to see." Molly Missons hasn't had the best of times recently. Having lost her parents, now some dubious long-lost family have darkened her door - attempting to steal her home and livelihood.... After a horrendous ordeal, Molly applies for a job as a Butlin's Aunty. When she receives news that she has got the job, she immediately leaves her small hometown - in search of a new life in Skegness. Molly finds true friendship in Freda, Bunty and Plum. But the biggest shock is discovering that star of the silver screen, Johnny Johnson, is working at Butlin's as head of the entertainment team. Johnny takes an instant liking to Molly, and she begins to shed the shackles of her recent traumas. Will Johnny be just the distraction Molly needs - or is he too good be to be true?
©2018 Elaine Everest (P)2018 Macmillan Digital Audio
Friends to Die For
Summary
A group of friends living in London's Covent Garden are subjected to the whims of a dangerous prankster. At first, whilst disturbing, the tricks are funny. But as they continue they become more serious and violent, until finally someone lies dead. As the remaining friends struggle to manage their grief and identify the culprit, suspicion soon falls close to home and secrets furtively kept hidden are brought to light. Alliances are formed, and the once tight group begins to turn on each other. Could one of them really be capable of murder?
©2014 Hilary Bonner (P)2015 Isis Publishing Ltd
Cruel Secrets
Summary
A gripping thriller that will shock you to the core. Controlled all her life by her religious mother, 15-year-old Kelly Raven commits the ultimate sin. She soon discovers that running away to the cold, frightening streets of London is less harsh than her previous life. A drug dealer, two fraudsters, and a prostitute are her new family now, and she becomes the woman she was destined to be. Little does she know that Eddie Raven is coming for her, but she is no sweet four-year-old child, and he is certainly no doting father. The Raven's blood may run through her veins, but in her case, blood is not thicker than water.
©2017 Kerry Barnes (P)2018 W.F. Howes Ltd
Broken
Summary
DI Kate Burrows thought she'd never face a killer like the Grantley Ripper again. But she was wrong. One by one, children are being abandoned. Thankfully, they're rescued from harm. Then one victim is not so lucky, and Kate knows she's in a race against time to save lives. Kate's finding the case tough and she needs the support of her lover, Patrick Kelly, more than ever. But Patrick's got his own problems. A dead body's turned up in his Soho club and, although he insists he's been set-up, Kate begins to doubt him. It's not the first time Patrick's reputation has compromised her position. But now there's a maniac to catch and Kate can't let anyone - not even Patrick - get in her way.
©2000 Martina Cole (P)2012 Headline Digital
Perhaps Tomorrow
Summary
The most talented voice since Dilly Court - an absorbing, thrilling and romantic historical saga with characters you'll fall in love with.
Mattie Maguire is a 26-year-old widow with an infant son. Since her husband, Brian, died three years before, she has struggled to keep the family's East End coal business solvent, as well as taking care of her troubled mother-in-law.
But unbeknown to Mattie, life is about to get even tougher. Maguire's is in the path of the proposed Wapping to Mile End Railway extension that Amos Stebbins is trying to raise capital for, and he has his sights set on the deeds of the coal yard. Outwardly, Amos is a respectably married local benefactor. But he has a darker side and will stop at nothing to get what he wants....
©2011 Jean Fullerton (P)2019 Bolinda Publishing Pty Ltd