Janine Birkett has narrated 38 audiobooks on Listento.it by 16 authors, with an average listener rating of 4.6★ across 421 ratings. The most-rated is The Darkest Evening.
The Biscuit Girls
Summary
Ivy, Dulcie, Barbara, Ann, Dorothy and Jean all had different reasons for applying to work at Carr’s biscuits, but once they had put on their overalls and walked through the factory gates they discovered a community full of life, laughter and friendship. To those who didn’t know, the biscuit factory that towered over Carlisle might look like just another slice of the industrial North, a noisy and chaotic place with workers trooping in and out at all hours. For the biscuit girls, it was a place where they worked hard but also where they gossiped, got into scrapes and made lifelong friends. Outside the factory walls, there might be difficult husbands or demanding kids and sometimes even heartbreak and tragedy, but they knew there would always be an escape from their troubles at Carr's. Some, like Barbara, only applied because they needed the extra cash until things got a bit easier at home. Her supervisor cross-examined her about who would be looking after the kids while she was at work but let her have the job. Like many of the women who joined up ‘temporary’, Barbara went on to stay at Carrs for 32 years. Beginning in the 1940s, these heartwarming and vividly remembered stories have all been told by the women themselves to Hunter Davies.
©2014 Hunter Davies (P)2015 Magna Story Sound, Random House Audiobooks
A Year in the Life of the Yorkshire Shepherdess
Summary
From best-selling author Amanda Owen come more tales of life at Ravenseat, the remote Yorkshire hill farm she shares with husband Clive, eight children and 1,000 sheep. In A Year in the Life of the Yorkshire Shepherdess she describes the age-old cycles of a farming year and the constant challenges the family faces, from being cut off in winter to tending their flock on some of Yorkshire's highest, bleakest moors - land so inaccessible that in places it can be reached only on foot. Writing with her trademark warmth and humour, Amanda takes us into her life as nine-year-old Miles gets his first flock, Reuben takes up the flugelhorn and she gives birth to a new baby girl. She is touched by the epic two-day journey of a mother sheep determined to find her lamb and gives a new home to an ageing and neglected horse. Meanwhile Clive is almost arrested on a midnight stakeout to catch a sheep-worrying dog and becomes the object of affection for a randy young bull. Funny, poignant and charming, A Year in the Life of the Yorkshire Shepherdess is a must for anyone interested in the countryside and those who farm it.
©2017 Magna Large Print Books (P)2017 Pan Macmillan Publishers Ltd.
The Sound of Silence
Summary
Who is the new family on the Seahills estate? Who is it that spends her days staring out of the window deeply regretting her bid for freedom, yet still plotting? Can Lorraine Hunt put what happened to her three months ago out of her mind to catch a vicious serial killer who scalps his victims? Will Dev be allowed to bring his plan to fulfilment and what is the real reason he turned up fresh from prison three months ago? As the Seahills residents go about their daily lives more than one plot unfurls bringing about a terrifying climax. Will they all survive?
©2015 Sheila Quigley (P)2017 Story Sound
Adventures of the Yorkshire Shepherdess
Summary
The Sunday Times best seller. By the star of Channel 5’s Our Yorkshire Farm. Amanda Owen loves her traditional life on her hill farm alongside her nine children and husband Clive. And, as listeners of her previous best sellers will know, every day at Ravenseat brings surprises. In Adventures of the Yorkshire Shepherdess Amanda takes us from her family’s desperate race to save a missing calf to finding her bra has been repurposed as a house martin’s nest and from wild swimming to the brutal winter of 2018 that almost brought her to her knees. As busy as she is with her family and flock though, an exciting new project soon catches her eye.... Ravenseat is a tenant farm and may not stay in the family, so when Amanda discovers a nearby farmhouse up for sale, she knows it is her chance to create roots for her children. The old house needs a lot of renovation and money is tight, so Amanda sets about the work herself, with some help from a travelling monk, a visiting plumber and Clive. It’s fair to say things do not go according to plan! Funny, evocative and set in a remote and beautiful landscape, this book will delight anyone who has hankered after a new life in the country.
©2019 Amanda Owen (P)2019 Macmillan Publishers International Ltd
Shipyard Girls at War
Summary
Random House presents the audiobook edition of Shipyard Girls at War by Nancy Revell, read by Janine Birkett. 1941: It takes strength to work on the docks, but the war demands all hands on deck, and the women are doing their best to fill the gap. Rosie is flourishing in her role as head welder while still keeping her double life a secret. But a dashing detective is forcing Rosie to choose between love and her duty. Gloria is hiding her own little secret - one that, if found out, could threaten not only her job but her life. And the shipyards are proving tougher than Polly ever imagined while she waits for her man to return home safely. Join the shipyard girls as they journey through the hardships of life, love and war.
©2018 Nancy Revell (P)2018 Random House Audiobooks
Wedding Bells for Land Girls
Summary
Brought to you by Penguin.
Summer 1942. Britain is in the depths of war and the Women’s Land Army is hard at work looking after the farms while the men are away fighting. While patriotism, duty and a wonderful spirit of camaraderie sustain the Land Girls through tough times, it’s no surprise that love is also often on their minds.
For Yorkshire Land Girls and firm friends Grace, Brenda and Una, romance in wartime comes with a host of challenges. There’s a wedding to plan, but married bliss is threatened when the time comes for the groom to enlist. With lovers parted, anxious women have no idea whether they’ll see their men again. And while single girls dance and flirt, will they be able to find true love among the men who’ve stayed behind?
With the uncertainty of the times hanging over them and danger ever closer to home - can love stand the test of war?
A heart-warming, romantic story of friendship, camaraderie and triumph over adversity that fans of Donna Douglas, Daisy Styles and Call the Midwife will adore.
©2019 Jenny Holmes (P)2019 Penguin Audio
Just One More Day
Summary
When Britain declares war on Germany in 1939, Carolyn Maddison is still a schoolgirl. Her elder brother, Alastair, wastes no time in joining the RAF as a flying officer, and Carolyn decides that when she is 18 she will follow him into the service by joining the Women's Auxiliary Air Force. While reporting to the Air Ministry in London, she meets a good-looking, charismatic pilot, Charlie Wade, currently employed in propaganda work. He believes that with her calm demeanor and resilience, Carolyn should work as an intelligence officer and suggests she serve on an active bombing station. At her side throughout the courses and postings that follow is Lucy Gaston, naturally quick-witted and sparky, a perfect foil for her friend. The young WAAFs both obtain prestigious postings in 5 Group Bomber Command, where they perform the vital tasks of briefing and debriefing aircrew returning from operations over Germany. Lucy, an incorrigible optimist, falls head over heels for a member of a Lancaster bomber crew while Carolyn resists her feelings for its dashing pilot. She decides it's not worth the risk of loving a man in wartime...only to wonder if she has done the right thing when a new WAAF on the station sets her cap at him. For Lucy and Carolyn, life on a WWII bombing station brings drama, heartbreak and suspense in this touching love story.
©2015 Jessica Blair (P)2016 Hachette Audio
Eden's Conflict
Summary
A new century brings change to Eden Harris's ordered world. Despite years of service to the Bradburys, she hides a secret that would affect them all. When an enemy returns, her world is shattered and her secret exposed. Torn and provoked, she strains to protect her family until a devastating accident leaves her alone and frightened. As the threat against her grows, Eden takes her precious daughters and flees from the only place she's called home. But her attempt to start anew is not so simple. The past haunts her, and the man she thought lost to her so many years before returns to claim what has always been his. Eden must gather her strength and look into her heart to accept what the future offers. Can she find the happiness she longs for?
©2017 Anne Marie Brear (P)2020 Story Sound
From Liverpool with Love
Summary
Transport yourself to 1920s Liverpool, to be moved and delighted by this wonderful novel from one of the UK's best-loved saga authors. In 1920s Liverpool, Jane, her little brother Alfie and their mother Ellen have faced the horrors of the workhouse together. But when Ellen dies, two very different paths open up for the siblings. Jane is sent to work in the Empire Laundry and builds a new life for herself with the neighbours who take her in. She finds solace there and the promise of a happy future when she falls for Joe, their eldest son. But Alfie absconds from the workhouse and embarks on a life of crime. When their paths cross once more, Alfie turns on his sister. His plans will jeopardise every happiness she hoped for....
©2014 Lyn Andrews (P)2014 Headline Digital
A Christmas Wish for the Land Girls
Summary
Brought to you by Penguin. A heartwarming, romantic story of friendship, camaraderie and triumph over adversity that fans of Donna Douglas, Daisy Styles and Call the Midwife will adore. Winter, 1942. Brenda and Joyce are just two of the girls who have joined the Women’s Land Army and are doing their bit for the war effort. But after months working on farms in the Yorkshire Dales, they’re looking for a fresh challenge. Despite the bitter cold of their new billets high in the remote fells, their fear for those away fighting, and concern for family and friends, there is warmth to be found in faces old and new, and plans for a jolly Christmas are afoot. But when a child evacuee goes missing in the snow and tragedy strikes close to home, can their dearest wish - that all their loved ones stay safe this Christmas - possibly come true?
©2019 Jenny Holmes (P)2019 Penguin Audio
Aurora's Pride
Summary
Aurora Pettigrew has a loving family, a nice home, a comfortable life. She's waiting for the right man to offer marriage, and the man for her is Reid Sinclair, heir to the Sinclair fortune. But Reid's mother is against the match and unearths a secret that will tear Aurora's world apart. Unwilling to bring shame on her family and needing answers, Aurora moves to York. By chance, she reconnects with a man from her past, and before he leaves with the army to war in South Africa, he offers her security through marriage. Aurora knows she should be happy, but the memory of her love for Reid threatens her future. When tragedy strikes, can Aurora find the strength to accept her life and forget the past?
©2017 AnneMarie Brear (P)2020 Story Sound
The Telephone Girls
Summary
Brought to you by Penguin. 1936. George Street, West Yorkshire, houses a gleaming, brand-new telephone exchange where a group of capable girls works the complicated electrical switchboards. Among them are Cynthia, Norma and Millicent, who relish the busy, efficient atmosphere and the independence and friendship their jobs have given them. But when Millicent connects a telephone call for an old friend, and listens in to the conversation - breaking one of the telephonists' main rules - she, and then Norma and Cynthia too, become caught up in a story of scandal, corruption and murder. Soon, the jobs of all three girls are on the line. Norma’s romance is in ruins. And Millicent has entered a world of vice.... In tough times, the telephone girls will need to call on their friends more than ever. A wonderful story of camaraderie, friendship and triumph over adversity that fans of Daisy Styles, Donna Douglas and Call the Midwife will adore.
©2017 Jenny Holmes (P)2020 Penguin Audio
Catrina's Return
Summary
The Scottish Highlands, 1899. A life-altering event led Catrina Davies to hide from her family and society. But Travis Millard, the man she used to love, finds her, and she agrees to marry him and to return to her family estate, Davmoor Court in Yorkshire. But while her father clings to life, Davmoor is nearly ruined by her brother's gambling obsession. As Catrina adjusts to her regained position in society, her marriage comes under attack from Travis' grandmother, who has her own reason for loathing the family. When one of her brother's adversaries stakes his claim on the estate, the resulting chaos threatens the people she loves the most.
©2017 AnneMarie Brear (P)2019 Story Sound
Shipyard Girls in Love
Summary
Random House presents the audiobook edition of Shipyard Girls in Love by Nancy Revell.
The Sunday Times Top 10 best seller.
Sunderland, 1941
With a brief break in air raids providing some much-needed respite from the war, things are looking up for head welder Rosie, who has fallen head over heels for Detective Sergeant Miller. But how long can their romance last in such uncertain times?
Life remains full of challenges for Gloria, who must face her abusive ex-husband and confront her own guilty conscience about baby Hope’s real father. The secret is tearing her apart but if she admits the truth, she will risk losing everything.
Both women are determined that their love and faith will be enough to keep the most difficult of promises, but nothing is as simple as it seems....
©2019 Nancy Revell (P)2019 Random House Audiobooks
Christmas with the Shipyard Girls
Summary
The seventh novel in the best-selling Shipyard Girls series. Sunderland, 1942: Christmas is fast approaching and with it comes a flurry of snow and surprises.... Against all odds, Polly’s fiancé has finally returned home from the front line. If they can keep things on an even keel, she might get the winter wedding she’s always dreamed of. Meanwhile shipyard manager Helen is determined to move on after a turbulent year. Her sights are set on breaking the yard’s production record and no one, not even the handsome Dr Parker, is going to get in her way. And head welder Rosie’s little sister Charlotte has turned up unannounced. Why is she back and so set on staying? Join the shipyard girls as they navigate through life, love and war this Christmas.
©2019 Nancy Revell (P)2019 Penguin Audio
Secrets of the Shipyard Girls
Summary
The Third Shipyard Girls Novel from Sunday Times best-selling author Nancy Revell.
Sunderland, 1941
As the world war continues the shipyard girls face hardships at home, but work and friendship give them strength to carry on.
Gloria is smitten with her newly arrived bundle of joy, but baby Hope’s first weeks are bittersweet. Hope's father is missing at sea, and with their future as a family so uncertain, Gloria must lean on her girls for support.
Meanwhile, head welder Rosie has turned her back on love to keep her double life secret. But her persistent beau is determined to find out the truth, and if he does, it could ruin her.
And there is finally a glimmer of hope for Polly and her family when Bel and Joe fall in love. But it isn’t long before a scandalous revelation threatens to pull them all apart.
©2019 Nancy Revell (P)2019 Random House Audiobooks
The Shipyard Girls on the Home Front
Summary
Brought to you by Penguin. The 10th novel in the best-selling Shipyard Girls series December 1943. As the war effort gathers steam in Europe, it's all hands on deck on the home front. Gloria is over the moon to be reunited with her sweetheart, Jack. But her sons, Bobby and Gordon, are away with the Navy and still know nothing of their mother's divorce and new half-sister. Rosie's squad of welders must work gruelling hours in the yard as they prepare for the Allied invasion of Normandy. All the while Rosie herself waits anxiously for news of her husband, Peter, who is carrying out dangerous work as an undercover operative in France. Meanwhile welder Dorothy has a feeling that her beau, Toby, is planning to pop the question when he's next on leave. But it seems that her head is being turned by someone closer to home.... It will take great strength and friendship if the shipyard girls are to weather the storms to come.
©2021 Nancy Revell (P)2021 Penguin Audio
Thief
Summary
A clever thief. A disgraced mage. A kiss of poison.... Don't miss this romantic Beauty and the Beast trilogy! Peronelle Beck longs for nothing more than to leave behind her thieving ways and pursue a life of honest work. But when her father lands himself neck-deep in debt, Nelle must take on a dangerous job if she hopes to save his life...a job that brings her to the shores of Roseward Isle. For 15 years, Soran Silveri has fought to suppress the nightmarish monster stalking Roseward. His weapons are few and running low, and the curse placed upon him cripples his once unmatched power. Isolation has driven him to the brink of madness, and he knows he won’t be able to hold on much longer. When a sharp-tongued, uncouth, and undeniably beautiful young woman shows up on his shore, Soran resolves to drive her away. He won’t be responsible for another death! But Nelle is equally determined not to be frightened off by the hideously scarred mage. Not until she gets what she came for.... Can two outcasts thrown together in a tangle of lies discover they are each other’s only hope? Or will the haunted darkness of Roseward tear them apart? For fans of Emma Hamm, Miranda Honfleur, Audrey Grey, and Grace Draven.
©2020 Sylvia Mercedes (P)2020 Sylvia Mercedes