Steven Crossley has narrated 128 audiobooks on Listento.it by 97 authors, with an average listener rating of 4.5★ across 2,981 ratings. The most-rated is Rich Dad's Cashflow Quadrant.
The Unquiet Bones
Summary
First in the medieval whodunnit series set in Bampton, Oxfordshire, during the plague years and featuring a newly qualified surgeon Hugh of Singleton, fourth son of a minor knight, has been educated as a clerk, usually a prelude to taking holy orders. However, feeling no certain calling despite a lively faith, he turns to the profession of surgeon, training in Paris and then hanging out his sign in Oxford. A local lord asks him to track the killer of a young woman whose bones have been found in the castle cesspit. She is identified as the impetuous missing daughter of a local blacksmith, and her young man, whom she had provoked very publicly, is in due course arrested and sentenced at the Oxford assizes. From there the tale unfolds, with graphic medical procedures, droll medieval wit, misdirection, ambition, romantic distractions, and a consistent underlying Christian compassion.
©2008 Mel Starr (P)2019 by Blackstone Publishing
Beneath the Lion's Gaze
Summary
This memorable, heartbreaking story opens in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, 1974, on the eve of a revolution. Yonas kneels in his mother's prayer room, pleading to his god for an end to the violence that has wracked his family and country. His father, Hailu, a prominent doctor, has been ordered to report to jail after helping a victim of state-sanctioned torture to die. And Dawit, Hailu's youngest son, has joined an underground resistance movement---a choice that will lead to more upheaval and bloodshed across a ravaged Ethiopia. Beneath the Lion's Gaze tells a gripping story of family, of the bonds of love and friendship set in a time and place that has rarely been explored in fiction before. It is a story about the lengths human beings will go in pursuit of freedom and the human price of a national revolution. Emotionally gripping, poetic, and indelibly tragic, Beneath the Lion's Gaze is a transcendent and powerful debut.
©2010 Maaza Mengiste (P)2010 Tantor
Finkler Question
Summary
Man Booker Prize, Fiction, 2010 The Finkler Question is a scorching story of friendship and loss and of the wisdom and humanity of maturity. Funny, furious, unflinching, this extraordinary novel shows one of our finest writers at his brilliant best. Julian Treslove and Sam Finkler are old school friends. Despite a prickly relationship and very different lives, they've never quite lost touch with each other - or with their former teacher, Libor Sevick. Now all three are recently widowed, in their own way, and spend sweetly painful evenings together reminiscing. Until an unexpected violent attack brings everything they thought they knew into question.
©2010 Howard Jacobson (P)2010 Recorded Books, LLC
Not Always a Saint
Summary
After the death of his sweetheart when he was at university, Daniel Herbert buried his grief in medical studies and his passion for healing. Viewed as a saint by those who know him, in his own mind, he never quite manages to live up to his own high standards. Most men would be thrilled to learn they've inherited a title and estate from a distant relative, but Daniel is appalled because the burden of wealth will interfere with his medical calling. Warily, he accepts that he must enter society and seek a wife - a sensible woman who can oversee his properties, leaving him free to continue his work. He does not expect to become intoxicated by a woman called the Black Widow, who is as mysterious as she is shockingly beautiful. Jessie Kelham's looks have always been a curse. Now alone with a young daughter and a perilous secret, she is in need of protection. But dangerously attractive Daniel Herbert is not the kind of husband she has in mind. If he recognizes her, the demons of her past will surely erupt. Yet they cannot keep apart - and soon they are drawn into a union that may bring joy - or shattering danger.
©2015 Mary Jo Putney, Inc. (P)2015 Recorded Books
The Expedition of Humphry Clinker
Summary
Matthew Bramble, a gout-ridden misanthrope, travels Britain with his nephew, niece, spinster sister, and man-servant, the trusty Humphry Clinker. In poor health, Bramble sees the world as one of degeneracy and raucous overcrowding, and will not hesitate to let his companions know his feelings on the matter. Peopled with pimps, drunkards, decadents, and con-men, Humphrey Clinker displays Smollett's ferociously pessimistic view of mankind, and his belief that the luxury of 18th-century English existence was the enemy of sense and sobriety. Presented in the form of letters from six very different characters, and full of joyful puns and double entendres, Humphry Clinker is now recognized as a boisterous and observant masterpiece of English satire.
Public Domain (P)2017 Recorded Books
Ramage's Prize
Summary
The West Indian bases are desperate: Post vessels - a vital communications link between England and the West Indies in the war against France - are mysteriously disappearing and no packets have arrived with orders in months. Were the privateers out in full force again? Had Napoleon's navy a secret new weapon? Lieutenant Lord Nicholas Ramage sets out from Jamaica to discover what treachery is threatening to throw the British navy into chaos.
©1974 Dudley Pope (P)2014 Audible, Inc.
Trent's Own Case
Summary
The second novel from the celebrated author of one of the most famous mystery classics ever written, Trent's Last Case. James Randolph is murdered early one evening and his body found a few hours later. When the police arrive, they discover that Randolph's safe has been ransacked, and discarded wrapping paper litters his bedroom floor. Perhaps by chance or perhaps by design, Trent seems to have been the last person, other than the murderer, to see Randolph alive. But this is only one aspect amongst many which connect Trent with the murder and stimulate his interest: his friend Inspector Bligh is the detective in charge of the investigation, and then a longtime friend readily and perplexingly confesses his guilt. As much as he respects the abilities of Inspector Bligh, Trent's personal knowledge has him doubting the confession and intent on finding the truth.
©1936 Estates of E. C. Bentley & H. Warner Allen, 2017 Introduction Martin Edwards (P)2017 HarperCollins Publishers
Shinto, Simple Guides
Summary
This book will help you appreciate the significance of Japan's own religion in everyday life, recognize the key traditions and festivals of the Shinto year, understand what you will see at Shinto shrines and in Shinto rituals, and gain insights into the controversies surrounding Shinto politics and nationalism. Access the world's religions through this entry in this series of simple guides that provide concise, accessible introductions to the world's major religions. Written by experts in the field, these guides offer an engaging and sympathetic description of the key concepts, beliefs, and practices of different faiths. By offering essential insights into the core values, customs, and beliefs of different societies, they also enable visitors to be aware of the cultural sensibilities of their hosts and to behave in a way that fosters mutual respect and understanding. Ideal for spiritual seekers and travelers alike, these guides aim to open the doors of perception.
©2020 Dreamscape Media, LLC (P)2020 Dreamscape Media, LLC
Murder on a Mystery Tour
Summary
They had explored every avenue, and it seemed that murder was their only salvation. Reggie and Midge, genteel husband and wife who live in what was the family's more or less stately home, are now the reluctant managers of Chortlesby Manor Hotel, an English country inn of no particular distinction. But even this transformation will not solve their financial problems. The possibility of succor comes instead in a transatlantic phone call from Midge's old classmate, Victoria, who is arranging "mystery tours" of the English countryside for American visitors and wants to use Chortlesby Manor as one of the locales of her staged murders. From the beginning, the mystery tour project is heading for disaster. Dissension, complaints, and shows of temperament abound. These are upstaged, however, by a snowstorm of paralyzing amplitude, which in turn is upstaged when a real murder takes front and center. As a killer stalks this group of amateur sleuths on holiday, solving murders is no longer fun and games. Too many guests are checking out early from this eerie old English mansion. They're not settling their bills - or leaving enough useful clues.
©1985, 1987 Marian Babson (P)2016 Blackstone Audio, Inc.
A Christmas Escape
Summary
For countless readers and listeners, Christmastime means a delicious new holiday mystery from New York Times best-selling author Anne Perry. A Christmas Escape, her 12th noel to the season, transports us to a Mediterranean island for an unconventional Yuletide adventure - and an unforgettable volcanic encounter. Lonely Charles Latterly arrives at his small hotel hoping that the island's blue skies and gentle breezes will brighten his spirits. Unfortunately, there's no holiday cheer to be found among his fellow guests, who include a pompous novelist, a stuffy colonel, a dangerously ill-matched married couple, and an ailing old man. The one charming exception is orphaned teenager Candace Finbar, who takes Charles under her wing and introduces him to the island's beauty. But the tranquility of the holiday is swiftly disrupted by a violent quarrel, an unpleasant gentleman's shocking claims of being stalked, and the ominous stirrings of the local volcano. Then events take an even darker turn: A body is found, and Charles quickly realizes that the killer must be among the group of guests. Captivating in its depiction of untamed nature in all its awesome power, and of the human heart in the throes of transformation, A Christmas Escape gifts listeners with Anne Perry's talent for making the season brighter - and more thrilling.
©2015 Anne Perry (P)2015 Recorded Books
Lord of the Nutcracker Men
Summary
10-year-old Johnny's toymaker father has volunteered for service in the British Army of World War I. At first, his spirits are high as he completes basic training, but his tone becomes grim once he reaches the front. To ease his son's worries, Johnny's dad carves him little figurines that reflect his experiences in the war. Comprised of letters from his father, followed by Johhny's feelings, Lord of the Nutcracker Men is a haunting and poignant tale. Author Iain Lawrence has written numerous books for young adults, including Ghost Boy and The Smugglers.
©2001 Iain Lawrence (P)2002 Recorded Books, LLC.
Stalin's Englishman
Summary
Guy Burgess was the most important, complex, and fascinating of "The Cambridge Spies" - Maclean, Philby, Blunt - brilliant young men recruited in the 1930s to betray their country to the Soviet Union. An engaging and charming companion to many, an unappealing, utterly ruthless manipulator to others, Burgess rose through academia, the BBC, the Foreign Office, MI5, and MI6, gaining access to thousands of highly sensitive secret documents which he passed to his Russian handlers. In this first full biography, Andrew Lownie shows us how even Burgess's chaotic personal life did nothing to stop his penetration and betrayal of the British Intelligence Service. Even when he was under suspicion, the fabled charm which had enabled many close personal relationships with influential establishment figures (including Winston Churchill) prevented his exposure as a spy for many years. Through interviews with more than 100 people who knew Burgess personally, many of whom have never spoken about him before, and the discovery of hitherto secret files, Stalin's Englishman brilliantly unravels the many lives of Guy Burgess in all their intriguing, chilling, colorful, tragi-comic wonder.
©2015 Andrew Lownie (P)2017 Tantor
Kidnapped
Summary
After his father dies, David Balfour is told to go to his uncle for his inheritance. But the uncle has no intention of letting the riches go - so he plots to kill Balfour, ultimately arranging for him to be kidnapped as a slave bound for the American colonies. Balfour's future looks bleak - until he witnesses a shipwreck and befriends the lone survivor, a rugged Highlander named Alan Breck Stewart. Together, they plan their rebellion - and the fight back home to claim Balfour's inheritance. Spirited, romantic, and full of danger, Kidnapped is Robert Louis Stevenson's classic of high adventure.
Public Domain (P)2010 Tantor
A Popular Account of Dr. Livingstone to the Zambesi and its Tributaries
Summary
Livingstone's first book revolutionized the way European readers saw Africa and made him a hero in England. He returned again to the Zambesi with his brother Charles and others, this time with more equipment and funds. Again he faced hippopotami, crocodiles, impossible terrain, and disease, but his greatest enemies on this trip prove to be human. The British eventually lost faith in the expedition, but Livingstone proved in the end to have had tremendous foresight. He doesn't romanticize, but he is often poetic in this account.
Public Domain (P)2010 Audible, Inc.
A History of War in 100 Battles
Summary
The object of this audiobook is to introduce listeners to a whole range of military history which has all the drama, dangers, horrors and excitement that we associate with Stalingrad or the Somme. Battles are acute moments of history whenever and wherever they have been fought. Through them we can understand how warfare and world history have evolved. Choosing just 100 battles from recorded human history is a challenge, not just because it is necessary to cover almost 6,000 years of history but because men have fought each other almost continuously for millennia. Anyone who knows anything about the history of war may be disappointed by what has had to be left out. However, each of the 100 memorable battles described shows both how the nature of armed combat has changed over human history and how, despite changes in technology, organisation or ideas, many things have remained the same. It is an old adage that you can win a battle but lose a war. The battles featured here almost always resulted in victory for one side or another, but the victor did not necessarily win the war. Some battles are decisive in that broader historical sense; others are not. The further back in time, the more likely it is that an enemy could be finished off in one blow. The wars of the modern age, between major states, have involved repeated battles until one side was battered into submission. Some of the great generals of the recent past - Napoleon, Robert E Lee, Erich von Manstein - have been on the losing side but are remembered nonetheless for their generalship. Some on the winning side have all but disappeared from the history books or from public memory. Equally, in many battles the issue is not victory or defeat but what the battle can tell us about the history of warfare itself. New weapons, new tactics and new ways of organising armed forces can have a sudden impact on the outcome of a battle. But so, too, can leadership or the effects of a clever deception or raw courage. That is why the audiobook has been divided up into clear themes which apply equally to the battles of the ancient world as they do to the battles of today. As Professor Richard Overy laments, 'Battle is not a game to plug in to a computer but a piece of living history, messy, bloody and real. That, at least, has not changed in 6,000 years.'
©2014 Richard Overy (P)2016 HarperCollins Publishers
Diana's Altar
Summary
Cambridge, October 1933. Inside the old All Hallows Church on All Hallows' Eve, Dr. Adelaide Hartest witnesses the final moments of a dying stranger. Despite the dagger plunged into the stranger's chest and his last-minute confession, the death is ruled a suicide. The victim, it is revealed, is known to Scotland Yard, and Assistant Commissioner Joe Sandilands is sent up from London to investigate. Thrown into a deadly ring of cloak-and-dagger politics and high-society hedonism, Sandilands must uncover the truth before the Hellfire Club, an elite society composed of intelligentsia and aristocrats, topples the institutions and harms the people he has sworn to protect - especially one he has come to truly love.
©2016 Barbara Cleverly (P)2016 Recorded Books
Lord Jim
Summary
From his many years on the high seas as a mariner, mate, and captain, Joseph Conrad created unique works, including Heart of Darkness, that have left an indelible mark on world literature. First published in 1899, his haunting novel Lord Jim is both a riveting sea adventure and a fascinating portrait of a unique outcast from civilization. One long evening, over cigars and brandy, the seasoned sea captain, Marlow, recalls the life of a handsome young first mate who loses his ship and his honor, but becomes a god. As his friends listen and question, the powerful and eloquent story of Lord Jim unfolds. Joseph Conrad’s novels are timeless. The images he creates in Lord Jim, of man’s struggle to maintain a balance between morality and human weakness, have been echoed in countless other novels and major motion pictures. Narrator Steven Crossley provides the perfect voice to convey both the worldly-wise Marlow and the brilliant but deeply flawed Jim.
Public Domain (P)1997 Recorded Books, LLC
Relentless Pursuit
Summary
Relentless Pursuit is the freshest Bolitho novel in years, with Adam spending as much time engaging British enemies in the 46-gun frigate Unrivalled as he does contemplating the complex morality of the duties he must perform. Sent to Sierra Leone, Adam and his powerful ship add strength to the British squadron attempting to halt the slave trade. Aggravating this volatile situation is the Dey of Algiers, looking for total war. For Adam, the threats at present do not weigh as heavily on his mind as his own loneliness and grief over his dead uncle. But he must come to terms with his emotions, for a reckless assault on a massive stronghold is about to be launched. This is a sweeping adventure for the reader who demands more than the simple, visceral pleasures of blazing action.
©2001 Bolitho Maritime Productions (P)2003 Recorded Books, LLC
Sword of the Rightful King
Summary
Even though he has been king of Britain for four years, Arthur's position is far from secure. Rulers of the island's many small fiefdoms are still reluctant to admit his sovereignty. And the sorceress Morgause, believing her own sons have as much blood right to rule as Arthur, plots openly against his life. This clever recrafting of the early Arthurian saga is splendidly rendered by multiple award-winning author Jane Yolen.
©2003 Jane Yolen (P)2003 Recorded Books
In the Land of Time
Summary
A pioneer in the realm of imaginative literature, Lord Dunsany has gained a cult following for his influence on modern fantasy literature, including such authors as J. R. R. Tolkien and H. P. Lovecraft. This unique collection of short stories ranges over five decades of work. Liberal selections of earlier tales - including the entire Gods of Pegana as well as such notable works as "Idle Days of the Yann" and "The Fortress Unvanquishable, Save for Sacnoth" - are followed by memorable later tales, including several about the garrulous traveler Joseph Jorkens and the outrageous murder tale "The Two Bottles of Relish". Throughout, the stories are united by Dunsany's cosmic vision, his impeccable and mellifluous prose, and his distinctively Irish sense of whimsy.
©2004 Dunsany Will Trust; introduction and notes copyright 2004 by S. T. Joshi (P)2019 Tantor