Showing results by narrator "Genevieve Gaunt" in All Categories

Elodie is the baker's wife. A plain, unremarkable person, largely ignored by her husband and everyone else, she burns with the secret hunger to be extraordinary, to be desired, to be seen. One day a charismatic new couple appear in town - the ambassador and his sharp-toothed wife, Violet - and Elodie quickly falls under their spell. All summer long she stalks them through the shining streets: inviting herself into their home, trying to decipher their coded conversations, longing to possess them at any cost.

Imagine a kingdom poisoned by secrets, a poor girl with dreams of love, a magical fairy godmother and a romantic ball . . . And then imagine them all again . . . Welcome to the story of Cinderella, retold as it always should have been.

Imagine a tower wreathed in legend, a powerful witch, a foolhardy king, an imprisoned girl, and a secret waiting to be discovered . . . And then imagine them all again . . . This is the tale of Rapunzel, retold as it always should have been.

Meet Sofie. The history of her sexuality begins when she loses her virginity to Walter the recruitment consultant. So, naturally, she thought that things could only improve from there. But she was wrong. It seems Sofie's been wrong about a lot of things. First, she thought she was into men: wrong. Then she met Frida and thought she was set for life: wrong again. Turns out, facing up to everything she thought she knew about herself requires a lot of trial and error.

Hannah and Eric are a successful couple living in North London with their three children and Eric's father, Yosef, a survivor of the camps. They are devout Jews who believe in the literal truth of the Old Testament, all except for their youngest son, Tovyah. The death of Yosef fractures the family's apparent harmony and has a disastrous effect on Elsie, the model daughter, who disappears for four days, plunging her parents and siblings into a living nightmare. When she returns, just as mysteriously as she left, she is strangely altered.

Imagine a land brimming with magic, a wicked queen, a charming prince, and a poisoned apple . . . And then imagine them all again . . . Welcome to the story of Snow White, retold as it always should have been.

Every evening, Lampie, the lighthouse keeper's daughter, must light a lantern to warn ships away from the rocks. But one stormy night, disaster strikes. The lantern goes out, a ship is wrecked, and an adventure begins. In disgrace, Lampie is sent to work as a maid at the Admiral's Black House, where rumour has it that a monster lurks in the tower. But what she finds there is stranger, and more beautiful than any monster.

Twenty-year-old Lilja is in love. As a young university student, she is quickly smitten with the intelligent, beautiful young man from school who quotes Derrida and reads Latin and cooks balanced vegetarian meals. Before she even realises, she’s moved in with him, living in his cramped apartment, surrounded by sour towels and flat Diet Cokes. As the newfound intimacy of sharing a shower and a bed fuels her desire to please her partner, his quiet and pervasive manipulations start to unravel her.

It's Freya's birthday and she's having a party, but her best friends, Ralph Walnut and Lyra Persian, are nowhere to be found! As Freya searches, she meets lots of friends and neighbours who give her presents of shiny, bright balloons. So many balloons, in fact, that she's lifted right into the air! As she soars over the Sylvanian Village, she starts to wonder how she will ever get down...and whether her two best friends will turn up in time to help.

One crew takes the long route, sleeping for 1,000 years, in secret, on a ship called The Human Frontier. The other crew set off hundreds of years later, at hyper speed. When the sleepers wake as they approach the planet, the hyper-speed crew have been living there for 300 years already - and they have no clue the ‘sleepers’ are about to arrive.

Imagine a castle lost to history, a brave prince, a beautiful princess and a curse waiting to be broken . . . And then imagine them all again . . .This is the tale of Sleeping Beauty, retold as it always should have been.

Imagine a promise broken long ago, a vengeful father, a vicious curse and a mountain ruled by dragons . . . And then imagine them all again . . . This is the tale of Rumpelstiltskin, retold as it always should have been.

Margot Hart travels to Ireland to write a biography of the famous Deverill family. She knows she must speak to the current Lord Deverill - JP - if she is to uncover the secrets of the past. A notorious recluse, JP won’t be an easy man to crack. But Margot is determined - and she is not a woman who is easily put off. What she never expected was to form a close bond with JP and be drawn into his family disputes. Shouldering the blame for running up debts that forced him to sell the family castle, JP is isolated and vulnerable.

Twenty-year-old Lilja is in love. As a young university student, she is quickly smitten with the intelligent, beautiful young man from school who quotes Derrida and reads Latin and cooks balanced vegetarian meals. Before she even realizes, she's moved in with him, living in his cramped apartment, surrounded by sour towels and flat Diet Cokes. As the newfound intimacy of sharing a shower and a bed fuels her desire to please her partner, his acts of nearly imperceptible abuse continue to mount undetected.