Showing results by narrator "Penny ." in All Categories

Foster carer Maggie Hartley is used to all manner of children arriving on her doorstep, but nothing can prepare her for sisters Billy and Bo when they arrive at her home. It is clear from the moment she sets eyes on them that four-year-old Bo and seven-year-old Billy have clearly been subjected to unimaginable neglect, and it takes all of Maggie's skills as a foster carer to try to connect with the volatile little girls, who seem far younger than their years.

At just 10 years old, Kirsty has suffered a lifetime of heartache. Neglected by her teenage mother and taken into care, Kirsty thought she had found her forever family when she was fostered by Pat and Mike. But when Pat has a heart attack and collapses in front of her, Kirsty's foster family say it's her fault. Kirsty is still reeling from this rejection when she comes to live with foster carer Maggie Hartley. She acts out, smashing up Maggie's home, and even threatens to hurt the baby boy Maggie has fostered since birth.

Italy, 1937. In a tiny village in rural Lombardy, Graziella Ponti is born into a loving family. Though they are not rich and life is full of challenges, Graziella and her family are content and safe, surrounded by the tightly knit community of Pieve Santa Clara. But when the shadow of World War Two falls across the village with the arrival of Nazi soldiers, nothing in young Graziella’s life will ever be the same again.

Heris Serrano - formerly a commander in the Regular Space Service - must take whatever job she can get after her resignation under a cloud. What she can get is the captaincy of a rich old lady's space yacht...a rich old horsewoman, who has little liking for the military, and whose spoiled nephew Ronnie (and his equally spoiled friends) have been foisted on her after his folly embarrassed the family. Lady Cecelia's only apparent interest is horses - she intends to go fox hunting on the private pleasure planet of a friend of hers, Lord Thornbuckle.

When 16-year-old Jess arrives on foster carer Maggie Hartley's doorstep with her newborn son, Jimmy, she has nowhere else to go. Arriving straight from the hospital, having just given birth, Jess is like a rabbit caught in the headlights. Scared, alone, and practically a child herself, she is overwhelmed with the responsibility of caring for a newborn without the support of a loving family or her beloved boyfriend. With social services threatening to take baby Jimmy into care, Jess knows that Maggie is her only chance.

Artist Zoey Flynn hadn’t planned to spend her favourite holiday on the shores of Jewel Island, but when her fiancé breaks off their engagement before their Christmas Eve wedding, this Cornish paradise is just the distraction she needs. With a cosy cottage to call home for a month and a stall at the island’s famous Christmas market to sell her paintings, Zoey quickly puts her heartbreak behind her. Love is the last thing on her mind. That is until the handsome Kit Lewis crosses her path....

Alcatraz Smedry is up against a whole army of Evil Librarians with only his friend Bastille, a few pairs of glasses, and an unlimited supply of exploding teddy bears to help him. This time, even Alcatraz's extraordinary talent for breaking things may not be enough to defeat the army of Evil Librarians and their giant librarian robots.

When six-week-old Jasmine is placed in her care, foster mother Maggie Hartley is delighted to have a baby in the house again. Maggie's been given temporary custody of Jasmine after social services were concerned that the baby was failing to thrive and develop. With Maggie's love and care, Jasmine soon flourishes into a healthy, happy baby - but it is clear that all is not quite as it seems with her mum, Hailey.

This December, Ruby Marlowe is relocating everything she owns to the pretty seaside village of Happiness. With her best friend Willow already there, and a heartbreaking past she’d rather forget, Ruby jumped at the offer of a cosy cottage and a fresh start. But she wasn’t the only one.... The last person Ruby expects to find in Happiness is her summer fling, the gorgeous Jacob Harrington. Falling in love again is something Ruby has vowed never to do. But Jacob is determined to change her mind. As the snow begins to fall, can Jacob convince Ruby that love is worth the risk?

Audiofile magazine says, “GraphicAudio sets the gold standard for full-cast dramatizations.” In The Gospel of Mark, this talent shines in vivid and deeply moving production of Mark’s actual and complete words.

At 3.10 p.m. every weekday, parents gather at Featherstone Primary in Denbury to collect their children. For a special few, the friendships forged at the school gates will see them through lives filled with drama, secrets and sorrows. When Yummy Mummy Alana reveals the identity of her love child's father, she doesn't expect the consequences to be quite so extreme....

Meet Reverend Annabelle Dixon…. Charming, slightly gauche, very tall, this 30-something vicar has just been appointed to the pastoral St. Mary’s Church, in the picturesque village of Upton St. Mary, Cornwall, England.

'Is It My Fault Mummy?': seven-year-old Paris is trapped in a prison of guilt. Devastated after the death of her baby brother, Joel, Maggie faces one of her most heartbreaking cases yet as she tries to break down the wall of guilt surrounding this damaged little girl. 'A Desperate Cry for Help': 12-year-old Meg arrives at Maggie's after a fire destroys the children's home she's been living in. Traumatised by the fire and angry and vulnerable, having been put into care by her mother, Meg is lashing out at everyone around her.

Call of the Kingfisher is the enchanting debut from composer and wildlife recordist, Nick Penny. This love letter to a short stretch of Northamptonshire’s River Nene celebrates all the wild things that live there, especially the kingfishers.

Lyra Thomas has dreamed of living on Jewel Island ever since she first visited its breathtaking shores. And now her dream has come true - she has her own little cottage and a brand-new job. But when Lyra sets out for a bike ride to explore her new home, a mishap has her crash-landing at the feet of the very handsome Nix Sanchez. A true gentleman, Nix comes to Lyra’s rescue. His face is so familiar and yet they are strangers. But the more they talk, Lyra feels as though she has known Nix forever. What follows is the most magical night of Lyra’s life...until the spell is broken.

Six-year-old Ralph has only been in the care system for three days and has already been rejected by three different foster carers. After hitting a teacher at his school and causing mayhem since he arrived four months ago, staff are unable to get a hold of his mum and her partner. Social Services are called and when Ralph turns up at Maggie's house, she knows immediately it's going to be a challenge. From Britain's most-loved foster carer, a new powerful true story of abuse, family and hope.

Kit Davies has been dating the gorgeous Captain Jason Buchannan for six months. Six whole months of being wheeled out as his significant other at various Naval functions. While she's not convinced she has the makings of a future Officer's wife, things have been pretty good, and at least she hasn't caused a diplomatic incident—yet. Then one memorable evening, Jason drops a bombshell. His father's health is failing and he wants to retire from the Royal Navy, and relocate to his crumbling ancestral home in the wilds of Scotland. And he wants Kit to go with him.

The heartbreaking story of three little children searching for someone to love them. Maggie Hartley faces one of the toughest challenges of her career when three abused and neglected siblings she’s been caring for are placed for adoption with a family she believes are unsuitable. The couple are looking for a perfect ready-made family, and Maggie knows that they’re not going to find it with these traumatised children.

Robert Louis Stevenson's classic, The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, sometimes known more simply as Jekyll and Hyde, has enthralled and horrified listeners for over a century, so much so that the novella has impacted our natural language, with the phrase Jekyll and Hyde coming to mean a person who is vastly different in moral character from one situation to the next. It is a classic to study for GCSE and is full of complexities that need to be understood.

Willow McKay needs a fresh start. Her recent break-up may not have left her heartbroken, but it’s wounded her pride. Desperate for change, an advert offering free homes in a picturesque village in Cornwall sounds perfect. Without thinking, Willow packs up and heads to the village of Happiness. But when Willow arrives, she finds ramshackle cottages, empty shops and miserable villagers. It's nothing like the picture the advert had boasted. That is until she meets the handsome estate manager Andrew Harrington.