Showing results by narrator "Peter Joyce" in All Categories

A new episode in Feist's massively successful Riftwar saga. From the endlessly inventive mind of one of fantasy's all-time greats comes a spellbinding new adventure featuring old favourites Jimmy, Locklear, and Pug. It is nine years on from the aftermath of Sethanon. There has been peace awhile, and it's been needed. But news is feeding through to the people of the Kingdom of the Isles that deadly forces are stirring on the horizon. The bringer of the latest tidings is Gorath, a moredhel (dark elf).

The house is called "Pleasance" and is rented by two sisters, Blanche and Aileen. The story revolves around the fortunes of two neighbouring families of varied social standing. The sisters' semi-detachment is to the Hopkinsons. Whilst Blanche's husband, Arthur, is abroad on a mission, the neighbours soon prove themselves invaluable as friends and Blanche and Mrs Hopkinson discover that their husbands are already acquainted!

Third in the massively successful Krondor series inspired by Feist's global best-selling computer game Return to Krondor. A drop in the ocean? A raid upon the high seas signals an attack of unprecedented magnitude by the forces of darkness. For the holiest of holies, the Tear of the Gods has been lost to the Temple of Ishap. After a raid planned by Bear, one of the most brutal pirates to sail the Bitter Sea, goes dramatically wrong, the colossal gems sink below the waves.

In 1843 the material that Dickins had gathered on his trip to America was published with the title American Notes [also produced by Assembled Stories]. The book was viewed with disdain from both sides of the Atlantic and in some quarters, strong disapproval, his criticism having done little for Anglo-American relations.

Victorian humour generally doesn't translate well across time. The Wrong Box is one of the exceptions. The plot revolves around the supposed death of Joseph Finsbury who, as a youth, with his brother Masterman joined a tontine - a scheme whereby each entrant pays a fixed amount and the sum total, with interest, is given to the one who lives the longest. At the beginning of the story there are three survivors and then two - the Finsbury brothers.

Anthony Hope was constrained to return to the fictional land of Ruritania by an appreciative public who wanted more swashbuckling and derring-do from the hero Rudolph and more Machiavellian moustache twirling from the suave villain Rupert. The author came up with a literary construction which ensured he would never again have to visit fictional Ruritania - but nothing he subsequently wrote appealed as much as the two Zenda stories.

Sex, betrayal, murder and corruption form the basis of this sensational novel by one of the leading French authors of the 19th century. Jacques Lantier is a man with a hereditary homicidal lust. When he sees Roubaud and his wife Severine slit the throat of a wealthy nobleman, it is the catalyst for a string of murders in a convoluted plot full of horror and suspense.

Richard Wardour leaves England on a voyage to the African coast under the impression he is engaged to delicate orphan Clara Burnham. Despite sending him a letter stating the contrary Clara is anxious for her honour. She is aware that he may not have received the missive and is now betrothed to another, Frank Aldersley. When Richard returns and is refused, he immediately sets sail on an expedition to the Arctic, unaware that in the same party is Clara's accepted lover.

At the beginning of the story the heroine lives an unfulfilled life in rural France, her nature crushed by a domineering and miserly father. Gallant cousin Charles arrives and acts as a catalyst on Eugénie's personality and emotions. Will her love survive the strong self-opinion of the young man and the selfishness of her father or is Eugénie's reward destined to be in heaven?

The hugely successful romantic adventure story which continues to thrill a century after it was written. It has all the classic ingredients - a twisting plot of betrayal and deception, love interest, great swashbuckling action and a most beguiling villain in Rupert of Hentzau, who captured the public’s imagination and had them begging the author for a sequel. Rudolph Rassendyll visits Ruritania, with whose Royal Family he has a connection because of a scandalous sexual indiscretion in the past.

What is sinister preacher John Laputa doing on a remote Scottish shore in the moonlight hours? Young David Crawfurd and his friends are lucky to escape with their lives when they disturb his rituals. Years later David travels to Africa and meets the minister again, this time in company with the evil Henriques.

As well as penning some of the most popular detective fiction, Conan Doyle also wrote thrilling adventure stories. ‘Rodney Stone’ is a combination of both. Nelson, Beau Brummell, Fox and King George III himself appear in a tale at the heart of which is, as one character says, “a pretty conspiracy - a criminal, an actress and a prize-fighter, all playing their parts”.

Written in 1926...and published posthumously [without the authors customary revision] in 1930, The Virgin and the Gypsy is a minor masterpiece in short story writing. It provides an excellent introduction to Lawrence’s work, being a succinct distillation of his ideas about sexuality and its ability to transcend class barriers. Yvette and her sister Lucille come back from finishing school in Lausanne with a much broader outlook on life than the inhabitants of the cloistered world to which they return.

Having been married for over 40 years, 69-year-old Arthur Pepper is mourning the loss of his wife. He finally musters the courage to go through her possessions and happens upon a charm bracelet that he has never seen before. What follows is a surprising adventure that takes Arthur on an epic quest to find out the truth about his wife’s life - a journey that leads him to find healing, self-discovery, and love in the most unexpected of places.

The penultimate volume in the Conclave of Shadows series from worldwide best-selling author Raymond E. Feist. Featuring one of the most fascinating characters and scenarios ever created in the genre, the series promises to become one of the great all-time classics in the field. Once absolute ruler of his nation, Kaspar, former duke of Olasko, has been cast into exile. Abandoned in the wilds of a continent on the other side of the world and left with nothing but his wits and determination, he must fight merely to survive.

The enigmatic Mr Reeder investigates eight cases involving baffling burglary and blackmail, mendacious and merciless murderers, and cruel convicts and convincing cons, using his criminal mind to solve these unusual and peculiar mysteries. A lot of his inquiries involve Margaret Belman, a very pretty and appealing young lady who lives nearby, and the detective finds himself more and more attracted to this femme fatale. Surely these feelings cannot be mutual....

On one level...Melville’s tale is an historical adventure telling the story of life aboard ship shortly after the mutiny at Spithead in 1797. Billy is taken from a homeward bound merchantman to serve on the ‘Seventy Four’ HMS Indomitable. He falls foul of Claggart, the ‘Master at Arms’, and the final confrontation results in death. Billy becomes an unwilling martyr - what passes for justice must be implemented because of the rebellious climate of the time.

Emily Eden was the daughter of the 1st Baron Auckland, a close confidant of Pitt. She was thus well placed to observe the manners and mores of nineteenth century aristocracy. A huge admirer of Jane Austen, her works reflect this in their perception, tongue in cheek humour and benevolence toward the victims of her pen. 'The Semi Attached Couple' is a revealing insight of attitudes and customs within marriage.

Harvey Cheyne, the pampered son of an American millionaire, is swept overboard from the deck of a liner and picked up by a small fishing boat, one of several trawling the Grand Banks. He is rapidly confronted by the harsh realities of life and comes to terms with himself amid the hard labour and morality of the redoubtable New England fishermen.

A compelling drama and a merciless scrutiny of a newly monied upper-middle-class family at the turn of the 20th century, The Forsyte Saga has a sumptuous range of characters. If you have enjoyed The Forsyte Saga on television in the past, you will be familiar with this engrossing story; if not, prepare to be completely captivated and engaged by one of the best tales ever told.