Showing titles in Small Town & Rural

Eleanor Sharpley has been living a lie. Needing to escape her London life quickly, Eleanor throws her things into the back of her car, and heads to her erstwhile best friend Charlie’s family farm. But Charlie isn’t there. Instead she finds Charlie’s grieving brother, Daniel, her eight-month-old daughter, Hope (a daughter Eleanor had known nothing about) and a crumbling and unloved Damson Farm.

It's never too late for second chances... For the first time in her life, Lydia is taking a great big leap of faith. She's moving to a small town on the West Coast of Ireland to overhaul a large, long-abandoned residence named Chance House with her new husband. Then tragedy strikes, and Lydia is...

Quentin and Lottie Bredin, like many modern couples, can't afford to divorce. Having lost their jobs in the recession, they can't afford to go on living in London; instead, they must downsize and move their three children to a house in a remote part of Devon. Arrogant and adulterous, Quentin can't understand why Lottie is so angry; devastated and humiliated, Lottie feels herself to have been intolerably wounded. Mud, mice and quarrels are one thing - but why is their rent so low?

The audiobook tells the story of Stella Fortuna, born into rural poverty in a mountainside Calabrian village in the early 20th century. After being abandoned by their father, who had left to seek his fortune in L'America, Stella grew up with her beloved mother, Assunta, her brother, Giuseppe, and her sister, Tina. Tough, vivacious, and fiercely loyal, the sisters were always inseparable, going on to support each other through immigration, marriage, children, loss - and the seven (or eight, depending how you count them) near-death experiences Stella suffered throughout her life.    

Three charming comedy series starring the dear ladies of a musical bent, Dr Evadne Hinge and Dame Hilda Bracket Meet Hinge and Bracket, the delightful double act brought to sublime life by George Logan and Patrick Fyffe. Lifelong companions and musical collaborators, they enjoy nothing more than...

Brought to you by Penguin. Jemima Jones is driving home to her family's magical hill-top farm for Christmas… And on arrival, she soon learns that her dad has been keeping a secret – all is not as it seems, and Hollybush Farm is struggling to make ends meet! Worried about losing the childhood...

When Tess Durbeyfield is driven by family poverty to claim kinship with the wealthy D'Urbervilles and to seek a portion of their family fortune, meeting her cousin Alec proves to be her downfall. A very different man, Angel Clare, seems to offer her love and salvation, but Tess must choose whether to reveal her past or remain silent in the hope of a peaceful future. Thomas Hardy’s timeless masterpiece is brought to life in this new recording by Anne-Marie Duff (Shameless, His Dark Materials).

Adam Bede (1859), George Eliot's first full-length novel, marked the emergence of an artist to rank with Scott and Dickens. Set in the English Midlands of farmers and village craftsmen at the turn of the 18th century, the book relates a story of seduction issuing in "the inward suffering which is the worst form of Nemesis". But it is also a rich and pioneering record - drawing on intimate knowledge and affectionate memory - of a rural world that we have lost.

William Collins Books and Decca Records are proud to present ARGO Classics, a historic catalogue of classic fiction read by some of the world’s most renowned voices. Originally released as vinyl records, these expertly abridged and remastered stories are now available to download for the first...

From the New York Times bestselling author of When Crickets Cry and The Water Keeper comes a story of self-discovery, healing, and hope: When paramedics find a malnourished six-year-old boy near a burning car that holds a dead woman, they wonder who he is--and why he won't speak. On a stifling...

Cosy up on the sofa with this year’s most heartwarming, feel good comfort read! Welcome to Love Heart Lane… When Flick Simons returns to the cosy village of Heartcross she only expected to stay for a few days. The white-washed cottages of Love Heart Lane might be her home, but the place...

Layla Dupree has given up on love. She’s waded through all of the fish in the sea, each one more disappointing than the last. Apparently owning the bakery at Inglewild’s most romantic destination does not help one’s love life—despite her best efforts. All she wants is a partner who gives her butterflies, not someone who ghosts her at dinner and leaves her with the check. Good thing Caleb Alvarez has the perfect solution. After saving Layla from another date gone bad, he has a simple proposition: one month of no-strings dating.

When Georgie, Iris and Nola's mother died and their father disappeared into his grief, the sisters made a pact: they would always be there for one another, no matter what. Now, decades later, they haven't spoken for years and can barely stand to be in the same room. As his health declines, their father comes up with a plan. In his will, he states that before they can claim their inheritance, they must spend six months living together in their childhood home in the village of Ballycove, Ireland, and try to repair their broken relationships.

Emily, Carl and Jules have all ‘gone before their time’. After dying on the same day in Halifax, West Yorkshire, they each wake up in a room in a hotel on the outskirts of town. They’re instructed to meet in the basement headquarters of film production company ‘End Credits’, where no-nonsense producer Suzi tells them their lives have been secretly filmed and they must edit their own biopic before they are able to move on.

Brought to you by Penguin. From the Sunday Times bestselling author Nancy Revell. When Lucy’s estranged mother dies unexpectedly, her grief is overwhelming. Lucy was disowned when she married penniless horse-trainer Danny for love, leaving her blue-blooded family’s fortune in tatters. But...

When Mara Gregory receives a letter from the father whom she believed to have died when she was a child, her world is turned upside down. Aaron Buchanan only discovered that he had a daughter a couple of years ago and now he's desperate to play a part in her life. In the face of her mother's opposition, Mara arranges to meet her father and his family. In a breath-taking corner of the world, amid a waterfront community on Australia's west coast, will Mara find him the disappointment that her mother promises?

A wonderful warm festive treat from the Sunday Times bestselling author of The Christmas Invitation The perfect gift isn’t always under the tree… Single mum Cally’s life is all about her little girl Stella. She’s resigned to the fact that the only romance she’s going to get is from the...

Angel Sands is a traditional seaside resort of bed and breakfasts, cottages to let and teashops. And with the best views of the tiny beach and surrounding coastline is Paradise House, home to the Baxter girls - or the Sisters of Whimsy as they're known locally. With their mother taking time out...

Abbey Carter, her boyfriend Sam and their trusty canine companion, Lady, relish living in the picturesque village of Wishwell at the edge of their beloved Primrose Woods. The woods and the country park are full of activity as the festive season approaches. Lizzie Baker is flat out at the Treetops café, serving all sorts of winter warmers, festive goodies and lashings of hot chocolate. And when her daughter and grandchildren arrive to stay, the run up to Christmas is set to be even more magical than she had expected.

Brought to you by Penguin. In a place and time unknown, two elderly sisters live in a walled garden, secluded from the outside world. For as long as they can remember, Evelyn and Lily have only had each other. What was before the garden, they have forgotten; what lies beyond it, they do not know...