Showing results by narrator "Emma Gregory" in All Categories

Christina Rossetti’s poetry has never disappeared from view. Critical interest in her poetry swelled in the final decades of the twentieth century, a resurgence largely impelled by the emergence of feminist criticism; much of this commentary focuses on gender issues in her poetry and on Rossetti as a woman poet. Collected here are 16 of her most beautiful, haunting, and renowned poems.

Marion Zetland lives with her domineering older brother, John, in a decaying Georgian townhouse on the edge of a northern seaside resort. A timid spinster in her 50s who still sleeps with teddy bears, Marion does her best to shut out the shocking secret that John keeps in the cellar. Until, suddenly, John has a heart attack, and Marion is forced to go down to the cellar herself and face the gruesome truth that her brother has kept hidden. As questions are asked and secrets unravel, maybe John isn't the only one with a dark side.

Betrayal, family loyalties, secrets: not all gangsters live in the east end. Two families run this part of Manchester: the Johnsons and the Bennetts. With the head of the Johnson family banged up, the Bennetts have made their move. But power comes at a price… Now Charlie Johnson is out of...

When Max tries to intervene to prevent an assault and it goes horribly wrong, she wants nothing more than to keep her head down and get on with her job. She does not want to answer calls for help, not even from Bryce, the Order warrior who seems willing to give her a second chance. Despite telling herself she just wants to live her quiet life, Max finds herself delving into parts of the city where no one apart from the desperate want to go, facing terrifying supernatural creatures and ghosts from her past.

Sidney Grice once had a reputation as London's most perspicacious personal detective. But since his last case led an innocent men to the gallows, business has been light. Listless and depressed, Grice has taken to lying in the bath for hours, emerging in the evenings for a little dry toast and a lot of tea. Usually a voracious reader, he will pick up neither book nor newspaper. He has not even gathered the strength to re-insert his glass eye. His ward, March Middleton, has been left to dine alone.

In the dead of night, Kate receives a phone call. Police have recovered her sister Anya's clothes and personal belongings at the poolside of a remote hideaway in Mexico - a place she had no idea Anya would be. Anya was last seen getting into a vehicle with a local diving instructor, but now he's missing, too. Their relationship has been complicated ever since a devastating tragedy blew their family apart, but Kate cannot believe Anya would willingly travel somewhere so isolated with a man she barely knows...would she?

Sidney Grice is London's foremost personal detective. Called away to Yorkshire, he leaves his ward, March Middleton, to run his house. But hearth and home hold little charm for March, who harbours dreams of becoming London's foremost, and first, lady detective...

Ever since Steph’s husband walked out after a 30-year marriage, home hasn’t felt like a safe haven. Her daughter Bea thinks she’s imagining things. But Steph knows that the noises in the night, the open windows she knows she left closed, the strange smell in the kitchen - none of it feels right.

Queen Victoria may sit on the throne and Robert Peel's bobbies walk the street, but London is still haunted by the spectre of Spring-heeled Jack. The demons of vice and poverty rule the capital: ruffian gangs, pickpockets, prostitutes and vagrants clog the streets with their iniquity. But in one particular Gower Street residence – home to the famous personal investigator Sidney Grice – order presides. Until, that is, the arrival of his ward March Middleton and the vicious Whitechapel murder that follows hard on her heels...

Exploring themes of ownership and abandonment, Eleanor Anstruther’s debut is a fictionalised account of the true story of Enid Campbell (1892-1964), granddaughter of the 8th Duke of Argyll, who sold her son to her sister for £500. Interweaving one significant day in 1964 with a decade during the interwar period, A Perfect Explanation gets to the heart of what it is to be bound by gender, heritage and tradition, to fight, to lose, to fight again. In a world of privilege, truth remains the same; there are no heroes and villains, only people misunderstood.

All is quiet at 125 Gower Street. Sidney Grice is swotting up on the anatomical structure of human hair whilst his ward, March Middleton, sneaks upstairs for her eighth secret cigarette of the day. The house is, perhaps, too quiet. So when a beautiful young woman turns up, imploring London's foremost personal detective to solve the mystery of her father's murder, Grice can barely disguise his glee...

In 1967, 21-year-old Pauline Butcher was working for a London secretarial agency when a call came through from a Mr Frank Zappa asking for a typist. The assignment would change her life forever. For three years, Pauline served as Zappa's PA, moving with him, his family and the Mothers of Invention to a log cabin in the Hollywood Hills, where the straight young English girl mixed with Oscar winners and rock royalty. 

125 Gower Street, London, 1884. Sidney Grice – London's foremost personal detective – is restless. Having filed his latest case under 'S' for 'Still To Be Solved', his ward, March Middleton, remains determined to uncover the truth. When an attacker strikes on the murky streets of Limehouse, and a new victim is discovered in an overcrowded cafe, it's clear that the duo are on the trail of a serial offender.

When Grace Manners takes up residence on Wittering Manor estate, she little realises working alongside eccentric Fraser Stratton will change her life. Grace has struggled to make ends meet, and the little cottage on the estate is both a refuge and a workshop for her jewellery business. It's only when Grace uncovers the story behind a diamond brooch she inherited that she becomes drawn into a family secret that threatens to destroy what little she has left....

It's hard being that woman, the one whose husband disappeared. He went out five years ago for a pint of milk and never came back. So here I am with a daughter who blames me for everything, a son trying his best to pick up the pieces and a gaggle of neighbours who are incredibly nosy. Then I find a left luggage ticket in the pocket of one of his old coats and suddenly I'm thinking... What if he's not dead? What if he's still out there somewhere?

Between the Acts is Virginia Woolf’s final novel, set in a quiet English village just before World War II. The story unfolds over the course of one day, as villagers prepare for and perform an outdoor pageant that reflects the history of England. Beneath the surface of this seemingly simple event, tensions rise—between family members, within relationships, and in the looming shadow of war.

In this timeless romance, Anne Elliot is given a second chance at love when she reconnects with Captain Frederick Wentworth, the man she once loved and was persuaded to reject. As Anne grapples with past regrets and present feelings, she must navigate the complexities of society, family expectations, and her own heart. With sharp wit and keen insight into human relationships, Persuasion is a poignant exploration of love, second chances, and the power of personal growth.

Susan Knight has a good life. So she turns a blind eye to the gambling winnings her husband, Donny, puts through the books at her salon. After all, he needs some way to unwind. At work, he is headteacher at Second Chance, an alternative provision school for kids who have nowhere else to go. Being the headteacher gives Donny respect, money and charm. But respect can be lost, money can be stolen and charm can only go so far.

Essays on London provide an acute and perceptive insight into early twentieth century city life. Including profound meditations on the rhythm of life on Oxford Street and the consumerism that drives it, vivid descriptions of the epic cathedrals that pave the streets and the place of religion in contemporary society, and an intimate sketch of a charming woman who is a Londoner to her core, these eloquent snapshots of the city are told with Woolf’s trademark intimacy and self-awareness.

Step into the hauntingly beautiful world of the Brontë sisters, where passion, melancholy, and fierce independence collide. This collection brings together the complete poems of Charlotte, Emily, and Anne Brontë—three women whose words continue to resonate across centuries. From the wild, windswept moors to the depths of the human soul, these poems explore themes of love, loss, and longing with raw, unflinching emotion. A timeless treasure for listeners seeking the power of poetic brilliance and the voices of these groundbreaking literary icons.