Showing results by narrator "Arianwen Parkes-Lockwood" in All Categories

Looking for wonder and some reprieve from the everyday, Anna Funder slips into the pages of her hero George Orwell. As she watches him create his writing self, she tries to remember her own. When she uncovers his forgotten wife, it's a revelation. Eileen O'Shaughnessy's literary brilliance shaped Orwell's work and her practical nous saved his life. But why—and how—was she written out of the story? Using newly discovered letters from Eileen to her best friend, Funder recreates the Orwells' marriage, through the Spanish Civil War and WW II in London.

On Shirley Hazzard is a vibrant and personal tribute in which the Miles Franklin Award-winning novelist Michelle de Kretser offers a masterclass in writing and reading. She celebrates the precision and musicality of Hazzard’s prose and illuminates the humour and humanity in her work. This exhilarating book is both a brilliant introduction to Hazzard and a gift for her longtime readers. On Shirley Hazzard reveals Michelle de Kretser’s lively intelligence at work and her distinctive wit.

When Justine Carmichael (Sagittarius, aspiring journalist and sceptic) bumps into her teenage crush Nick Jordan (Aquarius, struggling actor and true believer) it could be by chance. Or it could be written in the stars. Justine works at the Alexandria Park Star - and Nick, she now learns, relies on the magazine's astrology column to guide him in life. Looking for a way to get Nick’s attention, Justine has the idea of making a few small alterations to the horoscope for Aquarius before it goes to print.

After enduring the horror and chaos of postwar Germany, Lotte Drescher and her family arrive in Australia full of hope for a new life. It’s a land of opportunity, where Lotte and husband Erich hope to give their children the future they have always dreamed of. After years of struggling to find their feet as ‘New Australians’, Erich turns his skill as a wood carver into a successful business, and Lotte makes a career out of her lifelong passion, photography.

1941, Estonia. As Stalin’s brutal Red Army crushes everything in its path, Katarina battles to protect her grandmother’s precious legacy - the weaving of gossamer lace shawls stitched with intricate patterns that tell the stories passed down through generations. Meanwhile Lydia is suffocating in her prison of privilege in Moscow. Yearning for freedom and to discover her beloved mother’s Baltic heritage, she escapes to Estonia. Soon these two young women find themselves in a fight for life, liberty and love.

You don’t become a notorious British comedian without rubbing a few people the wrong way. Ben Martindale has decamped to Australia until the media frenzy surrounding his latest scandal dies down. 

When he meets Amy, a perky blonde barber who dresses like a 1950s pin-up, he knows he’s hit gold in terms of material for his weekly London column. Little does it occur to him that Amy might be just a little bit upset when she finds out what he’s been writing....

Germany, 1943. The choices she makes will change her life forever. Growing up in Hitler's Germany, Charlotte von Klein has big dreams for the future. Her mind is full of plans for a sumptuous wedding to her childhood sweetheart, Heinrich, while working for the Luftwaffe, proudly giving her all for the Fatherland. But in 1943, the tide of the war is turning against Germany, and Lotte's life of privilege and comfort begins to collapse around her.

How the City of Lights gave her lessons in life and love: an Australian beauty journalist shares her obsession with Paris - a city which has been her guide through a lifelong journey of self-discovery. Katrina Lawrence first fell in love with Paris at the age of five, and since then her roads have continually led her back to this most beautiful city, the City of Lights. Telling us the story of why Paris continually fascinates her, Katrina also gives us a mesmerising journey around Paris' most spectacular sights.

Michele Connolly loves food. She loves burgers and pizza, waffles and chocolate. She likes to dine out, and if there are two desserts that sound great, she will order both. She regularly has wine and cheese for dinner. She is not someone who would willingly dine on salad. She doesn't count calories or exclude food groups or go on fad diets. She is not Paleo. She doesn't exercise four hours a day or go to bootcamps. She is not gifted with great genes or extra willpower. So how does she eat this way and still stay thin?

Gwen Hill adores Green Valley Avenue. So when the house next door is sold, Gwen wonders how the new family will settle into this cosy community. More than a new home, it's a clean slate for Frankie, who has moved her brood in a bid to save her marriage. To maintain privacy and corral her children, Frankie proposes a fence between the properties, destroying Gwen's picture-perfect front yard. To Gwen, this is an act of war.

There is much that heavily pregnant Grace still doesn't know about her new husband King's background. So, when word comes that King's father is dying, Grace is eager to accompany him to his childhood home, Blackwater, located in a remote part of Tasmania. Things go badly from the start. The house is in terrible repair, King's dying father yells at Grace to leave and King's twin sister, Ruth, seems disturbed by Grace's presence. After his father's death, King convinces Grace they must stay and help Ruth settle the estate, but as time stretches on he grows strange and distant.

When Jess accepts an offer to caretake a luxury property in the Australian outback, the isolated, all-inclusive solo trip is just what she needs. But Jess isn't as alone as she thinks. As bushfires rage in the distance, strangers start showing up to seek refuge. And as the fires start closing in, tensions in the group begin to rise. Then, the phones stop working. All exits are cut off. There's no way out. Quickly, Jess's guests begin to panic. And when the first person goes missing, she realises that someone in the house isn't who they say they are.