Mary Augusta Ward
(1851 - 1920)
Mary Augusta Ward née Arnold; (11 June 1851 – 24 March 1920), was a British novelist who wrote under her married name as Mrs Humphry Ward.
Delia Blanchflower
Read by Simon Evers
Running Time:10:48:34 in 1 MP3 Audio CD
Genre(s): Historical Fiction
Delia Blanchflower’s father has died, leaving her a considerable inheritance. However, she has become caught up in the militant wing of the Suffragist movement and has come under the spell of Gertrude Marvell, one of the leaders of the movement. Because he strongly disapproves, Delia’s father has put his money in trust until she is older. He has appointed an old friend – Mark Winnington – as the main trustee. Against the background of the Suffragist movement, the book follows the developing relationships between Delia, Gertrude and Mark Winnington.
Lady Connie
Read by Simon Evers
Running Time:11:11:31 in 1 MP3 Audio CD
Genre(s): Historical Fiction
Constance Bledlow is a beautiful monied 20 year old with the world at her feet. She arrives in Oxford to spend a few months with her impoverished uncle, a University reader, and his family. She conquers Oxford society and sets many hearts aflame, among them that of Douglas Falloden, a conceited aristocrat at the university. However, his assumption that she will fall at his feet comes to nothing. Later, some ragging by ‘bloods’, led by Falloden, of a Polish musician at his college (Radowitz) leads to a bad injury. The book, set in Oxford, follows the aftermath of the incident and the way the lives of the three surprisingly intertwine.
Lady Rose's Daughter
Read by Simon Evers
Running Time:12:50:47 in 1 MP3 Audio CD
Genre(s): Historical Fiction
Julie le Breton is the illegitimate daughter of Lady Rose, who severed her relations with her aristocratic family when she had the baby and moved to Belgium with her partner. Twenty years later, her parents having died, Julie moves to London to become the companion of Lady Henry, a pillar of society. Only very few know of Julie’s parentage. Julie creates a stir in London society. However, she and Lady Henry fall out, partly because of Lady Henry’s jealousy of Julie’s success in society. Meanwhile, Julie is promoting the cause of a young and handsome soldier, Warkworth. Julie sets up her own household and the book continues to follow the twists and turns of her life and that of her supporters.
Marcella
Read by Xibu, Cheryl Martin, Liz DeLassus, Katie Riley, Paul Stephens;Tom Hirsch , Phil Chenevert, Shana Cohen, Ruth Kidson, Linda Velwest andTerra Mendoza
Running Time:25:19:32 in 1 MP3 Audio CD
Genre(s): General Fiction
Mary Augusta Ward (Mrs. Humphry Ward) was a very popular author at the end of the 19th century. The arrival of Marcella was discussed a lot in the London newspapers. This popular novel tells a story about Marcella Boyce, a beauty of the 1880s, who thinks she truly believes in the values of socialism. A 21-year-old art student, she lives in a boarding house in Kensington until her father inherits Mellor Park, the family estate which is located in the Midlands. She unwillingly leaving her studies, all the things she loves and wants to do, and her friends, and starts her new life at Mellor Park, determined to help the poor people she sees around her. Then Aldous Raeburn, Tory candidate for Parliament and heir to Lord Maxwell's estate, falls in love with her. But Marcella is torn between her "love of power" and her "power to love." But she'll have to learn in the hard way that high morals are apt to clash with reality.
Missing
Read by Simon Evers
Running Time:09:05:45 in 1 MP3 Audio CD
Genre(s): Historical Fiction
It is 1915 and Nelly and Lieutenant George Sarratt have recently married. After a blissful but brief honeymoon in the Lake District, George is posted to the Front in northern France. Nelly stays on in the Lake District with her older and controlling sister, Bridget. They meet some well to do people, including Sir William Farrell, his friend Captain Marsworth and his sister, Cicely.
News comes from France that George is ‘missing, believe killed’ in action. The story continues, exploring the fortunes and changing relationships of these people as the war drags on and there is no definite news of George’s fate.
Robert Elsmere
Read by Simon Evers
Running Time:28:38:10 in 1 MP3 Audio CD
Genre(s): Historical Fiction
Essentially the book covers the life of Robert Elsmere, a boyishly intellectual clergyman. The first part covers his meeting with and eventual marriage to Catherine Leyburn. After a period as a country vicar, Robert’s meetings with the local squire, an intellectual atheist, lead to his having a crisis of faith. The pair move to London where Robert works with the poor and uneducated. The lives of the people closely associated with the pair are also covered.
The book is set against the late Victorian world and its reactions to Darwinism, Unitarianism and the rise of secularism and modernism. At the time, it was a runaway best seller and its attack on orthodox Christianity was fiercely debated by all, including Gladstone.
The Marriage of William Ashe
Read by Simon Evers
Running Time:15:07:18 in 1 MP3 Audio CD
Genre(s): Historical Fiction
William Ashe, an up and coming politician, impulsively marries Kitty, a young, flighty and strange girl who, far from supporting her husband in his career, instead does exactly as she please. The book follows the course of their marriage to a rather unexpected conclusion.