Hoping to win the hand of lovely Cleone Charteris, Philip Jettan discovers that wealth and country manners are not enough. Cleone has been exposed to the gallantries of London society and finds Philip too blunt and boorish. His sophisticated father agrees and the frustrated young man departs for Paris and an education.

The excesses of the young Marquis of Vidal are even wilder than his father's before him. Not for nothing is the reckless duellist and gamester called "the Devil's Cub". But when he is forced to leave the country, Mary Challoner discovers his fiendish plan to abduct her sister. Any only by daring to impersonate her can Mary save her sibling from certain ruin.

When the most eligible Earl of Rule offers for the hand of the beauty of the Winwood family, he has no notion of the distress he causes his intended. For Miss Lizzie Winwood is promised to the excellent, but impoverished, Mr Edward Heron. Disaster can only be averted by the delightful impetuosity of her youngest sister, Horatia, who conceives her own, distinctly original plans . . .

Stepping into the wrong carriage at a Sussex village, Elinor Rochdale is swept up in a thrilling and dangerous adventure. Overnight the would-be governess becomes mistress of a ruined estate and partner in a secret conspiracy to save a family's name. By midnight, she is a bride, by dawn, a widow.

Charity Steane has nothing in the world but hope. Escaping a miserable life under her tyrannical aunt, she decides to take her chances with her estranged grandfather in London. Now it's just a matter of finding him.... And as a 'charity girl' with no dowry and no options, hope can only get her so far. But with the help of the dashing and kind-hearted Desford and his dearest friend Hetta, it seems like Charity's fortunes might be about to change. That is, until the surprise appearance of a long-lost relative throws things into chaos.

Adam Deveril, the new Viscount Lynton and a hero at Salamanca, returns from the Peninsula War to find his family on the brink of ruin and the broad acres of his ancestral home mortgaged to the hilt. It is Lord Oversley, father of Adam's first love, who tactfully introduces him to Mr Jonathan Chaleigh, a city man of apparently unlimited wealth with no social ambitions for himself, but with his eyes firmly fixed on a suitable match for his one and only daughter.

The acknowledged ‘queen of Regency romance’, best-selling author Georgette Heyer, also penned a dozen delightful mystery novels. Included here are dramatisations of four of her finest stories from both genres, full of her characteristic wit, charm and period detail.

Leonie Bonnard is being drawn into a 12-year-old feud. Justin Alastair, the duke of Avon, is a reprehensible rake with an axe to grind. Decades ago the Comte de Saint-Vire did something unforgivable, and ever since Justin has been lying in wait to settle the score. When Justin meets Leon, a street urchin with a striking resemblance to his nemesis, he aims to use him as a pawn in his plans for revenge on the Comte. Except Leon is in fact Leonie, a beautiful young ingénue who may just steal Justin's heart.

The Honourable Christopher Fancot, on leave from the diplomatic service in the summer of 1817, is startled to find his entrancing but incorrigibly extravagant mother on the brink of financial and social ruin - and more than alarmed to find that his twin, Evelyn, has disappeared without trace. Christopher - Kit - is forced into an outrageous masquerade by the tangled affairs of his wayward family: his rigid uncle, Lord Brumby; the surprisingly wily Sir Bonamy Ripple; the formidable old Lady Stavely and Evelyn's betrothed, Cressy.

Miles from anywhere, the isolated mansion Darracott Place is presided over by the irascible Lord Darracott. The recent drowning of his eldest son has done nothing to improve his temper. For now he must send for the unknown offspring of the uncle whom the family are never permitted to mention. Yet none of that beleaguered family are prepared for the arrival of the weaver's brat and heir apparent.

This follow-up volume to the bestselling Ghosts from the Library resurrects forgotten tales of the supernatural by some of the most accomplished mystery authors of all time. Close the windows. Draw the curtains. Just don’t let the lights go out…

She wanted sanctuary... Helena Reynolds will do anything to escape her life in London, even if that means traveling to a remote cliffside estate on the North Devon coast and marrying a complete stranger. But Greyfriar's Abbey isn't the sort of refuge she imagined. And ex-army captain Justin Thornhill - though he may be tall, dark, and devastatingly handsome - is anything but a romantic hero. He needed redemption... Justin has spent the last two decades making his fortune, settling scores, and suffering a prolonged period of torture in an Indian prison.

Richard Dawkins, author of The God Delusion and a life-long committed Darwinist, abridges and reads this special audio version of Charles Darwin's famous book. A literally world-changing book, Darwin put forward the anti-religious and scientific idea that humans in fact evolved over millions of generations from animals, starting with fish, all the way up through the ranks to apes, then to our current form.

In 1808, Elizabeth Bennet is young, curious, and in possession of an invitation to a London party which she ought not to attend. Unable to resist the temptation, Elizabeth indulges her wish to see a party of the beau monde and finds herself in a dangerous situation. She is saved from a desperate fate by Mr. Darcy of Pemberley, but relief is short-lived. Mr Gardiner arrives and demands satisfaction on behalf of his young niece’s honor.

The Honorable Mr. Jeremy Malcolm is searching for a wife, but not just any wife. As the target of matchmaking mothers and desperate debutantes, he's determined to avoid the fortune hunters and find a near-perfect woman, one who will meet the qualifications on his well-crafted list. But after years of searching, he's beginning to despair of ever finding this paragon. Until Selina Dalton arrives in town. Selina, a vicar's daughter of limited means and a stranger to high society, is thrilled when her friend, Julia Thistlewaite, invites her to London.

Hoping to win the hand of lovely Cleone Charteris, Philip Jettan discovers that wealth and country manners are not enough. Cleone has been exposed to the gallantries of London society and finds Philip too blunt and boorish. His sophisticated father agrees and the frustrated young man departs for Paris and an education.

The excesses of the young Marquis of Vidal are even wilder than his father's before him. Not for nothing is the reckless duellist and gamester called "the Devil's Cub". But when he is forced to leave the country, Mary Challoner discovers his fiendish plan to abduct her sister. Any only by daring to impersonate her can Mary save her sibling from certain ruin.

New York Times bestselling author Christina Dodd spins the captivating tale of a nobleman whose path crosses again with the one woman he absolutely cannot resist....

The most gorgeously theatrical of all Dickens's novels, Nicholas Nickleby follows the delightful adventures of a hearty young hero in 19th-century England. Nicholas, a gentleman's son fallen upon hard times, must set out to make his way in the world. His journey is accompanied by some of the most swaggering scoundrels and unforgettable eccentrics in Dickens's pantheon.

Richard Dawkins, author of The God Delusion and a life-long committed Darwinist, abridges and reads this special audio version of Charles Darwin's famous book. A literally world-changing book, Darwin put forward the anti-religious and scientific idea that humans in fact evolved over millions of generations from animals, starting with fish, all the way up through the ranks to apes, then to our current form.

Dombey and Son is vintage Dickens and explores the classic themes of betrayal, cruelty and deceit. Dombey's dysfunctional relationships are painted against a backdrop of social unrest in industrialized London, which is populated by a host of fascinating and memorable secondary characters. The complete and unabridged novel is brought spectacularly to life by veteran reader David Timson.

Inspired by the chaos of the French Revolution, Rafael Sabatini wrote one of the finest historical novels of the early 20th century. Scaramouche is the story of André-Louis Moreau, a lawyer brought up as an orphan in a noble household. Moreau, as a young man in his 20s, has been threading his way through a pleasant life until a close friend is brutally killed in a duel of swords by a member of the aristocracy. Because of Moreau’s vow to seek revenge, his life begins an arc toward becoming a revolutionary.

Elizabeth Bennet has just experienced one of the most difficult years of her entire life. The loss of a beloved sister, a failed harvest, and the threat of freezing to death from a bitterly cold winter cause the inhabitants of Longbourn to do the unthinkable. Meanwhile, Fitzwilliam Darcy is desperate to keep his family and his tenants alive. The scarcity of food due to a freezing summer has him taking extreme measures. His radical idea takes him, along with his friend Charles Bingley, to Netherfield, where his drastic experiment has the potential to save them all - or ruin his life forever.

Nothing gets the tongues of London’s high society wagging like a good scandal. And when the personal secretary of the visiting Prince Sebastian of Alucia is found murdered, it’s all anyone can talk about, including Eliza Tricklebank. Her unapologetic gossip gazette has benefited from an anonymous tip about the crime, prompting Sebastian to take an interest in playing detective - and an even greater interest in Eliza.

This final play from the pen of Oscar Wilde is a stylish send-up of Victorian courtship and manners, complete with assumed names, mistaken lovers, and a lost handbag. Jack and Algernon are best friends, both wooing ladies who think their names are Ernest, "that name which inspires absolute confidence". Wilde's effervescent wit, scathing social satire, and high farce make this one of the most cherished plays in the English language.

Immediately following the success of Little Women, Louisa May Alcott sat down to write An-Old Fashioned Girl, expanding on the subject of rich versus poor that she explored in her first novel. It’s a story of a country mouse and a city mouse: 14-year-old Polly Milton travels to Boston for a stay with her friend Fanny Shaw. The wealthy Shaws’ way of life is foreign to Polly who tries to adapt but is quickly labeled “old-fashioned”. Fanny and her friends dress and behave as their elders do, flirting with boys and gossiping.

Set in the industrialising England of the Napoleonic wars, a period of bad harvests, Luddite riots, and economic unrest, Shirley is the story of two contrasting heroines and the men they love. One is the shy Caroline Helstone, trapped in the oppressive atmosphere of a Yorkshire rectory, whose life represents the plight of single women in the 19th century. The other is the vivacious Shirley Keeldar, who inherits a local estate and whose wealth liberates her from convention.

An expert in etiquette, Emma takes her pristine reputation most seriously. But the devilish Lord Marlowe is determined to prove that some rules of proper behavior are made to be broken....

Probably the most shocking of the Brontës' novels, this novel had an instant and phenomenal success and is widely considered to be one of the first sustained feminist novels. A mysterious widow, Mrs. Helen Graham, arrives at Wildfell Hall, a nearby old mansion. A source of curiosity for the small community, the reticent Helen and her young son Arthur are slowly drawn into the social circles of the village.

After thinking long and hard, I have come to the conclusion that - although it may not be the kind of love my sister and I once had in mind - marrying Mr Darcy would be marrying for a love of the deepest kind. Recovering from their parents' deaths, Elizabeth and Jane Bennet have held their family together, leaning on the support of their uncle, Edward Gardiner, to help them survive. Thus, when Mr. Gardiner is threatened with scandal and ruin, Elizabeth vows to help him.

Hoping to win the hand of lovely Cleone Charteris, Philip Jettan discovers that wealth and country manners are not enough. Cleone has been exposed to the gallantries of London society and finds Philip too blunt and boorish. His sophisticated father agrees and the frustrated young man departs for Paris and an education.

Charity Steane has nothing in the world but hope. Escaping a miserable life under her tyrannical aunt, she decides to take her chances with her estranged grandfather in London. Now it's just a matter of finding him.... And as a 'charity girl' with no dowry and no options, hope can only get her so far. But with the help of the dashing and kind-hearted Desford and his dearest friend Hetta, it seems like Charity's fortunes might be about to change. That is, until the surprise appearance of a long-lost relative throws things into chaos.

Stepping into the wrong carriage at a Sussex village, Elinor Rochdale is swept up in a thrilling and dangerous adventure. Overnight the would-be governess becomes mistress of a ruined estate and partner in a secret conspiracy to save a family's name. By midnight, she is a bride, by dawn, a widow.

Horry Winwood doesn't play by the rules. So when her family are near ruin and her sister is about to enter a loveless marriage to a wealthy man to settle the family debts, young and headstrong Horry proposes to marry him instead. As her new husband's attentions fall elsewhere, Horry feels increasingly unhappy. Then she meets the attractive and dangerous Lord Lethbridge, and her days suddenly become more exciting. But there is bad blood between Horry's husband and Lord Lethbridge, and as complications and deceptions mount, the social tangle grows ever trickier to unpick.

In an 18th-century England of wit, womanising and powdered wigs, provincial Philip Jettan runs the risk of irreproachability. Cleone Charteris stands in no such danger. The golden-haired, headstrong despair of men, she seeks a husband who can duel and dice with the best of them. So Philip leaves for Paris, where his father's hopes and his lover's ideals are realised, but with unforeseen consequences for them both.... A peerlessly successful and prolific romantic novelist, Georgette Heyer shows in Powder and Patch what won her a wide, devoted audience that continues to this day.