Historical Fiction 2
Talking Books
The titles in this booklist are just a selection of the titles available for loan from the RNIB National Library Talking Book Service.
Don’t forget you are allowed to have up to 6 books on loan. When you return a title, you will then receive another one.
If you would like to read any of these titles then please contact the Customer Services Team on 0303 123 9999 or email
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Ackroyd, Peter
Chatterton. 2006. Read by James Wilby, 10 hours 11 minutes. TB 15035.
In this novel Peter Ackroyd investigates the death of Thomas Chatterton, the eighteenth-century poet-forger and genius, who died at the tender age of eighteen under extremely strange circumstances. Fusing themes of illusion and imagination, delusion and dreams, the author weaves strands from three centuries. The cast is a motley crew of Dickensian eccentrics and rogues, from the outrageous, gin-sipping Harriet Scrope to the tragic Charles Wychwood, on a personal quest for Chatterton's deepest secrets. TB 15035.
Ackroyd, Peter
Hawksmoor. 1985. Read by Richard Owens, 10 hours 44 minutes. TB 6368.
A story of detection and revelation weaving back and forth across the centuries. Nicholas Dyer, architect, is planning to build a number of churches. He is part of the Age of Enlightenment but has older, darker allegiances. Nicholas Hawksmoor is a 20th century man, a detective investigating a series of murders on the sites of certain 18th century churches. Their lives fuse ... TB 6368.
Ackroyd, Peter
The fall of Troy. 2007. Read by Michael Maloney, 6 hours 53 minutes. TB 15364.
Sophia Chrysanthis is initially dazzled when the celebrated German archaeologist, Herr Obermann, comes in search of a Greek bride who can read the works of Homer and assist in his excavations of the city he believes is Ancient Troy. But Obermann's past turns out to be full of skeletons and when a young American arrives to question the archaeologist's methods and dies of a mysterious fever, Sophia wonders just how far he will go to protect his vision of Troy. Contains strong language. TB 15364.
Anand, Valerie
The ruthless yeoman. 1991. Read by Josephine Tewson, 18 hours 33 minutes. TB 10530.
Bridges over time series; book 2. Sequel to The proud villeins, TB 10307. Isabel of Northfield knows that free blood flows in the family's veins and determines to better herself, but her plans to improve her lot by entering the church do not succeed and her love affair with a man far her social superior is doomed to fail. Yet, when she dies in servitude, her vision of liberty does not die with her, for her kinswoman Nicola inherits her dreams. Nicola marries the violent and ambitious Thomas Woodcarver who, as Black Death strikes, sees the chance to drag his family out of serfdom. TB 10530.
Anand, Valerie
Women of Ashdon. 1992. Read by Nina Holloway, 23 hours 1 minute. TB 10640.
Bridges over time series; book 3. When, at nineteen Susannah Whitmead naively falls in love, she is quickly married off to a suitable husband, Sir James Weston of Ashdon. He is a kind man and soon she is in love again, with his house. When he dies at the Battle of Bosworth, she remarries to keep Ashdon but her new husband is an intriguer and in the turbulent reign of Henry VII, that can be a disastrous weakness. Ashdon survives to be loved by Susanna's granddaughter Christina, in an age when to love anything too much can be unwise. TB 10640.
Anand, Valerie
Crown of roses. 1989. Read by Carol Marsh, 21 hours 11 minutes. TB 8606.
England is at war, the houses of York and Lancaster locked in bitter conflict souring the country, ruining lives and dividing the people. TB 8606.
Anthony, Evelyn
Clandara. 1993. Read by Gretel Davis, 14 hours 31 minutes. TB 9723.
Despite the feud between their clans, Katherine Fraser and James Macdonald fall in love. Defying the past Katherine confronts her father's wrath and declares her wish to marry James. It is 1745, and Bonnie Prince Charlie is drumming up support for his claim to the throne, but memories of the 1715 uprising prevent the Frasers joining him, to the fury of the Macdonalds and the deepening of the rift between them. As powerfully as Katherine and James were drawn together, they are driven apart. TB 9723.
Armitage, Aileen
Hawksmoor. 1995. Read by Marilyn Finlay, 14 hours 41 minutes. TB 10645.
Hawksmoor series; book 1. In 1811, Hawksmoor is a growing town, surrounded by all the splendour of the northern moorland. It is changing with the times as the spinning and weaving of cotton becomes an important way of life. There are the Hardcastles, landed gentry and wealthy mill owners; and the Stotts who belong to the poor but indomitable class of labourers in the factory. In rivalry and co-operation, love and ambition, their lives touch yet remain separate. TB 10645.
Armitage, Aileen
Touchstone. 1996. Read by Marilyn Finlay, 7 hours 19 minutes. TB 10708.
Hawksmoor series; book 3. Sequel to: Hunter's moon. Amy Mallinson is bewildered by her deep feelings for her handsome first cousin Charles, far above her in the social scale and, by the emotions he and his family stir in her. Amy is not the only one affected by Aunt Charlotte's malice; her mother has suffered and Amy herself has witnessed the destruction of her brother Lionel's dreams. Proud of her heritage, yet determined to win her independence, Amy sees the moors above Hawksmoor and Jericho Farm as a refuge and an escape. She may also discover what she really wants from life. TB 10708.
Armitage, Aileen
The Brackenroyd inheritance. 1980. Read by Patricia Jones, 9 hours 38 minutes. TB 12386.
Her strange cousin De Lacy and his devilish hound seemed creatures from a netherworld, but this was not the only cause of Fern Saxby's unease as she stood in front of Brackenroyd Hall. A young Victorian governess, she had suddenly found herself the inheritor of a huge and darkly brooding Yorkshire mansion on condition that she marry her extraordinary relative. But what part does Annot Radley, the voluptuous Regency farm girl, or Catherine the beautiful mute accused of witchcraft in Restoration England, play in this fearful drama? TB 12386.
Armstrong, Thomas
A ring has no end. 1958. Read by Garard Green, 20 hours 38 minutes. TB 2375.
The story of three generations of a Russian family in St Petersburg, both before and after a Revolution in which they witness appalling brutality and the destruction of all they value most highly. TB 2375.
Aston, Elizabeth
Mr Darcy's daughters. 2003. Read by Lucy Scott, 11 hours 54 minutes. TB 13652.
Regency London is a time of change in social attitudes and political thought, with the privileges of aristocrats and the conservatism of landowners being challenged by new men and radical thinkers. But women still play little part in this wider world, and Camilla Darcy finds how limited are the options open to an intelligent, independent-minded young woman, and how unforgiving even this apparently liberal society is to those who transgress its rules. The sisters are assailed from all sides by lavish parties, temptations and hidden schemes, not to mention the inevitable heartbreaks arising from close proximity to so many eligible men. TB 13652.
Auel, Jean M
The valley of horses. 1984. Read by Gretel Davis, 29 hours 13 minutes.
TB 7788.
Earth's children series; book 2. Sequel to: The clan of the cave bear, TB 7772. Leaving the safety of the clan who raised her, the beautiful Ayla sets out alone on an epic journey of discovery. She survives glacial cold, terrifying beasts and intense loneliness. But in the Valley of Horses she finds refuge and contentment, and an awakening to a desire she could not imagine. Contains passages of a sexual nature. TB 7788.
Bainbridge, Beryl
According to Queeney. Read by Miriam Margolyes, 7 hours 49 minutes. TB 13485.
In the 1770s and 1780s Dr Johnson, having completed his life's work, is running an increasingly chaotic life. Torn between his strict morality and his undeclared passion for the widow of an old friend, he is revealed here in all his wit and glory. TB 13485.
Barber, Noel
The Black Hole of Calcutta: a reconstruction. 1970. Read by Gerard Green, 8 hours 30 minutes. TB 10.
The catastrophe of 1756, when 50,000 Indians attacked the East India Company's stronghold at Fort William. TB 10.
Barnes, Margaret Campbell
The king's bed. 1961. Read by Martin Muncaster, 9 hours 10 minutes. TB 252.
The story of an innkeeper's daughter and the son of a king begins in Leicester on the night before the Battle of Bosworth. TB 252.
Barnes, Margaret Campbell
Isabel the fair. 1957. Read by Colin Doran, 15 hours 15 minutes. TB 324.
The lovely French Princess who became the bride of Edward II, was so changed by her life in England that she became known as the she-wolf of France. TB 324.
Barry, Sebastian
A long long way. 2005. Read by John Cormack, 9 hours 20 minutes. TB 14367.
A long long way evokes the camaraderie and humour of Willie and his regiment, the Royal Dublin Fusiliers, but also the cruelty and sadness of war, and the divided loyalties that many Irish soldiers felt. Tracing their experiences through the course of the war, the narrative brilliantly explores and dramatises the events of the Easter Rising within Ireland, and how such a seminal political moment came to affect those boys off fighting for the King of England on foreign fields - the paralysing doubts and divisions it caused them. Contains strong language. TB 14367.
Bennett, Ronan
Havoc, in its third year. 2005. Read by Nick Rawlinson, 9 hours 12 minutes. TB 14326.
England, 1630s: an unsettled country in turbulent times. John Brigge is the local coroner, a respected man who wants nothing more than to work his farm and be with his wife, now expecting their first child. But when he is called to investigate Katherine Shay, suspected of killing her baby, Brigge finds himself caught up in a vicious power struggle as the Puritan faction demand her execution. Contains violence. TB 14326.
Bernieres, Louis de
Birds without wings. 2005. Read by Steve Hodson and Lucy Scott, 26 hours 3 minutes. TB 14586.
Set against the backdrop of the collapsing Ottoman Empire, the Gallipoli campaign and the subsequent bitter struggle between Greeks and Turks, this traces the fortunes of one small community in south-west Anatolia - a town in which Christian and Muslim lives and traditions have co-existed peacefully for centuries. When war is declared and the outside world intrudes, the twin scourges of religion and nationalism lead to forced marches and massacres, and the peaceful fabric of life is destroyed. Philothei, a Christian girl of legendary beauty, and Ibrahim the Goatherd who has courted her since infancy are but two of the many casualties. With the end of a community that once transcended religious differences, their great love seems destined to end in tragedy and madness. Contains strong language. TB 14586.
Brooks, Geraldine
Year of wonders: a novel of the plague. 2002. Read by Maggie Maxwell, 10 hours 38 minutes. TB 15200.
Based on a true story, this novel tells of a young woman's struggle to save her family and her soul during the most extraordinary year of 1666, when plague suddenly visits their small Derbyshire village. The villagers, inspired by a charismatic preacher, elect to quarantine themselves to limit the contagion. TB 15200.
Buchan, John
Witch wood. 1993. Read by Robbie MacNab, 12 hours 33 minutes. TB 10589.
A story of witchcraft in the ancient wood of Caledon in the Scottish Borders, combated in vain by David Sempill, the parish minister. In the background is the civil unrest of the Scottish Wars of the Covenant. It also tells a love story. TB 10589.
Buchan, John
The blanket of the dark. 1994. Read by David Thorpe, 10 hours 37 minutes. TB 11841.
It is 1536 and the Reformation has yet to disrupt the life of a young man known as Peter Pentecost. But Peter's life is about to be changed forever when he uncovers the astonishing secret of his true identity, a secret that has been kept from him all his life; that he is the son and heir of Edward, Duke of Buckingham, and by rights he, not Henry Tudor, should be the King of England. From the moment Peter discovers the truth, he descends into a dangerous world of conspiracy and treason. This is a classic story of intrigue and adventure. TB 11841.
Caldwell, Taylor
Glory and the lightning. 1975. Read by George Hagan, 18 hours 1 minute. TB 3109.
Aspasia had been born before her time. In the man's world of Ancient Greece her new ideas and outspoken ways brought her into disrepute both with her Persian husband and later with the Athenians when she married their ruler, Pericles. Unsuitable for family reading. TB 3109.
Canning, Victor
The circle of the gods. 1977. Read by Derek Chandler, 10 hours. TB 3267.
Arthurian Trilogy; book 2. Sequel to: The crimson chalice, TB 3049. The story of the unruly youth of Arthur, born in the fifth century to a Roman girl and the son of a tribal chieftain. It tells of his determination to check the Saxon advance and to restore his country's greatness. TB 3267.
Canning, Victor
The immortal wound. 1978. Read by Andrew Timothy, 8 hours 45 minutes. TB 3397.
Arthurian Trilogy; book 3. The story of King Arthur's long struggle to consolidate his power, and of his tender love for Gwennifer. TB 3397.
Carr, Philippa