Talk of Dumb Lukey's crazed acts and the romance between Lucinda and Joe Lee, the Thames bargee. Talk of the Crimea and the terror of Napoleon.At the tavern, hard-headed Beatrice and her sister Dot care for their invalid father and for Lucinda, their pretty orphaned niece. The inn is their livelihood but village business is ever Beat's business too. And now some dark cloud has descended on them all . . .

    It's three hundred and fifty years since the famous witch's leap happened in the North Yorkshire town. Riverside Walk is swarming with eager tourists, wanting to pay tribute to the legendary Blaise St Clair. It's also Christmas Eve, and the family has gathered to celebrate an eventful year, and to look forward to even better times ahead. But a shock event changes everything, bringing a whole lot of trouble to the door of Castle Lodge. For something big is happening in Castle Clair. Strangers are arriving, a prophecy is unfolding, a mystery is deepening, a reckoning is coming ... and someone's getting rather too fond of Mrs Greenwood's baking. The past is colliding with the present, and the future is in jeopardy. No wonder the High Council of Witches is a bit miffed. Will the St Clairs have enough strength, courage ~ and chocolate fudge cake ~ to see them through? Or is this the end of the world as they know it?

    Jane Austen writing an “improper” novel? Find out why her overlooked Lady Susan, which depicts the exploits of England’s worst coquette, is worth experiencing; how its presence fits in the larger context of the 18th-century novel’s development; and why it can be considered Austen’s literary “road not taken.”©2012 The Great Courses (P)2012 The Great Courseshttps://www.audible.com/pd/Jane-Auste...

    It is here she receives protection, the sort of education not taught in convents and, just as important, the freedom to practise her skill with herbal remedies without fear.But it isn't only her unusual knowledge of plants and the workings of the body which might land her in danger. In times of stress, she is capable of extraordinary feats which she cannot always control and which she struggles to keep secret. And then there's the recurring vision of a house somewhere - calling to her and soothing her when life becomes too difficult.Blessed with good looks, education and an aristocratic air, it's not long before Elisabeth is pursued and swept up into high society where she quickly learns that women who wish to be independent need to be clever, for there are few choices open to them in a patriarchal society where the law is very much against them.Older, wiser and richer, there is still unfinished business for Elisabeth. She doesn't know her mother's English family or who her father is - and she doesn't know why she's able to see and do things others can't. She sets out to find answers, travelling to Brittany and across to England where London is gripped by plague and fire.But is she prepared for the answers? That’s the question…

    Reeling from her family’s betrayal, she’s faked her nursing credentials, invented a new name, and run away to the frontlines of the French battlefield. Four years into the Great War and she knows who she is and what she’s meant for—to save the living and sit vigil by the dying. When the cagey-yet-earnest Dr. Nicholas Wallace arrives, so do mysterious explosions destroying hospitals. Even as Nick raises her suspicions, he lowers her defenses. He wants the war to end. Are his acts of sabotage politically motivated or a desperate attempt at peace?​In peace, she fell apart.A year later, Vera is back with her oppressive family, living under her real name, and Nick is on trial for murder. Trapped in grief and guilt, she cannot speak about the past and does not believe in the future. With Nick refusing to defend himself, she ventures to London to understand why he is so willing to embrace the hangman’s noose. Who is he trying to protect? What secrets does he plan to carry to his grave? And why does Nick insist upon hiding her true identity? To save the man she loves, Vera must tear open the past and confront the tragic price for peace.