Audiobooks narrated by Alix Dunmore

Reinventing Love: How the Patriarchy Sabotages Heterosexual Relations

A new work by the author of “In Defense of Witches” that seeks to redefine heterosexual relationships and give women back their voice. As feminist principles have taken wider hold in society, and basic ideas about equality for women can seem a given, many women still struggle in one of the most important areas of life: love. Whether it’s finding a partner, seeking a commitment from one, or struggling in a relationship that is unfulfilling or even potentially abusive, women still find that deeply-engrained notions of gender and behavior can be obstacles to a healthy, loving relationship. In her new book, acclaimed French feminist Mona Chollet tackles some of these long-held and pervasive ideas that remain stumbling blocks for many women in heterosexual relationships. Drawing from popular culture, politics, and literature, Reinventing Love provides a provocative, accessible look at how heterosexual relationships can improve and evolve under a feminist lens.

Mona Chollet (Author), Alix Dunmore, TBD (Narrator)

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OVERTHINKING

Since his adventure in Grunsby-on-Sea, Steven Percival has been thriving. He's kept his Emomancy powers under control, come out of the closet, and been with his handsome American boyfriend, Troy, almost every day this summer. He can't wait to start uni in London with his friends. But things in London don't exactly go to plan. Terrible housemates and fraying friendships are the least of his worries after he and Troy are recruited for a mission by DEMA. As the past, once thought buried, comes crashing back to the present, who can Steven trust when he can't trust his own thoughts?

David Fenne (Author), Alix Dunmore, David Fenne, Unknown (Narrator)

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The Book of Fire: The breathtaking new novel from the author of THE BEEKEEPER OF ALEPPO

'Stunning... will long remain in the reader's mind' - Kristin Hannah This morning, I met the man who started the fire. He did something terrible, but then, so have I. I left him. I left him and now he may be dead. Once upon a time there was a beautiful village that held a million stories of love and loss and peace and war, and it was swallowed up by a fire that blazed up to the sky. The fire ran all the way down to the sea where it met with its reflection. A family from two nations, England and Greece, live a simple life in a tiny Greek village: Irini, Tasso and their daughter, lovely, sweet Chara, whose name means joy. Their life goes up in flames in a single day when one man starts a fire out of greed and indifference. Many are killed, homes are destroyed, and the region's natural beauty wiped out. In the wake of the fire, Chara bears deep scars across her back and arms. Tasso is frozen in trauma, devastated that he wasn't there when his family most needed him. And Irini is crippled by guilt at her part in the fate of the man who started the fire. But this family has survived, and slowly green shoots of hope and renewal will grow from the smouldering ruins of devastation. Once again, Christy Lefteri has crafted a novel which is intimate and epic, sweeping and delicate. The Book of Fire explores not only the damage wrought by human folly, and the costs of survival in our changing world, but also - and ultimately - our powers of redemption and renewal.

Christy Lefteri (Author), Alix Dunmore (Narrator)

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OVEREMOTIONAL: the wholesome, queer YA adventure of the year!

'An epically exciting, utterly unique debut. Not to be missed.' William Hussey, author of Broken Hearts & Zombie Parts Sometimes, emotions can be a little too powerful . . . Seventeen-year-old Steven has a big problem . . . Whenever he feels intense emotions, weird things happen. Like when he kissed a boy for the first time, and the boy's head literally exploded. Fleeing to the miserable town of Grunsby-on-Sea, Steven is determined to not hurt anyone else - but he doesn't count on his best friend Freya, her boyfriend Marcus and American friend Troy following him. And when agents from the mysterious DEMA organisation show up talking about 'neutralisation', Steven realises that Grunsby-on-Sea might not be the safe haven he'd hoped for . . . The first in a wholesome queer YA fantasy trilogy packed with magic, loveable characters and big plot twists from debut author DAVID FENNE. Perfect for fans of TJ Klune, Rainbow Rowell and Adam Silvera. 'The fantasy drama of dreams. ' Lauren James, author of The Quiet at the End of the World

David Fenne (Author), Alix Dunmore, David Fenne (Narrator)

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My Friend Anne Frank: The Inspiring and Heartbreaking True Story of Best Friends Torn Apart and Reun

Brought to you by Penguin. THE LONG-AWAITED, MOVING MEMOIR OF HOLOCAUST SURVIVOR HANNAH PICK-GOSLAR, WHO SHARES AN INTIMATE LOOK INTO HER LIFE AND FRIENDSHIP WITH ANNE FRANK. 'As a girl I witnessed the world I loved crumble and vanish, destroyed by senseless hatred, and with it, my best friend Anne' Two best friends' lives were about to change for ever, neither would ever be forgotten... When Hannah's family flee from the Nazis to Amsterdam, she soon strikes up a friendship with a girl just like her freshly arrived from Germany. Precocious and outspoken, the girl's name is Anne Frank and for seven blissful years the inseparable pair navigate school, boys and coming of age. Then one day in 1942, as the Nazi occupation intensifies, they are separated without warning. Hannah calls on Anne and can't find a trace of her, breakfast dishes still in the sink, beds unmade. Anne and her family have seemingly vanished. They are told the Franks have fled to Switzerland. As Hannah is tormented by the fate of her friend, hoping she is alive and well elsewhere, her own family's fate unfolds. After attempts to flee themselves, the SS finally come for them and they are taken to the transit camp Westerbork. Eventually Hannah, her father and younger sister Gabi are transported to Bergen-Belsen. Amid horrific conditions with death all around, it is during Hannah's darkest point at the concentration camp that she hears astonishing of news of Anne. Desperate to save her friend who is weak and struggling to survive, Hannah risks her life to help her. In an incredible memoir of hope, strength and defiance, Hannah shares the intimate, loving portrait of her friendship with the young diarist who would go on to capture the hearts of millions around the world. ©2023 Hannah Pick-Goslar (P)2023 Penguin Audio

Hannah Pick-Goslar (Author), Alix Dunmore (Narrator)

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Meet Me on Platform 3

‘I couldn’t turn the pages fast enough. I loved it. Utterly heartwarming’ Julie Caplin ‘Adorable and clever, bursting with love and laughter. Climb aboard the Heartwarmer Express, this is THE rom com of the year!’ Jane Linfoot Two people. One journey… Millie loves her city life, her city friends and writing her true(ish) confessions column – but she’s starting to wonder if the grass really is greener on the other side, or if her heart really belongs back in Northumberland, with her mum who is struggling after the death of Millie’s dad. Since leaving home. Joe’s lived believing that looking back means you’ve failed, and life is about taking chances and seeing the world. So when the two meet up surely it can never work, their lives are moving in opposite directions. On different tracks… Readers are LOVING Meet Me on Platform Three: ‘A five-star read you would miss a train for…there was just something special about the will-they-won’t-they aspect’ Sara ‘Zara Stoneley is back to her witty best, in this light hearted rom-com that had me giggling and smiling throughout’ Rachel ‘I read this one in the space of two days…was so much fun, I couldn't put it down. Delighted to discover that this author has other books, will be reading them ASAP’ Courtney ‘A fun, smart, and witty ROM-COM that will have you turning the pages to find out what happens next’ Anne ‘From the first page I was hooked…A feel-good rom-com’ Rubie ‘A humorous, light-hearted read, touching on some more serious topics…I loved how easily I settled down into reading it! A wonderful story would recommend!’ Sharon ‘Left me feeling really upbeat at the end of it…it felt genuine and heartfelt with characters that leapt off the page’ Sarah ‘A perfect holiday read! Great storyline and brilliant characters’ Helen ‘Heartwarming and full of love and fun’ Katie ‘Really enjoyable read…totally recommend ’ Julie ‘A very clever story and a good ending…I loved it’ Rosamund

Zara Stoneley (Author), Alix Dunmore, Gareth Bennett- (Narrator)

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The Metaphysical Animals: How Four Women Brought Philosophy Back to Life

Brought to you by Penguin. 'In philosophy, one must start from scratch - & it takes a very long time to reach scratch' Iris Murdoch, Mary Midgley, Philippa Foot and Elizabeth Anscombe were philosophy students at Oxford during the Second World War when most male undergraduates (and many tutors) were conscripted. Taught by refugee scholars, women and conscientious objectors, the four friends developed a philosophy that could respond to the war's darkest revelations. When images of the concentration camps emerged, Foot wrote: 'We had thought something like this could not happen.' And when the atom bomb fell on Hiroshima, Anscombe saw a terrifying new possibility: by signing his name at the foot of an order, US President Harry Truman had been able to act on so vast a scale as to end the war by killing hundreds of thousands. How, they asked, do we find our way through the darkness of what we have created? Not even the great thinkers of the past or the logical innovators and Existentialists of the early twentieth century could make sense of this new human reality. So, in search of an answer, the four friends set out to bring philosophy back to life. What is freedom? What is real? What is human goodness? As creatures who use language - as human animals - it is in our nature to ask these questions. We are metaphysical animals. And the answers we give shape what we will become. Written with expertise and flair, Metaphysical Animals is a vivid blend of philosophy and recovered history - bringing back the women who shared ideas, as well as sofas, shoes and even lovers. Clare Mac Cumhaill and Rachael Wiseman show how from the disorder and despair of the war, four brilliant friends brought philosophy back to life and created a way of ethical thinking that is there for us today. © Clare Mac Cumhaill & Rachael Wiseman 2022 (P) Penguin Audio 2022

Clare Mac Cumhaill, Rachael Wiseman (Author), Alix Dunmore (Narrator)

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Intact: A Defence of the Unmodified Body

Brought to you by Penguin. In an age of social media and selfies, of pixel-perfect pictures and surgically-enhanced celebrities, the pressure to change our bodies can often seem overwhelming. We are told we should conceal the signs of ageing and get our bodies back after pregnancy. We ought to perfect our complexions, build our biceps, trim our waistlines, cure our disabilities, conceal our quirks. More than ever before, we should contort our physical selves to prejudiced standards of beauty and acceptability. In this thought-provoking work, acclaimed political philosopher Clare Chambers argues that the unmodified body is a key principle of equality. While defending the right of anyone to change their bodies, she argues that the social pressure to modify sends a powerful message: you are not good enough. The body becomes a site of political importance: a place where inequalities of sex, gender, race, disability, age, and class are reinforced. Through a clear-sighted analysis of the power dynamics that structure our society, and with examples ranging widely from body-building to breast implants, makeup to male circumcision, Intact stresses that we must break away from the oppressive forces that demand we alter our bodies. Instead, it offers a vision of the human body that is equal without expectation: an unmodified body that is not an image of perfection or a goal to be attained, but a valued end in itself. © Clare Chambers 2022 (P) Penguin Audio 2022

Clare Chambers (Author), Alix Dunmore (Narrator)

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In Defence of Witches: Why women are still on trial

'What remains of the witch hunts? A stubborn misogyny, which still tints the way our societies look at single women, childless women, aging women, or quite simply, free women . . . Today more than ever, witches tell us about our world and lead the way.' - Télérama A source of terror, a misogynistic image of woman inherited from the trials and the pyres of the great early modern witch hunts – in In Defence of Witches the witch is recast as a powerful role model to women today: an emblem of power, free to exist beyond the narrow limits society imposes on women. Whether selling grimoires on Etsy, posting photos of their crystal-adorned altar on Instagram, or gathering to cast spells on Donald Trump, witches are everywhere. But who exactly were the forebears of these modern witches? Who was historically accused of witchcraft, often meeting violent ends? What types of women have been censored, eliminated, repressed, over the centuries? Mona Chollet takes three archetypes from historic witch hunts, and examines how far women today have the same charges levelled against them: independent women; women who choose not to have children; and women who reject the idea that to age is a terrible thing. Finally, Chollet argues that by considering the lives of those who dared to live differently, we can learn more about the richness of roles available, just how many different things a woman can choose to be.

Mona Chollet (Author), Alix Dunmore (Narrator)

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The Ophelia Girls

A mother's secret past collides with her daughter's present in this intoxicating novel from Jane Healey, the author of The Animals at Lockwood Manor. In the summer of 1973, teenage Ruth and her four friends are obsessed with pre-Raphaelite paintings, and a little bit obsessed with each other. They spend the scorching summer days in the river by Ruth's grand family home, pretending to be the drowning Ophelia and recreating tableaus of other tragic mythical heroines. But by the end of the summer, real tragedy has found them. Twenty-four years later, Ruth is a wife and mother of three children, and moves her family into her still-grand, but now somewhat dilapidated, childhood home following the death of her father. Her seventeen-year-old daughter, Maeve, is officially in remission and having been discharged from hospital can finally start acting like a 'normal' teenager with the whole summer ahead of her. It's just the five of them until Stuart, a handsome photographer and old friend of her parents, comes to stay. And there’s something about Stuart that makes Maeve feel more alive than all of her life-saving treatments put together . . . As the heat of the summer burns, how long can the family go before long-held secrets threaten to burst their banks and drown them all? Set between two fateful summers, The Ophelia Girls is a visceral, heady exploration of illicit desire, infatuation and the perils and power of being a young woman.

Jane Healey (Author), Alix Dunmore (Narrator)

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Victoire: A Wartime Story of Resistance, Collaboration and Betrayal

Brought to you by Penguin. Paris, 1940. A woman in a red hat and a black fur coat hurries down a side-street. She is Mathilde Carré, codenamed 'the cat', known as Agent Victoire. She is a charismatic spy; her story is one of resistance and survival. These are the darkest days for France, half occupied by Nazi Germany, half run by the collaborationist Vichy regime; and dark days for Britain - isolated and under threat of invasion. Mathilde and her Polish conspirator, Roman Czerniawski, have risked torture and execution to build the first Allied intelligence network in Occupied France. With no training and little support, they have in a few months developed a huge system of agents. Their coded weekly reports are London's sole lifeline of reliable information. Mathilde is determined to be her nation's saviour, and what the partners build is central to Intelligence and Resistance efforts. It will become the first great spy network of the Second World War. But when the Germans inevitably close in, Mathilde makes a fateful compromise. She enters a hall of mirrors where every allegiance is doubtful, every action liable to be held against her. Nobody is certain who she is or whom she works for - her German handler, MI5, or SOE, who succeed in exfiltrating her on a fast boat to London. Is she a double agent - and, if so, can she be trusted to turn again? Victoire is the story of an inspirational and multi-faceted hero: a passionate, courageous spy but one also fragile and desperate to belong. She embodies the moral complexity of Occupation, and the bargaining between high ideals and dirty reality. Drawing on a wide range of first-hand sources, including recently declassified material, Roland Philipps has written a dazzling tale of audacity, complicity and the choices made in wartime. © Roland Philipps 2021 (P) Penguin Audio 2021

Roland Philipps (Author), Alix Dunmore (Narrator)

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One Step Behind

Brought to you by Penguin. Jenna is a wife, a mother, a doctor. She's also the victim of a stalker. Every time she leaves her house, she sees him. Disturbing gifts are left at her door. Cruel emails are sent to her colleagues. She has no idea who this man is but she feels powerless against him. Until the day he is brought into her hospital after a serious accident, and Jenna is given the chance to find out once and for all why this man is tormenting her. Now, the power is all hers. But how many lines is she willing to cross to take back control of her life? 'A really gripping rollercoaster of a read - I absolutely loved it, and read it in one sitting' Lisa Hall, author of Between You and Me 'I absolutely adored this disturbingly twisty tale of stalking, obsession and control' Emma Curtis, author of The Night You Left 'Twisty and addictive - I loved One Step Behind' Louise Beech, author of I Am Dust 'A gripping psychological thriller that pulls the reader through the story at a terrific pace, not giving them a moment to draw breath' Nikki Smith, author of All in Her Head © Lauren North 2020 (P) Penguin Audio 2020

Lauren North (Author), Alix Dunmore (Narrator)

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Audiobooks Narrated by Alix Dunmore