Audiobooks narrated by Barnaby Edwards

The Diamond Smugglers: The True Story of an International Crime Ring and Its Downfall, Told by the C

THE TRUE STORY OF AN INTERNATIONAL CRIME RING AND ITS DOWNFALL In 1957, as the Cold War raged, Ian Fleming took a respite from writing James Bond to craft a work of nonfiction every bit as tense as a Bond adventure. Aided by an ex-MI5 agent and International Diamond Security Organization operative going by the alias “John Blaize,” Fleming chronicled the IDSO’s infiltration of the “million-carat network” – the world’s most notorious diamond smuggling ring. Every year, a shadowy band of racketeers pirated a fortune in diamonds out of Africa, and the majority of the stolen gems wound up in the hands of Communist nations. In response, the IDSO commissioned a private army, led by legendary British spymaster Sir Percy Sillitoe, to penetrate and topple the ring. When the operation was complete, the Sunday Times gave the story to Fleming, who had impressed Sillitoe with his earlier Bond adventure Diamonds Are Forever. A remarkable feat of investigative journalism, The Diamond Smugglers is the thrilling true story behind one of the greatest spy operations in history.

Ian Fleming (Author), Barnaby Edwards (Narrator)

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Thrilling Cities: Fourteen Cities Seen Through the Eyes of Ian Fleming, the Creator of James Bond

A CAPTIVATING JOURNEY AROUND THE WORLD FROM THE CREATOR OF JAMES BOND Ian Fleming’s world travels and interests, as well as his journalism and wartime experiences, lent authority to everything he wrote. In 1959, the Sunday Times commissioned Fleming to write a series of dispatches from the world’s most beguiling locales. The result was Thrilling Cities, a masterpiece of well-observed travelogue that stands ably alongside the author’s Bond canon. From Hong Kong to Honolulu, New York to Naples, he left the bright main streets for the back alleys, abandoning tourist sites in favor of underground haunts, and mingling with celebrities, gangsters and geishas. The result is a series of vivid snapshots of a mysterious, vanished world from a twentieth century Western perspective. Just like his most famous fictional creation, Ian Fleming was a well-traveled man of the world who knew where to go to find excitement, adventure… and danger. In Thrilling Cities, he takes us along on a journey of international intrigue worthy of James Bond.

Ian Fleming (Author), Barnaby Edwards (Narrator)

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Uncrowned: Royal Heirs Who Didn't Take the Throne

Through the centuries, succession to the English throne has largely been dictated by blood. Children were born to the role, their destinies entwined with that of the nation. They would be raised with the expectation that they would eventually take their place on the throne and rule the land. But not all those expected to wear the crown completed this journey. Ashley Mantle explores the lives of several heirs apparent, from the Norman Conquest to the present day, who were destined to assume the throne of England but, for one reason or another, did not. You will meet such figures as Robert Curthose, eldest son of William the Conqueror, whose ineptitude saw him twice barred from the crown; Edward V, whose disappearance in 1483 still remains a mystery; Lady Jane Grey, the tragic Nine Days Queen; and Sophia, Electress of Hanover, who died months before her accession. Along the way we will explore the nature of rule to determine what was expected of an heir and how an heir was groomed in preparation for their ascent, as well as how the rules surrounding the succession have changed over the centuries.

Ashley Mantle (Author), Barnaby Edwards (Narrator)

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Dark Woods, Deep Water

In the depths of a remote forest, an enchanted castle preys on unwary travellers. The servants of the Goddess Morana sacrifice to their dark mistress every soul who crosses its threshold. One terrible night, three people who should never have met find themselves trapped there: a spoiled lady escaping an unwanted marriage, an aging warrior-prince on a deadly mission, and a resourceful rogue caught up in a botched heist. As their destinies entwine and the dawn approaches, the solution to the castle’s riddle becomes clear: if they want to escape, one of them must die. A dark fantasy tale inspired by Slavic folklore, Dark Woods, Deep Water is the debut novel by Croatian author Jelena Dunato. Set in an intricately imagined world that staggers the line between fairytale and brutality, this novel will appeal to fans of Katherine Arden and Naomi Novik, as well as lovers of classic Gothic fiction. Praise for Dark Woods, Deep Water: 'DARK WOODS, DEEP WATER is an enthralling dark fantasy with a gritty, gothic heart. There are no heroes here: instead the characters' varying shades of villainy fit perfectly into this horror-laced tale. Nail-biting, grisly, and genuinely chilling.' — Jess Hyslop, author of Miasma 'Dark Woods, Deep Water drew me into its spell, weaving its beautiful threads around me until I looked up and realized I'd been reading long past the time I should have been asleep. From the first page, I knew I'd follow these characters into whatever dangers lay in wait. A gorgeous, layered, compelling tale in a world both familiar and strange.' — Kate Heartfield, bestselling author of The Embroidered Book

Jelena Dunato (Author), Barnaby Edwards, Charlie Sanderson (Narrator)

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How To Stage A Coup: And Ten Other Lessons from the World of Secret Statecraft

'A compelling history of the dark arts of statecraft... Fascinating' Jonathan Rugman 'Rich in anecdote and detail.' The Times Today's world is in flux. Competition between the great powers is back on the agenda and governments around the world are turning to secret statecraft and the hidden hand to navigate these uncertain waters. From poisonings to electoral interference, subversion to cyber sabotage, states increasingly operate in the shadows, while social media has created new avenues for disinformation on a mass scale. This is covert action: perhaps the most sensitive - and controversial - of all state activity. However, for all its supposed secrecy, it has become surprisingly prominent - and it is something that has the power to affect all of us. In an enthralling and urgent narrative packed with real-world examples, Rory Cormac reveals how such activity is shaping the world and argues that understanding why and how states wield these dark arts has never been more important.

Rory Cormac (Author), Barnaby Edwards (Narrator)

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My Father's House: From the Sunday Times bestselling author of Star of the Sea

Brought to you by Penguin. September 1943: German forces occupy Rome. SS officer Paul Hauptmann rules with terror. The war's outcome is far from certain. An Irish priest, Hugh O'Flaherty, dedicates himself to helping those escaping from the Nazis. His home is Vatican City, the world's smallest state, a neutral, independent country within Rome where the occupiers hold no sway. Here Hugh brings together an unlikely band of friends to hide the vulnerable under the noses of the enemy. But Hauptmann's net begins closing in on the Escape Line and the need for a terrifyingly audacious mission grows critical. By Christmastime, it's too late to turn back. Based on an extraordinary true story, My Father's House is a powerful literary thriller from a master of historical fiction. Joseph O'Connor has created an unforgettable novel of love, faith and sacrifice, and what it means to be truly human in the most extreme circumstances. © Joseph O'Connor 2023 (P) Penguin Audio 2023

Joseph O'Connor, Joseph O'connor (Author), Aoife Duffin, Barnaby Edwards, Barry Barnes, David John, Gertrude Thoma, Laurence Bouvard, Roberto Davide, Stephen Hogan, Thomas Hill (Narrator)

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The King's Painter: The Life and Times of Hans Holbein

A BBC RADIO 4 BOOK OF THE WEEK 'A great, thrusting codpiece of a book. It is big, bombastic and richly brocaded ... A jewel in its own right' The Times 'Evokes the painter and his world as vividly as a Holbein masterpiece. Beautifully written and illustrated, this book is a must for lovers of Tudor history' Tracy Borman Full of insight ... This is a gorgeous book, to which I am sure I shall return again and again' Dan Jones Hans Holbein the Younger is chiefly celebrated for his beautiful and precisely realised portraiture, which includes representations of Henry VIII, Thomas More, Thomas Cromwell, Anne of Cleves, Jane Seymour and an array of the Tudor lords and ladies he encountered during the course of two sojourns in England. But beyond these familiar images, which have come to define our perception of the world of the Henrician court, Holbein was a protean and multi-faceted genius: a humanist, satirist, political propagandist, and contributor to the history of book design as well as a religious artist and court painter. The rich layers of symbolism and allusion that characterise his work have proved especially fascinating to scholars. Franny Moyle traces and analyses the life and work of an extraordinary artist against the backdrop of an era of political turbulence and cultural transformation, to which his art offers a subtle and endlessly refracting mirror.

Franny Moyle (Author), Barnaby Edwards (Narrator)

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The Lion House: The Coming of A King

Brought to you by Penguin. Venice, 1522. Intelligence arrives from the east confirming Europe's greatest fear: the vastly rich Ottoman Sultan has all he needs to wage total war - and his sights are set on Rome. With Christendom divided, Suleyman the Magnificent has his hand on its throat. From the palaces of Istanbul to the blood-soaked fields of central Europe and the scorched coasts of north Africa, The Lion House pioneers a bold new style of eye-witness history to tell a true story of power at its most glittering, personal and perilous: Suleyman's rise to become the most feared and powerful man of the sixteenth century. It is a journey built on brutal choices and intimate relationships - with the Greek slave who becomes his closest friend, the Venetian plutocrat who sells him gems and wins him allies, the Russian consort who steals his heart. Within a decade, Suleyman has mastery over millions of souls, from Baghdad to the walls of Vienna, while his pirate admiral Barbarossa dominates the Mediterranean. And yet the real drama takes place in small rooms and whispered conversations: as the Sultan exchanges love letters with his own vizier; as he awakes in terror after dreaming of his own assassination. The Lion House is not just the story of two civilisations in an existential duel and of one of the most consequential lives in world history. It is a tale of the timeless pull of power, dangerous to live with, deadly to live without. © Christopher de Bellaigue 2022 (P) Penguin Audio 2022

Christopher De Bellaigue (Author), Barnaby Edwards (Narrator)

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This Mortal Coil

Dementia, heart failure and cancer are now the leading causes of death in industrialised nations, where life expectancy is mostly above 80. A century ago, life expectancy was about 50 and people died mainly from infectious diseases. In the Middle Ages, death was mostly caused by famine, plague, childbirth and war. In the Palaeolithic period, where our species spent 95% of its time, we frequently died from violence and accidents. Causes of death have changed irrevocably across time. In the course of a few centuries we have gone from a world where disease or violence were likely to strike anyone at any age, and where famine could be just one bad harvest away, to one where excess food is more of a problem than a lack of it. Why is this? Why don't we die from plague, scurvy or smallpox any more? And why are heart attacks, Alzheimer's and cancer so prevalent today? This Mortal Coil explains why we died in the past, the reasons we die now and how causes of death are about to profoundly change. University of Manchester Professor Andrew Doig provides an eye-opening, global portrait of death throughout time, looking at particular causes of death - from infectious disease to genetic disease, violence to diet - who they affected, and the people who made it possible to overcome them.

Andrew Doig (Author), Barnaby Edwards (Narrator)

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For Your Convenience - A CLASSIC 1930'S GUIDE TO LONDON LOOS

A facsimile guide to the Gents Loos of London published originally in 1937 by Routledge. Hailed as the first queer city guide, For Your Convenience was first published in 1937. Ostensibly a guide to where a gentleman may find 'relief' in the metropolis after 'three cups of tea', for those 'in-the-know' the information held between its pages offers a much more tantalizing prospect. Now faithfully reproduced for the first time in over eighty years, this fascinating book works as both a wry and playful slice of social history as well as a fascinating insight into the perils and pleasures of a most specific activity for men who loved men. The book could be enjoyed as an entertaining guide to London's public conveniences but yet to our more sceptical eye it is patently a guide to where men could meet like-minded men in an era when homosexuality was illegal. It remains a classic whether taken at face value or not. - -

Paul Pry (Author), Barnaby Edwards (Narrator)

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The Lawless Roads

Brought to you by Penguin. In 1938 Graham Greene was commissioned to visit Mexico to discover the state of the country and its people in the aftermath of the brutal anti-clerical purges of President Calles. His journey took him through the tropical states of Chiapas and Tabasco, where all the churches had been destroyed or closed and the priests driven out or shot. The experiences were the inspiration for his acclaimed novel, The Power and the Glory. ©Graham Greene 1978 (P) Penguin Audio 2020

Graham Greene (Author), Barnaby Edwards (Narrator)

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Philip and Alexander

A joint biography that investigates how, during their lifetimes, Philip and Alexander transformed Macedon from a weak kingdom into a globe-spanning empire. During his short life Alexander the Great carved out an empire stretching from the Balkans to Central India, re-drawing the map of the ancient world. Yet Alexander represents only half of the story, for his success was not just the product of his own genius, restless energy and ambition, but was built on decades of effort by his father. History has portrayed Philip II of Macedon as an old man, one-eyed and limping, whose convenient assassination allowed Alexander the Great to come to power. But there was far more to him than this. Through decades of hard fighting, clever diplomacy, and sheer determination, Philip unified his country and conquered Greece. As authoritative as it is accessible, Philip and Alexander is the latest in a much-praised sequence of essential histories of the ancient world from a master historian.

Adrian Goldsworthy (Author), Barnaby Edwards, Peter Noble (Narrator)

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Audiobooks Narrated by Barnaby Edwards