Audiobooks narrated by Jennifer M. Dixon

"Agatha Christie's cherished housekeeper, Phyllida Bright, not only keeps the celebrated author's home running smoothly, but she has also proven herself an accomplished sleuth. So when a murderer brings mayhem to a wedding, in this USA Today bestselling series' latest installment, she's on hand to sweep up the mystery . . . Phyllida is delighted to receive an invitation to the wedding of her friend Dr. John Bhatt. It's a chance to get to know his fiancée, Emily Hartparker, and to explore Coatesworth Manor—the grand seaside estate that belongs to Emily's distant relatives. Coatesworth is now managed by Lady Artemis Coatesworth and offers ample space for a celebration. But it's soon clear that some of the guests have intentions beyond cheering on the happy couple. As is often the case when extended family gathers, there is bickering, not to mention an awkward love triangle between Emily's lovely cousin Lily, her handsome ex-husband Heath, and his new wife, Tibby. Besides that, some of the other cousins don't seem to get along. And the drama gets infinitely worse when a wedding guest is discovered dead in the small chapel only hours after the ceremony. Phyllida immediately agrees to help discover what happened, and brings some of her staff over from Mallowan Hall, Mrs. Christie's manor house, for cover. But with plenty of dark secrets and ugly family dynamics, it seems the killer could be any one of the Coatesworths—and that killer is dangerously motivated to keep the grisly truth from being revealed . . ."

Colleen Cambridge (Author), Jennifer M. Dixon (Narrator)

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In Quest of a Cure: Literary and Medical Cultures of the Health Resort

"People have always traveled for health, but as industrial pollution increased in nineteenth-century Britain, doctors started ordering their patients abroad in ever-growing numbers. This work explores the intensity and sheer strangeness of life in these colonies, governed by illness, but where patients (before the rise of the sanatorium) could move around freely, and even indulge in winter sports. Focusing on Menton on the Riviera and Davos in the Swiss Alps, from the 1860s to the 1920s, In Quest of a Cure explores the literary and medical cultures of these resorts. Blending medical and literary history and analysis, Sally Shuttleworth looks in depth at the lives and writings of literary invalids, leading up to an extended study of Thomas Mann's The Magic Mountain, placed in the medical and literary context of Davos life. Other literary lives and fiction explored include Henry James, Arthur Conan Doyle, Olive Schreiner, Vernon Lee, 'new woman' novelist Beatrice Harraden, and Llewelyn Powys. In Quest of a Cure considers the pleasures as well as the pains of medical exile, and the close bonds which often developed between doctor and patient. Medical climatology, as it was called, is a discarded science, but its prescription of fresh air, exercise, and sunshine brought about a revolution in medical practices at the time."

Sally Shuttleworth (Author), Jennifer M. Dixon (Narrator)

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The Child Follows the Womb: Gender, Reproduction, and Roman Slavery

"A new and incisive exploration of female slavery and reproduction in ancient Rome One of ancient Rome's most significant legacies is a legal framework for hereditary slavery. Under the Roman principle that would come to be known as partus sequitur ventrem (the offspring follows the womb), enslaved women bore enslaved children regardless of the identity of the child's father. For centuries, across the globe, this legal doctrine was invoked to justify control over enslaved women's reproductive labor. This is the first book to examine the development and practice of the partus principle in its original Roman context, tracing the lives of five women subject to different forms of corporal control, from coerced reproduction to concubinage to forced marriage. These women's stories―recovered from fragments of papyrus, stone monuments, wooden tablets, and more―reveal the diverse ways that slaveholders used the partus principle to their advantage. Offering an intimate, nuanced account of the sexual and reproductive dimensions of slavery across the vast Roman Empire, Katharine P. D. Huemoeller reveals the particularities of female enslavement in the Roman world and the long history of reproductive injustice."

Katharine P. D. Huemoeller (Author), Jennifer M. Dixon (Narrator)

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How Africa Works: Success and Failure on the World's Last Developmental Frontier

"In the 1980s, countries across Asia stunned the world with meteoric economic growth—but when eyes turn to Africa today, it is often to lament corruption, violence, and poverty rather than to scout the next developmental frontrunners. Yet some African nations, even in the face of challenging geography and the crippling legacies of colonialism, have found remarkable success. In How Africa Works, Joe Studwell draws on extensive research and travel across the continent to explore what's worked and what hasn't, and shows how the rapidly rising population—seen as alarming by so many—will be foundational to Africa's flourishing. Highlighting the insights and achievements of African leaders rather than the international community that presumes to know better, Studwell shows that there is a clear developmental path many successful nations have followed. He puts the spotlight on four countries that have seen exceptional economic growth—Botswana, Mauritius, Ethiopia, and Rwanda—and that demonstrate the promise as well as the particular challenge of the African context. Prosperity is well within reach, thanks to huge leaps forward in education and favorable demographics, but embracing winning polices and sidestepping misguided foreign interests will be key. Studwell's book is essential for anyone looking to understand the next chapter of global development."

Joe Studwell (Author), Jennifer M. Dixon (Narrator)

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Two Truths and a Murder: A Phyllida Bright Mystery, Book 5

"While her famous employer is happily back home at Mallowan Hall, wrestling with her Belgian detective’s dilemma on board the Orient Express, Phyllida is finding her local renown as a sleuth has put her in high demand. A distraught Vera Rollingbroke suspects her husband of infidelity and has invited Phyllida to a dinner party to observe his behavior, particularly in regard to one Genevra Blastwick. What she does observe at the party is that Genevra craves attention, in contrast to her shy sister Ethel. Genevra introduces a game called Two Truths and a Lie, and one of her questionable statements is that she once witnessed a murder. At this bold claim, the guests react with disbelief and pepper her with questions. Genevra remains cagey, withholding details, but insists this is not her lie. The next morning Phyllida learns poor Ethel was purposely run down by a motorcar the previous night while inexplicably walking home alone from the party. She fears Genevra may have been the target, which means someone at the party is a killer—twice over. A chilling thought. With Genevra in potential danger—and Inspector Cork proceeding ponderously as usual—Phyllida takes it upon herself to unmask the killer. With two murders to solve, she will need to grill Genevra and the guests as well as re-examine any past sudden deaths or disappearances. And if she’s smart, she’ll look twice before crossing the road . . ."

Colleen Cambridge (Author), Jennifer M. Dixon (Narrator)

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The French Revolution: A Political History

"A major new political history of the French Revolution In 1786, France's ancien régime was functioning as usual. Its alliance with the victorious American colonies had restored its diplomatic prestige, the economy seemed to be flourishing, and internal politics seemed quiet. But just a few short years later, the dynasty which had ruled France for over 800 years was swept away. What happened to cause such devastating change to the long-established political structure? John Hardman traces the political history of the French Revolution, from its origins to its aftermath. Hardman argues that the nature of ancien régime politics, the mismanagement of the fiscal crisis, and a new generation of young, overly confident politicians brought the Bourbon monarchy's apparatus crashing down. He shows how feudalism was on its last legs in 1789, and analyses the key roles played by Louis XVI, Antoine Barnave, and Georges Danton. This is a remarkable history of one of modern Europe's defining moments, shedding new light on the complex politics of the day."

John Hardman (Author), Jennifer M. Dixon (Narrator)

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Heiresses: Marriage, Inheritance and Caribbean Slavery

"Through the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, it was a fact universally acknowledged that any man in want of a great fortune ought to find himself a Caribbean heiress. Their assets, the product of the exploitation of enslaved African men, women, and children, enabled them to marry into the top tiers of the aristocracy and influence society and politics. They fell in love (not always with their husbands), eloped, divorced, squandered fortunes, commissioned art, threw parties, went mad and (in once case) faked a daughter's death. In her much anticipated follow up to Black Tudors, Miranda Kaufmann peers beneath our pastel-hued, Jane Austen inspired image of the Georgian heiress to reveal a murky world of inheritance, fortune-hunting, and human exploitation. She also unearths the stories of the people the heiresses enslaved, whose labor funded their lifestyles with whom their fates were intimately intertwined. Heiresses provides a compelling and often shocking account of how Britain profited and continues to profit from enslavement. In the vein of landmark books such as Empireland, Natives, They Were Her Property, and White Debt, Heiresses promises to expand and challenge our understanding of history."

Miranda Kaufmann (Author), Jennifer M. Dixon, Miranda Kaufmann (Narrator)

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Queen Victoria's Favourite Granddaughter: Princess Victoria of Hesse and by Rhine, the Most Consequential Royal You Never Knew

"In the fall of 1947, an eighty-four-year-old woman receives an extraordinary invitation. Within is the end of a long journey seeking vindication for a husband who gave his life to the service of the Royal Navy and received, in return, ingratitude. Thus begins the story of Princess Victoria of Hesse and by Rhine. Victoria, the eldest daughter of Princess Alice and Prince Ludwig of Hesse, was born in April 1863. Queen Victoria helped her granddaughter shoulder the responsibilities of caring for the motherless family, writing letters of advice and guidance, a correspondence lasting some thirty years. In April 1884, Victoria married the dashing Prince Louis of Battenberg, an officer in the Royal Navy, who eventually became Britain's First Sea Lord. Their daughter, Alice, was the future mother of Prince Philip and their youngest child, another Louis, was Viceroy of India. On the eve of World War I, Prince Louis of Battenberg was forced to resign because of his German surname, which he later changed to Mountbatten. Through cataclysms, both familial and historical, traveling from prerevolutionary Russia to the British Mandate of Palestine, Victoria's life was as exciting as it was triumphant."

Ilana D Miller (Author), Jennifer M. Dixon (Narrator)

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Entwined Magic: A Pride and Prejudice Fantasy Variation

"The bewitching, much-anticipated conclusion of the award-winning Pride and Prejudice variation! Elizabeth and Darcy dream of a peaceful life together in idyllic Pemberley, but when rumors start circulating that Napoleon intends to invade the Kingdom by sea, they are sent with a group of Royal Mages to the coast of Kent to discover the truth. But the truth is hidden under multiple layers of uncertainty, and they soon suspect they have been lured into a trap. Faced with danger and betrayal, Elizabeth and Darcy must depend on each other to survive. Will their circumstances bring them closer together, or tear them apart? Will the war ever allow Elizabeth and Darcy's love to blossom? And—most importantly—what sacrifices must they make to find their well-deserved happiness?"

Monica Fairview (Author), Jennifer M. Dixon (Narrator)

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Anthony Trollope: A Very Short Introduction

"Anthony Trollope is among the best-loved novelists in the English language. His strongly drawn characters and skillful plots are compelling, while his moral judgements are often subtly challenging. He is an entertainer, but his power to make his readers think, and to feel, is unrivalled. This Very Short Introduction will place Trollope's work in the context of his life and times, drawing on recent scholarship to illuminate his central interests and literary strategies. The major series of novels (the six novels located in the fictional Barsetshire, and the six Palliser novels) are explored alongside the novels set in Ireland, his travel writing, and his less well-known fiction. Trollope's work is energized by the complexities of the Victorian Britain, with its political tensions, its troubled views of the relation between men and women, its expanding place in the wider world, and its growing discomfort with the contradictions created by a corrosive preoccupation with wealth and display. But Trollope's writing is of more than historical interest. His insight into the motives of human behavior and of the conflict between the need for reform and the wish to defend what might be destroyed by the pressure for change, feels surprisingly modern. Birch shows how his writing has retained its vivid appeal to new generations of readers."

Dinah Birch (Author), Jennifer M. Dixon (Narrator)

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Blood and Mistletoe: The History of the Druids in Britain

"The acclaimed author of Witches, Druids, and King Arthur presents a 'lucid, open-minded' cultural history of the Druids as part of British identity (Terry Jones). Crushed by the Romans in the first century A.D., the ancient Druids of Britain left almost no reliable evidence behind. Historian Ronald Hutton shows how this lack of definite information has allowed succeeding British generations to reimagine, reinterpret, and reinvent the Druids. Hutton's captivating book is the first to encompass two thousand years of Druid history and to explore the evolution of English, Scottish, and Welsh attitudes toward the forever ambiguous figures of the ancient Celtic world. Druids have been remembered at different times as patriots, scientists, philosophers, or priests. Sometimes portrayed as corrupt, bloodthirsty, or ignorant, they were also seen as fomenters of rebellion. Hutton charts how the Druids have been written in and out of history, archaeology, and the public consciousness for some 500 years, with particular focus on the romantic period, when Druids completely dominated notions of British prehistory. Sparkling with legends, filled with new perspectives on ancient and modern times, this fascinating cultural study reveals Druids as catalysts in British history."

Ronald Hutton (Author), Jennifer M. Dixon (Narrator)

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Familiar Violence: A History of Child Abuse

"Child abuse casts a long shadow over the history of childhood. Across the centuries there are numerous accounts of children being beaten, neglected, sexually assaulted, or even killed by those closest to them. This book explores this darker side of childhood history, looking at what constituted cruelty towards children in the past and at the social responses towards it. Focusing primarily on England, it is a history of violence against children in their own homes, covering a large timeframe which extends from medieval times to the present. Undeniably, the experience of children in the past was often brutal, and children were treated with, what seems to contemporary mores, callousness and cruelty. However, historians have paid far less attention to how the mistreatment of children was understood within its contemporary context. Most parents, both now and in the past, loved their children and there have always been widely shared understandings of the boundaries that separate the acceptable treatment of children from the intolerable and morally wrong. This book will examine how these boundaries have changed and been contested over time and, in doing so, provides a context to the many forms of violence experienced by children in the past."

Heather Montgomery (Author), Jennifer M. Dixon (Narrator)

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Audiobooks Narrated by Jennifer M. Dixon

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