The Lake Pavilion

Ann Bennett is the author of a number of historical wartime novels, including The World War Two Orphanage series, Echoes of Empire and the Oriental Lake series. Her standalone novel The Orphan House was a bestseller. Her Bamboo Trilogy is set in WWII Malaya and was inspired by her father's experience as a prisoner of the Japanese on the Thai-Burma railway. She is fascinated by India and South-East Asia and has travelled many times in the region since her early 20s. Her 2026 novel, Mandarin Road, hit #1 on the Amazon UK Kindle Historical Asian Fiction bestseller charts. chart Bennett holds a degree in law and works full-time as a lawyer while writing part-time. She is married with three sons and lives in Surrey, UK.

London-based, award-winning actor and voiceover artist Radhika Aggarwal has worked across stage, screen and audio for over 20 years. Audiobooks include The Bangalore Detectives Club trilogy (Hachette) and Hope You Are Satisfied (WF Howes). Screen credits include Casualty, New Tricks, The Split and The Children Act; voice work spans BBC radio drama, numerous indie and AAA games, and museum and heritage audio for Tate Modern and the V&A. When not recording or filming, she can be found drumming with her band Extradition Order or hitting London's (calisthenics) bars!