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Thames Valley Tales (Short Stories) Kindle Edition

4.1 4.1 out of 5 stars 26 ratings

This collection of twelve contemporary short stories evoke the rich history and legends associated with the river Thames in England. Tim Walker’s stories were written over the past eight years and reflect his interests and experiences of living and working in towns along the course of England’s longest river wholly within the country. An author’s note near the end of the book explains the context and background to each story.

Some of these stories are updated versions (many with new endings) from the first edition of Thames Valley Tales, published in 2015. They are mixed with new stories to make up this collection selected for their suitability for the new audiobook edition (available from Amazon Audible and Apple i-Tunes).

The river Thames rises in a meadow in Gloucestershire, near Lechlade, and flows for 215 miles through nine counties, past Oxford, Reading, Henley, Marlow, Maidenhead, Windsor, Staines, Walton, Hampton Court and Kingston to London, before spilling into the North Sea. The settlements along the course of the river have witnessed many events that have shaped the country’s history and have given rise to myths and legends that dwell outside the bounds of verifiable history.
Tim’s Thames Valley Tales conjure up ghosts of the English Civil War, showcase an unlikely friendship between a pop star and an arms dealer, reveal a murder at Henley Regatta, expose a Runnymede rebellion, welcome the very modern merry Women of Windsor, find Dick Turpin’s treasure in Maidenhead Thicket, reveal a daring Colnbrook caper and cower from a tiger in Oxford.

Also included are three bonus stories from the first edition that are not included in the audiobook. So, get comfortable and enjoy your journey down this mature, meandering river. Available from Amazon in Kindle, paperback and Kindle Unlimited.

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Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B011PQHJUQ
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ (July 14, 2015)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ July 14, 2015
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 2.6 MB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 157 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.1 4.1 out of 5 stars 26 ratings

About the author

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Tim Walker
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Tim Walker is an independent author based in the UK.

In 2024 Tim published his second audiobook, London Tales, to add to 2023's Thames Valley Tales. These two audiobooks were produced and narrated by British actor and author, Richard James and are available on Amazon Audible. London Tales is a collection of eleven stories that echo London's past, reflect the present and imagine its future. London Tales is a companion volume to Thames Valley Tales, re-published as a second edition in 2023. Thames Valley Tales is a collection of contemporary stories that draw on current affairs and the rich history associated with England's longest river wholly within the country.

His most recent novel is a thrilling dual timeline, Guardians at the Wall, published in June 2021. Inspired by a visit to Hadrian's Wall in 2020, it tells the story of a team of archaeologists who uncover artefacts that connect them to the life of a Roman centurion who had guarded the wall in second century Roman Britannia. The story of centurion Gaius Atticianus of the VI Legion is told in alternating chapters, shadowing the efforts of student archaeologist, Noah Jessop, to piece together an account of Gaius's life and struggles for his thesis. How close will Noah's assumptions be to Gaius's real fate?

Tim published three books in 2020 - Perverse (April); Arthur Rex Brittonum (June) and Charly in Space (September).

Arthur, Rex Brittonum, a re-imagining of the King Arthur story, is book five in his historical series, A Light in the Dark Ages, and follows on from 2019's Arthur Dux Bellorum. Book one in the series is Abandoned (second edition 2018), followed by Ambrosius: Last of the Romans (2017); and book three is Uther's Destiny (2018). Series book covers are designed by Canadian graphic artist, Cathy Walker. The series connects the end of Roman Britain to elements of the Arthurian legend, presenting an imagined history (inspired by early historical sources) of Britain in the early Medieval period, once called the Dark Ages.

Tim lives near Windsor - close to the River Thames - the inspiration for his first book of short stories, Thames Valley Tales (2015, revised second edition, 2023). In September 2017 he published a second book of short stories, Postcards from London (unpublished in August 2023 to make way for London Tales, 2023). These stories draw on the local history and current affairs of towns and cities along the course of the Thames where the author has lived and worked. A new collection of poems and short fiction, Perverse, was published in April 2020.

His first novel was a political thriller, Devil Gate Dawn, that received pre-publication exposure on the Kindle Scout programme in March/April 2016. It found a wide readership due to its unnerving predictions of a post-Brexit Britain beset by political turmoil under King Charles III's rule and buckling under attacks from terrorist groups and includes a chapter that anticipated life in Trump America, written a year before his election.

In early 2017 he published his first children's book, co-authored with his daughter, Cathy - The Adventures of Charly Holmes. Another adventure story was published in 2018 - Charly & The Superheroes, followed by Charly in Space (2020).

Customer reviews

4.1 out of 5 stars
26 global ratings

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Top reviews from the United States

  • Reviewed in the United States on March 23, 2023
    Thames Valley Tales
    By Tim Walker

    I listened to the audiobook.
    Overall: Narration is Superb. I loved the background noises and music. I enjoyed all the stories, but wish they were all longer! Maybe I’m just not used to listening to short stories. Here is my individual rating for each story:

    The Grey Lady:
    A delightful little ghost story. It ends with the mystery unsolved - is the grey lady real or not..? Nevertheless, the grey lady’s story is heartbreaking and chilling.
    4⭐️

    The Goldfish Bowl:

    Enjoyable for the most part. The ending didn’t make a lot of sense to me…. I don’t want to give anything away, but it left me thinking ‘What!?’.
    3.5⭐️

    The White Horse

    A quick historical tale. Perfectly narrated, but to me, not as enjoyable as the first two.
    3⭐️

    Murder at Henley Regatta

    I enjoyed this story. It felt like the first chapter of an interesting whodunit. Would love to hear more of this particular story and it’s characters.
    3.5⭐️

    Maidenhead Thicket

    Oh wow! Wonderful story. I want more of Dick Turpin!
    4.5⭐️

    The Merry Women of Windsor

    Cute and funny. I loved the rhyming in the end.
    4⭐️

    The Colnbrook Caper

    Talk about seizing an opportunity! Clever!
    3.8⭐️

    Runnymede Rebellion
    Quite good. The story just left me wanting more!
    3.8⭐️

    The Oxford Tiger
    Really good. Another story I’d like to hear more of.
    4⭐️
  • Reviewed in the United States on March 29, 2023
    Enjoyed this series of magical, thoughtful short stories. Felt like I took some short trips to different worlds. They're narrated well, and there's something for everyone.
  • Reviewed in the United States on August 28, 2015
    A great holiday or bed time read. the stories and characters are interesting and engaging through to the end.
    One person found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

  • Steve Cann
    5.0 out of 5 stars Into the valley!
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 4, 2016
    I really enjoyed this compendium of 15 short stories by Tim - made all the more interesting for me as I too reside in this area of the country.
    There's a good range of narratives, characters and situations, and I especially liked the stories that carried a slightly supernatural element (such as The Grey Lady) - although my favourite of all was the neat & ingenious crime-can-sometimes-pay tale The Colnbrook Caper. It kept me in real suspense right till the end wondering if the protagonist really would succeed with his clever plan... but you'll have to read it for yourself to find out!
    What I liked too was that Tim has weaved actual historical events into some of the stories, and I learnt a fair few new facts along the way - which added an extra layer to many of the stories. Also, real places and historical characters inspired stories of their own, such as Maidenhead Thicket (Dick Turpin), The White Horse and The Devil's Highway.

    This is a very enjoyable collection, and such a great idea too for Tim to set his stories around the locations where he lives - I'm looking forward now to reading more of his other work.
  • H. Walker
    4.0 out of 5 stars Stories and history
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 12, 2020
    Really enjoyed these short stories set along the River Thames. Many had twists and were amusing, all had historical facts weaved through them. Anything about the River Thames is of interest to me, and this hits the spot. I particuarly enjoyed Murder at Henley Regatta, The Devil's Highway, The Grey Lady and The Tiger's Foot. A nice read.
  • PhilKindle Customer
    5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant read
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 6, 2020
    Brilliant read for short stories great details in each story as I live in the area ie Reading some of these I had never heard before
  • Janet Gogerty
    4.0 out of 5 stars Exactly what it says on the tin!
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 14, 2016
    A very personal selection and an interesting variety of stories in style and content. I enjoyed them because I know many of the places and love history. I liked the crime stories best, a shock murder at the regatta and the cleverly worked out plan when a young man is tempted by the huge sums of cash he handles at work - surely he will get his come uppance? You'll have to read to find out! Other stories were pleasant but lacking in bite, petering out when I was expecting a sharp twist at the end.
  • SC
    5.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating stories, excellent read!
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 18, 2015
    Fascinating glimpses into the history of the area. I thoroughly enjoyed all the stories and I wanted some of them to continue so that I could find out what happened to the characters.

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