Narrator Jones approaches this mesmerizing tale of medieval England with a dignity more befitting Masterpiece Theater
than the muck and violence of a 14th-century feudal society. His very proper British inflections sound most appropriate when he portrays members of the nobility, like Lady Kathryn of Blackingham Manor, or her lover and adversary, Finn, the illuminator. However, Jones's attempts to mimic the lower-class intonations of peasants such as Agnes, the cook, or her remarkable scullery maid, Magda, prove grating, and distract from this truly delectable tale of passions deferred, loves tested and society shifting. Though the abridgement captures the spirit of Vantrease's novel, it cannot conceal bald spots where material was clearly trimmed. Kathryn and Finn's passion for each other, though exquisitely described in places, feels like it brewed primarily off stage. Other plot threads, like Finn's association with the heretic John Wycliffe, who believed in translating the Bible into common English, are regrettably truncated. Indeed, though this is a tidy and spirited audio adaptation, listeners would do better to invest in the unabridged edition. Simultaneous release with the St. Martin's hardcover (Forecasts, Feb. 7).
(Mar.)
