Reviews

John Halifax, Gentleman by Dinah Craik (The Guardian April 2008)

Published in 1856 and once rated as highly as George Eliot's Adam Bede, this tremendous family story is set in a period of stormy social change from the 1770s to the 1830s. In his journey from penniless orphan to mill-owning philanthropist, John Halifax is driven by duty, honour, his love of God and humanity. The effects of war and bad harvests on the rural poor, and corruption of parliamentary rotten boroughs (in one of which Halifax refuses to stand) are a small part of the wide-ranging historical backdrop. Every hour is hugely rewarding - and what an accomplished reading. It conveys every nuance of emotion, making the listener feel richer for having lived through so much

Sketches by Boz by Charles Dickens (The Publishing News March 2008)

That Peter Joyce had agreed to read Sketches by Boz in it's entirety was excellent news. Here, the first in a projected series of three CD collections spreading over 35 CDs, is Dicken's first published work. Without being told, you'd know it was Dickens - the irony, the humour, the building sentences, the close observation and fantastical comedy is all there, ready to be developed into Pickwick Papers and beyond. Along with his journalism, the Sketches are among my favourite of Dicken's works and I couldn't wish for a better reader. It's been one of the highlights of my March listening, and to know there's more to come ....

Greenmantle by John Buchan (The Publishing News March 2008)

Interesting to hear one reader encompassing three different styles - ironic and sprightly for Dickens, solemn and very victorian for Craik, and here for Buchan, stiff upper lip Boy's Own adventure style. I've missed out on reading Greenmantle, which features Hanney again, this time hauled out of his regiment and the First World War to seek out a threat that is massing on the borders of Empire. It's surprisingly good and an excellent choice of title to resurrect - classic adventure that can still knock spots off today's competition.

John Halifax, Gentleman by Dinah Craik (The Publishing News March 2008)

One thing I've always envied the Victorians for is the 'reading aloud around the fire' sessions. Needlework in hand, one can relax into the voice and the story, hands busy but mind absorbed by the unfolding story. It's why I love unabridged recordings, so discovering Assembled Stories and it's output of sometimes neglected classics was such a pleasure, and something to look forward to everytime I prepare for an audio review. Here's such a neglected Victorian classic, a huge best seller in it's day, ready to rediscovered through Joyce's excellent reading.

The Beloved Vagabond by W.J. Locke (The Observer January 2008)

This hugely successful Edwardian romance, first published in 1906, is intelligent and heart-warming. Paragot is a bohemian, both wise and a braggadocio, who adopts an urchin from the London slums and travels with him on an alternative Grand Tour, playing his violin, drinking wine and imparting wisdom. An orphaned country girl, Blanquette, joins them and they live a utopian existence until Paragot’s buried romantic past resurfaces. It’s a splendid celebration of the open road, its buoyancy heightened by Peter Joyce’s admirable narration which creates Paragot’s exuberant theatricality with great skill.

Riceyman Steps by Arnold Bennett (The Publishing News January 2008)

I almost felt olden days London fog creeping out of my CD player when I listened to this-a smell too, of a faded, dreary London of small dusty shops, setting the scene for this story of an ill- fated marriage in the years following World War One. It’s a ‘great tragedy’ in the lives of lost and lonely, middle aged people in the lower middle classes. Joyce’s reading is a class act; a splendid example of audio at it’s best.

Mr Wray’s Cashbox by Wilkie Collins (The Publishing News January 2008)

Ever happy to be led down the byways of English Literature, it was a particularly pleasant surprise to find this fine recording of a little known Wilkie Collins. Unabridged too, so all of this unusual story is available to hear - a delightful story just perfect for Christmas/winter listening. This is one of Assembled Stories’ splendid collection of well-priced attractively packaged, unabridged recordings that I’ve just discovered - listening enough to keep me going for many years.

Lawrence Loves by D.H. Lawrence (The Oldie December 2007)

The characters in these eight unabridged stories have complex interior lives, throbbing with dark and difficult sexuality. There is the girl who runs from her fiancé into nature’s consoling embrace; the doctor who saves the desperate woman from drowning, only to be ensnared by her unwelcome and passionate love; the tram girls vixenish vengeance on a man who has played with their affections. Bringing them startlingly alive is Peter Joyce’s very pleasing reading heightened by his excellent accents which keep the characters’ feet firmly on Nottinghamshire soil.

The Sowers by Henry Seton Merriman (The Observer November 2007)

No wonder ‘The Sowers’ was a Victorian bestseller. Set mainly in the Siberia of Imperial Russia, it has love, corruption, betrayal, jealousy, heroic charity, uprisings and hair-raising sleigh journeys. Prince Paul Alexis has inherited the family estate and, fired by compassion for peasants ravaged by starvation and cholera, he forms an illegal charity league and incognito, he relieves their sufferings. But someone has betrayed the league and death threatens. Peter Joyce’s excellent narration conveys the tension without melodrama. I was hooked for all twelve hours. Further review by The Observer - A gripping Victorian bestseller that still captivates. Rated as one of the TOP FIVE AUDIOBOOKS 2007.

Maupassant Magic by Guy de Maupassant (The Guardian November 2007)

My first-but not I hope my last-acquaintance with this eclectic publisher of classic stories packaged, presented and read in an unashamedly old-fashioned three Rs way, ie. Royal Academy Covers, romantic music, rounded vowels. De Maupassant wrote three novels and more than three hundred stories. These ten represent his range rather than his genius, but if like the desert castaway I could take only one, it would be “Boule de Suif”[Fat Ball] the best short story ever written in any language. Ten refugees from Rouen are fleeing the Prussian occupation of France in 1870-six self styled toffs, two nuns, a communist and a patriotic putain. Greed, hypocrisy, pride-De Maupassants’ take on human frailty is merciless. And his spare descriptions of the snow covered landscape and its occupants, including a certain young Prussian officer, are simply dazzling. This is magic for sure.

We welcome your comments and feedback on our titles and should you know someone or a publication that may be interested in reviewing our titles, please contact us.