Mansfield Park

The BBC brings another flawless performance to the audiobook industry with its production of Mansfield Park. The ensemble cast is led by actress Hannah Gordon. Most impressive is the audiobook's full-production quality. Sound effects are professionally done and exquisitely evocative--from the chirping of birds in trees to the ruffling of papers indoors. And the acting is superb. Robert Glemister's Edmund, for example, speaks like the Prince Charming he truly is. Listeners will be drawn in completely by such a wonderful production. R.A.P. Winner of AUDIOFILE Earphones Award (c)AudioFile, Portland, Maine


Listeners with the fortitude to make it through twelve cassettes of nineteenth-century British social mores will be rewarded with Austen's brilliant commentary on the society of her day and by Johanna Ward's solid reading. Her narrative style is unvoiced and cultured, but makes for difficulty in character differentiation, especially for listeners unaccustomed to this style of both voice and literature. Nevertheless, this is a lively and interesting choice for admirers of Jane Austen, but use cautiously with younger audiences unfamiliar with her work. S.G. (c)AudioFile, Portland, Maine