Rob Roy

This early nineteenth-century classic, which tells the story of the Robin Hood of Scotland, is alive and well in this production, elegant in sound and style. Frederick Davidson's voice masterfully moves from brogue to dialect, from Gaelic to English. He succeeds at the resonance of narrator Francis, the commanding voice of Rob Roy, the growl of the wicked Rashley, and the beautiful lilt of Diana Vernon. This recording, accordingly, "thrills the blood." J.D.N. (c)AudioFile, Portland, Maine


Narrator Sean Barrett doesn't let early-nineteenth-century verbiage bog down Scott's tale of adventure involving a London merchant's son, a Highlands rover, and Jacobite plots. Nonetheless, his reading does convey the immersive, comforting pleasure of books of the period. He is skillful in supplying appropriate emotions, acting various parts, varying voices, and maintaining an excellent pace (though some passages ARE verbose). His Scots dialect seems authentic, sometimes to the point of incomprehensibility, so some passages may give listeners difficulty, although the context usually helps. He also exhibits remarkable skill and sensibility in varying the accents and the thickness of the dialect not only among characters, but also within individual character's speeches, when indicated. His reading will be richly satisfying to fans of the period. W.M. © AudioFile 2015, Portland, Maine