A Distant Mirror

Tuchman's history of the latter half of the fourteenth century features Enguerrand de Coucy VII, a French noble who survived wars, crusades, plagues, and all manner of religious, civil, and social strife. Nadia May renders interesting even Tuchman's most pedantic moments of scene-setting and listing of people, supplies, deaths, etc. De Coucy, at 15, takes control of one of France's largest estates following the death of his parents and even marries into the English royal family. May's reading, with impeccable French and English accents, immerses the reader in the lengthy narrative, mixing the political with the personal. Humorous asides, especially commentary from peasantry, and a wry tone, especially in the accounts of both heroic and ordinary women, enliven the telling. D.P.D. (c) AudioFile 2007, Portland, Maine