A Woman, a Man, and Two Kingdoms

Hearing the warm, witty correspondence between these two charming, urbane friends is like slipping back to an era when letters were an art form and friendships were passionate and enduring. Steegmuller has done an excellent job selecting the most interesting letters of Louise, Marquise D'épinay, and her friend Naples diplomat, the Abbé Galiani. Eighteenth-century figures like the youthful Mozart, Catherine of Russia and philosophers, including Diderot and Voltaire, make cameo appearances. Reader Davina Porter is suitably aristocratic in her delivery and effectively delineates the various people and episodes. Listening to these enchanting letters is the next best thing to traveling back to the salon society of mid-eighteenth century France. D.L.G. (c)AudioFile, Portland, Maine