Vikings of the Ice

English, French, Irish, and Scots settlers gave Newfoundland a rich culture and a dialect that is a challenge for speakers and listeners alike. Narrator Frank Holden authentically replicates this uncommon speech, joining it with his pleasant Canadian accent to provide an enjoyable performance of this 1904 memoir about a six-week expedition aboard a Newfoundland seal-hunting ship. England's mastery of description coupled with Holden's effective delivery of the sailors' dialogue gives a brutal realism to the chapters describing the hunt. This intensity is relieved by alternating chapters full of the fascinating folkways and lore--including songs and poetry--that defined life in Newfoundland in the early twentieth century. (Listeners may find it helpful to listen to the glossary first to become familiar with the accent.) M.O.B. (c) AudioFile 2011, Portland, Maine