The Lost Girl

Part of the magic of audiobooks is that they allow one to enjoy works that might be difficult to digest in print form. So it is (for this listener, at least) with Lawrence's tale of a young woman's quest to find herself; it might seem endless in print, but narrator Johanna Ward makes the journey pleasant. She takes the listener through Alvina Houghton's struggles with a dreaming father, sickly mother, and rejected suitors. Ward's characterizations give the listener vocal snapshots of the key players. Perhaps the most satisfying part of Alvina's journey to Italy is not her romance, but the spark that Ward brings to that country's language. J.J.B. (c) AudioFile 2002, Portland, Maine

March 15, 2003
First published in 1920, shortly after Lawrence's better-known Women in Love, this novel explores one of his favorite themes: women who marry beneath their station. Its English heroine, Alvina Houghton, escapes spinsterhood by marrying an Italian, ignoring the advice of her friends and family in favor of the man's warmth and understanding. As the story unfolds, she is torn between two worlds separated by vast differences in culture and class. It is a tale that should appeal to modern listeners, and Johanna Ward's precisely modulated narration makes it a treat to hear. However, it is unfortunate that the text used is evidently the original censored version, which was issued without Lawrence's approval, when a restored version has been available for more than 20 years.-R. Kent Rasmussen, Thousand Oaks, CA

Copyright 2003 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.