THE DRESSMAKER

Tess Collins talked her way onto the TITANIC by getting a job as a servant for a famous designer. Surviving the wreck, she finds herself in the middle of the controversy surrounding the congressional investigation into the ship’s demise. Susan Duerden’s soft, breathy voice suits the character of Tess, a gentle young woman with a backbone of steel. Duerden also transitions smoothly to perform male and female characters of varying backgrounds, including the brash American survivor Margaret (aka the unsinkable Molly) Brown. Many of the story’s characters, like Brown, are actual TITANIC survivors. With this year marking the hundredth anniversary of the shipwreck, listeners will find much educational value here, mixed with a healthy dose of imagination. R.L.L. © AudioFile 2012, Portland, Maine [Published: MARCH 2012]