THE PASSION OF ARTEMISIA

True story: In sixteenth-century Italy, 18-year-old painter Artemisia Gentileschi is raped by her painting teacher. When the papal court in which she brings charges simply humiliates her, she leaves Rome for Florence and ultimately becomes the first woman elected to the Accademia dell' Arte. Gigi Ber-mingham narrates Vreeland's novel about Artemisia with verve and passion. She has a pleasant voice that, in this first-person story, becomes the voice of Artemisia--somehow, she manages to sound young without squeaking and old without wheezing. The only quibble is Bermingham's habit of pronouncing the Italian words with an exaggerated Italian accent, a jarring contrast to the mid-American voice in which she reads the book. Otherwise, a fine listen. A.C.S. (c) AudioFile 2002, Portland, Maine [Published: JUN/JUL 02]