A VERY ENGLISH AGENT

Veteran narrator Paul Matthews has a high old time transforming himself into Charlie Boylan, a delightfully nefarious dwarf who manages to avoid death at the Battle of Waterloo by choosing athletic sex in a hedge with a local girl over fighting. The rest of this entertaining, complicated romp addresses Charlie's effort to persuade a reluctant government that he deserves a "modest pension" for his role as a secret agent. He says he was hired by the government to assassinate would-be revolutionaries; the government demurs. But by way of persuasion, Charlie tells all in this crazy memoir about everything he did and everyone he slept with--it may not be the truth, but it's head-spinningly amusing. Matthews is in total command. He becomes everyone from insouciant Charlie to hysterical Mary Shelley to high-toned Wellington. He interlaces the dialogue with mellifluous narration and perfect pacing that helps us keep track of the plot. As Charlie would say, "Simply grand." A.C.S. (c) AudioFile 2004, Portland, Maine [Published: DEC 04/ JAN 05]