ANGELICA

Something bad is happening in the Victorian London household of Constance and Joseph Barton, involving sexual terror and an apparent threat to 4-year-old Angelica, their daughter. The introduction of a former actress turned spiritualist into the crisis does not help matters, as husband and wife totally misunderstand each other, and no one in the story can see where the threat is really coming from until it is far too late. Arthur Phillips has something interesting to say here about the pre-Freudian understanding of repressed trauma, and the writing is Victorian ornate, as is appropriate. Unfortunately, Susan Lyons's reading is "veddy, veddy" faux elegant and actressy, and not without false notes, a style that not so much enhances the period flavor as makes it tedious. B.G. © AudioFile 2007, Portland, Maine [Published: OCT/ NOV 07]