THE LEES OF VIRGINIA

Nagel offers a generous history of seven generations of the family famous for Confederate General Robert E. Lee, starting from the family’s first U.S. settlers, Richard and Anne Lee. Nagel’s research is impeccable, and the historical value great. But despite Nagel’s excellence, the reading of this saga makes the work difficult to appreciate, let alone finish. Lewis’s high, nasal voice is unadorned by inflection, save for an annoying lift of half an octave whenever quotation marks appear in the text. Since Nagel sprinkles these throughout the story, the audible effect distracts significantly. R.P.L. © AudioFile 2000, Portland, Maine [Published: JUN/JUL 00]