THE ESSENTIAL JOHN MILTON

This program provides large selections of Anton Lesser's masterful reading of PARADISE LOST, with Eve's part ably read by Samantha Bond. Lesser also reads part of PARADISE REGAINED with similar intelligence and vivid emotion. Bond’s and Derek Jacobi's readings of some of Milton's shorter poetry, though mellifluous, sometimes work too hard to be "poetic." Jacobi's segments of PARADISE LOST and PARADISE REGAINED allow comparison with Lesser's; Lesser's close of PARADISE LOST is deeply poignant, Jacobi's merely resonant. Oliver Senton reads parts of three prose polemics with clarity and energy, but often too quickly for the listener to follow their complexities. A biography of Milton, well written and well read by Roy McMillan, makes a welcome close. A mixed bag, but most everything in it is good. W.M. © AudioFile 2008, Portland, Maine [Published: NOVEMBER 2008]