THE WOMAN IN WHITE

Wilkie Collins's gothic tale of redemptive love and treachery could not be better suited for a full-cast audio, with different characters picking up the story chronologically. Walter Hartright is employed to give drawing lessons to sisters Laura and Marian. He falls in love with Laura, but she’s engaged to another. When Laura's new husband steals her fortune and identity, Walter and Marian mobilize to protect her. Glen McCready (Walter) and Rachel Bavidge (Marian) are standouts as the moral center of the story. Walter's steadfastness and loyalty are fully realized; Marian's sense of outrage at her sister's mistreatment and frustration with her inability to change it are clear. Their characterizations of Laura's arrogant husband, the smooth but untrustworthy Italian Count Fosco, and the nervous Mr. Fairlie are both amusing and exactly right. A.B. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2008, Portland, Maine [Published: DECEMBER 2008]