ISOBEL GUNN

Thomas brings listeners a fictionalized biography of Isobel Gunn, a native of the Orkney Islands, as told by fellow countryman and minister Magnus Inkster. Seeking to improve her fortune, the impoverished Isobel disguises herself as a man and joins the "Company of Adventurers" to hunt pelts in Upper Canada in 1806. Duncan Fraser performs the story in thick accents as he becomes the minister, the uneducated traders, Isobel, and a snooty British manager. Thomas follows Isobel's life and her relationship with Magnus from early childhood through her death and continues the story thorough the lives of her descendants, up to the present. The final scene of the abridged audiobook leaves many questions as the saga ends abruptly. Nevertheless, this is a fascinating glimpse into nineteenth-century Canada and Orkney. M.B.K. 2003 Audie Award Finalist (c) AudioFile 2003, Portland, Maine [Published: APR/MAY 03]