DRAGON LADY

This new biography of the last Chinese empress, Tzu Hsi (1835-1908), sets up a new way of looking at her reign. The numerous charges the author levels at previous biographers strains credibility without footnotes. Additionally, a troublesome aspect of this production is one's inability to get the characters straight because of the strangeness of their names. In this case, seeing those names might be easier on the listener. The narration by Alexander Adams is fine, and the production values are good, but again, it's difficult to tell the players without a score-card--especially when they change their names as the Empress did when ascending the throne. E.F. ©AudioFile, Portland, Maine [Published: JUN 93]