STARTING FROM SENECA FALLS

Narrator Bernadette Dunne's gentle brogue enhances her portrayal of Bridie, an orphaned refugee from the Irish famine, now living in Seneca Falls, New York. While fleeing the fate of indentured servitude with an abusive family, Bridie meets Rose, a free African-American girl who helps Bridie find work at the home of the wealthy and eccentric Mrs. Stanton. Listeners who know their women's and abolitionist history will recognize Elizabeth Cady Stanton as she organizes the first formal women's rights convention. Dunne smoothly portrays a cast of historical characters including the Stantons, Lucretia Mott, and Frederick Douglass, as well as fictional characters from different classes and backgrounds. Historical fiction fans will be swept up by Dunne's engaging, well-paced narration. S.C. © AudioFile 2020, Portland, Maine [Published: AUGUST 2020]