FELIX HOLT

George Eliot's work places great importance on setting. In this substantial novel, much background is provided to make the nineteenth-century love triangle come alive. Narrator Nadia May fills the listener in with brisk, breathless cadences, breezing through the lengthy descriptions like a lovable neighborhood gossip. Her crisp accent, pauses between sentences, and mastery of tone help the listener understand the predicament of Esther Lyon, a young woman faced with the choice of two men: Harold Transome and the title character. As she reads the text, May seems to be enjoying it herself, which enables the listener to do the same. L.B.F. © AudioFile 2001, Portland, Maine [Published: FEB/MAR 01]