THE ILLUMINATOR

Simon Jones illuminates Vantrease's intricate tale of fourteenth-century England. A diverse group of characters, from religious revolutionaries to lowly serfs, is rendered believable. It is a time of peril, even for the highborn, and widowed Lady Kathryn is fighting to maintain her household despite the demands of king and Church. In order to obtain the protection of a local monastery, she accedes to a request that she provide lodging for Finn, a master illuminator, not knowing that this will bring passion and more danger into her life. This grand tale of power, love, and social change could only be done justice by a grand narrator, and Jones, one of AudioFile's Golden Voices, provides it. D.T.H. © AudioFile 2005, Portland, Maine [Published: JUNE/JULY 05]