ADVENTURERS The Improbable Rise of the East India Company: 1550-1650

Howarth's detailed account of the first decades of the British East India Company makes for a daunting listen. The text, while deeply learned, is often hard to follow as it jumps around in history and, while snappily written, is show-offy, laden with obscure allusions, and more interested in cleverness than clarity. Michael Page's throaty voice takes getting used to, but his narration is intelligent, expressive, and effortlessly accurate, and his manner is genial and good-natured. He perfectly captures Howarth's consistent tone of lightly mocking, satiric skepticism. He suffers, though, from a lack of nuanced dynamics or varied pacing; everything is quick and forceful. The sometimes difficult or obscure text and Page's likable but unnuanced narration make the audiobook more a task than an enjoyment. W.M. © AudioFile 2023, Portland, Maine [Published: OCTOBER 2023]