THE PECULIAR GARDEN OF HARRIET HUNT

Anna Burnett's soft, precise voice is the ideal vehicle for this gothic novel about a young Victorian woman and her sentient garden. Harriet, who was psychologically abused by her uncaring father in the years after her mother's death, has been breathing easier following his disappearance. But when an inspector starts sniffing around, Harriet decides marriage to the seemingly kind Mr. Comstock will shield her. She's wrong, but her garden's ready to help. Burnett's even delivery allows listeners to believe in Harriet's watchful roses and affectionate ivy. She lends Harriet a timorous vulnerability, and her standard English accent modulates to a broader London one for Harriet's spunky maid. Burnett's attention to details like class and regionality carry listeners over the story's occasional inauthentic moment. Sensitive and satisfying. V.S. © AudioFile 2025, Portland, Maine [Published: FEBRUARY 2025]