INTO THE WILDERNESS

This full-length recording sweeps the listener into the backwoods of upstate New York two hundred years ago. Elizabeth Middleton, arriving from England to live with her father and establish a school, finds herself immersed in the conflicts raging between the natives and the European settlers. Kate Reading's rendition reaches far beyond the velvet tones of the author's provocative prose. Reading also paints a vivid landscape of eighteenth-century New York using a panorama of bold and subtle accents. Native Americans, African-Americans, Germans, French, English and Scots are all superbly articulated. The many hours of listening evaporate with this captivating performance. J.J.F. © AudioFile, Portland, Maine [Published: OCT/NOV 99]