BRIDESHEAD REVISITED

Charles Ryder is fascinated by Lord Sebastian Flyte at Oxford. After spending time at the family's home, Brideshead, he develops an attachment to the whole family; years later he is engaged to marry Sebastian's sister Julia. This tidy abridgment of Evelyn Waugh's story of faith, decadence, love, and disillusionment between the wars is narrated by Jeremy Northam. His portrayal of the Marchmains is masterful—the feckless Sebastian is irresistible, the younger Cordelia is delightful, and Lady Marchmain is formidable and manipulative. We understand why Charles is spellbound by Sebastian and Julia. He also successfully creates characters across gender, class (Charles's army buddies), and country (Germans and Canadians). However, his performance of Charles is just a bit too laid-back—Charles seems a little dull, and listeners may wonder what Sebastian and Julia see in him. A.B. © AudioFile 2009, Portland, Maine [Published: OCTOBER 2009]