LORDS OF MISRULE

Fourteenth-century Scotland provides the background for this historical fiction about royal scandal and dissension. (Did royal and titled families "really" have that many illegitimate children, all on speaking terms with one another?) Joe Dunlop offers an outstanding performance of this sometimes complicated tale. His mastery of Gaelic and Celtic, as well as Highland and Lowland dialects and the King's English, blends to perfection in the dozens of characters in the royal line of Stewart and the knights of Douglas. Oafs bluster, curates fawn, old men tire, and women either soothe or spit. Dunlop weaves these colorful characters together in a clear and seamless narrative, changing effortlessly and appropriately in tempo and pitch. R.P.L. © AudioFile 2000, Portland, Maine [Published: AUG/SEP 00]