BARNABY RUDGE

Barnaby Rudge, Dickens’s first historical novel (about the Gordon Riots in 1780’s London), is not his best book, but mediocre Dickens is still better than most of the competition. And reader Robert Whitfield is an absolute joy, making this long and complex work accessible and entertaining. Whitfield distinguishes with charm and consistency among the huge cast of characters--emphasis on that last word. This is Dickens, after all. He becomes an arrogant pub owner of modest self-awareness; a soft-spoken young lover; a highborn landowner; a henpecked locksmith; a sneaky apprentice; a protective mother; her retarded son, Barnaby; and dozens of others. Clearly Whitfield enjoys reading this novel as much as we enjoy listening to it. T.H. ©AudioFile, Portland, Maine [Published: MAY 98]