THE ADVENTURES OF RAFFLES

This production includes the first six of the sixteen linked stories in RAFFLES, THE AMATEUR CRACKSMAN, the adventures of A.J. Raffles, a British gentleman and cricket player who resorts to crime for profit and excitement. Peter Joyce varies his likable voice well for the various characters, especially Raffles and his sidekick, Bunny, who is the book’s narrator. Joyce provides accents, both by class and region (Scotland, South Africa), and emotes fully in dramatic scenes. However, his voice often has a plaintive quaver, mostly as Bunny, but sometimes as Raffles, which distracts because one doesn't know whether it means something, or not. Otherwise, a vigorous reading of this popular late-Victorian work. W.M. © AudioFile 2009, Portland, Maine [Published: JULY 2009]