CRANFORD

The elderly spinster ladies of the village of Cranford pinch pennies while maintaining the standards of behavior suitable for the upper class. Mary Smith, a frequent visitor to Cranford, tells us of the ladies’ trials, which range from the trivial—matching the right bonnet to the appropriate occasion—to the momentous—the bank collapse that leaves Miss Matty destitute. Prunella Scales employs a gentle tone that encapsulates the genteel poverty and sympathetic humor of the novel. Miss Matty is endearing and eccentric with her proper manner, her discombobulation when she meets an admirer from long ago, and her determination to repay debts by going into the business of selling tea. In addition to her portrayals of the ladies, Scales’s interpretation of Martha, Miss Matty’s fiercely loyal servant, makes it clear that she can voice a woman of any class. A.B. © AudioFile 2010, Portland, Maine [Published: NOVEMBER 2010]