SLEEP IN THE WOODS

Eden's romantic chronicle of nineteenth-century New Zealand is superbly read by McKenzie, a New Zealand native. Three girls, one a servant, travel from England in search of eligible men. Briar, the maid, catches the richest man and goes with him to the wilderness, where she must come to terms with rampaging Maori and the fact that she doesn't love her husband. McKenzie's pace and enunciation ensure that you won't miss a word of Eden's elegant, descriptive prose, and her smooth vocal changes guarantee character recognition. Briar's flinty determination, the other girls' whiny self-absorption, and Aunt Charity's courage (literally under fire) come through clearly. The romance between Katie, Briar's first servant, and a Maori tribesman is touchingly told. It's difficult to imagine how this 1960 novel could have been better presented. J.B.G. Winner of AUDIOFILE Earphones Award. © AudioFile 2000, Portland, Maine [Published: JUN/JUL 00]