THE PROFESSOR

William Crimsworth, orphaned, educated, and ambitious, rejects the offer of an undesirable marriage and clerical collar to try his hand at trade. Unsuccessful there, he makes his way to Belgium and a career in education. Frederick Davidson presents this classic with a dry aesthetic that instantly warns the listener this is CLASSIC LITERATURE. As the story progresses, his characters take on substance, with layers of personality added progressively in each succeeding chapter. Early on, he allows some of Brontë’s warmth and feminine understanding to color the performance, in the way of delicate touches of color added by hand to old sepia photographs. Davidson’s tone, however, never loses its authority, and his pacing and drawing out of words often sound like a phonograph record being played backwards. R.P.L. © AudioFile 2001, Portland, Maine [Published: JUN/JUL 01]