UNDER THE WIDE AND STARRY SKY

Narrator Kristen Potter takes the tone of an objective observer as Horan uses fiction interwoven with history to examine the relationship between a celebrity and the extraordinary, but almost forgotten, woman who won his heart. The relationship between Scotsman Robert Louis Stevenson and American Fanny Van de Grift Osbourne--from their meeting in 1875 through almost three decades of love, illness, travel, and adventure--is the focus of this novel. As the author shines a light on this May-December relationship in which Fanny, 11 years Stevenson's senior, serves as nurse, confidante, wife, and caretaker of his legacy, Potter provides a straightforward presentation that fits the prose. Overall, her delivery is smooth, although her attempts at a Scots accent are inconsistent. N.E.M. © AudioFile 2014, Portland, Maine [Published: APRIL 2014]