BURNING OF WASHINGTON The British Invasion of 1814

Anthony Pitch does not serve his material well in this abridged performance of THE BURNING OF WASHINGTON. The story of Great Britain's destruction of the U.S. capital during the nearly forgotten War of 1812 is dramatic, and Pitch's writing is clear and easy to follow (not always the case with recorded interpretations of historical works). But his bland, monotonic narration renders the story flat and uninteresting. His reading voice resembles an English Norman Lloyd, but Lloyd would never make such infuriating vocal choices. Pitch's pronunciation of "Potomac," with the accent on the third syllable, is especially distracting. G.M.N. © AudioFile 2000, Portland, Maine [Published: AUG/SEP 00]