Literary Britain

Rating:
Summary: A Wonderful Listen
Review: This is the best audiotape--no holds barred--I've ever listened to. Ronald Hutton takes the listener on a tour of the homes and towns of some of Britain's greatest writers.

First of all, Ronald Hutton has a wonderful voice. It is the quinessential English voice. The voice all we Americans think IS England. It isn't. But it sounds wonderful anyway. Secondly, although Ronald Hutton doesn't have a great deal of time to spend on each writer and although what he is saying is not all that new, each minibiography is presented in a fresh and interesting way. The result, in my case at least, was to motivate me to find out more.

There is a simple theme driving the narration: writers write under pressure, to relieve it or in spite of it. Ronald Hutton makes a convincing argument, and the listener comes away appreciating the work and ambition (let alone talent) of writers like Hardy, Austen, Shakespeare, Thackery, Burns, Scott, Dickens, just to name a few.

Recommendation: Look in your library if you can't track down a copy to buy.