This baroquely plotted drama is almost likable in spite of itself. The titular Sonnet Lover is either the narrator, Renaissance sonnet professor Rose Asher, or Shakespeare's Dark Lady, whom Asher comes to believe was a Tuscan stone mason's uneducated teenaged daughter, who briefly visited England and slept with Shakespeare and thereafter wrote him deathless sonnets in flawless, mostly modern, English. If you question the likelihood of that, you may also doubt that Professor Asher, given her education and experience, should ceaselessly employ such sloppy diction as "ornje" for "orange" and "ahso" for "also" and be unable to pronounce "Lombardy" or "Fiesole." Nor are Jen Taylor's acting skills broad. Mostly she indicates drama by squeaking, which is monotonous. Her British and Aussie accents are quite good though.
Pub Date: June 12, 2007
Duration: 13 hrs, 15 mins
DD ISBN: 9780792749684
Publisher: BBC Audiobooks America
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
Ayla, one of the "others," is adopted by a clan of Neanderthal cave people. She struggles to conform to their ways, but her advanced human traits overwhelm and threaten their primitive culture in this initial installment of an immensely popular series. Although the story might benefit from abridgment, Rowena Cooper easily carries out the formidable task of enlivening the mostly silent and stereotypical characters with consistent, diverse personalities and human dimension. Through skillful phrasing and inflection, she maintains the reader's interest and suspense, especially with Ayla and her plight, throughout this rambling and imaginative story.
Pub Date: N/A
Duration: 22 hrs
Publisher: BBC Audiobooks America/ Chivers
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
This lyrical, sensual novel of woman's lot in Manchu, China, is as well researched as it is well written. Authentic in tone, it's nonetheless written for Westerners by a Western expert on China. Moreover, Susan Clark performs the demanding text superbly, with only occasional signs of fatigue. For the most part she not only sustains the quaint diction and Asian atmosphere, but also, creates whole worlds with her voice. She acts the book, rather than reads it, and, in so doing, turns a pretty trifle into a stupendous beauty.
Pub Date: N/A
Duration: 4 hrs, 30 mins
Publisher: Audio Literature
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
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