EAST LYNNE

Those who take on this 24-hour-long audiobook will appreciate having Rachel Atkins as their narrator. She's every good reason to pick up one's earbuds and listen to Ellen Wood's 1861 melodrama. Atkins handles characters, plots, and subplots with aplomb. Lady Isabel Carlyle leaves her husband and children for a cad. After being abandoned by her lover, disfigured in a train accident, and presumed dead, she returns in deep disguise to her now remarried husband's estate as governess of her own children. In addition to a subplot concerning an old, unsolved murder, Atkins juggles love affairs, secrets, false identities, family relationships, and more, and she does it wonderfully. While this story is a bit dusty, Atkins keeps it fun. S.J.H. © AudioFile 2022, Portland, Maine [Published: JANUARY 2022]