THE MASTER

Colm Tóibín’s novel of Henry James’s life starts at his watershed moment in 1895 with the devastating failure of his play, GUY DOMVILLE, which ends his hope of lucrative writing for the stage. Then it moves back in James’s memory and forward in real time, showing how events from the life provided first a kernel, then more and more layers, as James evolves his novels. You don’t have to be a Jamesian to find this subtle and beautifully structured book mesmerizing. Ralph Cosham takes the arguably cerebral story from the page and renders it a fully staged, walking, talking drama without a single false note, so you haven’t just heard it, you feel you’ve seen it. Superb. B.G. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award, 2005 Audie Award Finalist © AudioFile 2005, Portland, Maine [Published: FEB/ MAR 05]