THE HANGING OF HETTIE GALE

Talented narrators Clare Corbett and Melanie Crawley deliver a haunting ghost story that shifts between 1776 and the present day. Corbett gives illiterate Hettie Gale a sharp West Country accent as she recounts her life and death in the late 1700s. Hettie's story alternates with that of soft-toned Alice McKenna, performed by Crawley. In the present time, Alice searches for her rich, unpleasant cousin, Fleur, who disappeared in treacherous Pedlar's Quag(mire), the place where Hettie Gale lived, gave birth, and was hanged, having been wrongly accused of murdering her son. Corbett and Crawley give superb performances, becoming the main characters and emulating the upper-crust writers of clue-laden journals. Together, they become Hettie, whose restless ghost seeks vengeance for her death, and Alice, who seeks the truth about what happened centuries earlier. M.B.K. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2025, Portland, Maine [Published: APRIL 2025]