The Man in the Iron Mask

Naxos follows its usual pattern of punctuating the narrative with carefully chosen classical musical segments appropriate to the mood of the particular part of the story. Bill Homewood reads this tale of French political intrigue in an emotionally intense British voice that is crisp and effective. He shades his characters subtly through intonation and pacing, his voice rising with excitement as various crises develop and climax. The story details the final days of the Three Musketeers and D'Artagnan, with only one left alive at the end. Heavily abridged by Homewood himself, the tale retains its essential core, and the result is exciting and satisfying. D.W. (c)AudioFile, Portland, Maine

This thrice-filmed romance stems from two historical facts. A valiant captain of musketeers named D'Artagnan lived in France c.1620--1673. Sometime before 1681, an unknown political criminal was forced to conceal his identity under an iron (or perhaps velvet) mask and condemned to live out his days in various French prisons. Some say he was the twin brother of the king. From the first fact, Dumas wove his popular adventures that began with The Three Musketeers. From the second fact, the same writer drew his plot for this, the third Musketeer novel. Reg Green delivers this very truncated abridgment with Gallic elegance and panache. He has one of those voices that compel one's attention, which he uses with great evocative power. A warning though--he delivers some odd line readings and strange pronunciations of French terms, and the sound quality is not all it should be. Y.R. (c)AudioFile, Portland, Maine