An English gentleman's honor is beyond reproach or suspicion even in the case of Raffles, a national cricket star and an utterly charming and accomplished thief who turns to crime to sustain a lifestyle he can ill afford. Alas, our intimacy with this fascinating protagonist and his accomplice is hindered by a labored, often torpid narration, which is heedless to the text's dramatic cues. Although Covell approximates a "top-drawer" English accent, he cannot sustain it; his attempts at regional dialects are inconsistent and lapse into painful parody. Perhaps a native speaker might have succeeded better in capturing the flavor of Victorian society, wherein the appearance of honor and position, so delineated by language, is to be respected above all else. B.M.W. (c)AudioFile, Portland, Maine
--This text refers to the
Audio Cassette
edition.
Product Description
I am still uncertain which surprised me more, the telegram calling my attention to the advertisement, or the advertise-ment itself. The telegram is before me as I write. It would appear to have been handed in at Vere Street at eight o'clock in the morning of May 11, 1897, and received before half-past at Holloway B.O. And in that drab region it duly found me, unwashen but at work before the day grew hot and my attic insupportable. "See Mr. Maturin's advertisement Daily Mail might suit you earnestly beg try will speak if necessary-" I transcribe the thing as I see it before me, all in one breath that took away mine; but I leave out the initials at the end, which completed the surprise.
