The English Wife

Annabelle is the young English wife of wealthy New Yorker Bayard Van Duyvil. On a dark Twelfth Night, January 6, 1899, Bay is found fatally stabbed, while Annabelle has disappeared—probably swept away in the frigid Hudson River. After this horrific opening, Willig (The Other Daughter) takes listeners back to their meeting and subsequent romance in England six years before. Annabelle and Bay equate their relationship with Shakespearean comedy, only to find that a tragic flaw destroys their carefully constructed life. Alternating with their story is that of Janie, Bay's timid and miserable sister. Though the press describes her brother's and sister-in-law's deaths as a murder/suicide, Janie doesn't believe it and decides to find the real killer herself, with the help of a sympathetic and resourceful journalist. Reader Barrie Kreinik does an excellent job with characterization—soft-spoken Bay has a hesitant and slow cadence. Annabelle's strength and energy are indicated by her crisp diction and impatient pacing. Lost Janie's voice almost disappears—quiet and even more cautious than Bay's. All the other characters are voiced with individuality and bring the listener immediately into the story.