Narrated by Ralph Lister
When I started listening to Charming the Shrew
Charming the Shrew takes place at an earlier time in history than I normally choose, but I love historical fiction and Scotland in particular. Medieval Scotland is a time of war between Scotland and England and the ever-present threat of plague. The story begins in 1307, after the brutal defeat of William Wallace (remember Braveheart?) and the Scottish king, Robert the Bruce, is recovering from the plague and defending his crown from both the British threat and treasonous factions within the Highlands.
Our hero, Tayg Munro, has been looking forward to a respite from fighting to return home to Culrain in the Scottish Highlands with his eldest brother, Robbie, who is facing an arranged marriage as the firstborn future chief of the clan. Tayg is grateful that he is second-born and can focus on fighting and females. His friends had recently observed that he was a ladies’ man, who would,
“Woo them. Bed them. Leave them with their heads spinning so t’will be months before they’ll even look at another lad. That’s our Tayg. He has never been able to choose but one lass”, with Tayg responding, “And why should I? When there are so many who are willing to share my company…and my bed?”
Less than a year later, Robbie is dead and Tayg is facing his destiny as the future chief of the Munro clan. He has returned to a celebration that is rudely interrupted by his mother’s insistence that, as future chief, it is past time that he choose a wife and quiet the squabbling among the lasses for his favor. In desperation, Tayg grasps at the chance to leave home for a short mission on behalf of his father and his king, the Bruce. It should be simple. In disguise as a traveling bard, he is to travel from clan to clan, beginning with clan MacDonald, to invite certain Highland chiefs with questionable loyalty to a royal wedding where they can pledge their fealty to the Scottish king. What better way to escape his responsibilities and the constant uncomfortable serenading of the popular songs about the brave feats of “Tayg of Culrain” which only incite the local females to more fervent pursuit.
Enter Catriona MacLeod, a fiery young woman who has grown up determined to save herself and her clan against the odds of an abusive older brother and an arranged marriage to “Dog Face MacDonald” (the nickname says it all). She battles her brother’s abuse with all of the weapons and armor she has at her disposal – primarily her quick wits, passionate nature, and sharp tongue. Her unyielding defense of herself, and what she feels is best for the clan, has earned her the widespread reputation as “The Shrew of Assynt”. Her only ally, out of her family of five brothers and indifferent father, is her brother, Ailig, a quietly wise man that is too far back in the birth order to become chief of the clan and help Catriona.
Upon delivering his message to the seat of Clan MacDonald, Tayg is asked by none other than Dog Face MacDonald to carry a handwritten note to Assynt, which implicates both Clan MacDonald and MacLeod in a conspiracy against the Scottish king, through an arranged marriage. As Tayg travels toward Assynt and debates his next steps, he is surprised to encounter a fleeing Catriona. Cat, who has decided to escape her upcoming marriage, has lost her horse and her direction at the start of a blizzard. Tayg and Cat are forced into an uneasy alliance where they partner to evade Dog Face, her brothers, and their own growing attraction. As Tayg begins to value the loyalty, passion, and humor that Cat has been hiding behind her sharp words, Cat is falling in love with her totally uncivilized and arrogant bard.
It happens that I have been listening to a varied number of male narrators lately which enables me to appreciate one who can perform male and female voices in an unforced and natural way. Ralph Lister flows easily into his portrayal of Cat without making her sound whiny and breathy. This was critical as Lauren Wittig’s heroine needed to be strong and almost strident, yet display flashes of vulnerability – all of which this narrator performed admirably. His male and female characters were well differentiated and in the cases where there were several voices, it was easy to distinguish the patterns. There are a few times that his Scottish accents sound more Irish but, hey, Celtic accents are similar anyway, right? The narrator does a great job with the emotional outbursts (you have to love the Scottish back-of-the-throat“–aggccchhh” kind of noises that indicate disgust) and underlying emotion in the passages of dialogue.
If you are like me, any time you see “Shrew” in the title of a book, you think of Shakespeare’s Taming of the Shrew. I love that plot line, but don’t really enjoy authors that tell the same story with a different setting. Wittig doesn’t do that, thank goodness. There are similarities in the name (Katherine/Kate – Catriona/Cat) and her personality, but the rest of the story is refreshingly new.
Early in the story, the listener is invited to understand Cat’s reasons for her shrewish behavior with her own insight, so you are more sympathetic quickly to her long held desire for love. It was a fun and satisfying tale and I was always anxious to get back to it when I was forced to pause. I see that the next entry to the series, Daring the Highlander, features Cat’s brother, Ailig, and Ralph Lister narrates it as well.
Victoria
Narration: A
Book Content: A
Steam Factor: Glad I had my earbuds in
Violence: Escalated fighting (I don’t remember anything too graphic)
Genre: Historical Romance
Publisher: Brilliance Audio
Charming the Shrew was provided to AudioGals for review by Brilliance Audio.
I read this several years ago when it was released the first time. I love Laurin Wittig and so glad to see she is getting new life again. I may have to get this one in audio just for kicks. :-)