Celia

Resurrection Men is one of the best of the Inspector Rebus stories. More convoluted than some of the others, it does require close attention, preferably not while driving. The narrator does an excellent job of differentiating the large cast of characters and can actually pronounce Irn Bru correctly. However, Scots may be annoyed by a tendency for Scottish characters to break into English vowels occasionally and Rebus sounds far too Edinburgh genteel if you have always thought of him as using the broad Scots of author Ian Rankin. Terrific value.

Murder is Easy is a classic Agatha Christie murder mystery beautifully read by Hugh Fraser. The hero is a stereotypical retired colonial police officer, but the general style is the same as most of the Miss Marple and Hercule Poirot mysteries.

The General Prologue is read rather slowly and clearly, making it pretty easy for a modern English speaker to understand (especially if you have a written version to follow along with), but not making it an especially enjoyable dramatic performance. The Tale of the Physician is faster and more exciting. Both readings in the original Middle English are followed by a reading in a modern English translation. If you ever doubted how much better Chaucer is in the original, hearing him back-to-back in Middle English and then in modern English makes the point. If you will forgive the comment and just to prevent anybody else being confused, Beowulf is an Old English (Anglo-Saxon) chant or song about Norse heroes and dragons, nothing remotely like this 14th century poem of English pilgrims telling a mix of folk stories and bawdy jokes.