The Lodger.THE LODGER. Marie Belloc Lowndes. 1913/ 2003. Read by Lorna Raver. 6 tapes. 8.5 hrs. Blackstone Audiobooks. #3139. 0-7861-2504-7 $44.95. Plot, author, reader notes. SA More than a story of a serial murderer in foggy London of the early 20th century, this is also a look at the social and familial mores mores (môr`āz), concept developed by William Graham Sumner to designate those folkways that if violated, result in extreme punishment. The term comes from the Latin mos (customs), and although mores are fewer in number than folkways, they are more coercive. of the time and of the strange relationship that forms between a mysterious lodger and his landlady. Soon after an eccentric boarder takes up residence with the virtually penniless Buntings bunting, common name for small, plump birds of the family Fringillidae (finch family). Among the American buntings are the indigo bunting, in which the summer plumage of the male reflects sunlight as a rich, metallic blue; the painted bunting, or nonpareil (Passerina ciris), with showy red, blue, and green plumage; the hardy snow bunting (Plectrophenax nivalis, a series of murders occur in London. each body left with a note from "The Avenger" Before long, the Buntings begin to view their lodger with suspicion. As more murders occur, and as their suspicions mount, the Buntings actually become somewhat jealously protective of their strange boarder, even as they come to fear him. The climax plays out in the Chamber of Horrors at Madame Tussaud's Wax Museum. The story ends with a sense of incompleteness. Raver's voice has superb diction and range. She speaks for all characters, except for the lodger, in a strong cockney accent and she sets the mood from start to finish; her talent will spook listeners. Miles Klein, Frisco, TX |
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