Even if the act of travel has been transformed beyond recognition in a mere decade or two, how much has actually changed in our favorite destinations in the past two hundred years? Listeners are invited to compare their impressions with those of veteran travelers and literary legends: Charles Dickens on Rome, Mark Twain on Paris and Versailles, and Washington Irving on Stratford On Avon. Add to this mix elegiac verse by Robert and Elizabeth Barrett Browning and Christina Rossetti, and here is an experience almost as good as being there without the headaches of the journey. Gabrielle de Cuir, Scott Brick, Michael York, and Don Schlossman here read various selections from historical travel writings. The cassette cover invites listeners to compare their travel impressions with those of Charles Dickens, Mark Twain, and Washington Irving and to enjoy the observations of Robert and Elizabeth Barrett Browning and Christina Rossetti. While the concept is interesting, it was a disappointing experience for this listener. The opening Elizabeth Browning discourse on living in Italy is read by de Cuir in a cloying, dreamy, overly staged fashion. In contrast, one later reading covers at some length and in too much detail the stomach-turning, gory human slaughter in the Roman Coliseum. Another goes on and on about a seemingly silly festival. Dickens is read by York in what seems to be an affected English accent. The mixture of pieces includes a narration, but many listeners will find it difficult to follow the thread of the program. Lacking a more uniform, organized orientation, the items appear to be thrown together. The sound quality is fine, but the appeal will be limited. A waste of money for most libraries. Carolyn Alexander, Brigadoon Lib., Corral de Tierra, CA Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc. This brief collection of travel writings from the nineteenth century marries excellent writing with competent readers. Michael York's elegant diction brings us Dickens's impressions of Rome, most memorably his musings on the Christian persecutions. Paris and Versailles through the eyes of Mark Twain are delivered in a confidential tone by Scott Brick, while Don Schlossman adopts a more reportorial style for Washington Irving's visit to Stratford-upon-Avon. Interspersed are fragments of Elizabeth Barrett Browning's narrative ex-patriot poem "Aurora Leigh," given a sensuous, if saccharine, treatment by Gabrielle de Cuir. Though she expresses the longing in Robert Browning's "Oh, To Be in England," one wonders why a male voice wasn't used. J.B.G. © AudioFile 2002, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine