We were delighted to receive the attractively packaged CD of Jane Austen’s Lesley Castle, produced by Syllabub Productions. The package itself is a joy: the thin cardboard outer wrapping is designed to look like a handwritten letter, entirely appropriate for the epistolary tale. Inside is the CD and a booklet. The entire package was tied up with cord and sealed with wax. We were actually kind of disappointed to have to break it. (The packaging can be seen at the company’s Etsy shop.)
In such packaging, the audio itself had something to live up to. The letters between Miss Lesley and Miss Lutterell, and some friends, are full of romance, deceit, drama, traveling, and a large wedding feast, and the cast of Syllabub Productions acquit themselves admirably, reading the letters with straight faces and allowing the humor of the work to show itself. We (meaning a friend and ourself) were very much amused listening to the production in the chaise on the way home from visiting the Jane Austen exhibit at the Morgan Library.
This prettily-packaged CD makes an excellent gift for any Janeite, including oneself. The CD is available for £10 or $16.45 (US) from Syllabub Productions’ MySpace page, and also from Etsy and Folksy.
AustenBlog 
Cool ! I’d really like to get this item…may I ask a slightly rude question ? Do the readers for the Leslie Castle audio CD have American or English accents ? Ta !
LikeLike
My Dear Mandy N,
Lady Susan Lesley née Fitzgerald here. We read our Letters in English (and, in the case of my horribly tall Daughter, Margaret, Scottish) accents.
Yrs
Susan Lesley
LikeLike
Letter the Third
Dear Lady Leslie,
How welcome your letter was to me. You cannot give me greater pleasure of authenticity. I look forward to the romance and drama of your tale.
Alas, my letter is a poor speciman of any wit. Please be so good as to accept my comliments for your Lesley Castle CD. 🙂
Yr obt. servant,
Mandy N.
LikeLike
How lovely! I will be buying this for myself very soon thanks to your review. I greatly enjoyed the amateur Librivox recording of Lady Susan, so I’m sure I’ll like this. I think the epistolary format meshes particularly well with audiobooks (or maybe I just have a short attention span?).
LikeLike